Isaac Hirsch Weiss
Encyclopedia
Isaac Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss (February 9, 1815 - June 1, 1905) (Hebrew: יצחק הירש ווייס) was an Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Velké Meziříčí
Velké Mezirící
Velké Meziříčí is a town in the Vysočina Region, Czech Republic. It is situated under the original Gothic castle in a valley framed by the hills of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands....

, Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...

.

After having received elementary instruction in Hebrew and Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

 in various chadorim
Cheder
A Cheder is a traditional elementary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language.-History:...

of his native town, he entered, at the age of eight, the yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

of Moses Aaron Tichler (founded at Velké Meziříčí in 1822), where he studied Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

 for 5 years. He then studied at home under a tutor, and later in the yeshiva of Trebitsch
Trebíc
Třebíč is a city in the Moravian part of the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic.Třebíč is situated 35 km southeast of Jihlava and 65 km west of Brno on the Jihlava River. Třebíč is from 392 to 503 metres above sea-level....

, Moravia, under Ḥayyim Joseph Pollak, and in that of Eisenstadt
Eisenstadt
- Politics :The current mayor of Eisenstadt is Andrea Fraunschiel ÖVP.The district council is composed as follows :* ÖVP: 17 seats* SPÖ: 8 seats* Austrian Green Party: 2 seats* FPÖ: 2 seats- Castles and palaces :...

, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 under Isaac Moses Perles, returning to his home town in 1837.

Early Abilities

From the tender age at which Weiss began to study Talmud and rabbinics it may be deduced that he was endowed with remarkable ability. He felt a keen desire for the pursuit of the secular sciences also, of which he was deprived in his youth, although he had been instructed in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 by his private tutor. In some of the yeshibot which he attended instruction was given also in the Hebrew language and grammar, but that did not satisfy Weiss. It was for this reason that he changed from one yeshibah to another, hoping that he would ultimately find one in which his desire for learning would be satisfied. Influenced by Nachman Krochmal
Nachman Krochmal
Nachman Kohen Krochmal was a Jewish Galician philosopher, theologian, and historian.-Biography:...

, by Rapoport
Samuel Judah Löb Rapoport
Solomon Judah Löb Rapoport , was a Galician rabbi and Jewish scholar. He was born in Lemberg, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria. He married the daughter of the famed Ketoz hachosen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryeh_Leib_Heller, and was instrumental in publishing the work Avnie Miluim of...

, and by Zunz
Zunz
Zunz, Zuntz is a Yiddish surname: , Belgian pharmacologist* Leopold Zunz , German Reform rabbi* Gerhard Jack Zunz , British civil engineer- Zuntz :* Nathan Zuntz , German physiologist...

's Gottesdienstliche Vorträge, Weiss devoted part of his time to the study of religious philosophy. Talmudic studies, however, occupied the greater part of his time, and during the years that he spent in his parents' home he wrote several pamphlets containing novellæ on Talmudic tractates, as well as on the Shulḥan 'Aruk, Yoreh De'ah and Ḥoshen Mishpaṭ. He also kept up a correspondence with many distinguished rabbis, particularly Joseph Saul Nathanson
Joseph Saul Nathanson
Joseph Saul Nathanson was a Polish rabbi and posek, and a leading rabbinical authority of his day.-Biography:...

, and contributed to Stern's Kokebe Yiẓḥaḳ and to Kobak's Jeschurun. To the former he contributed articles on general subjects, as well as verses and a number of biographies, among which that of Rab (Abba Arika
Abba Arika
Abba Arika was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the 3rd century who established at Sura the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud...

) deserves special notice. In the Jeschurun he published several articles on the origin of prayer.

Activity at Vienna

In 1858 Weiss settled in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, where he became corrector for the press in the printing establishment of Samarski and Dittmarsch. Six years later (1864) he was appointed lecturer in the bet ha-midrash founded by Adolf Jellinek
Adolf Jellinek
----Adolf Jellinek |Drslavice]], nearby Uherské Hradiště, Moravia - December 28, 1893, Vienna) was an Austrian rabbi and scholar...

, holding that position until his death. In Vienna, where Jellinek and other prominent Jewish scholars were congregated, Weiss found greater scope for his literary activity. He immediately turned his attention to a Vienna edition of the Talmud, and the notes with which he provided most of the tractates give evidence of his vast erudition. Then, at the request of Jacob Schlossberg, he wrote a compendium of the laws and observances relating to the ritual; this work, which was entitled Oraḥ la-Ẓaddiḳ, was published by Schlossberg at the beginning of the Seder Tefillat Ya'aḳob (Vienna, 1861). In the following year Weiss edited the Sifra
Sifra
Sifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, i. 7b. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" , and in two passages also "Sifra debe...

 with the commentary of Abraham ben David of Posquières; to this work he added a historical and linguistic introduction in nine chapters, and he provided the text with critical and exegetical notes entitled Masoret ha-Talmud, giving the variants of different manuscripts as well as an index showing the parallel passages in both Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

im.

