Library of Congress Welcomes “Steinsaltz Koren Talmud”

By COLlive reporter

History was made this week as the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, hosted a special event marking the completion of the Noé Edition Koren Talmud Bavli, the groundbreaking English print of the Talmud that fuses the innovative design of Koren Publishers Jerusalem with the incomparable scholarship of Rabbi Adin Even Yisrael (Steinsaltz).

Rabbi Meni Even Yisrael was on-hand to represent his father, giving moving remarks about the decades-long scholarship and dedication to provide commentary to the Talmud and make its learning possible to people from all backgrounds and levels of knowledge.

In the presence of senior Library of Congress officials headed by Principal Deputy Librarian of Congress, J. Mark Sweeny, Rabbi Even Yisrael even studied a small piece of the Talmud, sharing it rich history and impact on all facets of modern Jewish life.

In attendance were Eliot Engel (D-NY) – Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, David Eisner – Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Rabbi Levi Shemtov – Executive Vice President of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) and senior Shliach of the Rebbe to Washington, DC, and renowned philanthropist Mr. George Rohr, who chaired the event and gave opening remarks.

Senior representatives of the Aleph Society, which works to help support the landmark works of Rav Adin Even Yisrael (Steinsaltz), all of which are prominently housed at the Library of Congress, were also in attendance.

Congressman Engel delivered greetings on behalf of the US Congress, shared words he read into the Congressional Record, and presented Rabbi Meni Even Yisrael with a beautiful Ceremonial copy. Rabbi Shemtov related the deeply meaningful nature of this important event, echoing the Librarian’s message of the timelessness of Jewish texts and the resilience of the Jewish people.

(He personally illustrated this by a sefer he keeps and studies from, which once belonged to his maternal great grandfather, the Gaon Rav Shimon Lazaroff z”l, who served as the Rav of Leningrad about 100 years ago. The sefer was found in a musty bag, still bearing Rav Lazaroff’s official rabbinical stamp, during a Secret Service sweep of the shul where he served – in what is now St. Petersburg, presently headed by Rabbi Mendel Pewzner – prior to a visit there by US President George W. Bush in 2002.)

After a brief program, guests were treated to a display of some of the oldest and rarest items of the Library’s Hebraic Section, including some dating back to the 16th Century.

Special commemorative publications were then distributed to the event’s participants by the Library of Congress.