בס"ד
בדחילו ורחימו
On Friday, 17 Av (6 August 2020), I received an email from the Aleph Society with the exceedingly sad news that Rabbi Adin Even Yisrael Steinsaltz had passed away. This came shortly after emails that he was in critical condition in the hospital and that people should say Psalms for him. I promptly said Psalm 16 largely because of the theme, "My portions have fallen in pleasant day places indeed a beautiful heritage is on me", (verse 6). It is also a bit of a polemic and a request for guidance from above.
Rabbi Steinsaltz suffered a stroke in 2016 and had a long period of convalescence. After a while I sent an email to the Sefaria, website associated with him, inquiring of his welfare. They sadly replied that they receive little information about him and when they do, they promptly share with others. He never again appeared in public. He did make some entries on his Facebook page including a prayer for protection against coronavirus. Recent news reports said that after the stroke, he was afflicted by aphasia. It's a psychological disorder where a person's speech and emotional responses are confused. For example they will understand big as small, cry when laughter is appropriate, and vica versa. All his life his health was not good and on the advice of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he changed his name adding Aven (rock of) Yisrael. When he completed his commentary on the Babylonian Talmud in 2010, I wondered how much time he had left. In the following six years of health he completed a commentary on the Tanakh.
Rabbi Steinsaltz was a prolific writer who had many projects. He was head of a religious nationalist yeshiva. He had a close relationship with the Lubavitcher Rebbe and wrote a commentary on the Tanya. Prime Minister Netanyahu consulted him and reckoned him as his rabbi. I'd say that he had a Breslav personality and he wrote a commentary on the Rabbi Nachman stories. However, he was not truly a member of any of these groups, rather he had his own approach and associated social circle. It was a down to earth congregation of the pure hearted, wise, and refined; people who were sincerely religious but did not broadcast it.
The magnum opus of Rabbi Steinsaltz was his commentary on the Babylonian Talmud. My older friend Dov Livononi was one of his acquaintances. He related that when Steinsaltz was studying Gemara as a teen in yeshiva, he organized his notes to understand the material. This included adding vowels and punctuation, rewriting it in modern Hebrew, explaining terms, and extracting the major topics. At some point he saw that he had written a book. I heard Steinsaltz on a video explain that when setting it up for publication, a page was the size of a small table. He pondered the problem and consulted the Rabbi Menachem Shneerson, the Chabad Rebbe. He advised him to cut the page in half so that it would entirely be facing the reader when the book was open. This would coherently preserve the generally accepted sequence. The issue of the sequence became an issue when the controversy about his commentary broke out. Asked why he never mentioned that it was the Rebbe's suggestion, Steinsaltz answered he has enough problems and doesn't need this. When I saw Steinsaltz at Congregation Ahavat Achim in Highland Park, NJ, he was asked about the organization of this endeavor. He replied that he consults others, then with some irritation added he writes it by himself.
In Tanakh a prophet is at times called a lunatic (meshugah - מְשׁוּגָע; see Isaiah 20, Ezekiel 4, Jeremiah 25) because their behavior often was peculiar and embarrassing. If they existed today, I'd say that Steinsaltz would have been one of them. He certainly had the personality. He tended to react to a person's foibles and naiveties as if to clue them in that not everything was right and not everything was what it seemed to be. At times it seemed like he was constantly putting his foot in his mouth. His comments could sound outrageous but when contemplated were often valid. He did try to keep quiet but commented that in the next world he'd be able to say what he really thought. He did like the appellation of being called a social critic.
The first time I heard of Rabbi Steinsaltz was shortly after making aliya. I was recently religious and had studied the summer before at Yeshiva Ohr Somayach. The program made extensive use of Jewish texts. I had gone to Hebrew school as a child and could say the words with the dots but could not read. They emphasized Gemara but for me the course was incomprehensible. I raised the issue with the rabbis saying the first thing they should teach was how to read. They replied that I'd pick it up. I was skeptical but trusted them.
