Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
The Rosh Yeshiva of Kol Torah and one of the foremost poskim of his generation, loved for his humility, warmth and middos.
Biography
Early years
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"l was born on 5670 (July 20, 1910) in Yerushalayim, where he lived his whole life. He was the first child born in the Shaarei Chesed neighborhood, which had been founded by his maternal grandfather, Rav Shlomo Zalman Porush, after whom he was named. His father, Rav Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach, was a great mekubal and the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Shaar HaShamayim, which was devoted to the study of Kabbalah. His mother was Rebbetzin Tzivia. His paternal grandfather, Rav Meir Auerbach, had been the Chief Rav of Kalish before settling in Eretz Yisroel, and in 1860 Rav Shmuel Salant appointed him to join him in the Ashkenazi rabbinate of Yerushalayim, where he served until his passing in 1878.
The family home held almost no possessions, since they had been sold to pay the debts Rav Chaim Yehuda Leib took on to support his yeshiva. The only time his children saw the family in tears was when he had to sell seforim from his large library.
By the age of eleven Rav Shlomo Zalman was already proficient in Gemara. As a teenager he learned in Yeshivas Eitz Chaim, where his remarkable diligence made him stand out as an exceptional student. He grew very close to the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer.
Torah and leadership
In 5690 (1930) Rav Shlomo Zalman married Rebbetzin Chaya Rivka, the daughter of Rav Aryeh Leib Ruchamkin. After his marriage he learned under Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank in Kollel Kerem Tzion, which focused on the halachos connected to Eretz Yisroel.
In 5707 (1947) Rav Yechiel Michel Schlesinger, the former Rosh Yeshiva, invited him to serve as Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Kol Torah. He stayed for nearly fifty years. His shiurim were known for their clarity, and thousands of talmidim were shaped by them. Among his better-known talmidim are his son-in-law Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl, the Rav of the Old City, and Rav Yehoshua Neuwirth, the well-known author and halachic authority.
Although he was recognized as one of the greatest halachic authorities of the century, he turned down offers to serve as a judge on the Supreme Rabbinical Court and refused to become the Chief Rav of either Israel or Yerushalayim. He had no material ambitions, did not look for power or honor, and avoided publicity. He supported Rav Meir Baal HaNeis and signed its public appeals together with colleagues such as the Steipler, Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, Rav Elazar Simcha Wasserman, Rav Dovid Povarsky, Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro and Rav Yechiel Michel Feinstein.
Rav Shlomo Zalman loved peace and pursued it. He was on good terms with everyone, and he kept friendly relations with many Torah leaders and Chassidic luminaries, who in turn greatly admired him for his purity, his tzidkus, his extraordinary middos and his standing as a halachic authority. He was wise and witty, with a sharp mind and a deep understanding of people. Both great talmidei chachamim and ordinary people felt that few could guide them better, on difficult halachic questions as well as on everyday troubles. Though he was flooded with questions from everywhere, he welcomed anyone who knocked at his door for counsel or comfort, and he asked nothing in return.
Teachings and seforim
In 5704 (1944), a year before shemittah, Rav Shlomo Zalman published Maadanei Eretz on the mitzvos connected with the land. His first major published work, Meorei Eish, printed in Yerushalayim in 1936, was the first ever written on the use of electricity on Shabbos. Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzensky of Vilna read it and praised it highly. His other works include his insights on the sefer Shev Shemateta by Rav Aryeh Leib HaKohen Heller and Kovetz Maamarim Be'inyanei Chashmal Beshabbos.
His halachic responsa were collected in Minchas Shlomo, which every talmid chacham and posek is expected to know. The first volume appeared in 1986 and the second in 2003. He also published many articles on halachic topics in Torah journals, and his teshuvos cover areas such as medicine and technology. He never issued a ruling without thoroughly examining the subject, and he consulted experts to understand the facts before ruling.
Most of his rulings were given orally and were never formally published. Many of them were gathered in the works of other authors, most famously Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah, which contains thousands of his rulings on hilchos Shabbos. His medical halachic rulings were also collected by three of his talmidim: Rav Yehoshua Neuwirth in Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah, Rav Dr. Abraham S. Abraham in Nishmas Avraham, and Rav Dr. Avraham Steinberg in Encyclopedia Hilchasis Refuis.
Later years and passing
After fifty-four years of marriage, the Rebbetzin passed away. At her levayah, Rav Shlomo Zalman said that it is customary to ask forgiveness of the deceased, but he had nothing to ask. In all their years of marriage, nothing had ever happened that required either of them to ask the other's forgiveness.
