Joseph Meir Weiss (March 15, 1838 – May 26, 1909, ), was a Hungarian rabbi and founder of the Spinka

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

dynasty. He is often known as the "Imrei Yosef" after his major work. The family name is sometimes spelled Weisz.

Early life

Weiss was born in Munkács (Munkacz), Hungary (now Mukacheve, Ukraine). His father, Rabbi Samuel Zevi (Shmuel Tzvi) Weiss, was ''

Av Beit 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 ...

'' of Munkacz, and his mother was the daughter of Tzvi Hirsch of Drohobycz,

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

(now

Drohobych Drohobych ( ; ; ) is a city in the south of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In 1939–1941 and 1944–1959 it w ...

, Ukraine). Weiss attended the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

of Rabbi Meir Eisenstaedter in Ungvár, Hungary (now

Uzhhorod Uzhhorod (, ; , ; , ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality on the Uzh, Uzh River in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistan ...

, Ukraine). When Meir Eisenstaedter died in 1852, Weiss continued his studies under Meir's son, Rabbi Menachem Eisenstaedter. Weiss then studied with Rabbi Shmuel Smelke Klein of Hust (Huszt), Hungary (now

Khust Khust (, ; ; ; ; ; ) is a city located on the Khustets River in Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. It is near the сonfluence of the Tisa and Rika Rivers. It serves as the administrative center of Khust Raion. Population: Khust was the capi ...

, Ukraine), author of ''Tzeror HaChaim''. His foremost mentor of

Hasidism Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a Spirituality, spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most ...

was Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Eichenstein of Ziditshov. Eichenstein is to have said: "I don't know why eisscontinues to visit us...He certainly does not need to acquire the fear of God from me." Weiss was also influenced by Rabbis

Chaim Halberstam Chaim Halberstam of Sanz (1793–1876) (), known as the ''Divrei Chaim'' after the title of his writings, was the rabbi of Sanz (), and the founding rebbe of the Sanz dynasty of Hasidic Judaism. Life Halberstam was a pupil of Rabbi Sho ...

of Sanz, Sholom Rokeach of Belz, and Menachem Mendel Hager, the first Rebbe of Vizhnitz. In 1854, when Weiss was 16, his mother died. That year, he married the daughter of Mordechai of Borsa (now Borşa,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

), but she died three years later. Weiss married again and had two daughters, but his second wife died in 1868. In 1870, he married Perl, the daughter of Ezra Yaakov Basch of Szaplonca (

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

: Spinka), (now

Săpânța Săpânța (; , Hungarian pronunciation: ; ; or ''Spinka''; Rusyn: ''Сопунка'', Rusyn Latin: ''Sopunka'';) is a commune of 3,365 inhabitants situated in Maramureș County, Romania, northwest of Sighetu Marmației at the northern footh ...

), near the Hungarian border. In Spinka, Weiss would later become a study partner of the renowned Kabbalist Rabbi Yaakov Yehuda Aryeh Leib Frenkel.

Rabbinate

In Munkács, Weiss established a

with a high level of

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic studies that drew students from other countries. Following the death of his mentor, the Rebbe of Zidichov, in June 1873, Weiss established his own Hasidic sect in his third wife's hometown of Spinka. Weiss was called a "miracle worker", and attracted thousands of followers. He was also known for his self-mortification and ecstatic prayers. He prayed during festivals with the words from Musaf ''

Amidah The ''Amidah'' (, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' during each of the three services prayed on week ...

'':

Legacy

Weiss died in 1909. In 1972, his remains were reinterred in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

, Israel. Weiss was succeeded as Rebbe by his son, Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Weiss (1875–1944). When World War II broke out, Yitzchak Isaac moved the Spinka court to Munkács. Yitzchak Isaac was murdered by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

in the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

, together with thirty one family members, in 1944. After the war, Yitzchak Isaac's grandson, Jacob Joseph Weiss, re-established the dynasty 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 ...

. Other offshoots were established by descendants of Yosef Meir in

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

, Boro Park,

Flatbush Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, Kiryas Joel,

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Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, and

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak ( ) or Bene Beraq, is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1,752 acre ...

Works

Weiss died in 1909. His writings, published posthumously, were: *''Imrei Yosef'' (1910–27) – a four-volume commentary on the

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, Indigenous languages of California See also

* Pentateuch (dis ...

*''Imrei Yosef'' (1931) – sermons on the festivals and their customs *''Hakdamat Likkutei Torah ve-ha-Shas'' (1911) – sermons and Hasidic teachings *''Peirush la-Haggadah shel Pesach'' (1964) – a commentary on the

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

Haggadah The Haggadah (, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table fulfills the mitzvah incumbent on every Jew to reco ...

*''Tefillot u-Minhagim'' (1912) – a collection of prayers and customs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Yosef Meir 1838 births 1909 deaths Hungarian Orthodox rabbis Hasidic rebbes Hasidic rabbis in Europe People from Mukachevo Spinka (Hasidic dynasty) Burials at Segula Cemetery Miracle workers