Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss
Encyclopedia
Dayan Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss (1902–1989), also known as the Minchas Yitzchak, was a prominent Dayan, Halachic authority and Talmud
ic scholar. He was a world-renowned expert on Jewish religious law.
in Galicia
, Austria-Hungary
, the son of a distinguished Chassid, Rabbi Yosef Yehuda Weiss, later spiritual leader of the Hungarian Jewish community in Munkacs. He had frequent encounters with the Ziditchover
Rebbe
, Rabbi Yehuda Zvi Eichenstein, until the age of seven when the latter died. However, with the onset of World War I
in 1914, he moved with his parents to Munkacs in Hungary
, where his father had lived before marrying. In 1918, the region was under the rule of independent Czechoslovakia
.
He studied under his father and received Semicha
from the Munkatcher Rebbe, Rabbi Chaim Elazar Shapiro, the famed author of the Minchas Elazar. Soon after, he also received semicha from Rabbi Meir Arik
of Tarna. He also became close to Rabbi Shimon Greenfield. At the age of 20 became a Rosh yeshiva
in the town.
Rabbi Weiss then served as the Av Beth Din in Grosswardein, Romania
, before World War II
. When Grosswardein was ceded to Hungary as a result of the Vienna Awards
, he fled to Romania in 1944, where his wife died after contracting an illness. He and his family managed to escape the deportation of Jews during the Nazi occupation of the area by hiding in bunkers and attics.
Around 1949, Rabbi Weiss emigrated to Manchester
, England
, where he was soon appointed Dayan and Av Beth Din. His appointment was hailed as an important event in the religious life of English Jewry . The then-Chief Rabbi
Sir Israel Brodie
and his successor Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits
(then-Chief Rabbi of Ireland
), were in attendance at Rabbi Weiss's induction in the Manchester Great Synagogue.
In 1951, a deputation led by Rabbi Brodie went to Manchester in an effort to persuade Rabbi Weiss to become a dayan of the London
Beth Din but he decided to decline the invitation and decided to remain with the northern community where his piety and scholarship were greatly revered. Rabbi Weiss did much to enhance the spiritual life of the community, promoting the
establishment of a new and modern mikveh and the creation of a kollel
for young scholars.
Rabbi Weiss remained in Manchester until 1970. At the suggestion of Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, the Satmar
Rebbe
, he joined the Edah HaChareidis in Jerusalem. However, this was only after his retirement as head of the Manchester Beth Din. Rabbi Weiss became the Edah Charedis head in 1979 with the death of Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum.
, entitled Minchas Yitzchak, discussing many contemporary technological, social, and economic issues. In a special section therein entitled Pirsumei Nissa ("publicising of the miracle") Rabbi Weiss recorded the harrowing ordeals that he experienced in the Second World War, and his miraculous survival.
Dayan Weiss reached his decisions by the classic "Hungarian" method of consulting recent Halachic authorities and then tracing the principles thus established back to the more basic
sources of the Talmud and Codes. His fellow sage, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
of New York
, worked in the opposite direction, going straight to the Talmud and especially Rambam in a search for precedents, and then applying the relevant reasoning directly to the question at hand, often without reference to any intermediate views.
Though Rabbi Weiss was often uncompromising and quite severe in his rulings, he was extremely kind by disposition and was always anxious to avoid conflicts, often in the face of severe provocation. In the modern age, there is no rabbinic court and no legal work which does not quote or rely on Rabbi Weiss's verdicts in applying Jewish law to modern conditions, particularly in the field of medical ethics.
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....
ic scholar. He was a world-renowned expert on Jewish religious law.
Early life
He was born in the town of DolynaDolyna
Dolyna is a city located in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in southwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Dolyna Raion .The current estimated population is around 20,900.-History:...
in Galicia
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was a crownland of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, and Austria–Hungary from 1772 to 1918 .This historical region in eastern Central Europe is currently divided between Poland and Ukraine...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, the son of a distinguished Chassid, Rabbi Yosef Yehuda Weiss, later spiritual leader of the Hungarian Jewish community in Munkacs. He had frequent encounters with the Ziditchover
Zidichov (Hasidic dynasty)
Ziditshov is a Hasidic dynasty originating in town Ziditshoyv , in Galicia . It was founded by Rebbe Tzvi Hirsh of Ziditshov...
Rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
, Rabbi Yehuda Zvi Eichenstein, until the age of seven when the latter died. However, with the onset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1914, he moved with his parents to Munkacs in 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...
, where his father had lived before marrying. In 1918, the region was under the rule of independent Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
.
He studied under his father and received Semicha
Semicha
, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...
from the Munkatcher Rebbe, Rabbi Chaim Elazar Shapiro, the famed author of the Minchas Elazar. Soon after, he also received semicha from Rabbi Meir Arik
Meir Arik
Rabbi Meir Arik is a famous Galician Torah scholar.Rabbi Arik was so highly respected by the leading Rabbis of his generation, that following the death of Rabbi Schwadron, the Belzer Rov directed all halachik questions to Rabbi Arik in his place.He was the posek of the Galician town Buchach Rabbi...
of Tarna. He also became close to Rabbi Shimon Greenfield. At the age of 20 became a Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
in the town.
Rabbi Weiss then served as the Av Beth Din in Grosswardein, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. When Grosswardein was ceded to Hungary as a result of the Vienna Awards
Vienna Awards
The Vienna Awards are two arbitral awards by which arbiters of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sought to enforce peacefully the claims of Hungary on territory it had lost in 1920 when it signed the Treaty of Trianon...
, he fled to Romania in 1944, where his wife died after contracting an illness. He and his family managed to escape the deportation of Jews during the Nazi occupation of the area by hiding in bunkers and attics.
Post-World War II
After the war Rabbi Weiss planned to emigrate to the then Palestine but was persuaded to stay and help rebuild the Grosswardein Jewish community. With the spread of Communism in Romania however, he decided to leave the country.Around 1949, Rabbi Weiss emigrated to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he was soon appointed Dayan and Av Beth Din. His appointment was hailed as an important event in the religious life of English Jewry . The then-Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
Sir Israel Brodie
Israel Brodie
Sir Israel Brodie KBE was the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth 1948–1965.He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford. He served as a Rabbi of Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Australia from 1923-1937, was evacuated from Dunkirk, and finished the War as Senior Jewish Chaplain...
and his successor Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits
Immanuel Jakobovits
Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits, Kt was the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1967 to 1991. His successor is the present Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks.-Biography:...
(then-Chief Rabbi of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
), were in attendance at Rabbi Weiss's induction in the Manchester Great Synagogue.
In 1951, a deputation led by Rabbi Brodie went to Manchester in an effort to persuade Rabbi Weiss to become a dayan of the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Beth Din but he decided to decline the invitation and decided to remain with the northern community where his piety and scholarship were greatly revered. Rabbi Weiss did much to enhance the spiritual life of the community, promoting the
establishment of a new and modern mikveh and the creation of a kollel
Kollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
for young scholars.
Rabbi Weiss remained in Manchester until 1970. At the suggestion of Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, the Satmar
Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)
Satmar is a Hasidic movement comprising mostly Hungarian and Romanian Hasidic Jewish Holocaust survivors and their descendants. It was founded and led by the late Hungarian-born Grand Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum , who was the rabbi of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary...
Rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
, he joined the Edah HaChareidis in Jerusalem. However, this was only after his retirement as head of the Manchester Beth Din. Rabbi Weiss became the Edah Charedis head in 1979 with the death of Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum.
Works
Rabbi Weiss authored an important nine-volume set of responsaResponsa
Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...
, entitled Minchas Yitzchak, discussing many contemporary technological, social, and economic issues. In a special section therein entitled Pirsumei Nissa ("publicising of the miracle") Rabbi Weiss recorded the harrowing ordeals that he experienced in the Second World War, and his miraculous survival.
Dayan Weiss reached his decisions by the classic "Hungarian" method of consulting recent Halachic authorities and then tracing the principles thus established back to the more basic
sources of the Talmud and Codes. His fellow sage, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, scholar and posek , who was world-renowned for his expertise in Halakha and was regarded by many as the de facto supreme halakhic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America during his lifetime...
of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, worked in the opposite direction, going straight to the Talmud and especially Rambam in a search for precedents, and then applying the relevant reasoning directly to the question at hand, often without reference to any intermediate views.
Though Rabbi Weiss was often uncompromising and quite severe in his rulings, he was extremely kind by disposition and was always anxious to avoid conflicts, often in the face of severe provocation. In the modern age, there is no rabbinic court and no legal work which does not quote or rely on Rabbi Weiss's verdicts in applying Jewish law to modern conditions, particularly in the field of medical ethics.