JERUSALEM (Press Release) – Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, one of the greatest commentators on Judaism of our generation, died Friday in Jerusalem, aged 83, after suffering from acute pneumonia.
Rabbi Steinsaltz was born in Jerusalem in 1937. After graduating in chemistry and physics from the Hebrew University, he began his career as an educator and worked as a school principal in Jerusalem and wrote a great many varied Jewish books.
In 1965, in conjunction with the Government of Israel, he founded the Israel Institute for Talmudic Publications, later the Steinsaltz Center, which became his life’s work – making Judaism and the heritage of Israel accessible, translating and explaining the Babylonian Talmud to the whole world.
Rabbi Steinsaltz is considered one of the greatest, important Jewish religious commentators and thinkers of our time. His writings and philosophical works have been translated into 60 languages, to the benefit of millions of people from all over the world. He authored around 60 books on various topics, including guides to and commentaries on the Talmud, the Torah, Jewish mysticism, Hasidism, Jewish philosophy and more. One of the Rabbi’s most renowned and significant projects was the Steinsaltz-Talmud: a translation from the original Aramaic, alongside an annotated explanation to all 2,711 pages of the Babylonian Talmud.
Four years ago, the Rabbi finished his commentary on the Torah (The Pentateuch), as well as on the writings of the Prophets Jeremiah, Isaiah and Ezekiel, and on the Book of Psalms. In recent years he went on to complete the full commentary of the Tanach, in both English and Hebrew, while his commentary on the Six Books of Mishnah, are due to be published in the coming months.
His work earned him recognition and praise in Israel and around the world. Time magazine called him a “once-in-a-millennium scholar”, while the long list of awards and degrees he received included the Israel Prize for Jewish Studies in 1988, the President’s Medal in 2012, the Yakir Yerushalayim (Beloved of Jerusalem) Medal in 2017, and honorary doctorates from Bar Ilan University, Ben Gurion University, and Yeshiva University in New York, among other honors.
Of note, the US Library of Congress, recently announced the acceptance into its catalogue of an English translation of an extensive work about the Steinsaltz Center and its work.
The Steinsaltz Center in Jerusalem has served as an umbrella organization, coordinating the Rabbi’s various activities and initiatives – and it will continue to do so in his memory. The organization includes a book publishing house, and works to establish educational institutions, and promote informal education projects. The center remains dedicated to promoting the Rabbi’s vision of making Jewish learning and Jewish culture accessible to all.
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Preceding provided by the Steinsaltz Center