nature of God, but also with secrets of prayer and the importance of Torah, and the purpose being "to implant the fear of God, Torah, and pure worship into the hearts of the upright who are seeking the ways of God". It presents a clear and orderly kabbalistic Weltanschauung that addresses many of the same issues as the Hasidic texts of the day. The work is generally viewed as the Lithuanian response to Hasidism, albeit in a much less harsh manner than the criticisms of Hasidim voiced by Rav Chaim's predecessors such as the Vilna Gaon and Rav Yechezkel Landau. Norman Lamm described its structure: In addition, Chaim wrote Ruach Chaim, published posthumously. It is a commentary on Pirkei Avoth. Both titles also play on his name, "Chaim". Thus, for example, "The Spirit of Life" can also be translated as "Chaim's Spirit" or "Chaim's Soul". Many of Chaim's responsa on halakhic subjects were lost by fire in 1815. Family Chaim's brother, known as Zalman of Volozhin, is considered to have been among the greatest students of the Vilna Gaon. Zalman of Volozhin's biography, the hagiographical Toldos Adam, includes many anecdotes related to the author by Rabbi Chaim. Rabbi Chaim's son, Yitzchak, took over the leadership of the yeshiva upon his father's death in 1821. Yitzchak's daughter, Rivka, was married to Rabbi Eliezer Yitzchak Fried, her first cousin. (Eliezer Yitzchak's mother, Esther, was Yitzchak's sister.) Another of Yitzchak's daughters married Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin aka the "Netziv". Among Rabbi Chaim's descendants are the Soloveitchik family, such as his great-grandson Yosef Dov Soloveitchik. Chaim's great-great-grandson, Shimon Peres, was a major political and military figure in Israel who served as both President and Prime Minister of Israel. References External links Benjamin Brown, '“But Me No Buts”: The Theological Debate Between the Hasidim and the Mitnagdim in Light of the Discourse-Markers Theory' JewishGen Raphael Shuchat, https://www.academia.edu/68949584/R_Hayyim_of_Volozhin_and_Hasidism 1749 births 1821 deaths People from Valozhyn Belarusian Orthodox rabbis Volozhin rosh yeshivas 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian rabbis 19th-century rabbis from the Russian Empire