Rabbi Leib Gurwicz

Rabbi Aryeh Ze'ev (Leib) Gurwicz (1906-1982) was an influential Orthodox Rabbi and Talmudic scholar. He was the son-in-law of Rabbi Elyah Lopian and best known as Rosh Yeshiva of the Gateshead Yeshiva in Gateshead, England. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2304 × 3072 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2304 × 3072 pixel, file size: 1. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonised in the Talmudic texts (Oral Torah) and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... ArtScroll book on the life of Rabbi Lopian Rabbi Elyah Lopian (1872-1970) was among the most prominent rabbis of the Mussar movement. ... Rosh yeshiva (Hebrew: ראש ישיבה) (pl. ... The Gateshead Talmudical College (Hebrew: ‎), popularly known as Gateshead Yeshiva, is located in the town of Gateshead in the United Kingdom. ... This article is about Gateshead, England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

He studied at various yeshivas in Vilkomir, Mir, Baranovitch, and Brisk before becoming rosh yeshiva of Gateshead, having received encouragement to return to England from Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (known as the Chofetz Chaim) who was regarded as one of the leading scholars of his time. This saved him from the Holocaust under the Nazis. Location Ethnographic region AukÅ¡taitija County Vilnius County Municipality Elderate UkmergÄ— town elderate Geographic coordinate system General Information Capital of UkmergÄ— district municipality UkmergÄ— town elderate Population 28,759 in 2001 (15th) First mentioned 1333 Granted city rights 1486 UkmergÄ— ( , previously VilkmergÄ—, is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located... Mir yeshiva (or Mirrer yeshiva) (Hebrew: ), commonly known as the Mir, is the name of two major Haredi yeshivas, one in Jerusalem, Israel, and the other, in Brooklyn, New York. ... Former Baranovichi Law Institute, Now a constituent part of Baranovichi State University Baranovichi. ... Brisk yeshivas commonly known as Brisk (a name used by many Yiddish-speaking Jews to refer to the town of Brest-Litovsk, located in what is now Belarus). ... A popular image of the Chofetz Chaim. ... “Shoah” redirects here. ... Nazism in history Nazi ideology Nazism and race Outside Germany Related subjects Lists Politics Portal         Nazism, or National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), refers primarily to the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party, German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) under Adolf Hitler. ...

Early years

Leib Gurwicz was born Leib Kushelevsky in the small town of Malat, Poland, where his father, Rabbi Moshe Aharon Kushelevsky served as Rabbi. His mother was a direct descendant of the Vilna Gaon. At the age of thirteen he left home for the Vilkomir Yeshiva Ketana in Lithuania. Location Ethnographic region Aukštaitija County Utena County Municipality Molėtai district municipality Coordinates General Information Capital of Molėtai district municipality Population 7,221 in 2001 (46th) First mentioned 1387 Granted city rights 1539 Molėtai is a city in north eastern Lithuania. ... Elijah Ben Solomon, the Vilna Gaon The Vilna Gaon (April 23, 1720 – October 9, 1797) was a prominent Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar, and Kabbalist. ... This article is about the Jewish male educational system. ...

After a year and a half in Vilkomir, headed by Rabbi Elyah Kramerman and Rabbi Leib Rubin, the young Leib journeyed to Vilna in the hope of visiting his family, which had resettled there. Coincidental with his visit was the arrival of the Mir Yeshiva which, along with other Yeshivos such as Slabodka and Radin, had fled deep into Russia during World War I. Vilna was only a temporary stopover for the Yeshiva which was waiting for the situation to stabilise so that it could return to Mir. Leib never got to see his father, who had been called back to Malat, a town which subsequently reverted to Polish control. He did, however, become one of the youngest students to join the Mir Yeshiva. Not to be confused with Vilnius city municipality. ... Slabodka yeshiva (Knesset Yisrael), was known colloquially as the mother of yeshivas (rabbinical seminaries). ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Coat of arms of Mir, Belarus Mir is a town in Kareličy (Карэлічы) raion, Hrodna Voblast, Belarus () about 85 kilometers southwest of the national capital, Minsk. ...

After a few years "in the Mir", Leib had to alter his Polish passport. Lithuania (where he was learning) had a hostile relationship with its neighbour Poland, and Polish nationals were liable for expulsion. The nearest passport office was in Baranovitch, where Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman's yeshiva was located. Forced to forge a passport, Leib was required to change his name. He chose his mother's maiden name - Gurwicz - as his surname and was known thus for the rest of his life. He also ended him learning in the Baranovitch yeshiva for a year, studying under Rabbi Wasserman, who took note of the young genius. Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman (1875-1941) (Hebrew: אלחנן וסרמן) was a prominent Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva in pre-World War II Europe. ...

After Leib had learned in the Mir for eight years, the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel and the Mashgiach ruchani Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz recommended that he travel to study under Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik (known as "the Brisker Rov"). The latter took an exceptional liking to Leib and awarded him his greatest accolade: "Reb Leib knows how to learn" - a very great learning ability implied. Mashgiach ruchani (or Mashgiach, (Hebrew: Spiritual supervisor/guide) is a title that usually refers to a rabbi who has an official position within a yeshiva responsible for the non-academic areas of yeshiva students lives. ... Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveithchik ( Velvel Soloveithchik, 1886-1959) also referred to as the Brisker Rav, was a son of Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brest, Belarus (known amongst the Jews of the area as Brisk). He is also commonly known as the GRYZ, an acronym for Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Zev (genius...

