Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz הרב עדין אבן־ישראל שטיינזלץ

Towering scholar, teacher, philosopher, mystic, scientist, social critic and prolific author, Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz was internationally regarded as one of the leading rabbis of the 20th/21st centuries. Rabbi Steinsaltz took the study of the Talmud out from behind closed doors and gave it to all of us through his monumental work of translation and commentary on the Talmud.

Continuing his work as a teacher and spiritual mentor, Rabbi Steinsaltz established a network of schools and educational institutions in Israel. In 1988, he was invited to open a Judaic Studies Center in Moscow, the first such institution in sixty years, and to supervise the inventory and replication of the Soviet Union's vast libraries and archives of Judaica. In the same year, Rabbi Steinsaltz was awarded the Israel Prize, Israel's highest honor, in recognition of his lifelong achievements in Jewish education.

The Rabbi authored some sixty books, including his widely acclaimed book on the Lubavichter Rebbe "My Rebbe" and wrote hundreds of articles on varied subjects ranging from theology and Jewish practice, through a celebrated work of mystical thought (The Thirteen Petalled Rose), to zoology and social commentary. During his lifetime, Rabbi Steinsaltz presided over several educational institutions, and was a renowned speaker who was sought after by numerous institutes around the world, to impart and share his knowledge and teachings.

Born in Jerusalem in 1937 to secular parents, Rabbi Steinsaltz studied physics and chemistry at the Hebrew University. At the age of 24, he became the youngest school principal in Israel. Rabbi Steinsaltz's extraordinary resume includes his having been a resident scholar at Yale University, the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton and the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies in Washington, D.C. His honorary degrees include doctorates from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Bar Ilan University, Brandeis University, Yeshiva University and Florida International University.

Hailed by Time magazine as a "once-in-a-millennium scholar," Rabbi Steinsaltz devoted his life to making the Talmud accessible to all and promoting Jewish knowledge. To learn more about the Rabbi and his work visit Aleph Society.

Shefa was founded in 1975 as the umbrella organization of all the Rabbi's operations and to promote the endeavor of "Let my people know".

Thanks to a generous gift from the William Davidson Foundation, Rabbi Steinsaltz's translation of the Talmud is available for free on Sefaria.