Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman: Torah Giant, Humble Leader, and Lasting Voice of a Generation

Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman (14 Cheshvan 5675 – 24 Kislev 5778) was one of the greatest Torah sages of the last generation, a leading figure in the Lithuanian-Haredi world, and the president of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah.

For decades, Rabbi Shteinman stood as a symbol of Torah scholarship, humility, personal austerity, and quiet public leadership. Though he carried the burdens of an entire generation on his shoulders, he lived in a small, modest apartment in Bnei Brak and maintained an exceptionally simple way of life.

He authored around thirty sefarim, among them the well-known Ayelet HaShachar series on the Talmud and on the Torah, works that continue to be studied widely.

Early Life and Escape from Europe

Rabbi Shteinman was born in Kamenitz to his parents, Rabbi Noach Tzvi and Gittel Feiga Shteiman. From a young age he was close to the leading rabbis of his city, including Rabbi Simcha Zelig Riger and Rabbi Yitzchak Zev HaLevi Soloveitchik. Rabbi Riger later granted him rabbinic ordination.

When he received a draft order for the Polish army, the young Rabbi Shteinman decided to leave for Switzerland. This was in 1937. Together with him, two grandsons of Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik — Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik and Rabbi Aryeh Leib Glickson, also received permission to leave.

Before departing, they performed a Goral HaGra, a traditional method of seeking guidance through verses. The verse that emerged was: “The morning light had come, and the men were sent away.” They understood this as a sign that they were meant to leave Poland.

That decision saved Rabbi Shteinman from the destruction of the Holocaust. His hometown was ultimately wiped out, but Hashem preserved him as a remnant for the sake of future generations.

War Years and Marriage

During World War II, Rabbi Shteinman and his companions were taken to a labor camp because they were Polish citizens. Despite the hardship of those years, he continued to live with faith and discipline.

In 1944, he married his wife, Tamar, who was also born in Poland. Their wedding was attended by only about fifteen guests. This was at the groom’s insistence, since the expenses were being covered by charitable funds donated by local benefactors, and he wanted to minimize every unnecessary cost.

This trait of extraordinary restraint and care with money would remain with him throughout his life.

Arrival in Eretz Yisrael and Building Torah

In 1945, the Shteinmans arrived in Eretz Yisrael via Spain and settled in Petach Tikvah. Within half a year, at the recommendation of the Chazon Ish, Rabbi Shteinman was appointed head of Yeshivat Chafetz Chaim in Kfar Saba.

In 1955, Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman appointed him to a leadership role in Ponevezh LeTzeirim.

Later, in 1978, Rabbi Shteinman founded Yeshivat Gaon Yaakov, where he served as rosh yeshivah. He delivered a central shiur twice a week, additional afternoon classes, and a monthly mussar talk. Several years later, he appointed his son-in-law, Rabbi Zev Berlin, to lead the yeshivah, while he himself continued to deliver major lectures and talks there.

In 1998, he founded Yeshivas Orchot Torah, and also stood behind a number of affiliated yeshivos, including Rina Shel Torah in Karmiel, Torah BeTifartah in Elad, and Ner Zerach in Moshav Otzem. He would periodically deliver shiurim and talks in these institutions as well.

A Lifetime of Teaching

Rabbi Shteinman taught Torah for roughly eighty years.

Even outside the formal yeshivah framework, he delivered regular shiurim in his home. In the evenings he taught halachah from the Mishnah Berurah, and each week he gave talks in mussar and hashkafah based on works such as Derech Hashem, Nefesh HaChaim, and Ruach Chaim.

His teaching style was marked by clarity, depth, and seriousness. He was not merely transmitting information, but was shaping students, roshei yeshivah, educators, and future leaders.

A Guide in Every Area of Life

Rabbi Shteinman was not only a public leader in broad matters of policy, but was also deeply involved in personal guidance.

People came to him for advice on education, yeshivah leadership, shidduchim, and shalom bayit. He was known for practical wisdom, compassion, and an ability to see through noise and pressure to the essential issue at hand.

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky once wrote in a rare letter that the leadership of the generation had been entrusted to Rabbi Shteinman, describing him as a man whose actions were entirely for the sake of Heaven.

His Approach to Education

Education occupied a major part of Rabbi Shteinman’s public work.

Together with the Gerrer Rebbe, he helped establish the elementary school network Netivot Moshe. The two rabbinic leaders even traveled abroad together on fundraising trips for these institutions and for the Shuvu network.

Rabbi Shteinman strongly believed that the essence of education lies in personal example. The parent or educator’s conduct, in his view, influences children more deeply than speeches or punishments.

He opposed public testing when its purpose was to glorify certain students in public, believing that children should not be motivated through honor and display. He also instructed educators to minimize public criticism and negative comments toward children as much as possible.

He supported reducing the use of physical punishment and strongly opposed expelling struggling students from educational institutions unless they were causing direct spiritual harm to others. In his view, expelling a student from yeshivah was almost like destroying him.

In a public letter issued in 1996, he urged parents to choose schools based on what was educationally suitable for the child — not based on prestige or the reputation of the institution.

He also believed that, in many cases, selective admissions practices were not driven by genuine educational concerns but by pride.

