In a deeply troubling incident, seforim authored by Hagaon Rav Avrohom Gurwicz, rosh yeshiva of Gateshead Yeshiva and one of the senior gedolim of our generation, were seemingly removed under suspicious circumstances from multiple batei medrash in the Lakewood, NJ region, Matzav.com learned exclusively this past week.
The disappearance of the ענפי ארז and וענפי ארזי אל volumes comes just months after Rav Gurwicz publicly endorsed participation in the WZO elections on behalf of the Eretz HaKodesh party.
Rav Gurwicz is recognized as one of the foremost Torah leaders of our time, revered by the greatest gedolim and talmidei chachamim across the globe. His seforim are staples in yeshivos and batei medrash around the world, treated with utmost reverence by the world’s greatest talmidei chachomim.
Thankfully, in at least one beis medrash where the seforim had vanished, they were quietly restored to the shelves, a step toward repairing the bizayon haTorah.
Thank you for not publishing the names of the shuls or botei medrash
Whoever it is knows it is and should be mesaken it if it wasn’t already
Whoever did it is playing with fire. I suggest that individual put the seforim back immediately and then call the Rosh Hayeshiva to ask him mechilah.
Wow (and hilarious)! All of a sudden Matzav is worried about בזיון התורה…..
Instead of telling Matzav off, just put back the seforim. Don’t bother asking mechila.
It’s too late.
It is rare to find such an invitation for Loshon Horah, machlokes and bizyon H’Torah on Matzav like reporting this.
Its important that people know about this so we see the results of those opposed to voting in the WZO denigrating Gedolim who disagreed with them. And its crucial to see if there is a public condemnation by the leadership.
I think the conservative removed the seforim.
Thank you Matzav for fanning the flames of sinas chinom. Thank you for publicizing this lashon hora on the world wide internet. Do you ask your “daas Torah” that you claim you have, before publishing this piece??? You editors are truly rishaim.
Lol
most likely the person who took the seforim is looking at this article and will see my comment
just because you disagree with his political and haskafic/halachic views dosent mean you should steal
lo tignov
One meshugana does something and matzav has to post as bizayon hatorah?? Is it such a slow news day??
Yes. Matzav thought it was an ingenious idea to print this article davka now when the Brooklyn here is dead. All the rich and famous fled the City for pleasures beyond, so what better way to get so many hits to their failing website than to create some geshmakeh juicy lashon hora controversy. The more hits they get, the more sheqels they can squeeze out of their advertisers. No morals whatsoever.
I want to bet that all the people who are so angry at Matzav for publishing this piece are on “that” side No doubt
They’re so angry that someone exposed how kooky their “zealots” are that they would do such a thing
Because if it was the reverse and someone did something like this to their gadol or their rov they’d want to know why no one is publicizing it. you people are so predictable
And no there isn’t any lashon hara here It’s just stating what happened I didn’t see any lashon hara. Sorry guys
“truth,” thank you for saying the truth!
it hurts
that’s why they’re going crazy
they don’t want anyone to expose their lunacy
Exactly. When it’s the truth, it’s lashon hora. When it’s false, it’s Motzei shem rah. Either way, the holier than thou editors at Matzav were just koneh gihenom.
@truth, how much do you want to bet? You don’t know any of the commentors here. How could you assume that they are on ‘that side’? I don’t have any opinion on the WZO issue, and I still think that Matzav is wrong for publishing this. And no, if someone would ever do something to my leader I would not want it to be publicized. There is nothing truthful about your comment.
It’s a Bizayon Hatorah to spread this story.
Why publicize this? Matzav- you are only increasing the bizayon of torah. Besides making the shameful facts public, you are giving a degree of credibility to what this person/people did by deeming it worthy to report on it and to explain their reasoning behind their wrongdoing. Just keep quiet. Whoever removed the seforim is simply crazy and mentally compromised. Why give him/them any attention or legitimacy? Sometimes its better to be quiet as chazal say.
It’s a bizoyen Hatorah to remove his seforim. Matzav is making a machoh! You should be upset at those who did this, not at those who are trying to get it rectified!
@truth, do you work for Matzav?
Seems like this news story has really gotten
under the skin of the anti WZO people!
wonder why
Maybe they were taken out because are learning his seforim?
The fact that there are actually people commenting here justifying the removal of Rav Avrohom Gurwicz’s seforim — or claiming this “shouldn’t be reported on” — is a tragic reflection of how far we’ve fallen.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t about politics. This isn’t about the WZO or Eretz HaKodesh. This is about Torah. About a gadol b’Yisroel whose Torah has illuminated the lives of thousands being quietly erased from batei medrash because someone didn’t like what he publicly and respectfully supported. And your response is to wave it off? To say it shouldn’t be discussed? To excuse the behavior?
This is the exact mindset that enables bizayon haTorah to fester, when kavod haTorah is sacrificed on the altar of personal or political agendas and people stand by smugly justifying it, or pretending that exposing it is somehow the problem.
No, the problem is not the reporting. The problem is that seforim of one of the gedolei hador were removed from batei medrashim. And the bigger problem is the commenters here who find convoluted ways to justify it. It’s not kana’us. It’s flat-out disrespect. And every bochur and yungerman who sees this behavior and hears the silence around it absorbs the message loud and clear: Torah is only sacred when it serves your worldview. Hashem yerachem.
interesting that instead of condemning what happened the antiWZO people on here are going crazy that this was reported on!
talk abotu twisted priorities! how about condemning the disgrace to the torah first! no. youre just concerned that it exposes you guys for what you are
It is astonishing — and frankly, shameful — that Matzav.com can report on the removal of the seforim of Hagaon Rav Avrohom Gurwicz shlita with a tone of detached curiosity, as though this were a minor mystery rather than an outrageous bizayon haTorah. Are we so dulled by politics that the violation of kavod haTorah — the quiet censorship of one of the gedolei hador — doesn’t even evoke outrage anymore? Where is the righteous indignation? Where is the cry over the fact that Torah — not a campaign ad, not a flyer, but Torah — was targeted, seemingly because the baal hasefer had the audacity to express a daas Torah that didn’t align with someone’s agenda?
