Historic Telez Yeshiva Building Returned to Grandson of Founders After 82 Years
In a highly emotional and poignant event, the building of the Telez Yeshiva in Lithuania has been returned to its rightful owner, Shlomo HaGrushab Sorotkin. The building had been in ruins for the past eighty-two years, but now, it is being restored to its former glory.
The Telez Yeshiva was once the most renowned yeshiva in Lithuania, following the closure of the Walzi’an Yeshiva. Founded over one hundred and sixty years ago by Rabbi Eliezer Gordon Zatzok, also known as R. Leizer Telzer, the yeshiva saw his son-in-law, HaGri’el Bloch Zatzok” L, and later his son, Grai in Loch 14, take charge as its heads. These distinguished individuals, along with many other great Lithuanian scholars of the time, including Rabbi Shkop Zatzukal, Yosher the gate owner, and Rabbi Rabinowitz Zatzukal, known as Rabbi Haim Telzer, all studied at the Telez Yeshiva. This illustrious institution laid the foundation for the yeshiva way of learning that still exists today.
Tragically, the Yeshiva Akda’sh in Telez was shut down during the war years on the 20th of Tammuz in 1951. However, the surviving yeshiva refugees successfully reestablished the yeshiva in the United States. Prominent figures such as Graham Bloch Zatzukal, Graham Katz Zatzukal, Grav Sorotskin Zatzokal, Grand Master Gifter Zatzokal, and Gra Ouzband Zatzokal took charge and ensured the continuation of the yeshiva’s legacy.
Now, after eighty-two years, the Lithuanian government has returned the yeshiva building to Gershab Sorotkin Shalit, the grandson of the yeshiva’s founders and heads. Gershab Sorotkin Shalit, who currently serves as the head of the Aterat Shlomo Yeshiva, known as the successor of the Talez Yeshiva, journeyed to the site in Telez during the month of Av. The purpose of the trip was to redeem the yeshiva building, together with the grandsons of the Telez yeshiva leaders, in order to establish a new Torah institution there.
In a momentous event, the head of the Yeshiva of Israel arrived with many grandsons of past headmasters to reclaim and redeem the yeshiva building. The students spent two days there, holding sit-in sessions in the mythical yeshiva hall.
Upon entering the yeshiva, the head of the Yeshiva Shlita tearfully spoke, instructing everyone to remove their shoes as they were standing on holy ground. He expressed the sense of awe and privilege in witnessing the return of the Torah to its rightful place. He compared the stone on which they stood to Mount Sinai and the one who sits on it to the Tablets of the Covenant.
“When the yeshiva closed, the Gaon, Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Bloch Zatzuk’l, wept and requested the return of the Torah to this holy place. Foxes have walked here since then, and now, we are privileged to fulfill that request. This is the most tangible existence that belongs to the world – the avenging of the blood of those who were killed before our eyes,” said the head of the yeshiva emotionally.
He further emphasized the significance of the yeshiva building, noting that great men of Israel once sat and studied in these very rooms. The students were reminded that they were walking in the footsteps of these esteemed individuals who dedicated their lives to the study of Torah and the sanctification of God’s name.
As the students entered the yeshiva, holding a Torah scroll, they recited the blessing “Blessed is the one who sets the bounds of a widow.” They then sang an emotional song, expressing gratitude for their heritage and how beautiful their inheritance was. The head of the yeshiva placed mezuzahs at all the entrances of the yeshiva building, marking the restoration of the holy site.
This event carries great historical and cultural significance, bringing the Telez Yeshiva back to life after decades of desolation. The restoration of this iconic institution ensures that its legacy and teachings will continue to inspire future generations.