Shlomo Shtencel

Rabbi Shlomo Shtentcel
Rabbi Shlomo Shtentcel Polish: Rabbi Szlama sztencel (1884-1919) served as Chief Rabbi of Tzelodz Poland and Rabbinical Judge and Rosh Yeshiva of Sosnovitz Poland. He is the author of Keheles Shloima and "Bais Shloima".
Illustrious Rabbinical Ancestry
*Rabbi Shlomo Shtentcel was born on 25 Av, 5644 (August 16, 1884) in Tzelodz in Tzelodz, Poland. Rabbi Shlomo’s father,Rabbi Chaim Dov (Berish) Shtentzel, was a distinguished disciple of the Radomsker Chassidic dynasty. Reb Chaim Dov's maternal grandfather, Rabbi Dov Berish Hertziger, conferred the title of Rebbe upon Rabbi Shlomo HaCohen Rabinovitch, the first Rebbe of the Radomsker Chassidic dynasty. Rabbi Dov Berish Hertziger, one of the greatest Torah scholars in Poland, served as the Chief Rabbi of Bendin and was renowned for his righteousness. Rabbi Hertziger was a disciple of Rabbi Avrohom Tzvi Pechnovski, Rabbi Yirmiyohu and the Chozeh of Lublin . Rabbi Hertziger was also a friend of the Yid Hakodosh of Pshischa and Rabbi Dovid of Lelov . A structure was constructed above Rabbi Hertziger's grave for those who came there to daven.
*Rabbi Shlomo’s mother, Rebbetzin Freidel Genendel, was the daughter of Rabbi Shweitzer from Bendin, an extremely wealthy and benevolent man. One of his famous charitable deeds was sending wagons of potatoes every Friday to the Divrei Chaim of for distribution to the poor. Freidel Genendel was born with a large birthmark under one of her eyes, which her parents feared might impede her marriage prospects. Freidel Genendel’s parents took her to the Divrei Chaim of for a blessing. The Divrei Chaim promised them that Freidel Genendel would merit that her husband and son would be Torah scholars. The blessing of the Divrei Chaim was fulfilled: both her husband, Reb Chaim Dov, and her son, Rabbi Shlomo, were Torah scholars.
*After their marriage, Reb Chaim Dov Shtentzel and Freidel Genendel settled in . Financially supported by his father-in-law, Reb Chaim Dov studied Torah without the burden of earning a livelihood. Several years later, Reb Chaim Dov, Freidel Genendel, and Freidel Genendel's parents moved to Tzelodz. They were among the first Jews to settle there. Upon their arrival in Tzelodz, Reb Chaim Dov followed the path of his father, Rabbi Shlomo 'Dayan' Shtentzel from , and served as a Rabbinical Judge. Since Reb Chaim Dov did not take money for serving as a Rabbinical Judge, he opened a grocery store to support his family. There he sat and studied Torah. Reb Chaim Dov barely spoke to his customers, who used to place their money on the table in front of him and leave .
*Freidel Genendel's sister, Miriam Kayle, married Reb Hendel Frommer. Their son, Arye Tzvi Frommer, became a renowned Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva . Rabbi Arye Tzvi Frommer and his first cousin, Rabbi Shtentcel, were childhood friends and remained close. Both cousins married in 5662 (1902). For the subsequent thirteen years they did not live near each other, but whenever possible, they made great efforts to meet and discuss matters of Jewish law. When Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel died at the age of 35, Rabbi Frommer established a close relationship with the orphaned children, and the children considered Rabbi Arye Tzvi almost like a father. Rabbi Frommer was also very involved in the first publication of Rabbi Shtentzel's manuscript - the Koheles Shlomo.
Child Prodigy
*From an early age, Rabbi Shlomo Sztencel was known as a child prodigy, and often profusely praised by his teachers. His father was told that the questions Shlomo asked were extraordinarily difficult to answer. When Shlomo was about six or seven, on the yahrzeit of his great grandfather Rabbi Yehuda Leib, his father took him to , where they davened in a small shul. Shlomo was a wild child and his antics disturbed the Chassidim. To chastise the child, one of the Chassidim challenged him, “I bet you don't even know who the first king of the Jewish people was!” The young Shlomo retorted, "Avimelech!" Assuming that the first king was Shaul , the listeners burst out laughing. The young Shlomo went to the bookcase, removed a sefer Shoftim and deftly opened it to chapter 9 verse 6 where the prophet Avimelech (many decades before King Shaul) is cited as king. The Chassidim were stunned, and they quickly searched to see if other prophets before Avimelech were also referred to as king. They found none. The boy asked his father, “Should I have answered Shaul? I knew that when I was four, and they don't even know about Avimelech!" The Chassidim were left astounded .
