 | | Lot No. | | *** | | Description: | the Archives of Rabbi Joseph Lipman Gurewicz Born in Vilna in 1885, Rabbi Gurewicz arrived in Australia in 1932, becoming the spiritual head of the United Congregations of Carlton. Rabbi Gurewicz was an authority in Halachic matters; in addition, he possessed dynamic leadership skills, was a good Yiddish orator - which was the language of the time in Carlton - and he quickly became fluent in English. He also had phenominal organizational skills, which partly explains why we now have the opportunity to view his files of documents, literally covering all matters related to Judaism and reflecting the variety of issues confronting Melbourne Jewry in the 1930s to 1950s. He kept everything. Of particular importance are the documents illustrating his involvement during the War years in obtaining immigration permits and helping refugees and newcomers settle in Australia. Following his death in 1956, Rabbi Gurewicz's son, Ben-Zion, inherited the archive before Rabbi Ronald Lubofsky, a former rabbi of St Kilda Hebrew Congregation, purchased it in the early 1990s. While the removal of a small number of letters, (mostly to do with correspondence to and from Lithuanian Jewry during the desperate years of World War II), has been widely discussed, the importance and historical value of the large percentage which remains intact and is offered here, has never been in doubt. The archive has now been divided into a number of significant groupings (list available) but it may be useful here to attempt to give an indication of the depth and breadth of the collection. For example, the older Anglo-Jewish 'establishment' in Melbourne was clearly alarmed at the efforts of the newcomers, mainly Russian and Eastern European Jews, to establish their own communal institutions. There was ongoing tension on these matters between the Jewish communities north and south of the Yarra. The Gurewicz files include numerous documents which clearly reflect this unsettled period. In 1937, kosher butchers Smorgon & Co., began exporting kosher meat to the Jewish community in Palestine, then a British Mandate created by the League of Nations. Rabbi Gurewicz caused a great rift in the community after he questioned the status of 'kosher' supervision of the meat in a letter to the Chief Rabbinate in Tel Aviv. The Chief Rabbinate issued a ban on Australian meat and posted notices around the city of Tel Aviv, quoting from Gurewicz's letter. The Melbourne Beth Din, understandably very offended that their authority had been questioned, requested the Chief Rabbi of England, Rabbi Hertz, to vouch for the reliability of their supervision. There are over 100 documents in the files relating to this issue. Rabbi Gurewicz was very much involved in the supervision and distribution of kosher foods. There is much correspondence with regards to kosher wine, cheese, biscuits, sausage casings, oil, butter, etc. He used to visit abattoirs regularly, to oversee proceedings and there are many documents in his own hand-writing, with notes on his observations. Many Carlton residents at that time made their living as 'marketniks' - selling at the nearby Victoria Market. As these traders often dealt with small amounts of money or minor disputes, when disagreements arose they were more than likely to be settled by presenting the case to the rabbi for a 'Din-Torah' or halachic arbitration. At least a dozen such cases can be studied by reference to documents in the archive. There are also documents of an intensely human nature. A 'get' or bill of divorce had been sent from Havana, Cuba, to Melbourne only to be lost en route as a result of an aeroplane crash. Rabbi Gurewicz wrote on behalf of the wife to the rabbi in Cuba requesting a replacement. The reply eventually came from the wife of that rabbi saying that he had passed away in the interim. Back to square one! Eventually another 'get' from another rabbi was secured and the whole episode can be reconstructed from the preserved letters and notes. Even more poignant is the case of the resident of Tel Aviv who wrote to Rabbi Gurewicz asking for his assistance. His son had travelled to Australia, joined the Royal Australian Air Force, and had been killed. The father asks for help in locating his son's body and having it returned to Palestine for burial. Virtually every Jewish organization which existed in Melbourne corresponded with Rabbi Gurewicz. A quick sampling includes the Jewish Philanthropic Society, the Australian Jewish Welfae Society, the Sick Visiting Society, the Jewish Youth Council, N.C.J.W., the Jewish Council to Combat Fascism and Anti-Semitism, Habonim, the Judean League, Bialik Hebrew School, the Brunswick Zion Congregation and many interstate and local congregations. Gurewicz was also the Rabbi Principal of the Carlton Talmud Torah Haskolah. The files include minutes of board meetings, dozens of documents relating to the standard of teaching, lists of prize winners, examination results, applications from teachers, etc. We are proud to be able to offer this unique historical record for sale. The Gurewicz Archive is available for inspection by appointment, prior to the dates advertised for general viewing | | Estimate: | *** | | Price: | *** | | Category: | Printed & Written Material — Historical Documents | |
