A crowd of thousands of bnei Torah including HaRav
Michel Yehuda Lefkovitz, HaRav Chaim Kanievsky and HaRav
Gershon Edelstein gathered on motzei Shabbos to participate
in the levaya of HaRav Shmuel Halevy Shulsinger
zt"l, the rov of Kiryat Ata, who passed away on
Shabbos night at Tel Hashomer Hospital.
HaRav Shulsinger was born in Jerusalem in 5695 (1935) to
HaRav Yitzchok Shulsinger, the rov and moreh tzedek of
Haifa and formerly the rov of Kfar Ganim in Petach Tikva. In
this home he absorbed a powerful love of Torah. In 5709
(1949) he began his studies at Yeshivas Tiferes Yisroel in
Haifa before transferring to Yeshivas Ponovezh in the summer
of 5711, where he was held fondly by the roshei yeshivos,
particularly the Ponovezher Rov zt"l.
He gained renown as a tremendous masmid who had
command of the entire Shas as well as halochoh,
responsa and mussar seforim. Once the Ponovezher Rov
arrived from the US with ten sets of the Mishneh Torah
and announced he would give them to bochurim who were
tested on 600 pages of gemora and excelled. R' Shmuel
was among the recipients and the Ponovezher Rav said he had
performed the best, therefore he gave him a set of the Ohr
Somei'ach as well. At the same time R' Shmuel was also tested
on masechtos not studied at the yeshiva and he knew
them thoroughly. His friends say when someone in the yeshiva
wanted to know where something was written they would
invariably consult him.
In 5717 he married the daughter of HaRav Yehuda Leibel Gefen,
the rov of Kiryat Ata and a talmid of HaRav Meir
Shapira of Lublin, who was the first rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas
Yachel Yisroel Seret-Vizhnitz. For years he served as the rov
of Kiryat Ata but he passed away before his daughter's
wedding.
It was obvious to all that his daughter's chosson
would become the rov of Kiryat Ata, known as Kfar Ata at the
time. It was home to a very large chareidi community which
accounted for the majority of the town's residents. The
members of the kehilloh were proud to have the young
rov take charge, but first they asked him to meet with the
Tchebiner Rav to gauge his breadth of knowledge. HaRav
Shulsinger's relatives recount that it was later heard from
the Tchebiner Rav that he hadn't believed after the Holocaust
there would still be Jews with as broad knowledge of Shas
as "the young rov" who had come to his home.
For the next 47 years he served as the rov of Kiryat Ata and
was considered close to every godol Yisroel past and
present. He brought every question and matter before Maran
the Brisker Rov zt"l, and later to Maran HaRav Shach
zt"l, running the rabbinate according to their words
of advice. He set up his home in Kfar Ata and there he raised
and educated his children, all of whom follow the path
leading to Beis Hashem.
HaRav Shmuel Halevy Shulsinger passed away at the age of 69
on Shabbos Shemos, whose parshoh includes the words,
"Vayeilech ish mibeis leivi . . . " (Shemos
2:1).
At Beis Medrash Yarchei Kallah in Bnei Brak's Zichron Meir
neighborhood hespeidim were delivered by the
deceased's brothers, HaRav Moshe Mordechai Shulsinger and
HaRav Elozor Shulsinger.
In Kiryat Ata eulogizers included his friends, the Gavad of
Akwa and HaRav Moshe Rauchberger, his son HaRav Tuvioh Halevy
Shulsinger, and his son-in-law HaRav Yosef Tzvi Turk, a
ram at Yeshivas Hasharon.
