R Schlesinger seems to be an interesting figure, indeed in between different worlds. On one hand, he was against secular education both in his native Hungary and in EY, on the other hand he wanted to reform haluka system that supported EY Jews that was not suitable to accommodate mass arrivals that he anticipated and was seemingly not just helping to found Petach Tikva but also sympathetic to some zionist ideas.
Seemingly, our silly discussion is reflected in academic literature, To quote one paper: “considered by some scholars to be a forerunner of ultra-Orthodoxy, but by others as a forerunner of Zionism.” He is an interesting figure, and no less controversial than, say, R Kook, even as he did not necessarily leave many followers (where are all these charedi farmers now?). As his utopic peaceful world were to happen under the wise Ottoman Sultan, hard to say what he would say about charedi soldiers. See below some interesting quotes I found, hope they are yashar.
It seems that R Schlesinger supported agricultural activities for those who are not suited for learning – first in Hungary, then in EY, but in religious setting. Women were not allowed to read external literature, go to theatre, attend simchos without separation and wearing wigs (duh).
I am a little confused: in one place, he writes: You should only teach that [the secular subjects] which they must learn, and only by a non-Jew—this is a law that cannot be abrogated. In another (maybe in EY context), to the opposite, suggests learning professions in Hebrew.
The society that he proposed had its own set of rules that differed from those of the kollel, the avant garde group that was designed to lead the society. The kollel had more stringent rules, and anyone who joined it was obligated to follow the behaviours characteristic of sects. These stringencies included immersion in the mikveh and carrying one’ s bed on his shoulders rather than in a horse-drawn wagon. he proposed organizing the people according to the biblical model including family units, banners, and 12 tribal units. Members of each tribe would wear uniform clothing and would speak only Hebrew. central leadership would include three religious leaders headed by a nasi, who would sit in Jerusalem, and would be governed by a supreme council consisting of representatives from each tribe and from the diaspora Jewish community. The council would work towards building a Jewish entity in Palestine that would be recognized by the ruling Ottoman Empire.
Schlesinger’ s excommunication by the heads of the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem was caused by a number of factors, including his criticism of the Hungarian kollel for not distributing money to new immigrants to Israel, his leniency vis-à-vis the ban of Rabbeinu Gershom, his pretentious messianism, and the halakhic rulings in his book Beit Yosef hahadash that were not supported by any Orthodox approbations .. We are excommunicating, ostraciz-
ing, and prohibiting the book Beit Yosef hahadash with all types of bans and prohibitions … because it should be hidden and burned, just like all external books and the books of heretics. ” The ban was signed by Chief Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire R. Avraham Ashkenazi, the Chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazim R. Meir Auerbach … Schlesinger also got into an argument with the Hungarian kollel regarding the halukkah subsidies. He demanded that subsidies be given immediately for new immigrants to the Land of Israel, which was contrary to the kollel policy of not giving support from the kollel to new immigrants during the first two years. This policy was designed to prevent the new immigrants from taking advantage of the kollel at the expense of the members who were already in Israel and who were from the original phases of its organization. The leadership of the kollel prevented Schlesinger
from receiving support and brought him to a state of abject poverty