11 Nisan · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Bezalel HaKohen of Vilna - "Mareh Kohen"
Rabbi Bezalel ben Moshe HaKohen of Vilna (1820–1878), Lithuanian rabbi - rabbi of Vilna.
Yahrzeit - 11 Nissan
Resting place -
At the age of 11, Bezalel already knew two of the six orders of the Talmud by heart;
By the age of 13 he had mastered the entire Talmud and amazed his listeners with his original halachic discourses. The sermon he delivered before the rabbis of Vilna at the age of 18 was later published in his "Reishit Bikurim." His novellae were collected in "Torat Yisrael." In 1843, although he was only 23 years old, Bezalel was elected one of the rabbis of Vilna, succeeding Yosef Shiskes. He soon became the leading "Moreh Tzedek" of Vilna, a position equivalent to that of city rabbi.
Bezalel was well versed in secular subjects, especially mathematics and engineering. "Reishit Bikurim," responsa and commentary on the Sifra (1868), reveals his extensive erudition.
His work
11 Nissan is the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Bezalel HaKohen of Vilna - "Mareh Kohen" - his interpretations of the Talmud were published in the Vilna edition of the Talmud (1884). His commentary on Maimonides' "Sefer HaMitzvot" appeared in the 1866 Vilna edition.
At a brit milah/circumcision, it is customary to express the wish: "Just as he has entered into the Covenant, so may he enter into the study of Torah, marriage, and good deeds." There is a story connected with this custom.
The future Rabbi Bezalel HaKohen of Vilna (19th century) was a child prodigy, and long before his bar mitzvah, matchmakers competed for the right to arrange a match for him. By the time he turned twelve, he was already engaged.
At the engagement celebration, one of the local scholars said: "I always wondered why we say, 'May he proceed to Torah study, marriage, and good deeds?' Shouldn't good deeds precede marriage? Now I understand. We pray that a child be so special that long before his bar mitzvah, before his good deeds have even begun to be counted in the Heavenly ledgers, he is already being pursued with marriage proposals."
May the merit of the Tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
(https://www.geni.com/people/HaRav-Bezalel-haCohen-of-Vilna/6000000006374490930)