Shimon Yaakov Gliksberg

Rabbi Shimon Yaakov Halevi Gliksberg[1] (born in 1870 in Miedzyrzec Podlaski – died in 1950 in Tel-Aviv) was a scholar, preacher, historian and one of the founding members of the Mizrachi Zionist movement.

He became a member of the Central Committee and was chosen together with Rabbi Ze'ev Yavetz to draft an organizational plan, to choose a name for the movement and to outline a platform for the new Zionist religious party.

When Rabbi Gliksberg came back to Miedzyrzec Podlaski to present his report on the conference, an audience of thousands assembled to hear him in the large Beis Midrash, where he had studied as a youth.

He was one of the founders of the Shomrei Torah yeshiva, and his efforts led to the establishment of public schools for impoverished Jewish children in affiliation with various synagogues.

He published a pamphlet in Yiddish and Russian called Ezrat Holim about concepts of charity and about support for ailing members of the community.

"[5] During the debates Rabbi Gliksberg impressed the crowds with his erect posture, rhetorical talent, religious enthusiasm and apt remarks, as well as with his wide-ranging knowledge of philosophy, science and literature.

[6] A great scholar and virtuous man, pure in spirit and thought, he ruled the religious court in a moderate, considerate, and pleasant manner.

Daughter Eugenia became a well-known physician and medical researcher who published an impressive volume of work and received a Doctoral degree based on those publications.

The youngest son Benjamin, an engineer educated in Strelitz, Germany, was arrested in 1936 and spent 20 years of his life in Joseph Stalin's camps.