Illui (Hebrew: עילוי or עלוי also ilui; pronounced [ʔiˈluj] plural: illuim) is a young Talmudic prodigy. The Hebrew term is applied to exceptional Talmudic scholars among Jews.
Etymology Illui literally means "upraising" and was used in the sense of "fundraising effort" in Medieval Hebrew. In the early modern period, provincial Ashkenazic villages would raise scholarships for their best students to attend larger institutions, and eventually the term "illui of [place]" (scholarship student from [place]) came to be understood as "prodigy of [place]".
Judaic mystical traditions There are some Judaic mystical traditions that explain how and why illuim are different. One explanation attributes it to an "Angel's Slap":
An intriguing legend from the Talmud and Midrash describes how a child, while still in its mother's womb, is taught the entire Torah to the glow of a supernatural lamp that allows it to see to the ends of the earth. It is only at the moment of birth that an angel appears and imposes upon it an oath to live a righteous life, and then slaps the youngster on the mouth or the nose, causing it to forget all that it has learned. The angel's smack in the Talmudic legend produces total amnesia for all, but in the Greek theory of "anamnesis" the souls quaff varying quantities of the oblivion-inducing potion. The clever souls drink no more than they have to, which makes for an easier job of learning and recalling during their coming lives. Only the foolish and short-sighted souls make the mistake of rashly and greedily gulping down excessive doses, dooming them to lives of ignorance and dull-wittedness. Furthermore, the Jewish world had its share of child prodigies and geniuses who mastered the Talmud at a tender age (such a person is known in Hebrew as an illui). This phenomenon could be ascribed to the soul's evading the angel's slap, whether by accident or design. The usage of the term is also used with caution in terms of its practical implications for the one who holds it. For example, Jonathan Rosenblum, a notable Haredi commentator has cautioned that:
Talmudic prodigies exist. But there is a certain type of wisdom that only comes with age and life experience, no matter how brilliant a person may be. That is why the leaders of the Torah world are inevitably drawn from the ranks of the ziknei hador ("elders of the generation"). If the first adjective still used to describe a person is ilui, he is probably not yet ready for leadership.
Technical usage in the yeshiva world
The Jewish Encyclopedia explains that in the history of the yeshivas (also known as Talmudical or rabbinical schools or academies), the term illui had a definite function:
The students in the yeshibah were grouped according to the cities whence they came. Thus one would be known as "Itzel der Kovner" (Isaac of Kovno) and another as "Getzil der Warsawer." Some received the title "'illui" (= "the excellent") or "matmid" (= "diligent student"), such a one being known, for example, as "Der Kovner 'Illui" or "Der Lomzer Matmid," assuming that only one from a town was so designated. The title was given by the general consent of the students. They studied singly or in pair.
Recognition in all denominations The term illui has widespread usage in all Jewish denominations. Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism in the United States states that: "... It was the illui – the truly superior student – who would devote his life to study, while others would return to full-time employment. Indeed, even when the great yeshivot of Eastern Europe were at their height, the number of students was relatively modest and smaller than the number of full-time Torah students in Israel today..." (writing for Union for Reform Judaism, 2008.)
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