page_title: Shlomo Sztencl
section_title: Biography
hierarchical_section_title: Shlomo Sztencl / Biography
caption_attribution_description: עברית: כריכת ספרו של הגאון מסוסנוביץ רבי שלמה שטענציל זצ"ל מחבר ספרים קהלת שלמה וספר בית שלמה
context_page_description: Shlomo Sztencl was a Polish Orthodox Jewish rabbi. He served as Chief Rabbi of Czeladź, Poland and Rav, dayan, and rosh yeshiva of Sosnowiec, Poland. He is the author of Koheles Shlomo and Beis Shlomo, the former published posthumously.
context_section_description: From an early age, Sztencl was known as a genius who could grasp difficult concepts with ease. At age 11, he was far advanced over his peers and his father sent him to the yeshiva of Amstov, which had a rigorous academic program. In 1897, several months before his bar mitzvah, Shlomo traveled to Berzeznitz to study with its Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef HaCohen Rabinovitch, author of Emes LeYaakov. 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 Klabotsk, 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), he studied with the Avnei Nezer for six months. In the summer of 5661 (1901), he returned home to Czeladź.
  Several days after his eighteenth birthday, on September 10, 1902, Sztencl married Miriam Bayla, daughter of Rabbi Efraim Mordechai Mottel Zweigenhaft. The Zweigenhaft family was renowned as a distinguished family of shochtim. Following his marriage, Sztencl began writing a diary, in which he kept a cheshbon hanefesh (lit. "soul-reckoning"), accounting for every minute of his time. This diary was kept under lock and key and was discovered only after his death. The contents of Sztencl's diary reveal his intense fear of Heaven. He routinely repented for actions and thoughts which only a man of his stature would consider sins, such as too much "frivolous talk", or thinking about Torah subjects in forbidden places or times, or wasting moments he could have devoted to Torah study. He also repented for neglecting to invite a poor man for a meal in his home.
  At the young age of 21, Sztencl was appointed Rabbi of Czeladź. Four years later, he moved to the town of Sosnowiec and was appointed Rabbi and dayan. He also led a yeshiva with many students. He was highly respected, and some of his halachic rulings were printed in leading religious publications of the era.
  At age 34, after ten years in Sosnowiec, Sztencl became seriously ill. His doctor advised him to go to natural springs far away from his home. His father looked after him there. Sztencl died on August 31, 1919 (5 Elul 5679) at the age of 35.
caption: Front cover of Torah Novellae of the Genius From Sosnowiec, comprising Sztencl's two works, Beis Shlomo and  Koheles Shlomo.
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