Litvishe functions as an adjective, the plural noun form often used is Litvaks. The Hebrew plural noun form which is used with the same meaning is Lita'im. Other expressions are'Yeshivishe and Misnagdim. It has been equated with the term "Yeshiva world". The words Litvishe, Lita'im, and Litvaks are all somewhat misleading, because there are also Hasidic Jews from Lithuania, and many Lithuanian Jews who are not Haredim. (The reference to Lithuania does not refer to the country of that name today, but to the historic Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which also included all of modern-day Belarus and also most of Ukraine.) Litvishe Jews largely identify with the Misnagdim, who "objected to what they saw as Hasidic denigration of Torah study and normative Jewish law in favor of undue emphasis on emotionality and religious fellowship as pathways to the Divine." The term Misnagdim ("opponents") is somewhat outdated since the former opposition between the two groups has lost much of its salience, so the other terms are more common. See also Degel HaTorah History of the Jews in Lithuania Schisms among the Jews References External links Hasidim And Mitnagdim (jewishvirtuallibrary.org) The Vilna Gaon and Leader of the Mitnagdim (jewishgates.com) Misnagdim: The Opposition to Hasidism (E. Segal, Univ. Calgary) Ashkenazi Jews topics Haredi Judaism in Europe Jewish Lithuanian history Haredi Judaism in Lithuania Jewish groups in Lithuania