Yaakov Sussmann: key obituary facts
Is Yaakov Sussmann dead? Yes. Yaakov Sussmann died on October 25, 2026, at age 95.
Cause of death: Yaakov Sussmann's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Yaakov Sussmann known for?
He was an Israeli philologist.
More about Yaakov Sussmann
Born: 31 August 1931.
Place of birth: Budapest.
Gender: male.
Occupation: talmudist, historian, philologist, university teacher, Judaic scholar.
Nationality: Israel.
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Employer: Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Awards: Israel Prize, The EMET Prize for Art, Science and Culture.
Also known as: Yaakov Sussmann.
Yaakov Sussmann, an Israeli philologist and scholar of the Talmud, died in Jerusalem on October 25, 2026, aged 95.
Born in Budapest, he made his academic career at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he became professor emeritus in the Department of Talmud. His scholarship and teaching focused on Talmud and Jewish history, subjects he studied at the university after enrolling in 1954.
He completed undergraduate and master’s degrees with distinction and received his doctorate in 1970 under the supervision of Ephraim Urbach. Sussmann’s family had roots in prominent rabbinical lineages: his paternal grandfather was chief rabbi of Budapest, and through his mother he was a fifth-generation descendant of the Chatam Sofer. During the Nazi occupation of Hungary, Sussmann and his family escaped on the Kastner train, traveling through Bergen-Belsen to Switzerland, where he continued his studies. He later returned to academic life in Israel and lectured at the Hebrew University. His honors included the Israel Prize for Talmudic Studies and the EMET Prize for Art, Science and Culture. Across a career spanning scholarship and university teaching, Sussmann held a central institutional role in the study of Talmud at the Hebrew University.