Avrohom Bornsztain

Avrohom Bornsztain
Sochatchover Rebbe
Ohel (gravesite) of the Avnei Nezer and his son, the Shem Mishmuel, in Sochaczew
Term	1870–1910
Full name	Avrohom Bornsztain
Main work	Avnei Nezer
Born	14 October 1838 Bendin
Buried	Sochatchov
Predecessor	(first)
Successor	Shmuel Bornsztain
Father	Ze'ev (Wolf) Nachum Bornsztain
Mother	Dobrish Erlich
Wife	Sara Tzina Morgenstern
Children	Shmuel Bornsztain (Shem Mishmuel) Esther

Avrohom Bornsztain (14 October 1838 – 7 February 1910), also spelled Avraham Borenstein or Bernstein, was a leading posek in late-nineteenth-century Europe and founder and first Rebbe of the Sochatchover Hasidic dynasty. He is known as the Avnei Nezer ("Stones of the Crown") after the title of his posthumously-published set of Torah responsa, which is widely acknowledged as a halakhic classic. His only son, Shmuel, author of Shem Mishmuel, succeeded him as Rebbe.

Born in Bendin, Poland on 14 October 1838, Bornsztain was a descendant of the Ramah and the Shach. He was the first child of Dobrish (or Doba/Dobela) Erlich, and Rabbi Zev Nachum Bornsztain, Rabbi of Elkush from 1849 to 1855 and Rabbi of Biała Podlaska from 1855 till his death in 1885 , author of Agudat Eizov, and a Hasid of the Kotzker Rebbe. The latter opined that Zev Nachum merited such a son due to his immersion in Torah study on Purim, a time when most people are busy carrying out the many mitzvot of the day.

In his youth, Bornsztain was recognized as an outstanding student with a phenomenal memory. Under the tutelage of his father, who taught him the ways of pilpul, he began writing his own chidushim (new Torah thoughts) at the age of 10.

Bornsztain's health was weak and frail from his childhood. He especially suffered from lung problems. Once when he fell dangerously ill, the doctors forbade him from exerting his mind in Torah study. But the Kotzker Rebbe gave him a blessing for longevity, which was fulfilled in the fact that Bornsztain died at the age of 71.