ABSTRACT

Rabbi Steinsaltz was born in Jerusalem and is considered to be one of the greatest scholars of contemporary Judaism. He is a member of the Hasidic movement Chabad, and, following the example of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Schneersohn, he completed his studies in both the Torah and several secular disciplines such as mathematics, physics and chemistry at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His most famous work is his monumental translation of the Talmud from Aramaic into modern Hebrew, which was simultaneously translated into many other languages. Rabbi Steinsaltz began work on it in 1965 and finished it in 2010. Rabbi Steinsaltz is also the author of about 60 books on subjects ranging from zoology to theology (including Kabbalah and Hasidic themes) to social commentary. There was some controversy about his works, however. Some Orthodox rabbis, headed by Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach, placed a ban on several of Steinsaltz's books. There are also some controversies about the new system of pagination and the replacement of Rashi's commentary by Steinsaltz's own commentary in his translation of the Talmud. In spite of these controversies, though, Steinsaltz's works enjoy great popularity in the Jewish world. In 1988, Rabbi Steinsaltz was awarded the Israel Prize. Under the auspices of a number of educational and scientific institutions, he also took part in the expansion of the Chabad movement in Russia.