Months later in Israel I was in a home for new immigrants (Beit Canada). A neighbor asked me to do a havrusa in Gemara. I used the standard Vilna shas. I couldn't read it and had frequent questions which my friend would immediately answer. He was somewhat literate but not greatly educated. I finally asked him how do you know all this, how can you even read it to begin with? He replied, "I cheated, I used a Steinsaltz", and showed me his book. I noticed its beauty and organization, then took issue with the word "cheat" and said this should be the standard text.
After an unusual series of events, I returned to Ohr Somayach as a full time student. The heart of the program was a Gemara class. For me the Vilna Shas was useless, so I went out and bought a Steinsaltz Gemara. The teacher was visibly unhappy but didn't say anything. I proudly showed it off to my classmates who were generally not impressed. The yeshiva did use the Steinsaltz in its Israeli program, but in the English program they made disparaging remarks and advised against its use in whole or part. I argued the point saying among other things that it was an advance on the Kahati Mishnayot, but they didn't like that either.
I was a good student albeit a maverick. It was a Litvish yeshiva and I had a Hasidic personality but I was totally unaware of these issues. The library had a number of books in Jewish philosophy which I read voraciously, but friends told me that the administration took a dim view of them. Their intention was to attract prospectively religious students with them then wean them away from these ideas.
I was particularly friendly with the librarian and one day he opened a locked cabinet containing books that were considered highly questionable. One of them was "Biblical Images" which I was given permission to borrow. I did not like the book. It struck me as a collection of college term papers which would get an A in a Jewish studies program but did not truly understand the characters. My friends objected to the humanization of Biblical characters particularly showing their failings and frailties. I disagreed with that and thought that it was incorrect to reckon them as minor deities. The issue of disparaging descriptions, particularly, King David as a country bumkin, were also difficult. My suspicion was that many of them including this one were probably correct. However when I read the comparison of Jezebel to the Medici family, my immediate thought was that this was apostasy. I didn't think the book as a whole was apostasy and certainly not Steinsaltz himself. Rather I thought that perfection of belief was a rare commodity and even so the evil inclination still occasionally shows itself.
I also had a similar reaction to a book, "The River, the Kettle, and the Bird", written by my rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Aharon Feldman. The book was immensely popular and contained some very noble and moving ideas. However it struck me as a lover's quarrel between a man and his wife, in which statements are made that shouldn't be taken seriously. I generally liked and greatly respected Rabbi Feldman because he embraced the idea of battling the evil inclination, including in his own life, at times quite heroically.
Precisely at that time Biblical Images with the quote about King David reached the eyes of Rabbi Shach. A major controversy broke out. I was then living in Geula. Steinsaltz explained that the book was written to attract Jewish students to Orthodoxy and suggested that they meet and talk about it, but was spurned. I did not like Rabbi Shach even though he was a revered icon at my yeshiva. His rants about Chabad and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, including calling them a latter day Shabbatai Tsvi movement, I considered to be offensive and excessive. Years later he publicly belittled the Rebbe on the day he died. I never forgave him for that and felt that a true giant of Torah would not behave in such a way. He also generally opposed the vowelization of Jewish texts which I found incomprehensible. He reminded me of the generation that came to America from Europe which often jumped between being vituperative and sickeningly sweet. His brand of religion was bothersome practices backed up with tedious, illogical, long explanations. Even so I thought that the book was in screaming need of a junior author, preferably one raised in Geula, and if this was the result, Rabbi Shach would have done him a favor.
Things didn't go that way. Until then "Biblical Images" had not been very successful. The controversy focused attention on it and the book rapidly became popular within the Reform and Conservative movements and college Jewish Studies programs. In addition they turned to Rabbi Steinsaltz as a resource and started using material produced by his organization to educate their students.
The Litvish rabbis banned "Biblical Images" along with "Women in Tanakh" and "The Essential Talmud". When the people who liked the Steinsaltz Gemara noted that the ban did not apply to it the controversy took an ugly turn and became a spectacle and a sacrilege. The maniacs demanded that the Steinsaltz Gemara be publicly burnt and Steinsaltz himself be excommunicated for apostasy. Some also included the Kahati Mishnayot.