On 20 Adar I 5755 (February 20, 1995), Rav Shlomo Zalman was niftar. His levayah was one of the largest ever seen in Eretz Yisroel, with hundreds of thousands of people attending. A poor woman in Shaarei Chesed cried out, “Now who will say good morning to me every day?”
In his will he asked that his matzeivah be no higher than those of his parents. He allowed these words to be added to the stone: that he developed talmidim in Yeshivas Kol Torah and spread Torah to the many. If anyone wished to deliver a hesped, he asked that it be brief and contain no praise of him.
Legacy
Rav Shlomo Zalman and his wife raised ten children. His sons are Rav Shmuel Auerbach, a leading rav in Yerushalayim; Rav Ezriel Auerbach, a son-in-law of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv and a rav in Bayit Vegan; Rav Mordechai Auerbach, a rav in Tel Aviv; Rav Avrohom Dov Auerbach, a rav in Teveria; Rav Meir Simcha Auerbach, a posek and Rosh Yeshiva in Beitar Illit; Rav Yaakov Auerbach, a rav in Beis Shemesh; and Rav Baruch Auerbach, who published the complete works of Rav Yom Tov Algazi in 1999. Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, a leading posek in Eretz Yisroel, is his son-in-law. His brother-in-law, the famed Maggid of Yerushalayim, Rav Sholom Schwadron, married Rav Shlomo Zalman's sister Leah, and the two were learning partners and close friends for many years.
He lived simply and modestly, devoted to learning Torah and to the careful performance of mitzvos, and he gave his time and help to every Jew in need, whatever their affiliation. Many remember his small kindnesses. When his mother-in-law lost her sight and could no longer say the Tehillim she loved, he recorded the whole sefer for her. Shortly before his passing he told a young relative, “Learn well. Eat well. Sleep well. And always smile.” When he disagreed with someone, he never spoke against the person. He would only ask, “How can that be?” He disliked every title attached to his name.
Before he entered his house, Rav Shlomo Zalman would straighten his clothing. He once explained that if a man and woman are worthy, the Shechinah rests between them, and one must certainly honor the Shechinah. The Yerushalayim neighborhood Ramat Shlomo is named after him.
Stories
The Sigh of the Traveler
Rav Yitzchok Freiman once told how, on a very rainy day in Yerushalayim, he walked beside Rav Shlomo Zalman at a brisk pace on the way to shul. The Rav grew visibly tired, and as he stepped around the puddles, a small sigh escaped him.
He immediately caught himself and said aloud, “May Hashem not hear the tefillos of the travelers, we want rain.” He went on to explain the Gemara that speaks of the Kohen Gadol's prayer on Yom Kippur that Hashem not accept the tefillos of travelers. A tzaddik who is traveling would never ask for the rain to stop when it is needed, and a wicked person's prayer would not be accepted anyway. So whom was the Kohen Gadol worried about? An ehrlicher Yid who would not actually ask for the rain to stop, but might sigh at the discomfort. Such a small sigh from a good Jew can cause a great stir in Heaven, so be careful.
The New Hadas and the Old Mesorah
Rav Shmuel Havlin related that in one year there was a shortage of hadassim. A certain type of hadas was growing in many gardens in Yerushalayim, and it appeared to meet the requirements. It had three leaves at each level, and an expert horticulturalist confirmed that it belonged to the same genus and species as the hadas used for the mitzvah.
Only Rav Shlomo Zalman could rule on such a question, as a respected posek who did not avoid addressing modern technology and new developments. When the question was brought to him, he would not allow the new hadas. He explained that it was different from the one for which Klal Yisroel has a mesorah, a received tradition. Even if someone argued that the hadas we use today is the wrong one, we would still prefer it, because the new one has no mesorah. He said it was better for all of us to sit together with Klal Yisroel in Gehinnom than to sit alone in Gan Eden.
The Rosh Yeshiva and the Taxi Driver
Rav Dovid Nadav related an incident from 1984. When Rav Shlomo Zalman came to Kol Torah to give his shiur, bochurim often crowded around him, hoping to see him or ask a quick question. They noticed that the taxi driver was always able to speak with him for several minutes before the Rosh Yeshiva got out of the cab, and one day the conversation lasted ten minutes. The bochurim were envious and wondered what the Rosh Yeshiva could have to discuss with the driver for so long.
