Rav Moshe Shternbuch shlit”a’s position on contemporary Techeiles appears to have changed considerably over the years. Earlier on, he was strongly opposed to wearing it. A talmid who learned in his yeshiva for three years relates that in 5777, when he asked about beginning to wear Techeiles, Rav Shternbuch responded firmly that there was no reason to do so. By the following year, however, when several bachurim in the yeshiva had begun wearing it, Rav Shternbuch’s response had softened: there was no need to follow their practice, but neither should anyone interfere with a bachur who chose to wear it.
By 5779, rumors were already circulating in the yeshiva that Rav Shternbuch himself had begun wearing Techeiles occasionally. When one of the Rabbanim asked him whether he had retracted his opposition, Rav Shternbuch replied that he had never been strongly opposed, although he still said that adopting the practice was “not advisable.” Not long afterward, two of his grandsons independently confirmed that he was in fact wearing Techeiles from time to time.
The Techeiles tallis katan itself came from Rav Yechezkel Toporovitch, who personally supplied the strings for Rav Shternbuch and sent them through Rav Michael Levi and Rav Shternbuch’s son Rav Chaim Ozer. Rav Toporovitch relates that Rav Shternbuch originally received the strings according to the shittah of Tosafos, but after looking into the matter further switched to the Raavad’s shittah. Rav Avrohom Gross independently reported the same change, explaining that Rav Shternbuch preferred the Raavad because of the Gra.
Rav Toporovitch also reports that Rav Chaim Ozer told him that his father had said it could be publicized that he was “no longer opposed as he once was.” According to his information, Rav Shternbuch wore the Techeiles from time to time, and there were periods when he reportedly put it on every day before davening.
This fits with a number of other independent reports. Rav Daniel Travis once asked Rav Shternbuch directly about Techeiles, and Rav Shternbuch answered simply, “אני לובש לפעמים” — “I wear it sometimes.” He did not elaborate on how frequently. His grandson Dovid later confirmed that Rav Shternbuch possesses tzitzis with Techeiles. A 2023 pamphlet, Nimtza HaTecheiles, likewise records that after Rav Shternbuch heard some of the arguments made by supporters of contemporary Techeiles, he said that he was no longer so opposed to it and that he himself sometimes tried to wear it privately.
Other talmidim, grandchildren and attendants have given somewhat different descriptions of how often he wears it. Some reported that he would periodically put it on, make a bracha and then remove it; others described periods when he wore it more regularly. These accounts are not necessarily contradictory. His practice appears to have varied over time.
Lemaaseh, the situation today is fairly straightforward. Rav Shternbuch has one known tallis katan with Techeiles—the pair prepared for him by Rav Yechezkel Toporovitch—and he wears it sometimes. At his present advanced age, however, he is dependent on others to bring him his tzitzis in the morning. His son Rav Chaim Ozer wears Techeiles and is supportive of his father wearing it, while another son, Rav Osher, is opposed. In practical terms, which pair Rav Shternbuch wears on a given morning can depend upon which son is getting his tzitzis for him that day.
The important distinction is that Rav Shternbuch’s personal practice should not be confused with a public psak that others should wear Techeiles. His earlier opposition clearly softened after he looked into the issue further, he obtained a Techeiles tallis katan of his own, and he has worn it on numerous occasions. Nevertheless, he has not instructed others to wear it and has even continued, at least at one stage, to say that doing so was not advisable.
In short: Rav Moshe Shternbuch has a tallis katan with Techeiles from Rav Yechezkel Toporovitch (who happens to have also been born in Great Britain like R’ Shternbuch, having lived there for eight years), wears it sometimes, and is no longer opposed to Techeiles as he once was—but he has not told others that they should wear it.
About Wearer
From Wikipedia:
Moshe Sternbuch (or Moishe / Moses Shternbuch, Hebrew: משה שטרנבוך) is a Haredi rabbi. He serves as the Ra’avad (Chief) of the Edah HaChareidis, vice-president of the Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem, and the rabbi of the Gra Synagogue in the Har Nof neighbourhood.
