Recovering Steinsaltz made 'Yakir Yerushalayim' during visit by mayor

“You express in your personality and your activities the Biblical verse ‘From Zion shall go forth the Torah and the word of God from Jerusalem.’”

By JEREMY SHARON
Updated: MAY 24, 2017 11:22
JERUSALEM MAYOR Nir Barkat (right) visits with Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz at his home in the capital’s German Colony neighborhood 22.5.2017. (photo credit: JERUSALEM MUNICIPALITY)
JERUSALEM MAYOR Nir Barkat (right) visits with Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz at his home in the capital’s German Colony neighborhood 22.5.2017.
(photo credit: JERUSALEM MUNICIPALITY)
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat paid a personal visit to the renowned Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz on Monday to present him with the Yakir Yerushalayim medal, which was awarded to 11 other recipients on Monday night at a celebratory ceremony at the Tower of David in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Steinsaltz, 80, is still recovering from a serious stroke he suffered in December 2016 and so could not attend the main ceremony.
He has, however, partially returned to work of late, and has begun authoring new articles.
“It is a great honor for me to present the Yakir Yerushalayim award to a spiritual leader whose writings have gone out from Jerusalem to the entire world and whose books are studied by millions of people, Jews and non-Jews,” said Barkat while visiting the rabbi in his home in Jerusalem’s German Colony neighborhood.
“You express in your personality and your activities the Biblical verse ‘From Zion shall go forth the Torah and the word of God from Jerusalem,’” added the mayor.
The two spoke in the rabbi’s home, and Steinsaltz said he was touched that Barkat presented the award in person and thanked the mayor for the visit.
At the ceremony itself, his son Rabbi Menachem-Even Steinsaltz, director of Steinsaltz’s Shefa institutions, accepted the award on behalf of his father, saying that it “symbolizes more than anything the tremendous connection between my father and his beloved city and shows the respect and gratitude that the city has for my father’s work for the state and for Jerusalem.”
Steinsaltz is perhaps best known for his monumental translation and elucidation of the Talmud, but has also authored more than 60 books on Jewish thought, life and mysticism and is an Israel Prize laureate.