Rabbi Aryeh Ze'ev (Leib) Gurwicz

Rabbi Aryeh Ze'ev (Leib) Gurwicz (1906-1982) son-in-law of Rabbi Elya Lopian, and Rosh Yeshiva of Gatsehead, named his earlier Seforim "Rashei She'arim", noting that he was following in the path of Ba'al Hamaor in calling his Sefer after the city he lived in.

Rav Aryeh Leib Grossnass

I happened to have come across Rav Grossnass this week. Although I have seen his Sefer before(there is a copy of it in the Beit Morasha library), and I even noticed his Teshuva regarding holding a wife' s hand during labor, I never really took much interest before in his remarkable rabbinic figure.

Rabbi Grossnass had studied in Kamenetz under R. Baruch Ber, he was one of the founding figures of the gateshead Kollel, and later on a leading member of the London Beis Din. A highly regarded Dayan and Talmid Chacham, he was well respected by many of the Giants of his time. One finds Teshuvot written to him by the Minchat Yitzchak, Igrot Moshe, Har Tzvi. His son in-law was R. Mordechai Chevroni, son of R. Moshe Chevroni (Mas'at Moshe) of the Chevron Yeshiva, (also the namesake of the Mas'at Mordechai Shul in Ramat Beit Shemesh where I davened this morning).

[Interestingly, his Sefer appears with a Haskama (approbation) from Rabbi Israel Brodie. ]

I recently came across him again because of a Teshuva he wrote regarding the question of Giyyur where he proposes a novel understanding of it's very essence. This in the context of discussing the permissibility of converting a deaf individual, the problem being that such an individual would not be M'chuyav B'mitzvot after conversion.

Rabbi Grossnass suggests that if conversion is seen as an act of entering the Jewish people - not one of the acceptance of the Torah, then such a conversion should be acceptable.

Interestingly, a similar idea was put forth by his Mechutan, R. Chevroni in Mas'at Moshe [on Kiddushin, as well as by R. Chevroni's son in-law, R. Aharon Yaffen in his Peirush on the Ritva Yevamot.]