When it became a media headline they relented somewhat and said burying it would be enough. On the other hand the Beth Din of the Gur (Gerer) Hasidim supported Rabbi Steinsaltz referring to him as a “Gaon (great scholar) who has given a boon (of Talmud study) to vast masses through his blessed works.” When Rabbi Shiller, Rosh Yeshiva of Ohr Somayach, was asked about it he pointedly replied that he absolutely has no comment about this. Shortly later Rabbi Steinsaltz made a few difficult comments about unrelated subjects which sparked controversy. The Haredi rabbis responded to their followers that he is outside the fold and they shouldn't pay attention to him. It could be that Rabbi Shach finally did do him a favor. After dealing with these nuts for years including spending almost a week in jail because of them, I'd say Rabbi Steinsaltz had enough without dealing with the frivolity and ignorance rampant among Haredim.
I continued using the Steinsaltz Gemara. Many started using the Artscroll Gemara. I was very unhappy with Artscroll's behavior during this controversy and felt that they were morally stained. Consequently I would only use their products if there was no other alternative. Their Gemara I considered as inferior in quality, bulky, and overpriced.
But what about the Steinsaltz Gemara itself or even more basic what about the Babylonian Talmud itself. In the Wikipedia article about Rabbi Aharon Feldman it brings his criticism of the Steinsaltz Gemara stating, "'An intelligent student utilizing the Steinsaltz Talmud as his personal instructor might in fact conclude that Talmud in general is not supposed to make sense'. Furthermore, writes Feldman, the Steinsaltz Talmud gives off the impression that the Talmud is intellectually flabby, inconsistent, and often trivial". It's an accurate reading of the Steinsaltz commentary and the Steinsaltz commentary is also an accurate portrayal of the Babylonian Talmud.
However the Gemara also contains strong arguments about things that are important and the message is to know the difference. In addition this is the lore of the religious Jews for better or for worse. Fifty years after the start of this Herculean task, it's as if it was all a high school project in the eyes of Rabbi Steinsaltz. It's like he's saying the Gemara is overemphasized and we should be paying more attention to other branches of knowledge, especially the Tanakh. In the final analysis the beauty, depth, love, and scholarship that is on every page of the Steinsaltz Gemara intimidates many. Will it be an elitist piece of literature? Quite possibly.
I continued my studies at Ohr Somayach but things had changed. It was now a Shach yeshiva as opposed to a wide tent. I no longer was naive about the differences in the schools of Jewish thought. In addition I had matured into a Hasid with strong inclinations toward Chabad. I discussed the Steinsaltz Gemara with one of my rosh yeshivas. The conversation did not go well and contributed to a deteriorating situation.
I also started going to fabrengens on Yod Tes Kislev. There was Rav Gafni in the old city of Jerusalem and one at Chabad on Baal HaTanya street in Meah Shaarim which had a number of speakers including Rabbi Landau. I went to hear Rabbi Steinsaltz I think at the Ramban Synagogue. It was a lively event. He said that the importance of the 19th of Kislev was that things that could only be said in inner chambers (חדר חדרים) could now be said in public. This insight captured something of the essence of Rabbi Steinsaltz. Part of his personality was to open closed books even if it was politically incorrect to do so. This aspect of his soul is alive and well in the Sefaria website.
The affair was all in Hebrew so I only had partial comprehension but Rabbi Steinsaltz seemed to comment that the works of the Ari z"l were nonsense. I was studying the Tanya at the time which occasionally cites Rabbi Yitzchak Luria. There was a break for alcohol and song during which people would wait in line to talk to the rabbi. The guy ahead of me wanted a splash of wine from the rabbi's cup which was granted. It was my turn and I posed my question. I was unable to ask it in Hebrew so I spoke in English. Rabbi Steinsaltz remained silent as if he only spoke Hebrew and after a few moments I left. My feathers had been ruffled but it was still a very enjoyable and valuable evening.
