My first exposure to Talmud study was watching my father pull out the big brown volumes that sat at the bottom of the book shelf in the living room. It was usually on Shabbat afternoons that I would see him reading - mumbling to himself, really - immersing himself in the layered conversations of rabbis he connected to but lived centuries ago. These particular, iconic volumes, I only learned later, existed because of an Israeli rabbi named Adin Steinsaltz. Rabbi Steinsaltz devoted his life’s work to translating the dense Aramaic of the Talmud into accessible Hebrew. The original Aramaic and his Hebrew translation and running commentary sit side-by-side in all 63 tractates of Talmud he produced, a project which took him from 1965 until 2010.
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz died last Friday in Jerusalem, and throughout this week I have been thinking about his profound lasting impact on my life and on Talmud study at large. Rabbi Steinsaltz was a household name for most rabbinical students. Not a day went by when I was a student that I didn’t reference his work, and still, his editions of the Talmud are fixtures in my life. This is true for me and thousands of other students of the Talmud because he felt the imperative of democratizing Torah learning. Steinsaltz sought to make learning of Talmud accessible. He never made it easy - that wasn’t his goal and Talmud study is almost never easy - but he gave everyone the tools to connect to this foundational text of our people.
One remarkable tribute to him is evidenced in my facebook feed - full of students of Torah, teachers of Torah, rabbis - individuals who connected to his work of all denominations, all backgrounds, all political orientations, all genders - all people who considered this individual to be one of their greatest teachers. He made Torah available to all of them, and I cannot fathom a holier task. He knew they might each take it to mean something different in their lives, and that didn’t affect his desire to bring Torah to them. Perhaps, this was actually what made him want to bring Torah to them. He reminded us all that whoever we are, we deserve Torah and deep connection with our tradition. He knew that Torah had the power to speak to each of us.
I’d like to share just one story about him from a friend of mine. She recounted hearing him teach in person once, and told a story about his own learning. “The first time he translated a text that involved laws explicitly for women, he got in trouble within his neighborhood. Women threatened to whack him over the head with their pans, he shared this account with humor in his voice. They explained why they were outraged, how his translation amounted to commentary that could be interpreted in strict ways that their community didn't observe. He was stepping into turf he didn't know or understand and it wasn't ideal. He realized this weakness and going forward, turned to his mother to proofread his translations when laws would impact women. He wanted to be fair, and he'd had the fear of *something* put into him.” Over 40 years ago, this act was a progressive one, and it’s reflective not only of the ways he took women’s voices into account, but a far greater lesson about the power of Torah learning. Steinsaltz knew that Torah learning can and will have an affect on our lives, and he was sensitive to how that might happen. He realized that it will look different in each person’s life, and he knew enough to know when he wouldn’t be able to get it right on his own.
Rabbi Steinsaltz was a true gadol ha-dor, a great of his generation. It’s hard to imagine what Talmud study will look like without his continued contributions. His life was a blessing in the lives of many, and his memory will continue to be a blessing forever.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Sarit
We will NOT be having services at shul this Shabbat. I hope you will join tonight at 6:15 for a bit of schmoozing followed by Hachanah l’Shabbat (Preparing for Shabbat) at 6:30. Click that link to connect on Zoom, and you can access the words for tonight's songs here!
Please click here for the Youtube playlist with davening and teaching I’ve prepared for this Shabbat (it will be uploaded before Shabbat).
Please check out our website for some Shabbat-related learning resources.
