Shmuel Auerbach


Shmuel Auerbach was a Haredi rabbi in Jerusalem, Israel. Rav Auerbach led a large portion of more radical elements of the non-Hasidic Haredi community. His followers formed a political party known as the Jerusalem Faction. In 2013, as the Israeli government launched a campaign to draft Ultra Orthodox men into the IDF, the Jerusalem Faction adopted a controversial policy of demonstrations and incitement against efforts to draft Haredi men into military service.

Biography

Rav Auerbach was the eldest son of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and his wife, Chaya Rivka Ruchamkin. He was born in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sha'arei Hesed, as was his father.
He married Rachel Paksher. They had no children. He named his musar sefer Ohel Rachel in her memory. He resided in the Sha'arei Hesed neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Rabbinic career

Auerbach was the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Maalot HaTorah and the Nasi of Yeshivas Midrash Shmuel and Yeshivas Toras Simcha, both in Jerusalem. For a short time, he also served as one of the roshei yeshiva of Yeshivas Itri in Jerusalem. He was the head of the Bnei Torah party, which he founded.