Rivlin's father was Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Rivlin. He was known from a young age as a talented Torah scholar and an excellent student. He also studied languages,
mineralogy,
zoology and
botany. Later, with his relative Rabbi Yehoshua Zeitlin, he established a pharmacy in Shklow. His business flourished, and he later opened branches in
Mogilev,
Minsk,
Vitebsk and
Turkey. He was accustomed to not eat meat or drink wine even on
Jewish holidays, and would eat only fruit, seeds and occasionally fish and potatoes dipped in olive oil, and he would drink coffee without milk or honey. In 1772, along with Rabbi Yehoshua Zeitlin, he established the Yeshiva of Elites in Shklow. The Vilna Gaon attended the opening of the yeshiva. The yeshiva was funded by the Rivlin-Zeitlin pharmacies, and was later supported by wealthy people of Shklow. In addition to learning
Talmud and
Poskim, students in this yeshiva also learned
Tanach according to the tradition of the Vilna Gaon,
Hebrew language and
grammar, and Rivlin taught them
medicine. Rivlin also gave a lesson once a month to workers. Rivlin's activism led to the wider development of Shklow, and many
printing presses were opened there (until they were closed down by the government). It was written about Rivlin thatת "The city of Shklow and its sages were built by him." In their introduction to their father's commentary on
Shulchan Aruch, the children of the Vilna Gaon wrote about Rivlin:He merited to hear teachings from the holy, pure mouth, and the light of the Torah and its fear shone upon him. He held firm to his ways and his customs. == Aliya of the Vilna Gaon's students ==