Word: steinsaltz
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...followers say outright that he is, and some have petitioned him to "reveal" himself. The rebbe has on a few occasions denied that he is the Redeemer but has done little to discourage speculation. Two weeks ago, Schneerson received a vote of confidence from renowned Talmudic scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. Though a Lubavitcher himself, Steinsaltz has a reputation for sober erudition, so it caused a small stir among the non-Habad Orthodox when he said Schneerson was "the most likely person on the scene now" to become the Messiah...
...Steinsaltz, who points out that Messianic expectation is a fundamental tenet of the Jewish faith, believes that each generation produces a candidate and that ordinary people can speed his coming by creating an atmosphere for Redemption. Other scholars reject Habad's active campaigning for the event. Followers of Rabbi Schach, a longtime rival of Schneerson's, believe the arrival of the Messiah is God's business, not man's. "When he comes, he comes," says Avraham Ravitz, a member of the Knesset. "It's crazy to force the Messiah to come by selling him like Coca-Cola, with jingles...
Concern that Schneerson might disappoint his devotees was heightened earlier this month when the rebbe suffered a mild stroke. But even the leader's death would not disprove his Messianic potential, argues Steinsaltz, who believes the Redeemer will be mortal, someone who will eventually die and have successors. In the meantime, the rebbe's adherents are praying he will recover in time to bring a happy denouement to the drama they have been so eagerly anticipating...
...country's politics, Hartman is perhaps Israel's paramount religious philosopher. For these Jews, Hartman is a rebbe, a particularly wise teacher. The measure of his impact is that right-wing scholars are truly frightened by his erudition. Most refuse even to discuss him. One who does, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, nevertheless only murmurs cryptically, "Millenniums can pass before a true sage is revealed...
...Steinsaltz Jerusalem Talmud, begun in 1976, is likely to prove even more important than the Babylonian, since the text has never before been available with a satisfactory commentary. To make the notorious Jerusalem passages readable, Steinsaltz is interpolating words into the text, marking additions in a lighter typeface so readers can discern the original. He has no idea how long it will take to finish the Jerusalem version. There are many sources of information on the Babylonian, he explains, but "with the Jerusalem I am almost alone." But then, Steinsaltz is almost unique as well...