The report talks about the seforim being “quietly restored,” as though that alone closes the matter. It doesn’t. What about the chutzpah of erasing a gadol’s Torah from a makom Torah? What about the message this sends to bochurim — that when you disagree with someone’s hashkafah, you can literally remove their Torah from the shelves?
The complete failure to name this act for what it is: a disgrace, an assault on kavod haTorah, a chillul Hashem — is its own form of complicity. Reporting it as a curiosity without condemnation is not journalism. It’s cowardice.
These people who removed the seforim are no doubt a minority of a minority. A very small group or maybe even just one person, that does not represent anyone. The mainstream tzibbur, even the super frum/yeshivish/anti-WZO/whatever you want to call them, crowd does not agree with their approach in the slightest. So why get so busy with calling out the bizayon hatorah? Who are you talking to exactly? The main stream knows this already as a davar pashut and the small group of zealots will never learn. This whole thing is just not news worthy.
Chickens coming home to roost. Some of our quarters have tragically become a hub of fanaticism for very obvious reasons, and a true adam gadol who says the truth about WZO and about the outstanding Chumash Peshuto shel Mikra (whose author is now dead owing to the insane terrorism he was subjected to) is shunned and ridiculed. This is not the klal Yisrael I grew up with.
Well said! We not live in a society where every time someone doesn’t agree with “certain people”, they are hounded and terrorized, publicly besmirched and accused with all sorts of terrible actions, and hit with a targeted campaign based on lies and statements and actions taken out of context to legitimize them. (They figure if the accusations are outlandish enough or made up with enough detail and said with enough conviction, people will believe it must at least be partly true.) This goes on until they destroy the them or they retract. Think bugs in fish and water, Indian wigs and lace top, random private kehuna psak, eiruvin, chickens, etc. The list goes on and on.
It’s crazy and society can’t function normally like this. It is time the quiet masses pushes back and shuns these people from society.
Thank you! You said it ; I thunk it.
Everybody agrees that Rav Gurwicz is a tremendous gadol. However, those American gedolim who disagree with him, believes that it’s a mitzvah to remove any remnant of his position from klal Yisrael! They believe his position is a danger to the tzibur! This I heard directly from there gedolim. C”v they don’t mean anything personal against him, but they believe that his position is a sakana! They would much rather be learning etc. than being busy with this, but what should they do, they believe it is their responsibility to remove this threat! They agree that he’s a gadol and entitled to his opinion. It is only that according to their opinion, his opinion is a danger. We must be open-minded enough to realize that just as he is entitled to his position, so are they to theirs as long as it doesn’t involve besmirching him personally, rather only his views and actions. When taken in this context, it is not so hard to understand the actions of someone removing his seforim. It is nothing personal against him. It was only because people might become influenced by his position which according to their position is very wrong. As simple as that.
Really?
“it is not so hard to understand the actions of someone removing his seforim. It is nothing personal against him. It was only because people might become influenced by his position which according to their position is very wrong.”
Really????
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?
Do you know who you are talking about?
Oh and by the way, you’re so worried about “people becoming influenced”? Is that why he was begged to come to the Adirei Hatorah event – and was offered a private jet and a million dollars to his yeshiva?
You’re so lost and so twisted. Nebach. Get help. You’re sick. Sick sick sick.
I remember, when I was learning in a certain Yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel in the late 80’s, a yungerman took all the Kehati mishnayos and hid it somewhere as well. Recently, here in Brooklyn, a Shul I occasionally daven in, removed the peirush on Rashi, blue seforim from the shelf as well.
As for me personally, I listened to the Gedolim who are alive today and DIDN’T vote. Baruch Hashem.
if you want me to agree with you give me a list of all the gedolim who condone theft. iil give you my list of gedolim who prohibit theft and will see whos longer/ more important
1: hashem ” lo tignov”
2:moshe “lo tigzol”
3: rambam hilchos geneiva halacha alef
4: the constitution (not a gadol but mentioned anyway to say that its illegal)
5: the alter rebbe (shulchan aruch harav laws of theft)
Really?! You remove his wonderful seforim because ‘you’ don’t like his opinion?! And you wish to remove “any remnants of his opinion,” whatever that means. Is there anybody in the Yeshivah worthy of being Rav Gurwitz’s disputant in learning or otherwise? This is sheer insanity
Don’t lose any sleep over it. Really.
I agree, but the other way around. Those who argued with Reb Avraham are not bad people, but their position in Klal Yisrroel should be taken away
It’s quite telling that many commenters are criticizing Matzav instead of condemning this and calling for the leadership of these institutions or shuls or yeshivos to condemn likewise.
This can only happen when , as in the case of the WZO elections, many of those opposed to voting denigrated Gedolim who disagreed.
Its important for people to see where this leads.
And its important to see if the leadership will publicly condemn the act as well as those who would justify it.
What are you? A mind reader? Why are you jumping to conclusions before you know all of the facts? You’re just relying on the rechelus that matzav is peddling? Matzav already lost their olam haba. No need for you to follow them. Save yourself. Don’t be like Korach viadaso.
Where can I and thousands of others purchase these sforim ?
Who sells it ?