I was interested in Kabala and while living in Shmuel HaNavi, I had a neighbor who studied in the collel of Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri. He was around a hundred at the time and could barely speak. My friend said that when asked a question he would give a very short answer that typically made no sense. However it would reverberate in the mind and after an hour or a day or so, it would fully answer the question in all its aspects. My skills in Jewish literature progressed to the point I could read עֵץ חיים in the original text. It had some good ideas but most of it were elaborate derivations. It's the type of technique that is hinted at in Kabalistic texts as a way of receiving inspiration. It is also similar to using eastern meditation as a way of entering into altered states. LSD is far superior and it would not surprise me if Rabbi Steinsaltz had tried it. It is illegal and in Israel very socially unacceptable, but for those inclined I'd recommend mushrooms in Amsterdam. Some people love these calculations but for me it was a variation of esoteric pilpul in the Talmud. I grew increasingly bored with the book, was getting little out of it, so I put it down and did not return. I liked the books of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan on the subject, so I stuck with them.
Another year went to the Chabad Library on Rehov Yermiahu with Rabbi Steinsaltz. I was fascinated by the stories and the lessons. Chabad loves to be boisterous and raucous which I got a kick out of. Hasidic table manners often are an atrocity and it started to get on my nerves. Rabbi Steinsaltz was encouraging this behavior. It's a common kiruv technique used to establish a rapport with people with slight interest in religion. Chabad uses it extensively and at times is criticized for it. They finally angered me. I no longer was listening to the lecture and I got up and left. This seemed to make an impression on Rabbi Steinsaltz as things had not gone in the expected way. It's true I was being antisocial, but I was there because I loved the material. The others loved to be crude but would absorb something through osmosis. There seemed to be something very wrong with a system that would lose the talented and dedicated in favor of the animals.
I had outgrown the yeshiva and was having altercations so I said goodbye. Shortly later a man approached me on the street about a block away from Beit Knesset Har Tsvi in Geula and asked me to do a havrusa with him in Gemara. He was frum from birth and had moved to Israel as a young adult in the 1950's. He had asked me sometime before but I declined because I was occupied in the yeshiva. I said the idea sounds good and mentioned that I routinely used a Steinsaltz Gemara. He was a traditional לַמדָן (person who studies regularly) who used the standard Vilna shas and loved the Stipler Rebbe and the Chazon Esh but his response was use it freely.
It was an easy going havrusa and I enjoyed his recollections of the early years of the state. Correctly assessing that I was poor, he wanted to pay me. When I declined, he insisted, so I accepted the money. At some point he asked me why I was not married. I answered that I had met a girl years ago who had captured my heart, but nothing ever came of it. He said he would like to talk to her to try to make it work out. He asked for her phone number and was surprised when I gave it to him immediately. I wanted to explain the difficulties, but he said leave it to him. He then recommended by name a collel for me. I didn't want to go but could see that he wanted to praise me with that when he spoke to the girl, so I agreed.
I went to the collel and saw that it was a handful of people including a friend from Our Somayach and an acquaintance from Breslav. The rosh collel was and old school Litvish rabbi and the course of study emphasized learning Tosphos. Tosphos is a major commentary on the Gemara filled with pilpulim. Mastery of it is considered a proof of scholarly excellence. I also was going to receive a small collel fee. I told the rosh collel I used a Steinsaltz. He was sour to the idea but accepted it. I was unenthusiastic but wanted to help my friend succeed with the girl, so we did make a deal.
In class everyone mispronounced many words and didn't know their meanings, searched for the end of sentences and paragraphs, had difficulty extracting and understanding concepts, but rapidly read with a cultivated air of sophistication. The rabbi was well schooled and gave the traditional explanations of the material. Some of them were inconsistent with the text but you couldn't discuss it. Basically we were learning the dogma of the yeshiva world. As is typical the stipends were only paid in part and never on time. The rabbi, though, worked very hard and with great dedication. They had lectures about other books that I liked, but had already internalized the concepts.
