RELIGION

Eli Stefansky and Sruly Bornstein

Rabbis

Sruly Bornstein and Eli Stefansky represent two powerful expressions of Jewish spiritual leadership in 2025, each using modern platforms to strengthen ancient continuity. Bornstein, an educator and social media figure, became an effective bridge between traditional observance and a broad, often unaffiliated audience, communicating faith, mitzvot, and Jewish pride through short-form videos marked by warmth and emotional intelligence. Jews from a variety of backgrounds across the globe have listened to Bornstein's Daf Yomi ("daily page") classes on the Talmud in record numbers. After Oct. 7, his calls for unity and resilience resonated widely, bringing religious language into digital spaces where Jewish meaning was often absent. At the same time, Jerusalem-based Torah teacher Eli Stefansky, founder of the internationally followed Daf Yomi shiur platform, offered something quieter but no less transformative: daily Talmud study delivered with clarity, accessibility, and heart. As fear and grief rippled across Jewish communities worldwide, Stefansky’s steady cadence of learning anchored tens of thousands in emunah and achdut. Together, they showed that in a year of struggle, Jewish renewal could flow not only from institutions, but from screens, voices, and the daily discipline of connection.