*When Shlomo was ten, he accompanied his father to visit the great Rabbi of Chentchin, Reb Chaim Berish gave the Rabbi a Kvittel listing his family members. When the Rabbi came to the name Shlomo, the Rabbi inquired about him. Reb Chaim Berish responded, "Shlomo is standing behind me." Since the room was very crowded, the Rabbi could not see Shlomo and requested that Shlomo be brought before him. When the great Rabbi of Chentchin saw the boy, he said, "Wow, wow". The Rabbi gazed at Shlomo for some time. Then the Rabbi, uncharacteristically, blessed the young Shlomo .
*At the age of eleven, Shlomo attended the yeshiva of Amstov, where Rabbi Efraim Tzvi Einhorn was the Rosh Yeshiva. The academic program at Amstov was very intense. The first morning study session started at five a.m. and lasted for five consecutive hours. Only at 10 a.m. did the boys daven shacharis, after which they finally ate breakfast. In 5657 (1897), several months before his bar mitzvah, Shlomo travelled to Berzeznitz to study with its' Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef HaCohen Rabinovitch , the author of Emes LeYaakov. Rabbi Rabinovitch was very fond of the young Shlomo, and treated him as his prize student. Several months later, when he was appointed Chief Rabbi of , Rabbi Rabinovitch took Shlomo with him. After studying with Rabbi Rabinovitch 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), Shlomo studied with the world renowned Avnei Nezer for six months. In the summer of 5661 (1901), Shlomo returned home to Tzelodz, where continued studying.
Marriage
Several days after his eighteenth birthday, on 9 Elul, 5662 (September 11, 1902), Shlomo Shtentzel married Miriam Baiyla Zweigenhaft, the daughter of Rabbi Efraim Mordechai Mottel Zweigenhaft. The Zweigenhaft family was renowned as a distinguished family of shochtim. Reb Efraim Mordechai Mottel's father, Rabbi Arye Menachem Zweigenhaft, was a shochet in . Rabbi Efraim Mordechai Mottel himself, at the young age of twenty-two or twenty-three, was chosen by Rabbi Yitzchak Kilman Chief Rabbi of to serve as Rabbi, Rabbinical Judge, and the shochet of the fledgling Jewish community of Sosnovitz. Three of Rabbi Efraim Mottel's sons, Rabbi Avrohom Yitschok, Rabbi Dovid and Rabbi Moshe Chaim, were also shochtim, and Rabbi Efraim Mordechai Mottel's grandson, Rabbi Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft, who would later become the son-in-law of Rabbi Shtentzel, was a shochet in Sosnovitz. Upon the recommendation of the Chasdei Dovid, Rabbi Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft was appointed one of Poland’s seven Rosh Hashochtim.
The birth of Rabbi Shlomo’s father-in-law, Reb Efraim Mottel, is a miraculous story. When Rabbi Efraim Mordechai Mottel’s mother, Miriam, was just a young girl, she became fatally ill. Miriam’s father, Rabbi Markovietzki , took her to the famous Maggid of Kozhnitz . The Maggid told Rabbi Markovietzki to leave his daughter under his care. Rabbi Markovietzki acceded to the Maggid’s request, and left his daughter with a Jewish maidservant to care for her in the home of the Maggid. Women prepared various herbs and medicines to cure Miriam. After Miriam recovered and returned home, the Jewish maidservant told that the Maggid would frequently hold little Miriam on his lap while he studied Torah. One time, the little girl tore a page of the gemoro which the Maggid was learning from. As soon as the young Miriam realised what she had done, she burst out crying. The Maggid trying to console her said, "You will grow up and marry a Torah scholar. You will have a son, a daughter, two sons, and later another son."
