Rabbi Yaakov Ariel
Rabbi Yaakov ArielDavid Stein

Education Minister Rabbi Rafi Peretz on Tuesday announced that Rabbi Yaakov Ariel is the winner of the 2020 Israel Prize for Torah Literature.

“Rabbi Ariel is one of the greatest scholars of the generation. He has put a lot of students into the halachic enchantment space he deserves. He deserves the award for his scope, depth and influence. I extend to him great congratulations and continued blessing,” said Rabbi Peretz.

The Prize Committee which selected Rabbi Ariel was chaired by Rabbi Professor Abraham Steinberg.

The committee stated that “Rabbi Yaakov Ariel deserves to receive the Israel Prize in the field of Torah literature for the scope of Torah work that has a variety of topics in the four parts of the Shulchan Aruch. Private and public, men and women, commandments dependent on being in the land of Israel, as well as in the fields of thought and interpretation."

“Rabbi Yaakov Ariel’s contribution to the spread of Torah beyond its wide scope is evident in its being a ruling case in modern life,” the committee members wrote.

Rabbi Yaakov Ariel is the Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan and one of the leading rabbis of religious Zionism in Israel.