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Shlomo Zalman Auerbach



 
 
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (July 20 1910 - February 20 1995) (Hebrew: ???? ???? ??????), was a renowned Rabbi
Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
, Posek
Posek

Posek is the term in Halakha for "decider"?a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive....
 and Rosh Yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the Dean of a Yeshiva . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh ? meaning head, and yeshiva ? a school of religious Jewish education....
 of the Kol Torah yeshiva in Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
.

i Auerbach was the first child to be born in the Shaarei Chesed neighborhood of Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
 founded by his maternal grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Porush
Shlomo Zalman Porush

Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Porush, , was born in Bobruysk, Russian Empire in 1850 to his father Rabbi Naftali Zvi Porush and mother Leah . He died in Jerusalem in 1898 and is buried on the Mount of Olives....
, after whom he was named.His father, Rabbi Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach
Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach

Rabbi Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach was one of the founders and first rosh yeshiva of Shaar Hashamayim Yeshiva, a landmark Jerusalem institution specializing in Talmudic and kabbalah studies for Ashkenazi Jews scholars....
, was rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the Dean of a Yeshiva . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh ? meaning head, and yeshiva ? a school of religious Jewish education....
 of Shaar Hashamayim Yeshiva, and his mother was Rebbetzin Tzivia.

By the age of eleven he was proficient in the entire talmudic tractate
Tract (literature)

A tract is a literature, and in current usage, usually religious in nature. The notion of what constitutes a tract has changed over time. By the early part of the twenty-first century, these meant small pamphlets used for religious and political purposes, though far more often the former....
 of Kiddushin.






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Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (July 20 1910 - February 20 1995) (Hebrew: ???? ???? ??????), was a renowned Rabbi
Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
, Posek
Posek

Posek is the term in Halakha for "decider"?a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive....
 and Rosh Yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the Dean of a Yeshiva . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh ? meaning head, and yeshiva ? a school of religious Jewish education....
 of the Kol Torah yeshiva in Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
.

Biography

Rabbi Auerbach was the first child to be born in the Shaarei Chesed neighborhood of Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
 founded by his maternal grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Porush
Shlomo Zalman Porush

Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Porush, , was born in Bobruysk, Russian Empire in 1850 to his father Rabbi Naftali Zvi Porush and mother Leah . He died in Jerusalem in 1898 and is buried on the Mount of Olives....
, after whom he was named.His father, Rabbi Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach
Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach

Rabbi Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach was one of the founders and first rosh yeshiva of Shaar Hashamayim Yeshiva, a landmark Jerusalem institution specializing in Talmudic and kabbalah studies for Ashkenazi Jews scholars....
, was rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the Dean of a Yeshiva . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh ? meaning head, and yeshiva ? a school of religious Jewish education....
 of Shaar Hashamayim Yeshiva, and his mother was Rebbetzin Tzivia.

By the age of eleven he was proficient in the entire talmudic tractate
Tract (literature)

A tract is a literature, and in current usage, usually religious in nature. The notion of what constitutes a tract has changed over time. By the early part of the twenty-first century, these meant small pamphlets used for religious and political purposes, though far more often the former....
 of Kiddushin. As a teenager he attended the Etz Chaim Yeshiva
Etz Chaim Yeshiva

Etz Chaim Yeshiva is an orthodox yeshiva located on Jaffa Road close to the Mahane Yehuda Market in downtown Jerusalem....
 in Jerusalem. He was known for his diligence which is illustrated by an event which occurred while he was in yeshiva. On the day the first automobile
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
 rolled into Jerusalem along the Jaffa Road
Jaffa Road

Jaffa Road is one of the longest and oldest streets in Jerusalem. It crosses the city from east to west, from the Old City walls to downtown Jerusalem, the western portal of Jerusalem and the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway....
, all the students left their studies to marvel at the horse-less wagon. Only young Shlomo Zalman remained in his chair immersed in his studies. Following his marriage he studied under Rabbi Zvi Pesach Frank at Kollel
Kollel

A kollel is an institute for advanced Torah study of the Talmud and of rabbinic literature for Jewish men, essentially a post-graduate yeshiva which pays married men a regular monthly stipend or annual salary to study Judaism's classic texts in depth....
 Kerem Tzion which focused on the laws of the Land of Israel
Land of Israel

For other uses, see Israel The Land of Israel is the region which, according to the Hebrew Bible, was promised by God to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson....
.

His first major published work, Meorei Esh, was the first ever written on the subject of using electricity on Shabbat
Shabbat

Shabbat or Shabbos , is the weekly day of rest in Judaism, symbolizing the seventh day in Genesis, after the six days of creation. Though it is commonly said to be the Saturday of each week, it is observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night....
. The work was endorsed by Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski

Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski was a world renowned pre-war Dayan, Posek and Talmudic scholar in Vilnius....
 who read it and declared: "Or chadash al Tziyon ta'ir" — "A new light will shine upon Zion" — a quote from the daily morning prayers
Jewish services

Jewish services are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
.

He had a close association with Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski

Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski was a world renowned pre-war Dayan, Posek and Talmudic scholar in Vilnius....
, as well as the Chazon Ish and Rabbi Elazar Menachem Shach, the two iconic and preeminent leaders of Haredi Judaism of the first and middle segments of the 20th century. He became the pre-eminent Halachic decisor of his time in Israel, respected by all streams of Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism is a Jewish denominations of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict constructionist and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim....
. He was unique in his approach to Halacha through thought experiment
Thought experiment

A thought experiment , sometimes called a Gedanken experiment, is a proposal for an experiment that would test or illuminate a hypothesis or theory....
s.