I contemplated the situation especially the rabbi in light of the Steinsaltz Gemara. Dictionaries and grammar are hated at yeshivas and generally ignored. If the rabbi was going to get it right, he would need to relearn much of the material especially in these areas. Such a burden would crush the man. There were many like him and they had kept the faith when very few did. There were flaws but much good was done.
Even so, they did not pass the standard of reasonableness. What they wanted was a Gemara that said the things they wanted to hear. Their functional illiteracy was a vehicle for obfuscating what the document really was saying. The Steinsaltz approach was to understand a text the way it was, even though the reader may be uncomfortable with the conclusion or even disagree with it. It seems to me the result of the "yeshivish" system is to create a religion which is like precious stones scattered in a dumpster with seeds for their own destruction. The problem with this line of thinking is that it makes me start to rant like a mishuguna who is as crazy as -- well, we'll leave that for later.
My friend did make a phone call, but when he only got a fax machine decided that something was very wrong here. The collel didn't work out either. My havrusa's health deteriorated and I had to call it quits. There was more than just technical advancement in this experience. I also emerged more sober, wise, understanding, and compassionate.
My father bought me a computer with internet and on it I found the Steinsaltz daf yomi. It wasn't Steinsaltz writing it, rather one of his people. It was also more of an essay on the daf. I liked it alot and read it every day. It bothered me that I really was not studying the Talmud and checked out various websites including the one that showed the Steinsaltz Gemara for free. Then the pilpuls hit me and I said, forget it, let me have Talmudic flora and fauna. 2711 days later I had completed it. Because I started with seder Zeri'im I was done before the Daf Yomi cycle. I wanted to make a siyum but had my doubts as to whether this really was studying the Talmud. I asked my friends' advice including ones from distinguished rabbinic families. The reply was unanimous. Definitely make the siyum. Don't talk about your reservations because they don't make any difference anyway. Congratulations you have completed shas!
The unflattering line about King David remained on my mind. Growing up he was characterized as the shepherd boy who became king, praised as a man of great faith, and the author of the book of Psalms. As an adult I read the account of him in the Prophets. My Hebrew was not good and the archaic English in the Koren Bible only helped slightly. Years later I gave it another reading. My Hebrew had substantially improved and I understood the translation well. What emerged was something different than I expected. He was the shepherd boy who became king but even as king he still very much remained the shepherd boy. He was portrayed as a warrior in Hebrew school and children's stories but in the book of Samuel it was very gory. Concerning women I could understand him leaving Michal but not if he was going to take Avigal. Later on when Solomon prays for wisdom it is as if he was asking for something that he and his father did not really have. The story of Bat Sheva is as bad as it sounds. The greatness of King David is revealed when he acknowledges guilt, accepts the curse, and begs for forgiveness. This is multiplied because it is coming from a simple man. The greatness of G-d is revealed when he accepts his repentance and forgives him. The nobility of the characters tends to be lost when the stories are sanitized. There are other lessons to be learned here including a warning. Our leaders are not necessarily greatly intelligent men. They can be unscrupulous and violent. It is dangerous to push them too far with our vicious frivolity, lest we wind up with a bloody pimp.
I also watched videos of Rabbi Steinsaltz on YouTube. A number showed him on the dollar line for the Lubavitcher Rebbe. In one the Rebbe notes the poor health of Rabbi Steinsaltz, suggests that he change his name, and recommends Ibn Melech as a play on Steinsaltz. Ibn (Arabic - son) is a variant of stone (אֶבֶן) and melech (king) is a variant of salt. Rabbi Steinsaltz adopted a new name, Even Yisrael, passing on the Arabic, being more Israeli and not so Chabad.
Another video was of Rabbi Steinsaltz being interviewed by a member of his organization in front of a live audience. The mistress of ceremony apparently had tried to come up with very intelligent questions but had failed miserably. It didn't seem to make much as everyone knew that if you simply wound up Rabbi Steinsaltz pearls of wisdom would flow from his lips. It did happen but he looked quite exasperated.
