Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz (1918–2009) was born in Budapest and moved to the Land of Israel in 1939. He is known principally as a public representative of religious Jewry and as a memoirist. His life connected a yeshiva education with many years of service in Israeli public institutions.
The Knesset and the Bank of Israel
From 1951 to 1984 he served in the Knesset for Agudat Yisrael and its parliamentary alliances, working on religious education and communal needs. His positions included chairmanship of the Knesset Finance Committee. In 1987 he was appointed chairman of the Bank of Israel’s Advisory Committee and Advisory Council. His signature appears on banknotes from the relevant issues.
Bimechitzatam
Readers of Jewish literature particularly know his memoirs, Bimechitzatam, recounting encounters with the Chazon Ish, the Brisker Rav, Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach and other teachers. They draw on his longstanding contact with these figures and notes from his public activity.
These are the accounts of a participant, conveying his experience, the advice he heard and his understanding of a communal representative’s responsibilities. Their personal perspective is part of their value. Quotations should identify the volume and page, while distinguishing the memoirist’s conclusions from a statement reported verbatim.
Study alongside public responsibility
Recollections by people who knew him describe his continuing commitment to Torah learning and his return to intensive study after leaving parliament. He also published Milui Shlomo, containing his own Talmudic studies. His writings reveal the everyday relationship between Torah teachers, communities and public institutions, while requiring a distinction between memoir and halakhic ruling.
Articles by this author in our magazine
Biographical sources
- Knesset: official Shlomo Lorincz profile
- Bank of Israel: annual report, 1987 advisory appointments
- Bank of Israel: banknotes and Advisory Council chairman Shlomo Lorincz’s signature
- The Jewish Observer, 2006: Shlomo Lorincz’s recollections of the Chazon Ish
- Jonathan Rosenblum: recollections of Shlomo Lorincz and his books
- National Library of Israel: Shlomo Lorincz, dates, archive and books