In 1990 a document was discovered in Poland, according to which the Gaon of Vilna (1720–1797) stopped in Amsterdam on his way to Erez, Israel. Research based on this astonishing find, detailed in this book, brought about a chain of dramatic discoveries that fundamentally altered our knowledge of the historic figure of the Gaon of Vilna. By following in the Gaon's footsteps, The Gaon of Vilna and His Messianic Vision uncovers the cause of his aborted journey – and the revolutionary approach to redemption that the Gaon subsequently developed.