Isaac Cohen (26 July 1914 – 30 November 2007) was a British Talmudic scholar and

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. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

of Ireland for 20 years.

Education

Born in

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

, Wales to immigrants from

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, he won a scholarship in 1928 to Aria College in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, a boarding school which combined Jewish study with a place at

Portsmouth Grammar School The Portsmouth Grammar School (PGS) is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Portsmouth, England, located in the historic part of Portsmouth. It was founded in 1732 as a Single-sex education, boys' school ...

. In 1931 he enrolled at Jews College and

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and gained a Bachelor of Arts in Semitics in 1935. In 1939 he married Fanny Weisfogel of London and they settled in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. After the Second World War, he returned to London to complete his rabbinical diploma, which he gained in 1948, and subsequently took up a rabbinical position in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. In 1956 he gained his PhD from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

for research into Talmudic thought.

Appointments

His first post was at Harrow and Kenton Synagogue in Middlesex in 1935. In 1939 he moved to

United Hebrew Congregation in the capacity of an additional minister in the Moortown area. He set up a

Citizens Advice Bureau Citizens AdviceCitizens Advice is the operating name of The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, which is the umbrella charity for a wider network of local advice centres. The abbreviation CitA is sometimes used to refer to this natio ...

to help Jewish evacuees from London and was an officiating

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

for Jewish Servicemen. In 1947 he succeeded Dr

Salis Daiches Salis Daiches (1880–1945) served as rabbi of the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation from 1919 to 1945. Early life and education Salis Daiches was born Bezalel Daiches in 1880 near Vilna, Lithuania in the Russian Empire to Rabbi Israel Hayyim Da ...

as rabbi of the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation. In 1956 he succeeded Rabbi Dr

Immanuel Jakobovits Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits (8 February 192131 October 1999) was the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1967 to 1991. Prior to this, he had served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland and as rabbi of the Fi ...

as the

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

-based Chief Rabbi of Ireland. During this time he also served as the

Av Beth Din The ''av beit din'' (), abbreviated ( ''avad''), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period and served as an assistant to the nasi. The av beit din was known as the "Master of the Court;" he was consid ...

in Dublin. With the decline of the Irish community, he considered leading a community in London or taking up a position at the

London Beth Din The London Beth Din (LBD) is the Ashkenazi Beth Din of the United Synagogue, the largest Ashkenazi synagogal body in London, England. In its capacity as ''Court of the Chief Rabbi'', it is historically the supreme halakhic Authority for Ashkena ...

. He ended up remaining in Dublin until retiring in 1979 and eventually settled in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, Israel.

Legacy

While officiating in Dublin he promoted Jewish education and dealt with problems involving the supply of

kosher food Kosher foods are foods that conform to the Jewish dietary regulations of '' kashrut'' ( dietary law). The laws of ''kashrut'' apply to food derived from living creatures and kosher foods are restricted to certain types of mammals, birds and fish ...

. He was active in the Soviet Jewry Campaign and encouraged his community's support for Israel. His main work was his 25-year study ''Acts of the Mind in Jewish Ritual Law – An Insight into Rabbinic Psychology'' which was published two weeks before his death. The book was requested by the

in order to award him an honorary doctorate.

Sources

* (25 January 2008). Obituaries: Rabbi Dr Isaac Cohen. ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...

'', p. 32.
Chief Rabbi Isaac Cohen – tribute on his first Yahrzeit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Isaac 20th-century British rabbis 20th-century Irish rabbis 21st-century Irish rabbis Chief rabbis of Ireland British Orthodox rabbis British military chaplains World War II chaplains British people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent British expatriates in Ireland Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the London School of Jewish Studies Alumni of University College London People from Llanelli 1914 births 2007 deaths Rabbis in the military Welsh Jews Welsh people of Lithuanian descent