Early life
Moshe Sternbuch was born on 15 February 1926 (24 Shevat) in London, one of 9 children of Osher Sternbuch, an Orthodox Jewish merchant, and Devorah. His parents hosted numerous rabbis who came to London to raise money for their yeshivas, among them Elchonon Wasserman, who after learning with Sternbuch declared that he was a davar sheyeish bo mamash (a boy of substance). He was tested in learning every Shabbat by Yechezkel Abramsky, who predicted he would one day become a moreh hora’ah (posek). Before long he was known as the Londoner Illui (prodigy).Osher died in 1939 at the age of 39, leaving behind his eldest child of 18 years, the 10-year-old Sternbuch, and the youngest only two. In 1940, he entered the Toras Emes yeshiva in Stamford Hill, of which Moshe Schneider was the rosh yeshiva, where he would remain for ten years. He studied there with Bezalel Rakow, who was later to become the Gateshead Rov, Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss, his future colleague in the Edah HaChareidis, and future Olympia and York businessman Paul Reichmann.
“On the day of your becoming a gadol, our blessing is that you should grow and succeed to be a true gadol in Torah and fear of Heaven, as well as a source of pride to your glorious family. Please accept our good wishes and this gift that is given with love. And when you are older and your name will become ‘known in Yehudah,’ you will remember us whenever you learn this sefer.”
-Inscription inside volume of Noda Biyhudah presented to Sternbuch by Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler upon his Bar Mitzvah
Sternbuch’s family fled London during World War II due to The Blitz. They moved to a small nearby village where he shared a room with Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, author of Michtav me-Eliyahu, who predicted that Sternbuch would someday be one of the gedolei hador (greatest of the generation).
Due to the increasing threat of a Nazi invasion of Britain, Sternbuch’s mother made attempts to arrange his safe passage to Canada or the United States. She asked Elyah Lopian, a rosh yeshiva from the East End of London, for advice on whether or not to allow her son to board what was to be the last passenger ship sailing for America till the war’s end. Lopian offered to perform a goral haGra to divine the move’s possibility for success, but as he was unable to accompany the solemn ceremony that day with the required fasting, the ship departed without Sternbuch, only to sink with 300 children aboard.
Rabbinic career
After the war, Sternbuch decided to travel to the Land of Israel via France and Italy to study the Torah as taught in the Brisk yeshiva. He enrolled in the Hebron Yeshiva, simultaneously cultivating relationships with leading rabbis Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik (in 1952), Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz (the Chazon Ish) and Dov Berish Weidenfeld, all of whom he used to meet with regularly in their homes.
After their marriage in 1954, the Sternbuchs moved to an apartment in Jerusalem next to Soloveitchik. The young Sternbuch was appointed rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Hamasmidim there. In 1960, after Soloveitchik’s death, they moved to Bnei Brak, where they were to reside for the next 20 years. Yechezkel Abramsky urged Sternbuch to devote himself to strengthening Torah study in Rosh HaAyin, a nearby town with a substantial Yemenite Jewish immigrant population. Foregoing an opportunity to establish an elite kollel in Bnei Brak, he established one in Rosh HaAyin instead. He founded Beit Olot, a home for immigrant Mizrahi girls on the model of Bayit L’Pleitot [he], a similar home for Ashkenazi girls.
In 1980, Sternbuch took up a position in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was very involved in outreach there, including his noted lectures to those in the medical field, leaving a deep impression on many people. When he later moved to Jerusalem, many of these South Africans joined him in his new location in the Har Nof neighbourhood.
Sternbuch currently serves as the Vice-President of the Rabbinical Court and the Ra’avad (Chief) of the Edah HaChareidis in Jerusalem. He resides in the Har Nof neighbourhood, where he is the rabbi of the local Gra Synagogue, named after the Vilna Gaon of whom he is a direct descendant.
Personal life
In 1954, Sternbuch married the daughter of Yaakov Schechter, an acquaintance of the Chazon Ish. Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik and Chanoch Ehrentreu were his brothers-in-law.
