6 January 2026

In this article:

A warm mazal tov to Rav Eliahu Birnbaum, former Chief Rabbi of Turin, among the winners of the Katz Prize for 5785.

A warm mazal tov to Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum, former Chief Rabbi of Turin, among the winners of the Katz Prize for 5785.
The Katz Prize is a prestigious award given to individuals and institutions dedicated to the application of Jewish law (halakha) in modern life—both through written works and practical projects.
The prize has been awarded in Israel since 1975, at the initiative of the Katz Family Foundation of Mexico.
Rabbi Sh.Y. Zevin, Rav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik (Boston), Rav Levi Yitzhak Halperin, Rav Shlomo Goren, Rav Yosef Kapach, Rav René Samuel Sirat, Rav Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz), Menachem Elon, Nahum Rakover, Yehuda Felix, Rav Nahum Lamm, Rav Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg, Rav Immanuel Jakobovits, Zeev Lev, Rav Prof. Avraham Steinberg, Rav Naftali Zvi Yehuda Bar-Ilan, Rav Jonathan Sacks are just some of the personalities who have received the Katz Prize over the years – rabbis, scholars and thinkers committed to the application of halakhah to contemporary reality. Many of them distinguished themselves for the integration of Torah, philosophy, science and law.
Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum received the Award for his work as a dayan (rabbinical judge), as head of the Strauss-Amiel Institute (Ohr Torah Stone), and for his work strengthening Jewish communities in the diaspora. Rabbi Birnbaum is also President of the “Shavei Israel” association, which works to identify Jewish descendants in various parts of the world. Active in Jewish communities in the diaspora, he was also Chief Rabbi of Uruguay.
The award ceremony was held in the presence of the President of the Republic of Israel, Isaac Herzog.
President Dario Disegni, on behalf of the entire community, congratulated Rabbi Birnbaum on this prestigious award.

Vincitori Premio Katz

Katz Prize winners: Rabbi Birnbaum stands, second from left

Rav Birnbaum ritira il Premio Katz

Other news:

  • Sukkot, the festival of precariousness and hospitality

    29 September 2026

    Articles

    Sukkot (the Festival of Booths) is the holiday where, by recalling the time the Jewish people dwelt in booths in the desert after the Exodus

  • Sukkot at the Jewish School of Turin

    29 September 2026

    Articles

    Anyone who has visited—or will visit during the final days of the festival—the Community Sukkah will immediately notice that one of the themes addressed this year by our school's teachers is hospitality, in the broadest sense. By Ruth Mussi.

  • MiTo for the City at the Retirement Home

    29 September 2026

    Articles

    On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 13, our retirement home hosted a wonderful "MiTo per la città" event in the fifth-floor lounge: the Fitzenhagen Quartet, featuring highly talented young cellists. By Alda Guastalla.