Memorial service marking the 40th anniversary of the death of Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin zt”l
March 8, 2018, was the fortieth anniversary of the death of the first editor of the Encyclopedia Talmudit and the man most responsible for its character and form, Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin. By remarkable timing, the same year saw the publication of the 40th volume of the Encyclopedia Talmudit, the life work of Rabbi Zevin.
In cooperation with Rabbi Zevin’s family, the Encyclopedia Talmudit organization held a memorial and study conference in his memory, at the Yeshurun Synagogue in Jerusalem. The assembly was attended by members of the Encyclopedia Talmudit team, dozens of students from the kollel for pensioners at the Yeshurun Synagogue, and a large congregation of people who esteemed the rabbi’s memory and had learned Torah from him.
The conference was opened by Rabbi Prof. Avraham Steinberg, director of the Encyclopedia Talmudit, who spoke about Rabbi Zevin’s decisive influence on the image and method of the encyclopedia, and about the encyclopedia’s status as the crowning achievement of Rabbi Zevin’s literary works.
Rabbi Zevin’s great-grandson, Rabbi Aharon Zevin, next gave a fascinating and profound lecture on the difference between the laws of the Temple with its consecrated items and the rest of the Torah, in both halakha and aggada.
The Gaon Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Farbstein, head of Yeshivat Chevron, began his remarks with personal memories of his acquaintance with Rabbi Zevin, describing how his father, Rabbi Avraham Farbstein, used to work alongside him on the encyclopedia. Rabbi Farbstein proceeded to give a lecture on “Man’s ownership over his body,” while analyzing Rabbi Zevin’s novel ideas on this topic in his famous article, “Shylock’s Trial according to Jewish Law.”
Rabbi Zevin’s great-grandson, Rabbi Yosef Zevin briefly reviewed his great-grandfather’s life and talked about his personality.
The conference was moderated by the secretary of the Encyclopedia Talmudit’s editorial board, Rabbi David Aronovsky.
The memorial service concluded with a visit to Rabbi Zevin’s grave in the Chelkat Harabbonim (“Rabbis’ Section”) of the Har HaMenuchot cemetery.