Indeed, Miriam matured and married a great Torah scholar, Rabbi Arye Menachem Zweigenhaft. They had a son, a daughter and two more sons, just as the Maggid had predicted. Yet, there was no last son as the Maggid had predicted. As time passed, Miriam had grown old and lost hope of having another child. Her husband, Reb Arye Menachem, would remorsefully say that because of his sins the Maggid's promise had not been fulfilled in its entirety. When Miriam was forty-nine years old, her menstrual cycle suddenly returned. At the age of fifty, Miriam gave birth to another son, Efraim Mordechai Mottel. The promise of the Kozhnitzer Maggid was fulfilled in its entirety. They then realized how carefully the Maggid had chosen his words when he said, “later” another son.
*Rabbi Efraim Mordechai Mottel was a disciple of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz, the Rebbe Reb Henech of Alexander, and the Avnei Nezer. When the Avnei Neizer would see Reb Efraim Mottel, he often said, “You are the Kozhnitzer miracle”. Reb Efraim Mottel was also a dear friend of the Shem MeShmuel . Reb Efraim Mottel married Doba Fishel, and they had six sons and two daughters. Their oldest daughter, Miriam Baiyla, married Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel.
Rabbi Shtentzel's Secret Diary
*After his marriage, Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel began writing a diary, in which he kept a "Cheshbon Hanefesh" (lit. a "reckoning of the soul" in hebrew). Rabbi Shlomo recorded how he served Hashem each day and also included all his 'sins'. The diary was kept under lock and key - absolutely no one, but himself, had access to the key. Rabbi Shtentzel’s family only discovered the diary after his untimely death. The contents of Rabbi Shlomo’s diary reveal his intense fear of Heaven. Rabbi Shlomo routinely repented for actions and thoughts which only a man of his stature would consider sins. His sons wrote that in the entire diary they did not find a single serious transgression,; only minor infractions, such as too much 'frivolous talk', or thinking about Torah subjects in forbidden places or times, or sporadically wasting moments he could have devoted to Torah study. Rabbi Shlomo once repented for waiting for a tea at the end of a meal which he felt he could have managed without. Another time, Rabbi Shlomo repented for conversing with someone for two minutes instead of studying with his students. Rabbi Shlomo also repented for neglecting to invite a poor man for a meal in his home.
*In his diary, Rabbi Shtentzel also wrote of incidents he was involved in. For example, there are several references to halachic queries he encountered. Elsewhere in the diary, Rabbi Shtentzel wrote that once on the way back from the mikvah, Polish soldiers beat him with a club, which broke upon beating him. Rabbi Shtentzel also related an episode when he had ruled that something was forbidden and a town member claimed that he had been told by a different Rabbi from Bendin that the same item was permitted. Rabbi Shtentzel suspected that the man was lying. This is what Rabbi Shtentzel wrote, "I heard that Mr. … sent the same question to the Rabbi in Bendin, and the Rabbi decided it was kosher. I sent a message to Mr. … suggesting we travel to Bendin together to settle the matter. If he doesn't agree to travel with me, I won't forgive him. I said to him "Remember!" Mr. … didn't want to go, but in truth I forgive everyone who causes me anguish. Mr. … is a Jew and has no evil intentions. He just mistakenly justifies his actions or perhaps, in his opinion, I deserve the anguish."
* Rabbi Pikarsky (the Rosh Yeshiva of Tomchei Temimim), was a very close disciple of Rabbi Shtentzel’s cousin, Rabbi Arye Tzvi Frommer and was one of only a handful to be granted semicha from Rabbi Frommer. In his eulogy of Rabbi Dr. Kalman Kalikstein (the husband of one of Rabbi Shtentzel's granddaughters), Rabbi Pikarsky related that he was once in Rabbi Frommer's house and saw Rabbi Frommer holding a notebook. Curious about the notebook, Rabbi Pikarski asked Rabbi Frommer what he was looking at. Rabbi Frommer told him about his cousin Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel who had passed away young and the notebook where Rabbi Shtentzel daily recorded his “sins”. Rabbi Frommer added, "It is interesting to see what he considered “sins".
*Rabbi Shlomo Sztentcel studied Torah around the clock. Rabbi Shtentzel devised a very detailed daily study plan, with specific times for the study of specific portions of various seforim. If on any given day Rabbi Shtentzel didn’t finish what he had planned, he would stay up until he completed his quota. Rabbi Shtentzel would also spend about fifteen minutes every night locked in his room pacing up and down while reflecting on how he had spent his day and how he could improve his service of Hashem. His children related that if they knocked on their father's door during this time, he would shout “Nu”, open and immediately close the door. They understood, their father did not want to be disturbed.
