Religionשלמה זלמן אוירבך

rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach

Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was an Orthodox rabbi, halachic decisor and rosh yeshiva of the Kol Torah yeshiva in Jerusalem.

1910 to 1995Heading the Kol Torah yeshivaHalachic rulings on modern technologyThe book Meorei Esh

Born: 30 July 1910, Jerusalem
Died: 19 February 1995, Jerusalem
Occupation: rabbi
Education: Etz Chaim Yeshiva

rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was born in 1910 in Jerusalem

Auerbach was born in 1910 in the Sha'arei Hesed neighborhood of Jerusalem. His father, Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach, headed the Shaar Hashamayim yeshiva, and his mother was Tzivia. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Shlomo Zalman Porush, who founded the neighborhood.

He studied at the Etz Chaim Talmud Torah and yeshiva, where he was a student of Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer. After his marriage to Chaya Rivka Ruchamkin, he also studied at the kollel of Rabbi Zvi Pesach Frank. His first book, Meorei Esh, was the first work written on using electricity on Shabbat.

He became head of the Kol Torah yeshiva and held the post for 46 years, until his death. He turned down rabbinic posts, including the rabbinate of Jerusalem, and kept away from politics. He was president of the national center for family purity and won the Rabbi Kook Prize for Torah literature.

He died in Jerusalem in 1995 and was buried on Har HaMenuchot. Police estimated that about 300,000 people attended his funeral. The Ramat Shlomo neighborhood in Jerusalem is named after him.