Meshulam Gross

Meshulam Fayish Tzvi (Herman) Gross or Grosz (Hebrew: משולם פייש צבי גראס‬‎) (1863–1947) was a businessman, inventor and learned layman, author of two sefarim of Torah novellae, Nachlas Tzvi and Ateres Tzvi.

Herman Grosz (as his name was then spelled) was born in Debrecen, Hungary, in 1863. Soon after, his family moved to Nyírbátor, where he was raised. His father, Reuven, was engaged in business, possibly as a breeder or trader of horses. As a young man, Meshulam reportedly was involved in "breaking" horses for his father.

It is not known which yeshivas he attended, although it is believed that much of his Torah learning was self acquired. In 1890 he married Leah Billiczer, daughter of Rabbi Amram Yishai Halevi Billiczer, Av Beth Din of Szerencs, Hungary, and a descendant of a long line of rabbis. The family originally came from Spain and reportedly were descendants of Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz (the Shelah HaKadosh, whose ancestry has been traced to Rashi and Rabbi Yochanan Hasandlar.

Gross emigrated to the United States in 1893 and settled in New York's Lower East Side. After World War I, the family moved to Borough Park, Brooklyn.

After engaging in a variety of business ventures, he settled in the women's blouse business, which, after his retirement, was carried on by his sons into the 1950s. He viewed his business solely as a means of subsistence, for his true passion was Torah. He retired from business at a relatively young age to devote himself to Torah study and was supported by his sons.

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