Chief Rabbi of Tzelodz
At the young age of twenty-one, Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel was appointed Rabbi of Tzelodz. Shortly after he became Rabbi, there was a family wedding of the Knesses Yecheskel, the Radomsker Rebbe, in Shetzakava. The Chief Rabbi of Machov attended the wedding. Although the Rabbi of Machov was an extremely old man, the Knesses Yecheskel asked him to accompany Rabbi Shtentzel back to Tzelodz. The Knesses Yecheskel was concerned that because Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel was so young, the townspeople might not accord Rabbi Shtentzel the appropriate respect. The Knesses Yecheskel thought it would help the townspeople respect their new young Rabbi if the venerable and elderly Chief Rabbi of Machov would accompany Rabbi Shtentzel and present a lecture there. When the Chief Rabbi of Machov took his leave from the Knesses Yecheskel, the latter told him, “If I weren’t busy with the wedding and other local issues, I would have accompanied Rabbi Shtentzel because he is worthy and deserving of such assistance .”
Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel served as the Rabbi of Tzelodz for only four years and left that post after the following incident. There were complaints that the person in charge of inspecting the shechita in the town disqualified many of the slaughtered animals. Rabbi Shlomo went to observe the shechita and saw that the hands of the veteran town shochet were unsteady, which disqualified his shechita. Rabbi Shlomo had no alternative, but to inform the veteran shochet that he would be relieved of his duties and a new shochet would be appointed. Sometime later, the elderly shochet came and complained to Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel that since his dismissal, he no longer had an income.
Rabbi Shlomo was moved by the shochet's despair and came up with a revolutionary solution. His friend and cousin, Rabbi Arye Tzvi Frommer, a great Torah scholar, was looking for a position as Rabbi. Rabbi Shtentzel, knowing that Rabbi Frommer had received a large dowry from his father-in-law , offered to 'sell' Rabbi Frommer his position as Rabbi in exchange for two years’ salary for the shochet. Rabbi Frommer agreed to the 'deal', and Rabbi Shtentzel gave the proceeds of the sale to the shochet. Rabbi Shtentzel himself was left without the money and without his position as Rabbi .
Rabbinical Judge and Rosh Yeshiva of Sosnowiec
Rabbi Shtentzel moved to the town of Sosnovitz and within a short time was appointed Rabbi, Rabbinical Judge, and Rosh Yeshiva. Rabbi Shtentzel lived in great poverty and some days didn't even have bread to eat . (The Chief Rabbi of Bendin, Rabbi Yissochor Berish Groibart, once demanded that the town increase Rabbi Shtentzel’s salary. Several townspeople met in the shul to voice their objection. Rabbi Shtentzel wrote in his diary that their “leader” incurred a heavenly punishment). Rabbi Shtentzel spent day and night studying and teaching. His sons wrote in their preface to the Koheles Shlomo that his life's desire was to teach Torah, as he had been doing since in his early days in Tzelodz.
*Nochom, Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel's son, while still a young boy had a medical problem with his leg. Rabbi Shtentzel travelled with him to Breslau . There, a famous expert, a professor told Rabbi Shtentzel that the boy's leg must be amputated immediately, otherwise the boy might die within 24 hours. Rabbi Shtentzel refused to allow the doctor to amputate his son's leg. The professor phoned Rabbi Dr. Rosenthal and asked him to come to the clinic to try to convince Rabbi Shtentzel to agree to the amputation. Rabbi Dr. Rosenthal came to the clinic and told Rabbi Shtentzel to trust the professor; after all, the professor is a very big expert and the best doctor in Breslau. So, Rabbi Shtentzel made a Goral to decide whether or not to amputate the leg. Rabbi Shtentzel took out a small Tehillim. The first time he opened his Tehillim, it opened to chapter 66 verse 6 which reads; "They will cross over by foot, there we will rejoice in Him". Rabbi Shtentzel opened the Tehillim a second time, and it opened to chapter 26 verse 12 which reads; "My leg stood firm on the straight path". The third time the Tehillim opened to chapter 94 verse 18 which reads; "Whenever I said my leg falters, your kindness Hashem supports me". After receiving such a clear answer, Rabbi Shtentzel left and took his son to Vienna. There the doctor said that the leg could be treated, and there is no need to amputate. Thanks to his father's piety, Nochum’s leg was saved, and as an indirect result of the medical treatment he subsequently needed, he was one of the two siblings to survive the war. In his diary, Rabbi Shtentzel wrote that he performed the Goral according to the sefer Dvash Lefi which cites the Yalkut Mishle as the source of this Goral .
