Posted on 04/23/20
Baltimore, MD - Apr. 22, 2020 - The 28th of Nissan 5780 marks the 40th yahrtzeit of Hagaon Harav Yitzchok Sternhell, the great gadol baTorah, who was a close talmid of the Munkatcher rebbe. After he ultimately escaped the inferno of the Holocaust, he settled in Baltimore, MD in the 1950’s to help rebuild Klal Yisroel.
Rav Sternhell was born in Gorlitz, Poland on 10 Adar II 5670 (1910) to Rav Dovid and Rivka Sternhell. Rav Yitzchok grew up in a family of Torah and one that showed tremendous kavod HaTorah. From a young age, Rav Yitzchok was an exceptional talmid, diligently learning and absorbing everything his parents and rebbeim taught him.
When Rav Yitzchok was eight years-old his family moved to Sanz. Rav Yitzchok’s father would bring him to meet and talk in learning with the many gedolim who would flock to Sanz to visit the Divrei Chaim’s kever on his yahrzeit. The rav’s mother was known for her warm chesed. She would have her children deliver hot meals for melamdim who lived in another city, but would dorm in their town during the week to teach. While they had a place to stay, Mrs. Sternhell wanted to ensure that they had proper meals.
The young Rav Yitzchok excelled in his limudim and was known as an iluy who put in tremendous effort for learning. As a young child, he began a special learning session with his Rebbi at 5 a.m. each morning (Cheder began at 6 a.m.!). Rav Yitzchok’s rebbeim from his youth made a profound impact on him, which was felt throughout his life.
After Rav Yitzchok’s bar mitvzah, he went on to learn in a Bobover Yeshiva in the city of Oshpitzin. Realizing Rav Sternhell’s brilliance, he was encouraged to travel to Bobov and meet the Kedushas Tzion, Rav Benzion Halberstam. Rav Yitzchok developed a warm relationship with the Kedushas Tzion and traveled to him on many occasions.
The Munkatcher Rebbe, Rav Chaim Elozor Spira, author of the Minchas Elazor visited Oshpitzin for a chasuna. Rav Yitzchok’s Rebbi used the opportunity to have the young iluy tested by the Rebbe. The Munkatcher Rebbe was impressed with the young talmid chochom and after realizing he knew Rav Yitzchok’s father, invited Rav Yitzchok to join the Munkatcher Yeshiva.
After receiving his father’s blessing, Rav Yitzchok joined Yeshivas Darkei Teshuva of Munkatch. The atmosphere of the Yeshiva, especially when the Rebbe gave his shiur was awe-inspiring to Rav Yitzchok. The Rebbe was heavily involved in various aspects and needs of the kehilah, but during his shiur he was completely immersed in the milchamta shel Torah. The Rebbe helped mold Rav Yitzchok, often asking him for the sources of different ma’amarei chazal during the shiur. The Rebbe would become Rav Yitzchok’s primary rebbi and mentor, leaving an indelible impression on him for the rest of his life. The Rebbe too held his talmid in very high esteem, referring to Rav Yitzchok as “yedid nafshi.”
While in Munkatch, Rav Yitzchok corresponded with many gedolei Torah throughout the world, including the Ragotchover goan. He then published a compilation of these responsa in a kutres called “HaKochav” (kochav, star, in yiddish is “stern”) which covered diverse and intricate topics of Torah. Rav Yitzchok’s ability to correspond with gedolei Torah and publish a work of this magnitude - especially at his young age - displayed his incredible understanding and breath of Torah.
In 1939 Rav Sternhell married Rachel Leah Kestenbaum, daughter of Rav Ahron Tzvi Kestenbaum, who was the rosh beis din of Tisza-Ujlak, Hungary. The young couple settled in Tisza-Ujlak and had a son and daughter.
The winds of the Holocaust came storming in and uprooted Jewish life, including Rav Yitzchok’s. Although Rav Yitzchok miraculously survived the war through hiding, his wife and children died al kiddush Hashem in Auschwitz.
After the war, Rav Yitztchok was heartbroken. The loss of his wife and children, two brothers and other relatives left Rav Yitzchok bereaved. B”H his parents and other siblings traveled to Eretz Yisroel before the war, although his mother had sadly passed away there.
Not letting tragedy take over his life, Rav Yitzchok traveled to Budepest hoping to go to Eretz Yisroel, but there were no ships traveling there at that time. Transitioning from one displaced persons camp to another, Rav Yitzchok ended up in Salzburg, Austria in 1946 on erev Pesach. At 36 years-old, Rav Sternhell became the rav of Salzburg and began the healing and rebuilding process for his new kehilah, putting aside his own pain and suffering to help others in need. As the rav, Rav Yitzchok worked tirelessly to get medical treatment and food with reliable kashrus. He helped set up mikvaos and was involved in various other needs of the community, including providing a listening ear and a shoulder for others to cry on.
