Rabbi Shteinman
Photo: Haim Tzach
Haredi leader's health improves after admittance to hospital
After complaining of shortness of breath, leader of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community Rabbi Lieb Shteinman is reported to be feeling better, though he remains in hospital; a more moderate voice than his contemporaries, Shteinman has faced vocal opposition from within the Lithuanian community from its more zealous members.
The condition of Lithuanian Rabbi Aharon Lieb Shteinman, a prominent figure in the ultra-Orthodox community, has improved after he was rushed to Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Beni Brak on Sunday evening. Shteinman, 103, complained of shortness of breath, and was admitted due to his advanced age and concern over a possible pneumonia.
Shteinman is the lead rabbi in the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox sector and one of the spiritual leaders of the political party United Torah Judaism.
Rabbi Shteinman (Photo: Haim Tzach)
Public prayers were organized in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, as mobile PA systems drove through the streets, calling on people to pray for his health.
Despite his political work, Shteinman's invovlement in United Torah Judaism is actually a minor part of his daily routine, which is dedicated mainly to his studies, instruction at religious centers and providing advice and guidance on personal and public matters.
Shteinman is considered more moderate and pragmatic than his predecessors and a number of his contemporaries in matters of religion and state, religious and secular interaction, education and more.
In light of his relative progressivism—which manifested itself, among other examples, in his support of the Haredi battalion in the IDF's paramilitary Nahal program—Shteinman has faced a vocal and an unprecedented opposition after the passing of Lithuanian community leader Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv three and a half years ago. Elyashiv was considered a final religious authority for his followers during his lifetime, and upon his death, those opposing Shteinman's more moderate tone crowned his rival, the zealous and rigid Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, as the new Lithuanian leader.
Shteinman continues to enjoy a much larger following than Auerbach, as exemplified in the fact that United Torah Judaism's "Lithuanian" faction, Degel Hatorah, is comprised solely of Shteinman supporters. That said, during the last local elections, Auerbach's supporters decided to run on a separate list for local councils, after complaining that they were not being fairly represented, and won in several different municipalities.
