March 10, 2024 | 30 Adar I 5784
Our team is always adding texts to our library to enrich your study experience. Today, we’re pleased to announce the addition of Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz's commentaries on Tanakh and Mishneh Torah to the library as part of our brand new Jack Nash and Ludwig Bravmann Collection, a digital home for Rabbi Steinsaltz’s expansive body of work.
Rabbi Steinsaltz was a prolific rabbi, educator, translator, and commentator whose work encompassed a huge swath of Jewish thought. Born in Jerusalem in 1937, Rabbi Steinsaltz made it his life’s mission to make Jewish thought accessible to more people around the globe. His mantra, “Let my people know™,” was the driving force behind his many accomplishments.
When Sefaria co-founders Brett Lockspeiser and Joshua Foer met with Rabbi Steinsaltz in 2013, he expressed a keen understanding and appreciation for the importance of a free, digital Jewish library.“Not only did Rabbi Steinsaltz immediately understand the implications of what we were proposing, he was three steps ahead of us,” wrote Joshua in 2020.
That sense of common purpose was initially realized in 2017, when Sefaria added the William Davidson Talmud to the library, a groundbreaking digital edition of the Babylonian Talmud that includes Rabbi Steinsaltz’s historic Modern Hebrew and English translations. Now, the Sefaria library is also home to these important texts:
- Complete Commentary on Tanakh (English and Hebrew): Illuminates passages of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), from the well-known to the obscure, making this a helpful companion to learners of all levels.
- Complete Commentary on Mishneh Torah (Hebrew only): Articulates and clarifies the ideas in Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, one of the most comprehensive guides to halakhah (Jewish law).
Rabbi Steinsaltz’s dedication to expanding access to knowledge continues to flourish in the work of the Steinsaltz Center, which offers an app and online portal to support daily learning and a library of Rabbi Steinsaltz’s writings. And this is only the beginning! We look forward to adding many more works to the Nash-Bravmann collection, including Rabbi Steinsaltz's commentaries on the Mishnah and Tanya.
We hope these new additions to the library inspire and elevate your study experience.
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