Rabbi Shlomo Wahrman was the Rosh HaYeshiva of the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County and one of the leading Torah Scholars of his time, held in high esteem by the Torah World. As an eyewitness to Kristallnacht and a Torah luminary with an all encompassing knowledge of the breadth and depth of Torah scholarship, he made a tremendous impression on the hundreds of students whom he taught over his thirty years as a Rebbe and Rosh Yeshiva at HANC. He authored thirteen books and hundreds of articles on matters related to Jewish law, Talmudic analysis, and Jewish history.
Leipzig (1927–1939)
Rabbi Shlomo Wahrman was born and grew up in Leipzig, Germany. In 1939, at the age of twelve, he and his Polish-born parents and his siblings received American visas and found peace and a life of relative safety away from the clutches of the Nazi regime. In Lest We Forget: Growing up in Nazi Leipzig 1933-1939, published in 1991 by ArtScroll Mesorah Publications, Rabbi Wahrman shares an account of life in Leipzig in the 1930s, portraying the impact of Nazi policies on a thriving Jewish community that peaked at 18,000 in 1935 before declining to around 6,000 in 1939, when Rabbi Wahrman left the city for New York. Rabbi Wahrman concludes his book with the following words:
All these events have delivered a powerful message to me. Any Jewish city anywhere could potentially suffer Leipzig’s fate, chas v’shalom. There is no safety and security for us in galus, even in a democracy. The German Weimar Republic was a democracy, yet it could not prevent the emergence of a Hitler. When the anti-Semites so decreed, Leipzig, a city of 18,000 Jews, became Judenrein.
Cincinnati (1940–1955)
Soon after arriving in New York, Rabbi Wahrman's family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he grew close to the legendary Rabbi Eliezer Silverzt"l, whom he considered his rebbi muvhak. Due to Rabbi Silver's insistence and encouragement, Rabbi Wahrman honed his writing skills and recorded his copious chidushei Torah. In the short biography of Rabbi Silver that he published, he writes:
I remember at times he screamed at me for lack of understanding--however, even then I sensed his great love and concern for me and not the slightest hint of hatred. Rabbi Silver was a man whose very essence was giving to others--his ahavas yisroel knew no bounds…he saw every Jew as an extension of himself.
He later moved east and became a well recognized mechanech, educator, advisor, talmid chochom and mechaber seforim. He served as rosh yeshiva of Hebrew Academy of Nassau County and authored over a dozen books. The SHOA Foundation interviewed Rabbi and Mrs. Wahrman in 1997 about their experiences in Germany before, and during, WWII.
Books
In addition to numerous articles printed under a pseudonym in various Torah journals, Rabbi Wahrman authored a series of in depth analyses of Torah topics called She'eris Yosef. Each of his works received acclaim from leading Torah Scholars around the world, and their letters of approbation are printed at the beginning of each of his books.
For decades, Rabbi Wahrman was a regular contributor to Torah journals such as Ohr HaMizrach, HaMaor, HaPardes, and HaDarom.
Personal library
The first floor of Rabbi Wahrman's house was lined with bookshelves, all packed to the brim. No shelves were double booked, indicating that the books were always in constant use. He had the habit of writing his name neatly on every book, all 1500 of them. The library lacked political or regional boundaries, such that one could find a Likutei Sichos of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, A Yabia Omer of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and the Teshuvot of Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch of the Edah Charedit all on the same shelf. The bedrooms were not spared from books either, as each bedroom had floor to ceiling bookshelves. There was also portrait of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, facing a row of books containing Vayoel Moshe of Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum.
