Zalman Uri Gurevich

Rabbi Yakov Landau Z"L, Av Beit Din of B'nei B'rak Israel, Former Rabbi of Kurenets wrote about Zalman Uri and his son Mordechai: "Reb Mordechai Horwitz Gurevich was known in town as Mordechai Frada's (his wife was Frada daughter of Yehuda (ben Meir) Alperovich). He was the son of a Hasidic Jew Zalman Uri Gurevich who visited Tzemach Tzedek and the name of his father was Avraham Elia. By the order of Tzemach Tzedek he became a shohet. Even in his last days (ca. 1920) he served as a shohet in a community near Kurenets. His eldest son was also a shohet. His name was Chaim Israel Gurevich (perished in the holocaust in Kurenets). His son Mordechai, on the other hand, had a business selling iron but his soul burnt with the holy fire. In the middle of market day when his store would be filled with Christian buyers, he would leave the store and run to pray with the community in the synagogue. Every evening he would come to our minyan to study.

When Reb Mordechai Gurevich was young he went to study in the town of Labadowa, and was very influenced by Levik Labadower, who was very pure. He made a few visits with his friends at that time to the Koidanov Rebbe, but when he became middle aged, he turned to Lubavitch Hasidut and became a very devout Lubavitcher. He would pray for a long time on the Sabbath, finishing a long time after the rest of the community. A few times he went to the Admor of Lubavitch even when he was living in Rostov on the River Don. In his older years he was blessed to go to Eretz Israel. This took place about 20 years ago (ca. 1933). He settled in B'nei Brak, and after his wife Freda passed away, he moved to a kibbutz near Petah Tikva (Givat Hashlosha) and lived next to his daughter Batia Bender. Every day he would walk to Petah Tikva to study Gemara together with the Rabbi and a few of his friends. He studied the Mishna intensely, and his deepest desire was to learn all the Mishna 101 times. I am sure that he achieved his goal since he was constantly reciting the Mishna. About two years ago (ca. 1952), he passed away.

Zalman Uri Ben Avraham GUREVICH Died: 1920

Spouse: Sara ZIMMERMAN

Children:

1. Chana (GUREVICH )Alperovitz Born: Kurenets. . perished 9-9-: 1942, Kurenets ( a daughter and a few grandchildren survived and came to Israel),

Chaim Israel GUREVICH Born: 1855, Kurenets, Vileyka Gubernya, . Married: second wife 1922, Linkmenys, Lithuania. perished with second wife, daughter and son in law: Sep 9th, 1942, Kurenets, Vileyka Gubernya ( most of his family is in New Haven.

Leba GUREVICH Shafer Born: 1855. Married: 29 Sep 1908. Died: 1941, Kurenets as the Germans entered. all but one of her children perished in the holocaust. The one son who survived ( Alonchik Shafer) lived in Argentina.

Mordechai GUREVICH Born: 1870. Died: 1954 in Bnai Brak, Israel ( all his children came to Eretz Israel).

Pearl (Perel\perela) GUREVICH Born: 1879, Kurenets,. . Died: 12 Dec 1964, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, Usa.

Yaakov (Yankel) SPEKTOR Born: 1884, . perished in 1942, Panary, Vilnius, Lithuania with wife, daughter and her twins. His sson lived in South Africa ( some of the grandchildren now live in Los Angeles.