Rabbi Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz), who passed away in August 2020, will be remembered by thousands of students and admirers, as well as key supporters of his life’s mission of facilitating Jewish literacy, at an event in Jerusalem on Sunday, Oct. 2. Owing to the late scholar’s global reputation, the program will be livestreamed.
Even-Israel, who authored dozens of Jewish books, from a groundbreaking Talmud translation—strongly encouraged by his mentor, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—to single-volume works on Jewish philosophy made understandable in plain Hebrew and English, keenly understood the 21st-century Jew. “Let my people know” went his calling card. He knew that Jewish literacy and Jewish continuity are two sides of the same page; Jewish learning must be accessible to everyone.
His unfinished dream was a monumental English-language translation and commentary on the Mishnah, the primary text of the Oral Law and the foundation of the Talmud. Sunday’s program, titled “Jewish Knowledge in the Digital Age,” will showcase the progress of the Mishnah project and the effort to digitize the Steinsaltz Center’s vast collection of publications—a years-long project that has seen extensive collaboration with Chabad.org as well as other platforms.
Alongside the Mishnah project, his son Rabbi Meni Even-Israel told Chabad.org that the Steinsaltz Center is working on an English-language illustrated Mishne Torah, Maimonides’s exhaustive compendium on Jewish law. Together with a translation interspersed with a running commentary and insightful footnotes, the work includes frequent illustrations when necessary for a clear understanding.
The gala dinner will be headlined by former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer; Jordana Cutler, director of Public Policy for Israel and the Jewish Diaspora at Meta (formerly Facebook); and Meni Even-Israel, among other representatives.
The program can be viewed live by registering here.
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