Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, 1937-2020, was born in Jerusalem to a completely secular and Zionist family. His father was one of the few from the Land of Israel who volunteered to support the Republic in the Spanish Civil War. At the age of ten, he hired a tutor to teach him Talmud. The father told him: “I don’t care if you’re an atheist, but I don’t tolerate any member of my family being ignorant. It’s a shame for a Jew to be ignorant.” Shortly before his bar mitzvah, Adin voluntarily decided to practice Orthodox Judaism. Steinsaltz said: “I’m more observant than my father, but my father is more Jewish than I am.

Steinsaltz studied mathematics, physics, and chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, while also studying to be a rabbi. After graduating, he dedicated himself to establishing experimental schools and, at the age of 24, became the youngest school director in Israel. In 1965, he founded the Israel Institute for Talmudic Publications and began his monumental work of translating the Talmud into Hebrew, along with its commentary, to enable Hebrew and non-Aramaic speakers to decipher the complicated text of the Gemara, which was written in ancient Aramaic without punctuation. It took him 45 years to complete the project. In addition to the Hebrew translation, he has translated portions of the Talmud into English and other languages.

Steinsaltz Editions have opened the world of the Talmud to thousands of people outside the walls of yeshivas, including women, who were traditionally not taught Talmud. In his editions, Rabbi Steinsaltz placed Rashi’s commentary in a different place than the traditional texts, and for this reason some ultra-Orthodox rabbis did not accept his work and prohibited its use. But over time, this negative attitude faded. He said: «I never thought that spreading ignorance had any benefit, except for those in a position of power who want to deprive others of their rights, to keep them subservient.»

Steinsaltz has written more than sixty books, mostly on theology, but he has also written on zoology and social studies, and even a detective novel. One of the best-known is «The Thirteen Petalled Rose,» his classic work on Kabbalah. His commitment to education has led him to establish a network of schools and institutes both in Israel and in the countries of the former Soviet Union.

For Steinsaltz, the Talmud is the cornerstone of Jewish culture. It’s true that the origin of the Talmud is the Bible, but the influence of the Talmud is fundamental. Perhaps because it wasn’t created by isolated individuals, but rather by hundreds and hundreds of scholars, in houses of study, in a millennia-long process that still continues. Steinsaltz says: «The Talmud is the central pillar for understanding anything about Judaism, more so than the Bible. The Talmud is not a divine gift given to the Jewish people. The Jewish people created it, but at the same time, the Talmud created the Jewish people. In many ways, we are Talmudic Jews.»

By Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: Articles by Irene R. Prusher, Raphael Ahren, Nathan Jeffay, and other sources.