Opinions
Edit
Sternbuch strongly opposes secular Zionism and was against Israel’s establishment. He is of the view that there is no connection between the existence of a Jewish state and the beginning of the redemption of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel which will precede the Messianic Era.
In September 2018, Sternbuch blasted British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis for publishing an educational pamphlet warning against LGBT bullying in Orthodox schools. Sternbuch viewed this move as advocacy for the LGBT lifestyle.
Published works
Shternbuch, Moshe. Moadim Uzmanim (9 Vol) (in Hebrew). Nesivos HaTorah VeHaChesed. – Commentary on the Jewish holidays
Shternbuch, Moshe. Ta’am VeDaas Al HaTorah (3 Vol) (in Hebrew). Jerusalem, Israel. – Commentary on the Torah
Shternbuch, Moshe (2001). Haggadah Shel Pesach: Ta’am VeDa’as (in Hebrew). Jerusalem, Israel. – Commentary on the Passover haggadah
Shternbuch, Moshe. Teshuvos VeHanhagos (7 Vol) (in Hebrew). – Questions and answers on the Shulchan Aruch
Shternbuch, Moshe. Chochma VeDaas (2 Vol) (in Hebrew).
Shternbuch, Moshe. HaDerech LiTeshuva (in Hebrew).
Shternbuch, Moshe. Birkas HaChamah (in Hebrew).
Shternbuch, Moshe. Erev Pesach SheChal B’Shabbos Ve’Purim Me’shulash (in Hebrew).
Shternbuch, Moshe. Orchos HaBayis (in Hebrew). – Laws of the home
Shternbuch, Moshe. Rav Moshe Speaks.
Shternbuch, Moshe. Commentary on the Shev Shmaytsa (in Hebrew).
Shternbuch, Moshe. Hilchos HaGr”a U’minhagav (in Hebrew). – Laws and customs of the Vilna Gaon
Shternbuch, Moshe (2007). Stam Ke’Hilchasan (in Hebrew). Jerusalem, Israel. – Laws of writing a sefer torah, tefillin, and mezuzah.
Shternbuch, Moshe. A Voice in the Darkness Harav Moshe Sternbuch Speaks on Contemporary Issues (In English). Jerusalem, Israel: Feldheim.]
Shternbuch, Moshe. Talks on the Weekly Sedra, Taste and Know (In English). Jerusalem, Israel.]
Shternbuch, Moshe. Laws of Jewish Family Life Laws Niddah (In English). Jerusalem, Israel.].
References
Frankfurter 2018, p. 42.
Yated Ne’eman: 1 Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine; 2 Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine
“Deiah veDibur:The Gateshead Rov”. Archived from the original on 2006-10-28. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
Frankfurter 2018, p. 44.
Frankfurter 2018, p. 46.
Frankfurter 2018, p. 48.
Frankfurter 2018, p. 54.
Frankfurter 2018, p. 56.
Yated Ne’eman: 1 Archived 2006-10-28 at the Wayback Machine, 2 Archived 2007-08-08 at the Wayback Machine, 3 Archived 2007-03-30 at the Wayback Machine, 4 Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine, 5 Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine
Frankfurter 2018, p. 50.
Folger, Arie (29 November 2022) Dayan Chanoch Ehrentreu (1927-2022), Europe’s Greatest Halachic Authority, Passes Away, The Jewish Press. Accessed 14 June 2023.
“Israeli Charedi Leader Accuses Chief Rabbi Mirvis of ‘Blasphemy’ Over LGBT Guide”. jewishnews.co.uk. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
Sources
Frankfurter, Yitzchok (28 March 2018) “From One Generation to Another: A Conversation with the Renowned Posek and Rosh Beis Din of Yerushalayim Rav Moshe Sternbuch”, Ami Magazine. Issue 361, pp. 42-68.
Tying Method
| Method | String Ratio | URL |
|---|---|---|
| GR"A | Raavad |
