Opening the Gates of Torah
An Interview with Rabbi Meni Even-Israel
Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz zt”l, who passed away in 2020, was one of the most influential rabbis of our generation, renowned for his groundbreaking work in making Jewish texts accessible to all. Through his translations, commentaries, and publications, he opened the gates of the Talmud, Tanach, and Chassidut, and his visionary approach to education inspired institutions and students worldwide. Rabbi Aron White spoke with Rabbi Meni Even-Israel to explore his father’s remarkable legacy and the ongoing mission to share his Torah with future generations.
How did your father begin his career in teaching Torah?
My father had a calling that was very unique because his background was not traditional. He grew up in a secular, communist home in the early years of the State of Israel. He saw a dissonance between the people and their Judaism – even in the early years, when every government member quoted the Bible and there was a lot of Bible study in schools. He said that our core text as a people is the Talmud. He believed that if the entire nation could learn Talmud and have access to it, Judaism would become more practical than what he called “Messianic Judaism,” the idea that everyone in this country is a prophet, everyone is a small Mashiach.
The real value, he thought, was the civility of the Talmud – the conversation. It’s the argument in the harshest of tones between rabbis who probably ate dinner together afterward. Their debates explore difficult issues and demonstrate true human maturity: the ability of an adult to hold two seemingly contradictory opinions without breaking from either.
Our nation faces this right now: on one side, we all want the hostages back. On the other, we all want Hamas to be eliminated. These points seem contradictory, yet that is adulthood – you can hold both at once. You can also do it personally: I can fight with someone close to me – my spouse, my children, my family, colleagues – and still love and care for them. You can have both together. That is what he wanted: the sanity of the Talmud to be part of the Jewish people.
He had a fire to make the entire Jewish library – or at least the Jewish canon – available to everyone, everywhere. He kept saying that the motto “let my people know” was literal. Everyone had to know. You could argue, you might not act correctly, you might not be observant – but in your mindset, it is yours. What he did was open the gates. He gave you the key.
When people think of the Talmud, they think of legal intricacies written in a foreign language. What was your father’s secret to making it accessible?
His secret, in my opinion, was that he never left his upbringing behind. He kept his secularism intact. When he wrote a text, he wrote it in the language of the people, which was exactly the point of the Talmud. For Abaye and Rava, Aramaic was not an issue – that was the lingua franca at the time. For us, Aramaic is a foreign language, but for them, it was accessible. The point was to speak the Talmud in the language of the people and make it comprehensible.
This is why he emphasized translating into modern Hebrew, then English, then French, and other languages. He wrote in the common language. Later, when we translated the Bible with his commentary, we updated the English too, because nobody reads Shakespearean English today. People read modern English. That was the key: to make the text understandable. If you ask me what distinguishes our publications, it is that we insist on good, contemporary language – English, Hebrew, or French – the language of the people.
Your father is also known for publishing works of Chassidut. Where did that connection come from?
His love of Chassidut began when he was searching for himself. He was drawn to the world of Chabad-Lubavitch. His first teachers were mainly Lubavitch, though his Talmud teacher was a Gerrer Chassid. The world he connected to was Chassidut. He came to see that in our modern day, Chassidut is the key to understanding the light in the world. It gives meaning to everything and shows that G-d is everywhere.
One major difference in the Chassidic mindset is the belief that G-d is literally everywhere. It’s not about rejecting secular life. Secular pursuits are part of Judaism. You can find holiness in everything – or make everything holy – even secular matters. Therefore, there is no problem attending university, serving in the army, or engaging with the world, as long as it is for the right purpose. The work in the mundane becomes sacred because everything we see is divine.
Your father also founded Makor Chaim high school. What was his educational philosophy?
He created the first serious modern Orthodox Chassidic yeshiva. At the time, attending a Religious Zionist yeshiva and studying Rav Nachman and Tanya was unheard of. Typically, yeshivot focused on Gemara and Mussar. He wanted to integrate Chassidut and spiritual growth into the curriculum.
He also emphasized flexibility: students did not have to follow a strict dress code or wear a specific type of yarmulke. Originally, he created Shefa Yeshiva in 1974–75, with a diverse group of students, including people like Yaron London, who was definitely not very religious. People came and went, learning alongside rabbis, professors, and doctors. Eventually, it became Makor Chaim high school.
This approach changed the meaning of “yeshiva”: it wasn’t just the rabbi lecturing. Students could sit together almost as equals, and caring for someone’s soul became central. Today, there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of yeshivot that embed Chassidut and spiritual growth in their curriculum.
Can you talk about your current work in propagating your father’s Torah and upcoming projects?
I have been working for the Steinsaltz Center since 2005, focusing on major projects involving Talmud, Tanach, Mishnah, and Rambam. Over the next three years, we will publish the Mishnah and Rambam in English. My father left about 9,000 articles and texts, plus 3,000 hours of video, so there is much to continue publishing. We are also releasing more of his Chassidut works in Hebrew in time for Chanukah. By January, we expect to complete the entire French Talmud.
Before his passing, he decided everything should be available online. We created the Steinsaltz portal, which includes Gemara, Mishnah, Tanach, Rambam, Tanya, articles, and lectures at steinsaltz-center.org. We also have an app, which currently has 46,000 downloads, continuing his dream of bringing Torah to anyone interested in learning.
Rabbi Aron White is the Managing Editor of HaMizrachi magazine. He lives in Carmay HaNadiv, Kiryat Malachi, and serves as the Rabbi of Beit Knesset Tzameret Arnona in Yerushalayim.