Headstones of the graves of Rabbi Asher Grunis (1877-1937) and Hanna Baila (1876-1943), in Highfield Jewish Cemetery, Cardiff

Description

The graves of Rabbi Asher Grunis and his wife Hannah Baila are in Highfield Jewish Cemetery, Cardiff. The grave also has a memorial to their son Abraham. Also illustrated are press cuttings from the Jewish Chronicle which contain tributes to Asher Grunis, and a press cutting from the South London Press about Abraham.

"Here is buried Our father our teacher and our Rabbi, The Rabbi Great in Torah and fear of heaven. The chain of lineage Rabbi Asher the son of the Rabbi Rav Yoav Woolf Grunis. May the memory of the righteous one be a blessing Author of the Pri Osher, Rabbi in Viltshine, Poland and latterly Cardiff.

Passed away with a good name on the tenth of the month of av 5697 to our counting in the sixtieth year of his life. May her soul be bonded in the bond of eternal life."

"Here is buried Our dear mother the Rebbetzin, The kosher one amongst women, from a root of jewels the lady Chana Beila daughter of the Rabbi Rav Nosson Note, may the memory of the righteous one be a blessing. Widow of Rabbi Rav Osher Grunis may the memory of the righteous one be a blessing.

Passed away with a good name on the third of Adar 2 5703 to our count in the 67th year of her life. May her soul be bonded in the bond of eternal life."

[Translations by Rabbi Michoel Rose, punctuation added.]

The second image is a report from The Jewish Chronicle dated 23 July 1937:

*The death of Rabbi Asher Grunis, of Cardiff, occurred last Sunday, at the age of sixty.

Asher Grunis was born in Kzarloshin, Poland, in 1877. He was the son of Rabbi Velvella, and from his earliest years he devoted himself to the study of commentaries if the Talmud and Rabbinics. He was tutored by the famous Rabbonim, Rabbi Abramale and the Kfar Rabbi of Ger, with whom he had family connections. At the early age of sixteen, he was made Rav of Wilezyn, a post he held for twenty-five years.

He was the author of many Hebrew works and treatises, and was a keen Mizrachi Zionist. He had a quiet and modest disposition. Everything he said or did was distinguished by a charm that compelled the admiration of those who came in contact with him, and his genuine Orthodoxy was blended with broadmindedness and tolerance.

A large cortège left the Rabbi's house for the Old Hebrew Congregation in Cathedral Road, where the Rabbi H. Ferber, of London, delivered the Hesped. From the Synagogue, the funeral procession proceeded to the Beth Hamedrash, where it halted for a few minutes, and then on to Windsor Place Synagogue. Rabbi Mowshovitz, of Poland, delivered a Hesped at the cemetery.

THE REV. H. JEREVITCH writes:

Rabbi Grunis was one of the old type of Rabbis to whom the Torah is the most precious possession. Always unassuming, he was happiest when left to his studies and when he was able to impart Jewish learning to those who cared for it. It grieved him that so few Shaalot were asked of him. He was bent on seeing that the Kashrut was carried out to the letter. His oratorical powers were not great, but when he did address the congregation it was clear to everyone that he was not only a great Talmudist but had delved deeply into philosophy and history. The Community has lost a Rav and I have lost a friend who was always ready to give every assistance when approached."

The third image shows tributes from the synagogue wardens in The Jewish Chronicle the following week:

"Messrs. Abraham D. Schwartz and Henry Silver, Wardens of the Cardiff Old Hebrew Congregation, write:

In the passing away of Rabbi Asher Grunis, the first and only Rav in Cardiff, the Community has sustained a severe loss. Apart from his great Talmudical learning, he was a scholar and well versed in various languages; his genuine orthodoxy was blended with tactfulness and gentleness, with which he endeared himself to all with whom he came into contact. He graced the Beth Hamedrash with his presence, and his loss will be greatly felt by those who enjoyed his daily exposition of the Torah which he loved so much. Rabbi Grunis was a charming personality, inspiring confidence and always willing to be of service to all who sought his advice and aid.

MR. N. S. BURSTEIN writes:

By the death of Rabbi Asher Grunis, Cardiff Jewry has lost a stalwart champion of true orthodoxy. He was a man of great piety and learning, an authority on Jewish law and lore, and his generosity and kindness of heart were beyond compare. I mourn the loss of a faithful friend, whose erudition and worldly knowledge always profoundly impressed. No question of the most abstruse nature found him at a loss for an answer."

What did Rabbi Grunis think of Cardiff? He was appalled that weddings were in non-kosher restaurants, and disappointed that he was not sought more for advice. His son wrote, “He wasn’t so happy that he was one of the few religious people in that town. On many occasions he wrote to me that he had had enough of being there. He hoped one day he would fly like a bird to Israel.”

Also on the grave is a memorial to their son Corporal Abraham Grunis:

"In memory of Cpl A Grunis (R.A.F.V.R.) son of Rabbi a& Mrs Asher Grunis drowned in the Pacific, while a prisoner of war in Japanese hands 29th November 1943 (2 Kislev 5704) deeply mourned by his brothers and sister (M.H.D.S.R.I.P)" [May his dear soul rest in peace].

The last image shows a newspaper report from the South London Press dated 15 February 1944. It states that the 23-year-old Corporal Abraham Grunis had volunteered three years previously. The official explanation was:

"He died as a prisoner in Japanese hands when the Japanese ship in which he was being transferred from one camp to another was sunk."

Rabbi Asher Grunis was born in Pietrokov in Poland in 1877. A child prodigy, at the age of nineteen he was appointed Rabbi of Wilczyn in Poland. He married Hannah Baila in 1896 and they had seven sons and one daughter. In 1921 he was appointed the first communal Rav of Cardiff, overseeing the correct application of Jewish religious dietary laws. Five of the sons and one daughter came with their parents to Cardiff and one son, Hirsch, was a minister to the Bangor and Bettws-y-Coed communities before the war. Rabbi Grunis successfully campaigned to permit Jewish children to leave school early in winter on the Sabbath, and prevent Jewish students being forced to take examinations on Saturdays and Jewish Holy days. He also unsuccessfully tried to have kosher food available to Cardiff prisoners throughout the year. His major work, a commentary titled P’ri Asher (Fruits of Asher), was published posthumously.

Sources:

Page 43 of Bimah issue 18 (Pesach 5759 - 1999) and Introduction to the Fruits of Asher by Rabbi Asher Grunis and his son Iyeleg Grunis.

The grave photograph was taken by the Jewish History Association of South Wales. The press cuttings are from the Grunis family archives, which are to be deposited in the National Library (Edward J. Safra Campus) at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.