*Due to his medical treatment, Nochum was away from home for several months at a time. Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Peretz Chayot, the Chief Rabbi of Trieste, took Nochum into his home and looked after him. When the First World War broke out, since Nochum was unable to travel home, he stayed with Rabbi Dr. Chayot and remained there throughout the war. During those years, Rabbi Dr. Chayot cared for Nochum and treated him like a son. When Rabbi Dr. Chayot later became the Chief Rabbi of Vienna, he took Nochum with him and until his last days continued to look after Nochum. When Rabbi Shlomo met Rabbi Dr. Chayot, both in Trieste and in Vienna, Rabbi Dr. Chayot treated him with great respect. He enjoyed Rabbi Shtentzel’s company very much, and they spent many hours together. People from Vienna told Rabbi Shtentzel's father that the Chief Rabbi used to praise Rabbi Shlomo very highly. As a result of his visits in Vienna, Rabbi Shtentzel also gained great respect from Rabbi Boimgarten, the Rabbi of the Yeraim community in Vienna .
*At the beginning of the First World War, a train engineer came to Rabbi Shtentzel with a halachic query. One of his parents had died and as a mourner, he was required to recite kaddish in a minyan. However, his work kept him traveling on trains and he could not daven in a minyan. Rabbi Shtentzel was suspicious that there was a more serious problem and asked the engineer what he does on Shabbos. In response, the engineer laughed and explained he had no option, either work or loose his job. Furthermore, he feared that during wartime he would have great difficulty finding another job. Rabbi Shtentzel expounded at length about the holiness of Shabbos and the great reward received for keeping Shabbos. The engineer was moved to tears, but replied that he didn't know what to do, especially with so many children at home to feed. Several weeks later, the engineer returned to Rabbi Shtentzel. This time he was shining with joy. The engineer explained that since Rabbi Shtentzel had clarified the importance of observing Shabbos, he was not at peace with himself. After extensive searching, he had found an even better paying job that did not involve desecrating Shabbos. The engineer wanted to give Rabbi Shtentzel a gift, but Rabbi Shtentzel would not accept it .
Illness and Untimely Death
*At the age of thirty-four, after ten years as Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva in Sosnovitz, Rabbi Shlomo became seriously ill. His doctor advised him to go to natural springs far away from his home. His father, Reb Chaim Dov, looked after him there. Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel died on 5 Ellul, 5679 (August 31, 1919) at the young age of thirty-five.
Publication of Rabbi Shtentzel's Manuscripts
Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel had mentioned many times that he didn't want any of his original Torah insights published before he reached the age of forty, when as the Mishna states a person acquires 'understanding '. Yet with the approval of several of the greatest Torah scholars in Europe, among them Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski and Rabbi Menachem Zemba, his sons decided to publish his Torah writings. Rabbi Shtentzel's father, Reb Chaim Berish, collected and prepared his son's writings for publication. The manuscript was then divided into two books, Koheles Shlomo and Beis Shlomo. Koheles Shlomo was published in the 5682 (1932), thirteen years after Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel died, and then republished in 5733 (1973), but the Beis Shlomo has never been published. The Beis Shlomo is currently being prepared for publication for the first time.
*While preparing this sefer for publication, there were several instances of Divine assistance. One clear instance happened when the sefer was ready for typesetting. The editor, having worked on the sefer for more than a year from the typed pages, was curious to see the scanned copies of the original hand-written manuscript. He started copying the 154 scanned pages onto his private computer, but soon realized that the transfer would take almost an hour. The editor, therefore, decided to postpone copying the scanned pages until he would have more time. However, before the editor had managed to abort the copying, two pages had already been copied. The next morning, the editor looked at the two scanned copies. He was shocked to find that these two pages of the manuscript had not been included in the final copy ready for typesetting. After investigation, he discovered that these two scanned copies were two sides of one page of the manuscript which for some reason had been overlooked and not typed. The entire manuscript was then rechecked to see if any other pages had been overlooked; but no other pages had been missed. The only page overlooked was this particular page, which had now almost miraculously been revealed.
*This incident, among others, was reminiscent of the similar miraculous incident of the Goral and the small Tehillim which saved the leg (and life) of Rabbi Shlomo Shtentzel's son, Nochum.

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