Once widely known as `` Yerushalayim De Lita '' ( the `` Jerusalem of Lithuania '' ) , Vilnius since the 18th century , was a world centre for the study of the Torah , and had a large Jewish population .
Once widely known as `` Yerushalayim De Lita '' ( the `` Jerusalem of Lithuania '' ) , Vilnius once was comparable only to Jerusalem , Israel , as a world center for the study of the Torah , and for its large Jewish population .