President of Israel Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal hosted Rabbi Pini Dunner, rabbi of Beverly Hills Synagogue, as their guest at the President’s Residence. He was accompanied by a delegation of 40 members of his community in Israel for a solidarity visit.

During the meeting, Rabbi Dunner presented the President with a new edition of ‘Ohr Hayashar’, a Talmudic halakhic book written by the President’s great-grandfather, Rabbi Shmuel Yitzchok Hillman.

Rabbi Hillman (1868-1953) was considered one of the greatest rabbis of his time. He served in various rabbinical roles in large communities in Lithuania, and then in Glasgow, Scotland, and finally as the head of the Beth Din in London, England. Besides his rabbinical duties, Rabbi Hillman devoted his time to helping communities in need and establishing Jewish life in the communities where he served. He was also awarded a medal by King Albert of Belgium as a mark of appreciation for his work helping Belgian Jewish refugees in England during the First World War.

In 1934, Rabbi Hillman moved to Palestine and settled in Jerusalem, where he founded the “Ohel Torah” yeshiva in the Rechavia neighborhood. Among the rabbinic luminaries who studied at this institute of learning were prominent rabbis such as Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rabbi Sholom Yosef Elyashiv, Rabbi Shmuel HaLevi Wosner, Rabbi Binyamin Yehoshua Silber, Rabbi Baruch Yitzchak Levin, and many more.

Rabbi Hillman’s daughter, Sarah, was the wife of Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Isaac Halevi Herzog, the mother of the Israel’s sixth president Chaim Herzog, and the grandmother of President Isaac Herzog.

After many years of work, the new and expanded edition of “Ohr Hayashar” on Meseches Shabbos by Rabbi Hillman has now been published. The first copy was presented to President Herzog this past Sunday. It deals with all aspects of Shabbos and its halachos. The original first edition, which included four madechtos in Moed, was published in Jerusalem during the author’s lifetime in 1941.

The new edition was published in the United States by Rabbi Pini Dunner, the rabbi of the Beverly Hills community.

The President and his wife commended the delegation for visiting Israel, and showing solidarity with the residents of Israel. During the meeting, Rabbi Dunner presented the President with the first volume.

The new edition, edited by Rabbi Dunner, stands out for its enlightening insights and explanations of Rabbi Hillman’s words, clarifying the author’s thoughts and ideas on every topic covered in Madeches Shabbos.

In the first edition, the section dedicated to the Shabbos was just 32 pages long, which has now been expanded by Rabbi Dunner to 439 pages in the new edition, showcasing the depth and breadth of Rabbi Hillman’s work.