It is with deep pain and regret that YWN shares the petirah of HaRav Elyakim Schlesinger zt”l, who was niftar at the age of 104, concluding a life that spanned more than a century of Torah, mesorah, and an unwavering commitment to Klal Yisroel.
Born in Vienna on 22 Cheshvan 5682 (1921) to his parents, Rav Dovid and Baila, Rav Schlesinger zt”l came of age during a turbulent era for European Jewry. He was able to leave Europe at the age of 10, in 1931, when his family relocated to Eretz Yisroel and settled in Tel Aviv. There, the foundations of his lifelong avodas haTorah were laid.
His early Torah development took place under the influence of Gedolei Hatorah from the prewar years. Among his primary rebbeim was Rav Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky zt”l, under whose guidance Rav Schlesinger absorbed the derech of authentic Yerushalmi Torah. He later learned in Yeshivas Kaminetz and in Yeshivas Lomza in Petach Tikvah, becoming known for his crystal-clear havana, yiras Shamayim, and fealty to mesorah.
He married his wife, Dina Yehudis, the daughter of Rav Moshe Blau zt”l, and following the petirah of his father-in-law, he was appointed Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Pnei Moshe in Yerushalayim. Even then, at such a young age, his sense of achrayus extended beyond his immediate surroundings.
At the behest of the Brisker Rov, Rav Schlesinger undertook the difficult mission of returning to Europe in order to rebuild Torah life on the continent. He first served as Rosh Yeshiva in Kapellen, Belgium, where he spent two years strengthening a fragile postwar kehilla. He later settled in London, where he founded Yeshivas Harama, a mosad that would become one of the pillars of serious lomdus in England. The yeshiva’s name reflected his reverence for the Chasam Sofer and his descendants, including the Kesav Sofer and the Daas Sofer, who had been among his rabbeim.
Over the ensuing decades, Rav Schlesinger zt”l became one of the most influential and respected Gedolei Torah in England’s frum community. He maintained close and enduring relationships with leading gedolei Yisroel, including the Chazon Ish, and was widely sought after for hadracha on both hashkafic and communal matters. His rare firsthand knowledge of earlier gedolim, and his ability to convey their derech with clarity and fidelity, were preserved in his sefer Hador Vehatekufah, which stands as an invaluable historical and Torah record.
In addition to his role as Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Schlesinger was deeply involved in public affairs affecting Torah Jewry. For many years, he devoted himself to the protection of kevorim across Europe, even serving as chairman of a committee dedicated to safeguarding cemeteries from desecration. He was also known for his firm and uncompromising positions on issues relating to chinuch and religious independence, earning a reputation as a courageous and consistent voice of daas Torah.
Rav Schlesinger zt”l was also a prolific mechaber, whose seforim reflect both breadth and depth. His multi-volume Beis Av spans Shas, halacha, machshavah, and drush, and he authored additional seforim, including a Haggadah shel Pesach, all characterized by his unique clarity.
The petirah of HaRav Elyakim Schlesinger zt”l is the loss of a living bridge to a vanished world—a talmid of prewar Europe, a builder of postwar Torah, and a guardian of mesorah well into the modern era.
Yehi zichro baruch.
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8 Responses
I am confused. Was he chassidish, litvish, or Oberlender in his hanhagos?
Was Rav Elyakum zt”L related to the rabbinical Schlesinger family in Topolcany, Slovakia?
Maran Zaken Rosh HaYeshivot HaRav Elyakim Shleizinger Ztk”ll was a son of his father-Rav David and his mother- R. Bela Schlesinger.
He was born in Vienna in 1921 (unsure exact date).
In around 1944 he married his wife, who was a daughter of R’ Moshe Blau.
He was very close to the Satmar Rav, the MaHaritz Dushinsky, the Chazon Ish, and the Brisker Rav.
Descending from a long line of Rabbanim, (from what I understand amongst them he was a descendant of Rav A. Yafe Shlezinger one of the main pioneers of Petach Tikva, and wrote a work on the related topics but the name of it has slipped my mind, it is a famous one so maybe someone here can remind us) and other known figures in the Chareidi world.
