Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman

Early life Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteiman was born in Kamyenyets (Kaminetz), the son of Noach Tzvi and Gittel Faiga, and raised in Brest (Brisk), then part of the Russian Empire. He studied in Yeshivas Toras Chessed in Brest, headed by a rabbi known as the Imrei Moshe. He attended shiurim (Torah lectures) given by Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik (the Brisker Rav). Until 2014, he slept on the same thin mattress that he had received from the Jewish Agency upon his arrival in Israel in the early 1950s. Shteinman stopped giving his regular shiur in 1998, but retained the title of rosh yeshiva.

Political career

When Elazar Shach, the founder of the Haredi Degel HaTorah political party, would be consulted for advice, he would sometimes refer people to Shteinman. Shteinman was a leader of Degel HaTorah, and exerted much political power in the United Torah Judaism political coalition. He was close with Yaakov Aryeh Alter (the Gerrer Rebbe), a major supporter of Agudat Yisrael.

Travels abroad When he was in his nineties, Shteinman undertook to visit and strengthen key Haredi and other religious Jewish communities outside of Israel. In 2005, he visited a number of cities in North America with significant Haredi populations or institutions, including Brooklyn, Lakewood, New York City, and Passaic. He met with many American Haredi rabbis, including Aharon Schechter of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin. In 2006, he traveled to the Jewish community of Los Angeles on Lag Ba'omer, where over 5,000 individuals attended the gathering. He planned to travel together with Yaakov Aryeh Alter (the Gerrer Rebbe) to Montreal in May 2006, but they delayed their trip to avoid protests from the Neturei Karta. After visiting Montreal, the rabbis parted ways. The Gerrer Rebbe continued to New York, and then returned to Jerusalem, while Shteinman went on to visit the Jewish communities in several South American cities, including Mexico City and Buenos Aires.

In May 2007, Shteinman visited France, followed by England, where he addressed large gatherings in Manchester and Gateshead. In June 2010, Shteinman visited the Jewish communities of Odessa, Berlin, and Gibraltar. In 2012, he traveled to Paris to deliver talks to the French Jewish community. She had been sent to Switzerland from Poland to cure her respiratory problems, and had also become a refugee when World War II broke out. In January 2017, at 102 years of age, Shteinman was again hospitalized. The Jerusalem Post reported that he was suffering from shortness of breath and an infection-related fever. He was released after two weeks in intensive care. He was again hospitalized in October 2017 for fever and weakness, and was released after several days in intensive care. Two weeks later, while he was at the hospital for testing, there was an unexpected deterioration of his health. Shteinman died on December 12, 2017, at age 103. His funeral was attended by an estimated 400,000 Jews.

Published works Shteinman was the author of a popular series of kuntresim (pamphlets) on Torah subjects such as emunah (faith), chinuch (education), and hashgacha (Divine providence). The pamphlets are based on shiurim that he began giving to Ponevezh Kollel students in his home in 1994, and on shmuessen (ethical talks) that he began giving to students in Yeshivas Gaon Yaakov in 1978. Ranging in size from 24 to 100 pages, the pamphlets quickly sold out. An English-language translation of many of these subjects was published in 2013 by Israel Book Shop under the title Leading with Love: Guidance for Our Generation from Maran HaRav Aharon Yehudah Leib Shteinman shlit"a on Torah, Emunah, Chinuch, the Home, and More.

Shteinman originally published his main works on the Talmud anonymously under the name Ayelet HaShachar (alluding to his initials and those of his wife, Tamar [AYeLeT = Aharon Yehuda Leib Tamar], in Hebrew, as well as the "morning star" of Psalms 22).

Ayeles HaShachar al HaTorah (on the Pentateuch) Breishis Shmos Vayikra Bamidbar Devarim

Ayeles HaShachar on Shas (Talmud) Bava Metziah Bava Kama Gittin Yevamos Makkos and Shevuos Nedarim Kiddushin Zevachim 1 2 3

Chessed Umishpat on Maseches Sanhedrin

Yimaleh Pi Tehilasecha 1 2 - Mussar shmusen (ethical talks)

Mipekudecha Esbonan - Talks on Yomim Noraim (days of awe)