His View on Matchmaking

Rabbi Shteinman rejected superficial or irrelevant criteria in matchmaking. He believed that a successful marriage depends far less on external factors than on character.

He is quoted as saying that a happy marriage depends on three things: giving in, giving in, and giving in.

In his view, the root of most interpersonal conflict is ego, and ego itself is rooted in pride. This simple but penetrating insight shaped much of his guidance in the realm of marriage and family life.

The Centrality of Torah Learning

Few themes were as central to Rabbi Shteinman’s worldview as the importance of uninterrupted Torah learning.

He saw the world of yeshivot and kollelim not merely as one valuable part of Jewish life, but as the spiritual engine protecting the Jewish people. He spoke forcefully against attempts to weaken the standing of bnei yeshivah and lomdei Torah, and viewed such efforts as a true danger to Jewish existence.

In his perspective, Torah learned with purity and sacrifice is what protects and sustains the Jewish people in a hostile world. He often emphasized that the Jewish nation survives not by natural logic, but through the power of Torah and the mercy of the Creator.

and support networks of kollelim that eventually included thousands of avreichim.

Simplicity and Restraint

Rabbi Shteinman was famous for his ability to live with very little.

He warned that many financial problems begin when kollel families seek to live with the comfort and luxuries of wealthy people. Vacations, expensive lifestyles, and unnecessary purchases, in his view, were often the beginning of debt and spiritual distraction.

He was especially pained by situations in which young men entered serious financial trouble because they were trying to maintain a lifestyle beyond their means. Private cars, luxury standards, and unnecessary borrowing often led, he said, to emotional strain, family stress, and an inability to focus on learning.

He urged kollel families to live with careful measure and discipline so that they could serve Hashem and grow in Torah with peace of mind.

This was not theoretical for him. He himself lived in a tiny, sparsely furnished apartment and modeled exactly the sort of life he preached.

Kiruv Through Warmth, Not Conflict

Rabbi Shteinman believed that the Haredi community should be cautious about aggressive public confrontations with secular society and with the State of Israel. His preferred approach was one of building, dialogue, and quiet influence.

He saw the response to spiritual challenge not in force, but in establishing more Torah institutions and bringing Jews closer through warmth and sincerity.

Under his inspiration, young men began going weekly to peripheral communities to learn Torah with local residents. He strongly encouraged kiruv activity and, after Rabbi Elyashiv, helped guide the direction of Lev L’Achim.

He also supported Rabbi Zamir Cohen in establishing Hidabroot, encouraging and backing the organization in its early years.

His Writings

Rabbi Shteinman published around thirty sefarim.

Among the best known is Ayelet HaShachar, fifteen volumes of chiddushim on several tractates of the Talmud, along with additional volumes on the Torah. Other works include Chesed U’Mishpat on Sanhedrin, Yimalei Pi Tehilasecha, a multi-volume collection of mussar talks, and works drawn from his teachings on Nefesh HaChaim and Derech Hashem.

His writings reflect the same qualities people saw in him personally: sharpness, depth, honesty, and a relentless focus on what truly matters.

His Passing

Rabbi Shteinman passed away on 24 Kislev 5778 at the age of 103.

In his will, he requested that he be buried within six hours of his passing, that no eulogies be delivered, that no public announcements be made about the funeral, and that the simplest possible gravestone be purchased for him.

He also asked that no articles be written about him, no photographs be published, and no elaborate biographical tributes be printed. He requested to be buried among ordinary people and asked that nothing more than his name be written on the gravestone: “Here lies Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib son of Rabbi Noach Tzvi Shteinman.”

Despite these wishes, hundreds of thousands attended the funeral as it passed by his home in Bnei Brak. Although formal eulogies were not delivered in the usual manner, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein spoke words of strengthening, and Rabbi Chizkiyahu Mishkovsky read Rabbi Shteinman’s will.

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky later ruled that the will’s limitations applied primarily to the family, but that the community at large still had an obligation to honor a gadol hador. As a result, many memorial articles, tributes, and publications later appeared in his memory.

His Extraordinary Will

Rabbi Shteinman’s will astonished many who heard it.

Its tone was one of humility, restraint, and spiritual seriousness. He asked forgiveness from anyone whose honor he may have hurt and from anyone to whom he may have owed money unknowingly. He requested that people not refer to him as a tzaddik or God-fearing, fearing embarrassment in the World of Truth if such titles were used.

He asked that those who truly wished him well should learn one chapter of Mishnah each day for twelve months, and that women and girls recite ten chapters of Tehillim daily, including on Shabbat and Yom Tov.

Even in death, his focus remained on Torah, sincerity, and avoiding any trace of self-glorification.

The Lasting Legacy of Rabbi Shteinman

Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman was not only a towering Torah scholar and communal leader, but a living example of what it means to combine greatness with humility, authority with gentleness, and public responsibility with personal simplicity.

He shaped the Torah world through his yeshivos, his sefarim, his guidance, his public leadership, and above all through the example of his own life.

Years after his passing, his influence remains deeply present — in the institutions he built, in the values he championed, and in the countless individuals whose lives were touched by his wisdom, restraint, and unwavering devotion to Torah.