Solomon ben Moses Chelm was born in
Samoscz, then part of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He received a traditional
Jewish education under his father, but also acquired extensive knowledge in secular subjects like algebra, engineering, astronomy, philosophy, grammar, logic, and modern languages. At a young age he married Pesa, daughter of Moses Parnas, head of the Jewish community of
Lissa. Solomon's first rabbinical appointment was in
Chelm, serving the Jewish community of that city and its nine satellite communities. There he wrote the first part of his main work,
Merkevet ha-mishneh, for which he quickly earned widespread esteem. He was appointed rabbi of his hometown in 1767, and succeeded as rabbi of
Lemberg in 1771. Chelm was involved in
Get of Cleves dispute, in which he sided against the rabbis of Frankfurt. He also participated in the 1742, 1751 and 1753 rulings of the
Council of Four Lands. In 1777, he left Lemberg to embark on a journey to the
Land of Israel, stopping in
Smyrna and
Constantinople. He spent some time in
Tiberias, apparently coming into conflict with local Hasidic communities as well as the Ottoman authorities. From there he went to
Salonica in 1781, where he planned to oversee the publication of the second and third volumes of
Merkevet ha-mishneh. He and his wife died of the
plague shortly after their arrival in that city. ==Work==