Eliyahu Stefansky (; born November 21, 1972) is the founder of Mercaz Daf Yomi in

Ramat Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh () is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District. A center of Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodoxy, Beit Shemesh has a population of 170,683 as of 2024. The city is named after and located near the ...

, Israel, whose ''

daf yomi ''Daf Yomi'' (, ''Daf Yomi'', "page of the day" or "daily folio") is a daily regimen of learning the Oral Torah and its commentaries (also known as the Gemara), in which each of the 2,711 pages of the Babylonian Talmud is covered in sequence. A ' ...

'' broadcasts are the most popular ''

shiur A shiur (, , ; , ) is a lecture given any Torah-related topic of study, such as Gemara, Mishnah, ''Halakha'' (Jewish law), or Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), usually given in a yeshiva, though commonly in other Jewish communal settings. Histor ...

im'' in the world.

Early life and education

Stefansky was born in

Lakewood Township, New Jersey Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community, as of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 135,158, its highest decennial count ever and a ...

, to Rabbi Yaakov and Rebbetzin Ruthie Stefansky. He is the oldest of seven children. He grew up in

Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County li ...

, where he attended Yeshiva Darchei Torah. In the fifth grade, his family made ''

aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

'', moving to

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak ( ) or Bene Beraq, is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1,752 acre ...

, Israel, and Stefansky studied at the Ponevezh Yeshiva under Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz. After three years, the Stefanskys returned to the United States, and Stefansky attended Yeshiva Gedola of Passaic. Stefansky returned to Israel to study at the Mir Yeshiva. After his return from Israel he attended

Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin () is an American Haredi Lithuanian-type boys' and men's yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. The school's divisions include a preschool, a ''yeshiva ketana'' (elementary school), a ''mesivta ...

. Stefansky began his career in Chicago as an electrician, plumber, and carpenter to enter into real estate. On the side, he maintained a catering business, working about 100 weddings per year. At one wedding in 2005, a real estate broker in Indianapolis offered Stefansky the option to purchase 2000 apartments. This became PrimeQuest. In 2013 at the age of 41, Stefansky moved with his wife and five children to

, Israel.

Career as educator

Stefansky began a ''

'' in Chicago that grew to 45 students. He also started the "8 Minute Daf" video series that grew to 2,000 subscribers in 3 months. In 2018, Stefansky founded the Mercaz Daf Yomi in Ramat Beit Shemesh, from which he broadcasts daily lectures of the ''daf yomi''. He dedicates every class in memory of his mother, who passed away in 2001. As of 2023, the daily lectures received between 16,000 and 18,000 viewers, making its the most popular ''shiur'' in the world. He spends an estimated 14 hours per day to prepare for his lectures.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stefansky, Eli Living people 1972 births People from Beit Shemesh Mir Yeshiva alumni People from Far Rockaway, Queens People from Lakewood Township, New Jersey American emigrants to Israel American lecturers