Shlomo Sztencl (, ; August 16, 1884 – August 31, 1919) was a Polish

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

rabbi. He served as

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

Czeladź Czeladź () is a town in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie (part of historic Lesser Poland), in southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. Located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Brynica river (tributary of the Vistula), it is the oldest urban center ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Rav ''Rav'' (or ''Rab'', Modern Hebrew: ) is the Hebrew generic term for a person who teaches Torah or is a Jewish spiritual guide or a rabbi. For example, Pirkei Avot (in the Talmud) states (1:6) that: The term ''rav'' is also Hebrew for ''rabbi ...

, '' dayan'', and

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Metropolis GZM municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Re ...

, Poland. He is the author of ''Koheles Shlomo'' and ''Beis Shlomo'', the former published posthumously.

Family background

Sztencl was born on 16 August 1884 (25 Av 5644) in Czeladź, Poland to Chaim Dov (Berish) Sztencl of Czeladź, a Radomsker

hasid Ḥasīd (, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Honorifics in Judaism, Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in hi ...

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

. Sztencl had one brother, the

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

poet Avraham Nochum, and two sisters, Esther and Tsime.

Biography

In 1897, several months before his

bar mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

, Shlomo traveled to Berzeznitz to study with its Chief Rabbi, Yaakov Yosef HaCohen Rabinovitch, author of ''Emes LeYaakov''. Several months later, when Rabinovitch was appointed Chief Rabbi of Klabotsk, he took Sztencl with him. After for a year and a half, Shlomo returned to the yeshiva of Amstov to study for another year. In the winter of 5661 (1900–1901), he studied with

Avrohom Bornsztain Avrohom Bornsztain (14 October 1838 – 20 February 1910), also spelled Avraham Borenstein or Bernstein, was a leading posek in late-nineteenth-century Europe and founder and first Rebbe of the Sochatchover Hasidic dynasty. He is known as th ...

for six months. In the summer of 1901 he returned home to Czeladź. Several days after his eighteenth birthday in 1902, Sztencl married Miriam Bayla, daughter of Rabbi Efraim Mordechai Mottel Zweigenhaft. Following his marriage, Sztencl began writing a diary, in which he kept a ''cheshbon hanefesh'' (lit. "soul-reckoning"), which was discovered only after his death. At the age of 21 Sztencl became rabbi of Czeladź. Four years later he moved to

and was appointed rabbi and '' dayan'' (religious judge). He also led a yeshiva. Sztencl died on August 31, 1919 (5

Elul Elul (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard , Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ) is the twelfth month of the civil year and the sixth month of the Jewish religious year, religious year in the Hebrew calendar. It is a m ...

5679) at the age of 35.

Family

Sztencl is the father of

Yonah Sztencl Yona Sztencl (, ; August 3, 1904 – July 5, 1969) was an Orthodox rabbi who founded the Mishnah Yomis and the Halacha Yomis. He also served as the rabbi of Congregation Bais Hassidim Arlenger in Tel Aviv and was a member of the Chief Rabbinat ...

and of Ester (1913-1943), the wife of

Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft (Hebrew: ) was a rabbi and Rosh Hashochtim of Poland (overseeing the country's kosher slaughterers) before the Holocaust. After the Holocaust he was Chief Rabbi of Hanover and Lower Saxony. After emigrating to the United S ...

.Chidushei Hagaon M'sosnovitz, Jerusalem 2013 (Hebrew) page 18

Works

Sztencl's father collected and prepared his son's writings for publication. The manuscript was then divided into two books: ''Koheles Shlomo'' and ''Beis Shlomo''. The former was published in 1932 and reprinted in 1973 by his Israeli descendants. In 2013 ''Beis Shlomo'' was published for the first time in one volume together with ''Koheles Shlomo'' in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. The book was entitled ''Chidushei Hagaon M'sosnovitz'' (Novelle of the Genius of

).http://seforim.blogspot.com/2013/10/new-seforim.html (retrieved December 2013 File:הסכמת רבי חיים עוזר עבור הגאון מסוסנוביץ.jpg, Rabbi

Chaim Ozer Grodzinski Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (; August 24, 1863 – August 9, 1940) was a '' Av beis din'' (rabbinical chief justice), ''posek'' (halakhic authority), and Talmudic scholar in Vilnius, Lithuania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for over 55 years. ...

's approval of ''Kohelet Shlomo'' File:הסכמת הרב אריה צבי פרומר עבור הגאון מסוסנוביץ.jpg, Rabbi

Aryeh Tzvi Frumer Aryeh Tzvi Frumer (; also spelled ''Fromer'' or ''Frommer''; 18842 May 1943) was a leading Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva, and posek ( halachic authority) in 20th-century Poland. Known as the Kozhiglover Rav after his short term as Rav of Kozieg� ...

's approval of one of Sztencl's books

References

External links

One of his books at Wikisource
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sztencl, Shlomo 1884 births 1919 deaths Hasidic rosh yeshivas 20th-century Polish rabbis Polish Orthodox rabbis People from Czeladź People from Sosnowiec