104-year old leading Stamford Hill Rabbi passes away
Rabbi Elyakim Schlesinger founded Yeshivas Harama after moving to the UK in 1961
A 104-year old rabbi who passed away in Stamford Hill on Wednesday has been described as “a towering leader who was universally respected.”
Rabbi Elyakim Schlesinger, the head of Yeshivas Harama in North London, was seen as one of the last remaining links to both pre-war and early-post war Torah sages, many of whom he corresponded or studied with.
He was born in 1921 in Vienna, into a highly respected Rabbinic family. A decade later, his parents decided to emigrate to the British Mandate, moving to Tel Aviv and therefore avoiding the horrors that would shortly beset Europe. After the war, however, he was encouraged by the Rabbi of the Brisk Yeshiva, one of the most esteemed institutions of Jewish learning, to move to Europe in order to help strengthen Torah learning there. He spent several years in Belgium, before moving to London in 1961, where he established the yeshiva which he would lead for more than six decades.
A crowd gathered at Yeshivas Harama in Stamford Hill in the wake of the news. Rabbi Schlesinger was eulogised in Yiddish by a number of speakers at the Yeshiva before the burial, which took place at the Adath Yisroel cemetery in Enfield.
The Jewish Community Council (JCC) of London said in a statement: “We mourn the shocking and tragic passing of Rabbi Elyokim Schlesinger, zt”l, head of Yeshiva Harama, who passed away at the remarkable age of 104.
“Our community has lost a towering leader who was universally respected as a talmid chacham of extraordinary stature, a man of integrity, humility, vision, wisdom, and depth. Rabbi Schlesinger exemplified Kiddush Hashem in all of his interactions with the broader world. He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of Torah, leadership, and accomplishment, as well as hundreds of grandchildren who carry his values forward. The loss to our community is truly incalculable.”
“Rabbi Schlesinger consistently sought to promote achdus—unity—throughout the Jewish world, touching countless lives through his guidance, example, and unwavering commitment to Klal Yisrael.
“May Hashem comfort the Schlasinger family, his many students, followers, and the multitudes of people whose lives he impacted so profoundly.”
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