There is a famous story regarding an encounter he had with the Satmar Rav Ztk”ll in which there was a discussion they had about his father in law R’ Moshe Blau and his grand father R’ Yaakov Rosenheim. I don’t remember the details of the story, again someone here might know.
He was definitely NOT Chassidish, anyone who knows anyone related to his family will know this, though he does have some grandchildren and great grand children that are married to chassidish husbands and wives.
His family are kind of a community within the chareidi community in London, though he has family in the states, Eretz Yisrael and elsewhere.
He was at the forefront and the main fighting force in the battle against the gezerot we face in the UK from the government, most recently, notably and mainly the chinnuch of our children.
Yehi zichro baruch.
He was as well the oldest Rosh Yeshiva in the world.
Really surprised there’s no mention of his illustrious grandfather, R’ Yaakov Rosenheim, founder of Agudath Israel! I met his younger brother Zev (died 2014) about 20 years ago; Zev and the broader Schlesinger family were Yekkes (definitely not Chassidic) with traces of Oberlander.
To get a better understanding of the family, see Zev Schlesinger’s book In Defense of Torah Values on R’ Rosenheim. The book is quite narrative-laden but is a pretty accurate assessment of their hashkafa and weltanschauung.
Another connection to yesteryear is gone. Baruch Dayan Haemes, Zichrono Livracha!
Rav (A. Yafe) [Akiva Yosef] Shlezinger one of the main pioneers of Petach Tikva [the leader of the pioneers and the Rov of the new Yishuv], and wrote a work on the related topics but the name of it has slipped my mind, it is a famous one so maybe someone here can remind us)
It’s called לב העיברי [acronym for A’kiva Y’osef b’en R’ Y’echiel], and was recently reprinted with a long biographical introduction and background material. Rav Akiva Schlesinger was a Talmid of the K’sav Sofer, so his background was definitely from the Chassam Sofer/Oberlander Mesorah.
gr8 man!
@Yaakov Yosef A,
Thats right thanks for reminding me, I had forgotten the name.
I attended both the Levaya and Kevurah yesterday, and honestly, London is not that big in comparison to it’s brother communities over the pond and in E.Y., but the levaya for london standards was huge.
The kevurah, which took place well after nightfall, which is very rare in chutz la’aretz, took place due to delays with a daughter on her way to London for the levaya.
At the kevura, which took place around 10/10:30pm UK time, there was probably around a thousand people (roughly speaking), and that is late at night with a few very prominent -lehavdil- chatunot taking place the same night.
Just this morning my friend told me a story he heard from his boss:
His boss is a family member of Rav Elyakim Ztk”ll, and to those near him, it is well known his tradition of giving out chocolates on Simchat Torah for him being Chatan Torah.
Another interesting point, he had specific chocolates he used to give, for males and females. A few years ago, my friends boss and his wife went into Rav Elyakim Ztk”ll, and his wife said to him, Zeideh, what about my chocolate? So the Rosh Yeshiva took out a ‘girl’ chocolate and gave it to her.
But then he took a ‘boy’ one and gave it to her, saying, ‘der choclat far dein yungele’ (this chocolate for your boy), so she said zeide, it’s me (so and so) I don’t have a yungele, so he replied ‘halt us far dein yungele’ (hold it for your boy).
A year later exactly, on Shmini Atzeret, their boy was born.
This is a side of a Gadol that does not make or brake them. What made the Rosh Yeshiva the Gadol Hador that he was, was his hasmada, chesed and avodah. Birkat Hatorah would take him 10 mins, which his children mentioned at the levaya, they only noticed after mistakenly waking up too early one morning, and their father pressuring them not to talk about his avodah.
His house was never locked for 70 YEARS!! Anyone could walk in!!
This is what made him the Gadol, but the story above is the spice, it makes us appreciate more what was lost.
He wrote his first will in תש”ח. This is someone who lived with a real cheshbon…
Yehi zichro baruch!