It’s nearly midnight, yet a steady stream of visitors continues to leave the apartment on Rechov Hapisga in Bayit V’Gan. Some came to pose halachic queries, others for hashkafic guidance or shalom bayis advice. The occupant of this modest apartment, to whom these throngs turn, is Rav Ezriel Auerbach, son of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, and prominent posek in his own right.
Rav Ezriel’s journey in Torah began at Yeshivas Eitz Chaim. When he turned 15, his father Rav Shlomo Zalman, in consultation with Rav Aryeh Levin, sent young Ezriel to study at Yeshivas Slabodka in Bnei Brak.
It was during this time that Rav Shach was appointed as rosh yeshivas Ponevezh. Rav Shach, who still resided in Yerushalayim at the time, would travel weekly to Bnei Brak with Rav Ezriel. During these journeys, Rav Shach would test the young scholar on various sugyos, which Rav Ezriel had already mastered at his tender age. Rav Shach often shared chiddushim from the Brisker Rav with his young traveling companion. When home for Shabbos, Rav Ezriel would engage in Torah discussions with the Brisker Rav himself, often focusing on the insights he had gleaned from Rav Shach. The Brisker Rav later expressed amazement to his sons at the depth of knowledge and understanding this young bachur possessed.
Rav Ezriel used to also frequently speak with the Chazon Ish in learning, and the Chazon Ish remarked that the young bachur was able to speak with lomdus aliba d’hilchesa, a skill uncommon even among older talmidei chachamim.
Rav Ezriel’s personality strongly resembles that of his saintly father, Rav Shlomo Zalman, who was world-renowned both as a posek and as a baal chesed, beloved by Jews from all walks of life. Today, Rav Ezriel is widely viewed as his father’s successor in the realm of psak.
In fact, when Rav Yehoshua Yeshaya Neuwirth was preparing to publish his groundbreaking sefer, Shmiras Shabbos K’hilchasah, he sought Rav Shlomo Zalman’s review. After making some notes, Rav Shlomo Zalman instructed the author to have Rav Ezriel review it before he would give his approbation—a testament to the trust he placed in his son’s halachic acumen.
When asked how Rav Shlomo Zalman would research shailos, Rav Ezriel smiles as he reminisces about his saintly father’s process as he delved into new technologies. “In order to be a posek one has to be a talmid chacham, a tzaddik, and a pike’ach. In order to pasken about new technologies, one has to delve into the metzius, the facts, to understand how it works and see what possible questions could arise. Often these were obvious but my father often saw new problems that others did not recognize.”
Rav Ezriel recalls that people did not always automatically accept some of his father’s psakim. “I specifically remember when people would argue about generators and opening bottles. Some people would get agitated but my father always remained calm and smiled warmly at the other party.”
Rav Ezriel also served as the right-hand man to his father-in-law, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, in matters of psak. Often, when faced with difficult questions, Rav Elyashiv would consult his son-in-law before issuing a final ruling. When Rav Elyashiv and Rav Shlomo Zalman disagreed on a halachic matter, they would often turn to Rav Ezriel as the deciding voice.
As a talmid of both his father and his father in law, Rav Ezriel had a unique vantage point of the two gedolei haposkim of the previous generation, and I ask him how their mehalchim compared. Rav Ezriel smiles, and responds, “Ein shnei neviim misnavim b’signun echad. They had some differences and one could say that Rav Elyashiv was more machmir, but they were largely on the same page. The places where they really diverged were in hilchos Shabbos and Yom Tov, where they disagreed on a number of issues.” Rav Ezriel adds that they often met to discuss shailos that came up with new inventions and technological innovations.
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