Menachem Elon was born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1924. Between 1938 and 1945 he studied at Hebron Yeshiva in Jerusalem and was ordained as a rabbi. Toward the end of his yeshiva studies he began to study law at the High School of Law and Economics in Tel Aviv. He completed his studies in 1948 and received a license to practice law. From 1950 to 1954 Elon studied at the Faculty of the Humanities of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and from 1955 through 1962 he served as a senior assistant to the attorney and as a special consultant on Jewish law to the Ministry of Justice. In 1956 Elon began to teach family law and Jewish law at the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University. After receiving his doctorate in law from the university in 1962, he was awarded the chair of Jewish law. In 1963 he founded the Institute for Jewish Law and in 1972 he received the title of professor. In 1977 Elon was appointed to the Supreme Court, and in 1979 he received the Israel Prize.  Elon published numerous books and articles, mainly in the field of Jewish law. In his work as a justice and as deputy president of the Supreme Court, he worked diligently to enrich Israeli law and to integrate aspects of Jewish law. This approach reflected his belief that, as he put it, Jewish law could bring a fresh and reviving spirit to Israeli law as it confronted contemporary problems. Professor Elon passed away in 2013

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