A young woman, Liebe Shlesinger, stood at the entrance of the
large and brightly lit dining room, holding in her arms her
two infant daughters, Sara and Shoshana. Close by stood
Zeidel Dovid, her oldest son, hardly much more than an
infant, himself.
She squinted at the dazzling lights of the many candles lit
in the candelabra hanging down from the ceiling of the room.
The large dining table in the center, usually covered with a
dark velvet cloth, was now covered with a snow white
tablecloth, upon which were placed beautiful, shiny silver
goblets and many silver trays, as well as richly decorated
porcelain pieces. The room looked royally magnificent and
Liebe felt a joyous atmosphere and holiday mood settling upon
her. It was a wonderful climax for the tedious preparations
for this Pesach Yom Tov.
As she stood gazing at the Seder table, her mother, Reizel,
entered the room bearing a tray with crystal wine-filled
bottles. Close behind her stepped the young maid carrying
white covered pillows. It was time to light candles, but
Liebe still stood mesmerized, gazing at the dazzle of the
silver pieces, the rainbow glints from the shining crystal
and the beauty of the entire room. The entrance of the men
who had just returned from their prayers jolted her from her
reverie.
"Gut yom tov!" her father, R' Hillel Lichtenstein, rov
of Kolomay, Hungary, called out festively.
"Gut yom tov!" many voices echoed.
Liebe's young husband, R' Akiva Yosef Shlesinger, stepped
forward and caressed the heads of his small children. The
young father looked happy and relaxed as he stood by his
young family, but Liebe knew his heart was not at peace. She
knew he felt a heavy burden of failure at not accomplishing
the goals he had set for himself.
A small sad smile appeared in her eyes and she hastily turned
her glance to the table and tried to resume the happy mood of
this beautiful festival.
The Seder ritual began, as each member of the family and the
guests were seated upon the soft cushions, the hesev
bett. The pleasant melody of Kadesh Urchatz was
sung, followed by Kiddush. The father of the house, R' Hillel
of Kolomay, carried on until he came to the words,
"Hashato hocho... This year we are here, in
golus. Next year we will be in Eretz Yisroel!" He then
asked, "Who wants to go to Eretz Yisroel?"
"We do!" both R' Akiva Yosef and his wife, Liebe, exclaimed
in unison. Their little children mumbled a `Yes' as they had
been prompted to do.
"Amen!" said R' Hillel. The Seder carried on with Zeidel
Dovid asking the Four Questions. A truly joyous atmosphere
enveloped them all.
*
Akiva Yosef Shlesinger was born in 5598 to his parents, R'
Yechiel and Gittel, in Pressburg. A devoted disciple of the
Chassan Sofer, R' Yechiel asked his master to perform the
bris.
On that same day, news of the passing of R' Akiva Eiger
became known, and the baby was named after that great
luminary, as well as after another tzaddik: He was
called Akiva Yosef.
Little Akiva Yosef showed great talents and intelligence. He
was clever and energetic. Since the law of the country did
not permit non-secular chadorim, he was taught
privately at home, but was eventually forced to attend public
school. He excelled in all his studies and was soon awarded a
graduating certificate.
Akiva Yosef was then able to continue on in yeshivos. At a
young age he received smicha from the Ksav Sofer and
at 22, he married the daughter of R' Hillel of Kolomay. Soon
after the marriage, R' Hillel and R' Akiva Yosef began
working on behalf of the Jewish community in Hungary, doing
their utmost to stem the rapid spread of the Reform
movement.
They toiled on various fronts, one of which was to publish R'
Akiva Yosef's first book, "Lev Ha'ivri," which was an
expansion and explanation of the legacy of the Chassam Sofer,
who had, in his time, already warned Jewry against the
insidious harm of the Reform movement. The publishing of this
book was financed by Liebe, his devoted wife, who sold her
wedding jewelry for the cause.
Much energy and talent were invested in the continuous
attempts to curtail the spread of the Reform movement. A
party was formed called Maaleh, but all their efforts seemed
ineffectual.
As the family grew, R' Akiva Yosef and his wife started being
concerned about the education and future of their children.
The idea of moving to Eretz Yisroel seemed to them the best
solution.
As soon as permission was given on that Seder night, the
preparations for their aliya began. The obstacles were many,
as the trip was very arduous for young children. Money, too,
was not readily available. It took four years for the
Shlesingers to achieve their goal; at the end of 5633 they
reached Yerusholayim and settled near the Kosel Maarovi.
The community in Yerusholayim was at that time trying to
build new neighborhoods outside the Old City walls. R' Akiva
Yosef, together with the eminent R' Yehoshua Leib Diskin
started the new settlement of Petach Tikva. Unfortunately,
however, their attempt did not prove entirely successful and
the town of Petach Tikva eventually became an irreligious
city, though it does have a strong chareidi community, with
shuls and yeshivos.
In their small and poor apartment in Yerusholayim, Liebe
Shlesinger stood by the window facing the Kosel and fervently
prayed that her children grow in the ways of Hashem. Her
prayers were answered. Their sons grew up to be talmidei
chachomim and their daughters married Torah scholars.
Though not all of his goals were fulfilled in his lifetime,
R' Akiva Yosef Shlesinger's dream of building settlements for
religious people keeping the laws of the Torah eventually
materialized. The seeds of his pioneering efforts took root
and today, many such Torah settlements exist throughout Eretz
Yisroel.
