Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman (Hebrew: אהרן יהודה לייב שטינמן), also Shtainman or Steinman[2] (November 3, 1914[1] – December 12, 2017[3]), was a Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel.
[6] Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteiman was born in Kamyenyets (Kaminetz), the son of Noach Tzvi and Gittel Faiga,[7] and raised in Brest (Brisk), then part of the Russian Empire.
Shteinman and his friend were put to work laying roads, but due to his thin frame and short stature, he was released from manual labor and assigned to a desk job.
[12] During his first years in Israel, Shteinman and his family lived in Kfar Saba; his sons were sent to a cheder in Petah Tikva.
Despite publicly supporting life-long Torah study and forbidding secular learning, Shteinman's private positions were perceived as more nuanced and accommodating.
[6] One such false perception was that he supported the idea of weak yeshiva students being drafted to the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, a religious section of the Israel Defense Forces.
Don Segal inquired about this rumor in a letter to Shteinman, to which he responded Since you have heard a widespread and continued report suggesting that I am in support of the idea of Nachal Charedi, that bochurim who are weak in Torah study or in Yiras Shomayim will benefit from being there.
But for sure it is an unforgivable sin for anyone to persuade or entice in any possible way cause anyone who is not a mechallel Shabbos or committing other chayavei kerisos to go to the Nachal Charedi.
When the bachur tried to argue with him a bit, Shteinman responded forcefully, banged on his table and said, "I guarantee you that if you go to the army, regardless of what program you join, you will return a total non Jew.'
[15] When Elazar Shach, the founder of the Haredi Degel HaTorah political party, would be consulted for advice, he would sometimes refer people to Shteinman.
He planned to travel together with Yaakov Aryeh Alter (the Gerrer Rebbe) to Montreal in May 2006, but they delayed their trip to avoid protests from the Neturei Karta.
[1] Shteinman was the author of a popular series of kuntresim (pamphlets) on Torah subjects such as emunah (faith), chinuch (education), and hashgacha (Divine providence).
An English-language translation of many of these subjects was published in 2013 by Israel Book Shop under the title Leading with Love: Guidance for Our Generation from Maran HaRav Aharon Yehudah Leib Shteinman shlit"a on Torah, Emunah, Chinuch, the Home, and More.
Ayeles HaShachar al HaTorah (on the Pentateuch) Ayeles HaShachar on Shas (Talmud) Chessed Umishpat on Maseches Sanhedrin [2] Yimaleh Pi Tehilasecha 1 2 - Mussar shmusen (ethical talks) Mipekudecha Esbonan - Talks on Yomim Noraim (days of awe)