Rabbi David Stav Recounts Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach's Unique Rulings

Rabbi David Stav, chairman of the Tzohar organization, shared personal anecdotes and significant halachic rulings of the late Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach in an interview on the "Big View" podcast. Stav recounted a humorous incident from his student days when he asked Rabbi Auerbach about shaving on Chol Hamoed (intermediate days of a festival). Rabbi Auerbach, who considered electric shavers akin to razors, initially responded by questioning why Stav would even consider shaving, before laughing when Stav clarified he was asking specifically about Chol Hamoed.

Stav also highlighted Rabbi Auerbach's humility, noting his willingness to refer questioners to other rabbis when he felt they could provide a more suitable answer, such as directing someone to Rabbi Waldenberg if he was lenient on a particular matter. This demonstrated Rabbi Auerbach's commitment to finding the best halachic guidance for individuals.

A particularly dramatic and lesser-known ruling involved a cardiologist who wished to move to the settlement of Bnei Dror, where Stav was then the rabbi. The doctor's condition was that he must be allowed to return home from Kaplan Hospital on Shabbat after emergency calls, to avoid being stuck at the hospital during Shabbat. Stav approached Rabbi Auerbach, aware of the differing opinions between Rabbi Auerbach and Rabbi Moshe Feinstein on the matter. Rabbi Auerbach inquired if there was another doctor in Bnei Dror. Upon learning there was not, he decisively ruled that a settlement cannot be without a doctor, and the need for a doctor constitutes a life-threatening situation, thus permitting the cardiologist to return home on Shabbat.

Stav concluded by expressing admiration for Rabbi Auerbach's "state-level, pan-Israeli perspective" in his rulings, particularly concerning the laws of saving a life (pikuach nefesh), calling it an "out-of-the-box" decision.