Aharon Leib Shteinman

Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman (also: Aaron Leib Shteinman, Shtainman or Steinman) (אהרן יהודה לייב שטיינמן) (b. 1912) is a prominent Haredi rabbi currently living in Bnei Brak, Israel.

He belongs to the Lithuanian branch of Judaism, and heads a division of the famed Ponevezh yeshiva (rosh yeshiva of "Ponovezh Litze'irim".) He was formerly the Rosh Kollel ("head") of the Ponevezh Kollel. He is considered one of the most renowned Haredi rabbis living today. He is a backer of the Kupat Ha'ir charitable organization. His scholarly works on the Talmud were originally published anonymously under the name "Ayelet HaShachar" (alluding to his initials in Hebrew, as well as the "morning star" of Psalms 22). He married Tamar (Tema) Kornfeld (d. 2002), a descendant of Moshe Chaim Rotenberg of Khentshin.

Israeli politics

Along with Rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliashiv, Rabbi Shteinman is a leader of the Haredi Degel HaTorah political party. He therefore exerts much political power in the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) political coalition. UTJ is an alliance of Degel HaTorah and the Agudat Israel party. He is very close with the Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, a major supporter of Agudat Israel.

Travels abroad

Rabbi Shteinman undertook to visit key Haredi communities outside of Israel when he was in his nineties. In 2005 he visited a number of cities in North America with significant Haredi populations or institutions, such as in Brooklyn, New York and Passaic, New Jersey , meeting with many prominent American Haredi rabbis including Rabbi Aharon Schechter of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin.

He travelled to the Jewish community of Los Angeles on Lag Ba'omer in 2006 during a recent trip to America. Over five thousand Orthodox Jews attended the gathering. He planned to travel together with the Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter the Gerrer Rebbe to Montreal in May 2006, but they delayed their trip to avoid protests from the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta. After visiting Montreal, the rabbis parted ways. The Gerrer Rebbe continued to New York and then returned to Jerusalem, while Rabbi Shteinman went on to visit the Jewish communities in several South American cities, including Mexico City and Buenos Aires.

In May 2007 Rabbi Steinman visited France, then England, where he addressed large gatherings in Manchester and Gateshead.

Internationally revered

During the 2008 South Ossetia War the Prime Minister of Georgia, Vladimer Gurgenidze requested a blessing from Rabbi Shteinman. The Rabbi via telephone “blessed the Jewish community of Georgia and all who live in that place.” [ Jerusalem Post [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1218446182563&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Georgia's PM Asks for Rabbi's Blessing] ]

Notes

External links

*Google video | id = -1862148611047695061 | title = Rabbi Aharon Shteinman, The Gerrer Rebbe, and Rav Usher Weiss visit Los Angeles
*YouTube | id = rKsG2drtn9c | title = Rabbi Aharon Shteinman at home in Bnai Brak, Israel