Celebrating a Legacy: Remembering Rabbi Shteinman Seven Years On

Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman was a towering figure in Torah learning and a leader of the Charedi community of the last generation, serving as the president of the Council of Torah Sages of Degel HaTorah. He passed away seven years ago, shortly after sunset, and his yahrzeit will be observed on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Rabbi Shteinman studied in Lithuanian yeshivas between the two World Wars. He became a teacher in his early twenties and taught Torah for nearly eighty years. After the passing of Rabbi Shach in 2001, Rabbi Shteinman, alongside Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, led the Lithuanian Jewish community. Following Rabbi Elyashiv's passing, Rabbi Shteinman became the supreme authority for the Degel HaTorah party, the newspaper *Yated Ne'eman*, and the Lithuanian yeshivas.

He was known for his modesty, humility, and profound Torah study. He authored around thirty books, including the *Eilat HaShachar* series on the Talmud and the Torah.

His Life Story

Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib was born in Kamenitz to Nech Tzvi and Gitil Feiga Shteinman. He was close to his city’s rabbis, Rabbi Simcha Zelig Riegel and Rabbi Yitzchok Zeev Halevi Soloveichik, who ordained him.

Facing conscription into the Polish army, he decided to move to Switzerland in 1937, escaping the horrors that later befell his childhood community during the Holocaust, where he was spared from its complete destruction.

During World War II, Rabbi Shteinman and friends were placed in a labor camp due to their Polish citizenship. In 1944, he married Tamar, also from Poland, in a small ceremony funded by local charitable donations.

In 1945, the Shteinmans immigrated to Israel through Spain, settling in Petach Tikvah, where he was appointed—through the recommendation of the Chazon Ish—as head of the *Chafetz Chaim* Yeshiva in Kfar Saba.

He then became the head of the Ponevezh Yeshiva for young students in 1955, and in 1978 founded the *Gaon Yaakov* Yeshiva. By 1998, he had also established *Orchos Torah* and led multiple affiliated yeshivas across Israel, always maintaining a focus on learning as the core of Jewish life.

Leadership and Influence

Rabbi Shteinman began serving on the Council of Torah Sages at the invitation of Rabbi Shach in 1989. He guided leading institutions and publications and significantly influenced non-Lithuanian parties like Shas and Agudas Yisrael.

Rabbi Shteinman advised on educational matters, matchmaking, and domestic harmony, earning him wide-ranging respect.

Despite expressing that no eulogies be given at his passing, following the direction of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, public honors were nonetheless extended after his death, recognizing his monumental contribution and leadership.

His Teachings

Education

Rabbi Shteinman made significant impacts in education, collaborating in setting up primary schools and kollels, emphasizing personal example over public examinations or punishment.

Advocating for reducing corporal punishment and ensuring that problem students are not expelled indiscriminately, he underscored the importance of matching students with suitable learning environments.

Matchmaking

Rabbi Shteinman advised against focusing on superficial criteria in matchmaking, asserting that successful marriages depend on reciprocation and selflessness.

Talmudic Study

Rabbi Shteinman openly resisted pressures for yeshiva students to join the military, defending sustained Torah study as critical to Jewish existence and societal protection.

Torah Institutions

He advocated financial support for Torah institutions, understanding kollels as essential in maintaining religious and communal strength.

Simple Living

Rabbi Shteinman emphasized living simply, cautioning against the pursuit of luxury and financial irresponsibility. He promoted contentment with modest living to support a focus on Torah study.

Gentle Outreach

He favored dialogue with secular society and state institutions while strongly advocating for educational outreach and supporting baalei teshuvah efforts through organizations like Lev L’Achim and Hidabroot.

His Books

Rabbi Shteinman authored around 30 books, including a 15-volume commentary on the Talmud and several series on the Torah, ethics, and prayers.