Years later I was in Highland Park, NJ, visiting my family. I would often go to services at Congregation Ahavat Achim. The shul was modern Orthodox with an eretz Yisrael orientation. The building was tastefully designed with a large beautiful stained glass window that illuminated the sanctuary. There were announcements that in a few weeks Rabbi Steinsaltz would be a guest of synagogue for Shabbos. The people were refined, friendly, and down to earth. They did have a peccadillo about baseball and even would sermonize about it from the pulpit. In their beis midrash were a few Steinsaltz Gemaras but not a full set. There was enthusiasm that such a giant of Torah would be addressing their shul. I sensed that things would not go smoothly and decided to skip it.
The Shabbos when Rabbi Steinsaltz spoke, I was a guest in morning of a friend and he asked me if I had seen him. I replied I hadn't and explained that I love the Steinsaltz Gemaras and use them all the time. On other subjects it's often things that I have pondered and drawn the same conclusions. Also Steinsaltz himself is a complex character, who can be difficult. I asked what he said and my friend replied he spoke very softly and couldn't hear him. He then said he would speak again at seuda shlishis and urged me to attend. I reluctantly consented.
At shul Rabbi Steinsaltz was introduced by a disciple who warned us to expect him to be very sharp. The talk was valuable but when it was bordering on invective I wondered if he was becoming a madman. I had worked with the mentally ill and troubled individuals for many years and knew how to handle the situation. When the meal was over I boldly approached the rabbi and gave him a flowery compliment saying how much I enjoyed his talk. It was as if to say I understand the situation but you're among friends. He caught my point of view and to my surprise mentioned that he had experienced much aggravation. I fumbled for a response and said being a giant of Torah often means you must suffer for the sins of the Jewish people. He was consoled. I wanted to continue but they had already started dovening in the room.
After that I noticed a change in his approach. He focused more on his own ideas and surrounded himself with more like minded individuals. Even so Rabbi Steinsaltz was a unique and brilliant person, who was often misunderstood. I was on his mailing list and started to get invitations to elaborate fundraising dinners held in ornate banquet halls. They featured a conversation between the rabbi and another notable intellectual. I really wanted to attend and make a donation to the cause, but I was living a marginal existence. I had cancelled my credit card because I never used it, so I put 50 shekels in an envelope and sent it. To my chagrin I got a reply with a receipt in it. I received another solicitation this time with a reduced price for students. It was still more than I could afford so I sent another donation and received another receipt. I noticed the postage stamp and considered the secretary's time. This is not helping anything I thought and let it go at that.
I watched another Rabbi Steinsaltz video interview. He said he saw so many beautiful Jewish babies that become ugly and couldn't understand it. To me it was not a mystery. When I moved to Geula what I found was people who loved the Gemara and studied it constantly. Their rabbis were their heroes. Their goal was to keep Jewish law on the highest level regardless of the difficulties. The problem was that they tried to resolve its difficulties and the difficulties of Jewish history by becoming personally twisted and it shows in their faces. The secular world is a variant. In Meah Shaarim they have noble motives. In the secular world the motives are base.
This idea was just below the surface in the psyche of Rabbi Steinsaltz. Nevertheless the less he could perceive it. He loved the Jewish people so it would drive him mad. His solution was to open books that had been closed for centuries even at a high personal cost. He was crazy but it was the craziness of the rebuke in Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 28:34), "You will be crazy from what your eyes have seen". He wasn't the only one like this. In the Rabbi Nachman story of the Thirteen Beggars. The blind beggar sets the pace by saying I'm not blind at all. In fact I have very good sight. However I see what's important and not the stupidities that everybody else sees. And I bless you that you should be like me.
So why did I write this and send it to a Steinsaltz website of all places. It's as if I must express myself or I too will go crazy. A more optimistic point of view is that these people see things much like I do, except that I have been blessed with the insight to bring these inchoate feelings to prose. I never could get really close to Rabbi Steinsaltz. I viewed him from the mountaintop but could only love pure and chaste from afar.
Suzanne by Leonard Cohen
https://youtu.be/76OOON5QYr0
לע"נ האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
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