Rabbeinu Shlomo Zev (Wolf) Klein was born in 1814 in the small town of Bischheim (near Strasbourg). Until the age of 18, Rav Klein toiled in the great depths of Torah without any distraction. When he began applying for rabbinical positions, he was informed that a government issued diploma was a requirement for any such post. This led him to join the Bais Medrash L’Rabbonim in Metz, where he was able to take the necessary tests to receive a diploma. In 1839, he was appointed to his first rabbinical position in his birthplace of Bischheim. Over time, he served as a Rav in other cities in France, and eventually settled in Colmar as the Chief Rabbi of the consistory of the Haut-Rhin, and became known as the leading Orthodox authority of French Jewry. Rav Klein passed away in 1867.