In 1864 Weiss took a prominent part in the Kompert trial, publishing a pamphlet entitled Neẓaḥ Yisrael in support of the testimony of Horowitz and Mannheimer with regard to the belief in the Messiah
Jewish Messiah
Messiah, ; mashiah, moshiah, mashiach, or moshiach, is a term used in the Hebrew Bible to describe priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25...

. This work called forth a reply by Nissan Schidhoff, entitled Nesheḳ Bar (Fürth, 1864). In the same year Weiss edited the mishnayot of the treatise Berakhot
Berakhot (Talmud)
Berachot is the first tractate of Seder Zeraim, a collection of the Mishnah that primarily deals with laws relating to plants and farming...

, giving a list of variants in both Talmudim and a brief synopsis of the contents. A year later (1865) he founded a monthly magazine, Bet ha-Midrash, of which, however, only five numbers appeared. In the same year he edited the Mekilta, to which he added an introduction dealing with the historical development of both Halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

 and Aggada, and a critical commentary entitled Middot Soferim.

After the publication of his Mishpaṭ Leshon ha-Mishnah (1867), an essay on the mishnaic language, Weiss began to prepare his stupendous work, the Dor Dor we-Dorshaw (1871–91; see below). Although Weiss had not been successful with his Bet ha-Midrash, he was more fortunate with the Bet Talmud, a monthly magazine which he founded in 1881 with Meïr Friedmann
Meir Friedmann
Meir Friedmann was an Austrian-Hungarian Jewish scholar. His editions of the Midrash are the standard texts. His chief editions were the Sifre , the Mekhilta , Pesiqta Rabbathi...

. In this periodical Weiss published numerous articles of his own, most of them treating of the Talmud in general and of Talmudic subjects. No less important are his biographical sketches, among which are those of Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...

, Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...

, and Jacob Tam (Bet Talmud, i., ii., and iii., and reprinted in book form under the title Toledot Gedole Yisrael). In 1891, on the completion of his Dor, Weiss reedited Isaac Campanton
Isaac Campanton
Isaac ben Jacob Canpanton was a Spanish rabbi. He lived in the period darkened by the outrages of Ferran Martinez and Vicente Ferrer, when intellectual life and Talmudic erudition were on the decline among the Jews of Spain. The historiographers Immanuel Aboab , Zacuto Isaac ben Jacob Canpanton...

's Darke ha-Gemara, a methodology of the Talmud. His last work in book form was his Zikronotai (Warsaw, 1895), a collection of his reminiscences from his childhood to his eightieth year.

He continued to contribute to various Hebrew periodicals, writing mostly biographies, of which may be mentioned that of Saadia Gaon
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature...

 (in Ha-Asif, ii. 275-293), published before Weiss had attained his thirtieth year, and that of Mannheimer
Isaac Noah Mannheimer
Isaac Noah Mannheimer was a Jewish preacher.The son of a chazzan, he began the study of the Talmud at an early age, though not to the neglect of secular studies...

 (in Mi-Mizraḥ umi-Ma'Arab, iii. 17 et seq.). In his lectures Weiss was rather free with regard to the text of the Talmud and the Midrashim. He did not hesitate to declare the text faulty when it seemed so to him; but, on the other hand, he was very careful in making corrections. He held also that the words of the ancient rabbis should not be interpreted according to modern conception, such interpretation being liable to result in error.

Isaac Hirsch died at Vienna on June 1, 1905.

His Dor Dor we-Dorshaw

Weiss's most important production, through which he acquired great renown, is his Dor Dor we-Dorshaw, a work in five volumes. As its German title, Zur Geschichte der Jüdischen Tradition, shows, it is a history of the Halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

, or oral law, from Biblical times until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain at the end of the 15th century. The first volume (1871) covers the history from the inception of the oral law to the destruction of the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...

; vol. ii. (1876) treats of the tannaitic period until the conclusion of the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...

; vol. iii. (1883), of the amoraic period till the completion of the Babylonian Talmud; vol. iv. (1887), of the geonic period until the end of the fifth millennium (= the middle of the 13th century); and vol. v., of the period of the casuists ("poseḳim") until the composition of the Shulḥan 'Aruk.

