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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

After Leib had learned in the Mir for eight years, the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel and the Mashgiach ruchani, Rabbi Yeruchom 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.

Marriage and relocation

In 1932, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Aguda. Rabbi Gurwicz led the yeshiva until his death in 1982.

At his funeral, eulogies were delivered by Rabbi Bezalel Rakow, Rabbi of Gateshead; Rabbi Shammai Zahn, Rosh Yeshiva of Sunderland; Rabbi Avrohom Gurwicz, son of the deceased, and Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon and Rabbi Zeev Cohen, dean and principal of Gateshead Yeshiva, respectively.

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.

Rabbi Gurwicz was survived by his second wife Malka and three sons: Dovid, an electronics engineer, Rabbi Avrohom Gurwicz, who succeeded his father as "rosh yeshiva", and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Gurwicz, a lecturer at Gateshead Yeshiva. Rabbi Avrohom 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 beTzion yeshiva in Jerusalem.

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.

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.

Meorei Sheorim was printed posthumously by his students, and consists of Mussar and Hashkafic talks that Rabbi Gurwicz gave over the years.

References

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