Rav Nadav gathered the courage to ask the young driver, who was not religious. The driver was astonished to learn that the passenger was a Rosh Yeshiva. He said he had met a kindly old man some years earlier who asked about his family and background. When the driver mentioned that he had once attended a religious school, the man asked if he remembered stories from Tanach, and the driver told him what he recalled from Bereishis. The old man listened with great interest, so each time since then the driver had studied more Tanach stories from children's books in order to tell him more. He had never imagined that his listener was a Rosh Yeshiva.
One of the Family
A man who had come from the former Soviet Union, with no relatives in Eretz Yisroel, attended every Auerbach family simchah with his whole family. When he was asked whether he was a distant relative, he told how it began.
Years earlier he had met Rav Shlomo Zalman, who asked about his background and his family. When the young man admitted that he had no family and was struggling alone in Eretz Yisroel, Rav Shlomo Zalman suggested that they become friends. His own schedule was very full, so he proposed that the man should meet and befriend his children. Then, at family simchos, the two could meet and continue their friendship.
The man did exactly that, and at each simchah he arrived with his family as one of the relatives and greeted his friend Rav Shlomo Zalman. He became so close to the family that when his wife gave birth early, he left all his children with the Auerbachs, since where else would they go but to his new family.
Akiva's Semichah
A couple once came to Rav Shlomo Zalman to ask about placing their son, who had special needs, in an institution. He asked what the boy himself thought, and they admitted they had never thought to ask him. Rav Shlomo Zalman was upset. He said they were about to take the boy out of his home and put him in an unfamiliar place with a strict routine, and that the boy needed encouragement, not a sense of being betrayed.
He asked to see the boy and asked his name. “Akiva,” the boy said. Rav Shlomo Zalman told him that his own name was Shlomo Zalman, that many people ask him for guidance, and that Akiva was going to a special school. He asked Akiva to be his representative there and to look after all the religious matters of his new home.
Then he gave the boy semichah, telling him that he was now a rabbi and asking him to use this honor wisely. Akiva stared at him, and his parents sat amazed.
The Widow's Crates
A widow kept the neighborhood grocery near Rav Shlomo Zalman's home for many years, and the work drained all her strength. Each day at first light, the delivery trucks unloaded her milk and cheese cartons at the curb, and she hauled them in by herself when she opened up.
One morning she was delighted to find the cartons already set down at her door, and her work became far lighter. It happened again the next day and every day after. At last she resolved to come in very early and thank the drivers herself.
That morning the drivers left the crates at the edge of the sidewalk as they always had. She stood wondering how the heavy crates had been moving themselves, when she saw Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, carrying his tallis bag beneath one arm. He lifted the crates in turn, carried them to the door of her store and then hurried off to shul.
If We Disagree, She Is Right
Rav Shlomo Zalman once told Rav Meir Goldvicht that in his youth he was easily irritated. As soon as he became engaged, he told his kallah that he wanted to set up a method that would keep him from ever getting angry, and he asked for her full support whatever the method might be. She agreed.
After the chuppah, when they were alone for the first time in the cheder yichud, he told her what it was. With a twinkle in his eye, he said that the method was that if they ever disagreed about anything, she would be right.
Seforim
- Meorei Eish: His first major published work, printed in Yerushalayim in 1936, the first ever written on the use of electricity on Shabbos, and endorsed by Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzensky.
- Maadanei Eretz: A work on the mitzvos connected with the land, published in 5704 (1944), a year before shemittah.
- Minchas Shlomo: His halachic responsa, in two volumes (1986 and 2003), covering areas such as medicine and technology.
- Kovetz Maamarim Be'inyanei Chashmal Beshabbos: A collection of his articles on the use of electricity on Shabbos.
- Insights on Shev Shemateta: His explanations and insights on the sefer Shev Shemateta by Rav Aryeh Leib HaKohen Heller.
Family & talmidim
Teachers: Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank
Talmidim: Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl, Rav Yehoshua Neuwirth
Children: Rav Shmuel Auerbach, Rav Ezriel Auerbach, Rav Mordechai Auerbach, Rav Avrohom Dov Auerbach, Rav Meir Simcha Auerbach, Rav Yaakov Auerbach, Rav Baruch Auerbach, A daughter, wife of Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg
Also on 20 Adar
All hilulos on 20 Adar ›Historical sources
- Hamodia, A Day in History (20 Adar I)
- HaTorah HaMesamachas (biography of Rav Shlomo Zalman)
- And From Jerusalem His Word (Rabbi Hanoch Teller, Feldheim)
- Jewish Action, Gentle Giant