As the oral law is in reality the interpretation of the Pentateuch, Weiss thinks that it originated immediately after the redaction of the latter by Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

. The apparent divergencies in the Pentateuch and the various books of the Prophets
Prophets
Prophets may refer to:* High Prophets , The Covenant leaders in Halo 2* Prophets , one of the five Ascension Gift Ministries* LDS Prophets, modern day Prophets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

 (as the well-known differences between the books of Ezekiel
Ezekiel
Ezekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet...

 and Leviticus
Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....

, and many others) are due only to different interpretations of the Pentateuch in different epochs. It will be seen that Weiss defended the unity of the Pentateuch and vindicated the authorship of Moses. But he believed that Moses himself followed certain traditions current in his time, as it is said that Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

 observed God's commandments and laws (Gen. xxvi. 5). He asserted also that while the Pentateuch contains no simple repetitions of the laws, it contains additions which amplify or limit the commandments laid down in the earlier books. In the second volume Weiss gives the history of the Mekhilta
Mekhilta
This article refers to the Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael. There is a separate article on the Mekhilta de-Rabbi ShimonMekhilta or Mekilta is a halakic midrash to the Book of Exodus...

, Sifra
Sifra
Sifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, i. 7b. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" , and in two passages also "Sifra debe...

, Sifre
Sifre
Sifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...

, and Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...

. This volume contains also monographs on the Tannaim
Tannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...

 which are invaluable to the Talmudic student; without concealing the failings of some, he defends them, especially the patriarchs, against the charges of Schorr and others. In the third volume much space is devoted to the Aggada and the aggadists, and the author does not endeavor to find apologies for those seemingly strange passages in this part of the Talmud which serve as pretexts for those who seek to detract from its value. But he points out the many edifying sentences that are scattered throughout the Aggada, and quotes a great number of them.

As was to be expected, this work, adopted by the majority of Haskalah Talmudic scholars as the standard history of the oral law, called forth replies from some dissenters. Isaac Halevy
Yitzhak Isaac Halevy Rabinowitz
Yitzhak Isaac Halevy was a rabbi, Jewish historian, and founder of the Agudath Israel organization. Relatively little of his correspondence survived the Holocaust, and so information concerning his activities is scarce...

 is known to have written his Dorot ha-Rishonim against Weiss's Dor (mainly in notes at the end of the sixth vol.), and Eleazar Zarkes published a criticism of the work in Keneset ha-Gedolah (iv., part 2, pp. 65 et seq.). Simḥah Edelmann issued a small pamphlet entitled Ma'amar Doreshe Reshumot (Warsaw, 1893), in which he endeavored to make evident Weiss's mistakes, and Simḥah Weissmann, in his pamphlet Teshubot u-Ma'anot Nimraẓot, did not even abstain from personalities. Y. Lifshitz wrote a refutation "Dor Yesharim" that received approbations from major Chareidi figures such as Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski was a pre-eminent Av beis din , posek , and Talmudic scholar in Vilnius, Lithuania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...

.

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

  • Chajes, in Rivista Israelitica, ii.126-128;
  • Ehrenpreis
    Ehrenpreis
    Ehrenpreis is a Hebrew surname:* Andreas Ehrenpreis * Leon Ehrenpreis , a mathematician** Malgrange–Ehrenpreis theorem...

    , in Ha-Maggid, xl., Nos. 5-7;
  • Ismar Elbogen
    Ismar Elbogen
    Ismar Elbogen was a Jewish-German rabbi, scholar and historian....

    , in Ost und West, v.499-502; Jewish Comment, xxi., No. 11;
  • Louis Ginzberg
    Louis Ginzberg
    Rabbi Louis Ginzberg was a Talmudist and leading figure in the Conservative Movement of Judaism of the twentieth century. He was born on November 28, 1873, in Kovno, Lithuania; he died on November 11, 1953, in New York City.-Biographical background:...

    , ib. xx., Nos. 18-20;
  • N. Sokolow, in Ha-Asif, iv.47;
    • idem, Sefer Zikkaron, pp. 38–39;
  • Weiss, Zikronotai, Warsaw, 1895.
  • For the Dor Dor we-Dorshaw: Brüll
    Brüll
    Brüll is a surname, and may refer to:*Ignaz Brüll, composer*Nehemiah Brüll, rabbi and scholarSee also* Brull...

    , Jahrb. iv.59 et seq., vii.124 et seq., ix.115 et seq.;
  • Heinrich Grätz, in Monatsschrift, xxvi.92 et seq., 133 et seq.;
  • Solomon Schechter
    Solomon Schechter
    Solomon Schechter was a Moldavian-born Romanian and English rabbi, academic scholar, and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the United Synagogue of America, President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and architect of the American Conservative Jewish...

    , in J. Q. R. iv.445 et seq.;
  • P. Smolenskin, in Ha-Shaḥar. iii. 182-183.
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