Rav Sternhell married Rivkah Seidenfeld in 1949. Although Rivkah’s father, Rav Yehoshua, died al kiddush Hashem during the war, he had seen Rav Sternhell as a bachur in Munkatch and mentioned how he would love to have somelike like Rav Sternhell as a son-in-law. The Seidenfelds had roots in Kerestir where the famed Reb Shayala held his court. Indeed the renowned chesed of Kerestir would permeate throughout the couple’s home.
As the displaced persons camps began to empty, the Sternhells moved to the US. Although Rav Sternhell originally wanted to move to Eretz Yisroel, he decided to move to the US in order for his wife to be near her sister.
While Rav Sternhell could have taken a prestigious position in a big city like New York, the rav chose the fledgling city of Baltimore to serve as the rav of Shearis Hapleita. The rav felt that in a big city he would be taken away from his seforim to participate in obligatory simchos under his official capacity as rav. A small community like Baltimore would allow Rav Sternhell to continue delving into the depth of Torah. When accepting the position of rav in Baltimore, Rav Sternhell never asked what his salary would be - he sensed the yashrus of the mispalalim and knew the kehilah would treat him well.
Shearis Hapleita was a close-knit shul comprised of many Holocaust survivors and their mostly American-born children. Although Rav Sternhell’s mentor was the passionate and sharp Minchas Elazar, Rav Sternhell was very warm and understanding of his kehilah. The rav realized that he was in America and things were different, so he adapted to the new environment while staying committed to his mesorah. The rav felt that even on American shores yidden can still thrive in Torah and Yiras Shomayim.
Eventually a need arose to create a Cheder for the shul’s boys. Rav Sternhell along with a group of dedicated ba’al habatim created Yeshivas Shearis Hapleita with only 10 boys in a single room. Rav Sternhell dedicated himself to the Cheder, raising money and ensuring the boys were learning well, all while not taking a salary. Today, with tremendous siyata d’Shemaya, the Cheder, which was renamed to Yeshivas Kochav Yitzchok/Torah Institute of Baltimore after the rav passed away, currently has over 700 talmidim!
Besides for giving shiurim and answering shailos, the rav and his rebbetzin were devoted to the kehilah. They hosted many seudos, shared in simchos, and took care of difficult people who others were hesitant or unable to help.
Perhaps the way Rav Sternhell taught his kehilah most was not by a drasha, but how he conducted himself. His love of Torah was very palpable. One could pass the rav’s home in the wee hours of the morning and still see his light on as he was learning. When asked about learning through the night, he responded “what else does a rav do when he gets home?”
The rav had a tremendous love of seforim. Even 40 years after his petira, his mispalalim are still in awe of the towering seforim shanks in his apartment that were filled from the floor to the ceiling with seforim. He had a ladder to reach seforim that were placed high up and would often be found standing on the ladder completely engrossed in a sefer and oblivious to everything else around him.
At a fundraising meeting, the rav met someone who had a last name that he recognized. After some Jewish geography, the rav figured out that the potential donor had a relative that was mentioned in a shailos u’teshuvas sefer. The non-observant donor was shocked by the rav’s genius and memory. The person accompanying the rav was given a little more insight into his rav’s gadlus baTorah. Indeed Rav Sternhell was known to gedolei Torah as boki in sifrei Shu”T.
Besides for the kuntres “Hakochav,” Rav Sternhell authored Kochavei Yitzchok on Talmud Yerushalmi. All types of Yidden, including Ashkenazi, Sfardi, and Chasidishe talmidei chachomim who learned through the sefer experienced the great love Rav Sternhell had for Torah and praised him for such a profound sefer.
Rav Sternhell and his rebbetzin had four sons and a daughter. Today, there are B”H many Sternhell grandchildren and great-grandchildren who are continuing their grandparents’ mesorah.
On the 28th of Nissan 5740 (1980), the rav’s neshama was returned to his Creator after enduring an illness.Thousands of people came to give a kavod acharon to the rav. Even though there is typically no hespedim in Nissan, there is an exception for a true gadol b’Torah such as Rav Sternhell. Following his tzaavah, the rav was buried on Har Hazeisim next to his mother.
Besides for Yeshivas Kochav Yitzchok in Baltimore and his sefer Kochavei Yitzchok, the Bobover beis medresh in Monsey, NY also bears the rav’s name. Dedicated by the rav’s late son, R’ Shea z”l, the late Bobover rebbe, Rav Shlomo Halberstam, felt it would be a great zechus for Rav Sternhell’s neshama while also serving as a great kavod and inspiration to have a gadol like Rav Sternhell associated with the beis medresh.
Although 40 years since the rav’s petira have passed, his ahavas haTorah, hasmada, tziddkus, chesed, yiras shamayim, and yashrus still reverberate in the hearts and minds of those who had the zechus to meet him. While Rav Sternhell wasn’t interested in any fanfare, he certainly garnered the love, respect and admiration of all those around him.
Yehi Zichro Boruch.
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