LONDON (VINnews) — Rabbi Elyakim Schlesinger, a senior Orthodox Jewish scholar and longtime head of Yeshivat HaRama in London who played a central role in establishing advanced Torah study in Britain, has died. He was 104.

Rabbi Schlesinger died after his condition worsened following pneumonia and subsequent kidney complications, according to community officials. He was hospitalized Tuesday night and died after his vital signs declined. Even in his final days, Rabbi Schlesinger remained mentally lucid and delivered a Torah talk during seudah shlishit, the third Shabbat meal.

His funeral was scheduled to take place Wednesday in London, with burial planned at the Enfield cemetery.

Rabbi Schlesinger was born in Vienna in 1921 and raised in a rabbinic family. He studied Torah from an early age under his grandfather, Rabbi Eliezer Lipman Schlesinger. Before his bar mitzvah, Rabbi Schlesinger enrolled in the famed Pressburg yeshiva, later continuing his studies in Nitra, where he received rabbinic ordination.

In 1935, Rabbi Schlesinger immigrated with his family to what was then British Mandate Palestine, settling in Tel Aviv. He later studied in Jerusalem under Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky and continued his education at the Lomza Yeshiva in Petach Tikva and at Ponevezh Yeshiva, where he developed a close relationship with founder Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman.

In 1944, Rabbi Schlesinger married Dina Yehudit Blau, daughter of Rabbi Moshe Blau, a senior leader of Jerusalem’s Eidah HaChareidis and a prominent figure in Agudat Israel. Following Rabbi Moshe Blau’s death, Rabbi Schlesinger was appointed head of Yeshivat Pnei Moshe in Jerusalem.

At the recommendation of Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik, the Brisker Rav, Rabbi Schlesinger later moved to Europe, serving briefly as a rosh yeshiva in Belgium before settling in London. There, Rabbi Schlesinger founded Yeshivat HaRama, named in memory of prewar European yeshivot, and helped establish London’s first kollel for advanced married Torah scholars.

The institution became a cornerstone of Orthodox Jewish learning in Britain and influenced the growth of the country’s postwar Torah community.

Rabbi Schlesinger maintained close relationships with leading rabbinic authorities of the 20th century, including Rabbi Soloveitchik and Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz, the Chazon Ish, and documented those connections in his writings.

Rabbi Schlesinger’s home was widely known as a refuge for students, orphans and others in need. Over decades, Rabbi Schlesinger taught thousands of students and was an outspoken advocate for independent religious education. He was also active in fundraising efforts to support institutions aligned with strict Orthodox standards.

Rabbi Schlesinger is survived by nine children, including his eldest son, Rabbi Eliezer Schlesinger, who continues to lead Yeshivat HaRama, as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.