Joseph Hirsch Weiss (; 1800 in Podola (), ''Nyitra vármegye'',

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

– 1881 in

Erlau Erlau is a municipality in the district of Mittelsachsen in Saxony in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps t ...

()) was a Hungarian

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

. He was a descendant of a long line of rabbis resident in

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

in the 17th and 18th centuries; his family name was originally Weissfeld. He officiated for some time as rabbi of the congregation of Sook-Szelocze ((Sók)Szelőce, ), and in 1840 was appointed chief rabbi of

, known today as Eger, where he remained until his death. He was one of the leaders of the

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

party in

, and one of the chief opponents of the founders of the Reform movement in Pest. Identified with the Kossuth movement in 1848, he was obliged to seek refuge for a time in the monastery of Erlau under the protection of the resident

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

. Later he was arraigned before the royal authorities at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

on a charge of

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

, but was ultimately acquitted. A considerable portion of his library, consisting mainly of ''

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...

'', was presented by his grandson Stephen S. Wise to

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York.

Descendants

* Aaron Wise * Rabbi

Stephen Samuel Wise Stephen Samuel Wise (March 17, 1874 – April 19, 1949) was an early 20th-century American Reform rabbi and Zionist leader in the Progressive Era. Born in Budapest, he was an infant when his family immigrated to New York. He followed his father ...

References

* Haredi rabbis in Europe 19th-century German rabbis 19th-century Hungarian rabbis Hungarian Orthodox rabbis Chief rabbis Hungarian people of Czech descent People from Nové Mesto nad Váhom District People from Šaľa District People from Pest, Hungary People from Eger 1800 births 1881 deaths {{Hungary-rabbi-stub