When Daniel Septimus took over as CEO of the fledgling digital Torah library Sefaria in 2013, the nonprofit had a library of 8.5 million words. Thirteen years later, as Septimus is stepping down, Sefaria has a library of 383 million words and more than 1 million monthly users. 

“Sefaria began with a dream and developed into a cornerstone of Jewish life,” Septimus told eJewishPhilanthropy. “I am blessed to have been part of it.” He announced on Monday that he will be leaving the organization on June 30. Sefaria plans to begin the search for his successor shortly. 

Founded in 2011 by best-selling author Joshua Foer and former Google product manager Brett Lockspeiser, Sefaria set out to democratize Jewish texts, creating what today is the largest free digital library of Torah literature. 

Septimus (not to be confused with Rabbi Daniel Septimus, the inaugural director of the JCC Association of North America’s Center for Jewish Peoplehood) joined Sefaria in 2013, as the nonprofit’s second employee, months behind Sara Wolkenfeld, the organization’s chief learning officer. 

The organization had received early funding from the Natan Fund, Jonathan and Tamar Koschitzky and the Jim Joseph Foundation. Sefaria has since secured funding from a large swath of the philanthropic world, including Jim Joseph Foundation, William Davidson Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Crown Family Philanthropies and Maimonides Fund and is at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution, offering its open-source Torah to programmers for use in crafting innovative ways to study the texts through its “Powered by Sefaria” initiative. 

“I’m proud we were able to build something valued by such a wide spectrum of the Jewish community,” Septimus said about the organization’s accomplishments during his tenure as CEO. “Millions of people, of every age and background, have used Sefaria to explore corners of our library and tradition that were previously inaccessible to them.”

Septimus is excited by the prospect of AI opening up Jewish learning to even more people, he said. The organization recently released the first comprehensive English translation of Kli Yakar, the Torah commentary by Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim of Luntschitz.

“The opportunities for making Jewish texts even more accessible are truly staggering,” he said. “Today, just 24% of Sefaria’s Hebrew texts are available in English translation. With developments in AI, we have a path to translating everything. We’re also working on an AI agent for Sefaria that will help users find texts and engage meaningfully with them. The digital age has just begun, and Sefaria has a lot of critical work ahead of it.”

Prior to joining Sefaira, Septimus served as CEO of My Jewish Learning from January 2007 – July 2013, which merged with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in 2015 to form 70 Faces Media, which Septimus continues to support as a member of the executive committee. In addition, he serves as a trustee of The Rabbi Sacks Legacy and has served on the boards of the Luria Academy of Brooklyn and Encounter. 

Septimus hopes to continue to support Sefaria in the years to come, with his continued investment in what is now 70 Faces Media serving as a possible example.

“I like building great projects with great teams,” he said. “I’m planning to take a little time off, and then I’ll look for new problems to solve, new initiatives to build and new teammates to partner with.”