Marriage and relocation

In 1934, Rabbi Elyah Lopian travelled from his home in England and returned to Europe in search of a suitable match for his daughter Leiba. He received advice from his close friend Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz to ask the Brisker Rov for a certain "Leibeleh Malater", the phenomenal young Illui with excellent character traits. Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After the marriage terms were agreed, with the young Rabbi Gurwicz surpassing all of Rabbi Lopian's expectations, it was understood that the couple would wed and live in Poland. However, after Rabbi Gurwicz's prospective mother-in-law died at the age of 49 in England, Leiba wrote to her fiancé making it clear that in light of the recent events, she was now responsible for the care of her younger siblings and was obliged to remain in England.

Unsure of how to proceed, Rabbi Gurwicz journeyed to the Chofetz Chaim, by this time aging and in his final years. Instead of giving a direct response to his questioner, the Chofetz Chaim repeated a set of verses three times. Rabbi Gurwicz took this as an esoteric sign that he should uproot himself and dwell in a foreign land bereft of Judaism as he knew it. Throughout his life, Rabbi Gurwicz viewed this turn of events as Divine Providence, since he was spared from the entire Nazi horror which engulfed Europe. Indeed his father, Rabbi Moshe Aharon Kushelevsky, was murdered by the Nazis. In theology, Divine Providence, or simply Providence, is the sovereignty, superintendence, or agency of God over events in peoples lives and throughout history. ...

Arriving in London, Rabbi Gurwicz taught at the Eitz Chaim yeshiva in the East End, where he taught pupils such as future Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits. He served for 10 years as Rabbi at Great Garden Street Synagogue in the same area. The term East End is most commonly used to refer to the East End of London. ... // Chief rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognised religious leader of that countrys Jewish community. ... Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits, KBE (8 February 1921–31 October 1999) was the Orthodox Judaism Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth from 1967 to 1991. ...

Gateshead

At the conclusion of World War II, having seen an influx of refugees fleeing Nazi Europe, the fledgling Gateshead Yeshiva had grown to a student body of 120. Around 1947, Rabbi Gurwicz's brother-in-law Rabbi Leib Lopian, at that time a member of the Gateshead Kollel, wrote to the former in London urging him to contribute his vast talents to the burgeoning yeshiva. Rabbi Gurwicz was invited to join the staff of the Gateshead Yeshiva, an offer he duly accepted. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A kollel (Hebrew: כולל; a gathering/collection [of scholars]) is an institute for advanced studies of the Talmud and of rabbinic literature for Jewish adults, essentially a yeshiva which pays married men a regular monthly stipend or annual salary (and/or provides housing and meals) to study Judaisms classic texts... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Under Rabbi Gurwicz's leadership, the number of pupils at the yeshiva increased many times over. He also served as the revered leader of the British Agudah. Rabbi Gurwicz led the yeshiva until his death in 1982. World Agudath Israel (The World Israeli Union) was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism. ...

At his funeral, eulogies were delivered by Rabbi Bezalel Rakow, Rabbi of Gateshead; Rabbi Shammai Zahn, Rosh Yeshiva of Sunderland; Rabbi Avraham Gurwicz, son of the deceased, and Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon and Rabbi Zeev Cohen, dean and principal of Gateshead Yeshiva, respectively. Rabbi Bezalel Rakow, (May 15, 1927 - July 20, 2003), was an orthodox rabbi who headed Gateshead’s Jewish community. ... , The Wearmouth Bridge Sunderland (pronounced: , or ) is a city in North East England which was formerly a county borough, and is now part of the City of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear. ... With Hearts Full of Faith, an Artscroll publication with selected adresses by Rabbi Salomon Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon serves as the mashgiach ruchani of the Beth Medrash Govoha yeshiva in Lakewood, New Jersey. ...

Rabbi Gurwicz's coffin was carried by his past and present pupils, through the streets of Gateshead, past the synagogue and kollel. Then the cortege of about 1,000 people made its way to Newcastle airport where the coffin was flown to London, where further eulogies were held. It was then flown from Stansted Airport to Israel. The interment took place in Jerusalem, where more tributes were paid by leading Israeli rabbis. This article is about a city in the United Kingdom. ... Terminal building, designed by Sir Norman Foster Stansted Airport is a medium-sized passenger airport with a single runway, located in the English county of Essex about thirty miles north of London. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ...

Rabbi Gurwicz was survived by his second wife Malka and three sons: Dovid, an electronics engineer, Rabbi Avraham Gurwicz, who succeeded his father as rosh yeshiva, and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Gurwicz, a lecturer at Gateshead Yeshiva. Rabbi Avraham Gurwicz is a son-in-law of his uncle, Rabbi Leib Lopian. Rabbi Gurwicz also left a daughter Sarah, married to his nephew Rabbi Zvi Kushelevsky, head of the Heichal Hatorah B'tzion yeshiva in Jerusalem. For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ...

Works

Rabbi Gurwicz published his first sefer in 1971, entitled Rashei Shearim, a title adapted from Gateshead, the name of the city that hosted the Yeshiva: shearim means "gates" and rosh means "head". The work is a compilation of the main lectures which he delivered in the Yeshiva. Sefer (Heb. ...

In 1979 Rabbi Gurwicz printed his Talmudic discourses, which he had meticulously recorded in the margins of his Gemara. He entitled it Arza Devei Rav, which means "pillar of the Beth midrash", based on his name Arye Ze'ev. These contain hundreds of original thoughts and novellae on the Talmud. The Talmud (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... The Gemara (גמרא - from gamar: Hebrew [to] complete; Aramaic [to] study) is a component of the Talmud, comprising the rabbinical commentaries and analysis on the Mishnah, undertaken in the Academies of Palestine and Babylon over a 300 year period to about 500. ... Beth midrash (or Beit Midrash or Bais Medrash or Bais Medrish) (plural battei midrash) literally means a House of Interpretation or Lecturing or Learning in Hebrew. ...

References

• Teller, Hannoch; Sunset. New York City Pub Co (1987). ISBN 0-9614772-2-9