Misnagdim

Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, (ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman) known as the Vilna Gaon (דער װילנער גאון, Gaon z Wilna, Vilniaus Gaonas) or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym HaGra ("HaGaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "The sage, our teacher, Elijah") or Elijah Ben Solomon Zalman (Sialiec, April 23, 1720 – Vilnius October 9, 1797), was a Talmudist, halakhist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of misnagdic (non-hasidic) Jewry of the past few centuries.

There was also a sharp confrontation between supporters of Hasidism and those opposed to it (Misnagdim).

However, following the dispute between the Hasidim and the Misnagdim, in which the Lithuanian academies were the heartland of opposition to Hasidism, "Lithuanian" came to have the connotation of Misnagdic (non-Hasidic) Judaism generally, and to be used for all Jews who follow the traditions of the great Lithuanian yeshivot, whether or not their ancestors actually came from Lithuania.

Concurrently, the image of its Opponents as dreary intellectuals who lacked spiritual fervour and opposed mysticism is likewise unfounded.

3) Spiritual leader—The spiritual head of a Hasidic movement is called a rebbe . His followers would address him as "The Rebbe" or refer to him when speaking to others as "the Rebbe" or "my Rebbe". He is referred to by others as the Rebbe of a particular Hasidic dynasty. In Hebrew, a Hasidic rebbe is often referred to as an AdMoR, which is an abbreviation for Adoneinu, Moreinu, veRabbenu ("Our Master, our Teacher, and our Rabbi"). In writing, this title is placed before the name of the Hasidut, as in "Admor of Belz"; while the title Rebbe comes after the name of the Hasidut when used as an adjective, as in "Lubavitcher Rebbe", "Amshinever Rebbe", and every rebbe of every Hasidic dynasty. In the Litvishe world, when not referring to a hasidic rebbe, the word can be pronounced "rebbee" . Sephardic Jews can pronounce it as "Ribbi" . The Lubavitcher hasidim have a tradition that the Hebrew letters that make up the word rebbe are also an acronym for "Rosh Bnei Yisroel", meaning "a spiritual head of the Children of Israel".

Those who rejected the Hasidic movement dubbed themselves as misnagdim ("opponents").

The same is true for the non-Hasidic Litvish yeshivas that are controlled by dynastically transmitted rosh yeshivas and the majority of students will not become rabbis, even after many years of post-graduate kollel study.

1) The vast majority of Hasidic and Litvak communities were destroyed during the Holocaust. Although Hasidic customs have largely been preserved, the customs of Lithuanian Jewry, including its unique Hebrew pronunciation, have been almost lost. Litvish customs are still preserved primarily by the few older Jews who were born in Lithuania prior to the Holocaust. In the decade or so after 1945, there was a strong drive to revive and maintain these lifestyles by some notable Haredi leaders.

Poland–Lithuania was the heartland of Rabbinic Judaism, with its two streams of Misnagdic Talmudism centred in Lithuania and other regions, and Hasidic mysticism popular in Ukraine, Poland, Hungary and Russia.

European Jews who rejected the Hasidic movement were dubbed Mitnagdim ("opponents") by the followers of the Baal Shem Tov.