Renowned for his lucid classes as Rosh Yeshiva, his thousands of students continue to influence the Torah world today. An estimated 300,000 - 500,000 people attended his funeral in 1995.

Children

Rabbi Auerbach had seven sons and several daughters. Among his children are:
  • Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach
    Shmuel Auerbach

    Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach is a prominent Haredi Judaism rabbi living in Jerusalem, Israel. He is regarded as one of the leading non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jews rabbis today....
     is a leading authority of the Degel HaTorah
    Degel HaTorah

    Degel HaTorah is an Ashkenazi Jews Haredi Judaism List of political parties in Israel in Israel. For much of its existence it has been allied to Agudat Israel under the name United Torah Judaism....
     political party
  • Rabbi Ezriel Auerbach
    Ezriel Auerbach

    Rabbi Ezriel Auerbach is a prominent Haredi rabbi and Posek who lives in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem. He is the son of Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, and son-in-law of Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, two world-renowned Poskim. ...
     is a son-in-law of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv
  • Rabbi Mordechai Auerbach is the pulpit Rabbi of Avir Ya'akov in Tel Aviv
    Tel Aviv

    Tel Aviv-Yafo , usually Tel Aviv, is the List of largest cities and second largest cities by country List of cities in Israel in Israel, with an estimated population of 390,100....
  • Rabbi Avraham Auerbach is a Rabbi in Tiberias
    Tiberias

    Tiberias is a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Lower Galilee, Israel. It was named in honour of the emperor Tiberius....
  • Rabbi Meir Simcha Auerbach is a posek and Rosh Yeshiva in Betar Illit
    Betar Illit

    Beitar Illit is an Israeli settlement and List of cities in Israel west of Gush Etzion in northern Judea region of the West Bank.Located south of Jerusalem, Beitar Illit was established in 1985 and initially settled by a small group of young families from the Religious Zionism yeshiva of Machon Meir, including that of Rabbi Reuven Hass ....
  • Rabbi Ya'akov Auerbach is a Rabbi in Beit Shemesh
  • Rabbi Baruch Auerbach published the complete works of Rabbi Yom Tov Algazi in 1999.
    • Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg
      Zalman Nechemia Goldberg

      Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg is a rabbi, posek, and Rosh Yeshiva in Israel. The scion of a Lithuanian Jews family, Rabbi Goldberg is also a son-in-law of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach....
       is a leading posek
      Posek

      Posek is the term in Halakha for "decider"?a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive....
       in Israel and is the son-in-law of Rav Shlomo Zalman (see Hebrew article)


He was the brother-in-law of Rabbi Sholom Schwadron
Sholom Schwadron

Rabbi Sholom Schwadron was known as the "Maggid of Jerusalem" for the fiery, inspirational mussar talks he delivered to large audiences in the Zichron Moshe shtiebel near downtown Jerusalem for more than four decades....
, who married his sister Leah. The two shared a long and close relationship as learning partners and personal friends.

Prominent students

  • Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg
    Zalman Nechemia Goldberg

    Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg is a rabbi, posek, and Rosh Yeshiva in Israel. The scion of a Lithuanian Jews family, Rabbi Goldberg is also a son-in-law of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach....
    , his son in law.
  • Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl
  • Rabbi Yehoshua Neuwirth
    Yehoshua Neuwirth

    Rabbi Yehoshua Yeshaya Neuwirth is an Orthodox Judaism rabbi in Jerusalem. He is one of the top students of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach....


Works

Sefarim authored by Rabbi Auerbach include:
  • Meorei Eish, a pioneering work concerning electricity
    Electricity

    Electricity is a general term that encompasses a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena such as lightning and static electricity, but in addition, less familiar concepts such as the electromagnetic field and electromagnetic induction....
     in halacha, (1935)
  • Ma'adanei Eretz, a two-volume book regarding agricultural halacha, (1946)
  • Minchas Shlomo (responsa
    Responsa

    Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them....
    ), first volume (1986), second volume (2003)
  • Minchas Shlomo, a commentary on the Talmud
    Talmud

    The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Halakha, Jewish ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....


He also authored a commentary on Shev Shema'tata
Shev Shema'tata

Shev Shema'tata , sometimes pronounced Shev Shmaytsa, is a work on Talmudic logic and methodology by R. Aryeh Leib HaCohen Heller. The name of the book is Aramaic, and means "seven passages" ....
, which itself is a work of novellae on the Talmud by Rabbi Aryeh Leib HaCohen Heller
Aryeh Leib HaCohen Heller

Aryeh Leib Hacohen Heller was a Rabbi, Talmudist, and Halakha in Galicia . He was known as as "the Ketzos" based on his greatest work, Ketzos Hachoshen, ???? ?????....
. Many of Rabbi Auerbach's students have written their own works, but primarily based on his halachic decisions. They include: Shulchan Shlomo, Nishmat Avraham (on Jewish medical ethics
Jewish medical ethics

Jewish medical ethics is a modern scholarly and clinical approach to medical ethics that draws upon Jewish thought and teachings. Pioneered by Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits in the 1950s, Jewish medical ethics centers mainly around an applied ethics drawing upon traditional halakhah....
), Halichot Shlomo, and Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah
Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah

Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah, also pronounced Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah, is a book of halachah authored by Rabbi Yehoshua Yeshaya Neuwirth, which discusses the laws of Shabbat and Yom Tov....
 (on the laws of Shabbos).

External links