Litvaks

Litvaks, or Litvak Jews, are Jews of Lithuanian origin or those associated with the Lithuanian Jewish tradition. The term denotes a historical Ashkenazi milieu centered in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later in areas of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and it is often used to contrast this tradition with Hasidic and other Jewish movements. The Litvak tradition is marked by a rationalist, study-focused approach to Judaism, emphasizing Talmudic analysis, legal codes, and critical scholarship. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Litvak communities were prominent in resisting Hasidism, giving rise to the Mitnagdim, led by scholars such as the Vilna Gaon.

Geographically, centers of Litvak life included Vilnius (Vilna), Kaunas (Kovno), Panevėžys, and surrounding towns, where major yeshivas and rabbinic authorities educated generations of students. The Volozhin Yeshiva and other Lithuanian yeshivas became symbols of this scholarly tradition, shaping modes of learning, scholarship, and religious authority that spread to diaspora communities.

Language and culture among Litvaks often blended Yiddish with the local languages of their regions, and many Litvak scholars produced works that influenced broader Ashkenazi practice. The tradition produced a distinctive approach to Halakha and Jewish philosophy, sometimes described as more textual and methodological than mystical, especially in contrast to certain Hasidic currents.

The 20th century brought catastrophe for Lithuanian Jewry in the Holocaust, after which large numbers of Litvaks migrated to the United States, Canada, Israel, and elsewhere. In these diasporas, the Litvak emphasis on disciplined study and a rigorous approach to Jewish law persisted, contributing to the intellectual and institutional life of modern Ashkenazi Jewry. The term today denotes both people with Lithuanian Jewish heritage and a broader cultural-traditional identity within Ashkenazi Judaism.