Shefa is a center of intellectual inquiry that confronts the pressing issues facing Israel, the Diaspora, and the world today. Like its visionary founder, Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, Shefa is a crossroads of tradition and modernity, science and spirituality, past and present.

Shefa's guiding ethos is the pursuit of knowledge. With knowledge there is illumination, renaissance, and foremost continuity. Through the translation, teaching, and dissemination of classical and modern Jewish texts, Shefa helps Jews around the world reclaim their heritage.

Through formal and non-formal educational settings, Shefa convenes the full spectrum of Israeli society to learn, debate, and face the challenges of the Jewish future.