Rabbi Simcha Krauss (June 29, 1937 – January 20, 2022) was a rabbi associated with the liberal faction of Centrist Orthodoxy. He was known for his role in the

Religious Zionists of America The Religious Zionists of America (Hebrew official name: Religious Zionists of America/Mizrachi-Hapoel Hamizrachi, also known as Mizrachi, is an American-based organization that is the official body for those, mostly Modern Orthodox Jews who id ...

. After making

aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

in 2005, he was involved with

Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi ''Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi'' () is a Modern Orthodox yeshiva, located in the Givat Mordechai neighborhood of Jerusalem on the Jerusalem College of Technology Campus, Israel. It was founded in 2004. Rav Yehuda Susman serves as the ''Rosh HaYeshiva, ...

in the Katamon neighbourhood of Jerusalem, returning to the US in 2014 to found the International Beit Din. He was part of a family of which he was the 13th of 14 generations of Rabbis.

Life and career

Simcha Krauss was born in

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

on June 29, 1937 to Abraham Krauss who was then city's chief rabbi and Pearl Ginzberg, a homemaker. He spent his early childhood in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

. After moving with family to United States in 1948, he studied at Yeshivat Chaim Berlin in New York under Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner (where he received

Semikhah ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

Yoreh Yoreh and Yadin Yadin), after which he studied at Rabbi Isaac Elchonon Theological Seminary under

Rav Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major United States, American Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosophy, Jewish philosopher. He was a scion ...

. He was a close student of the Rav, and wrote an essay in the Tradition magazine, entitled 'The Rav on Zionism, Universalism and Feminism'. He was a Maggid Shiur in Yeshiva University's IBC program for over two decades. He obtained a master's degree from the New School of Social Research at City College, and lectured in political science at a number of colleges. He spent many years as Rabbi of the Young Israel of Hillcrest, the Young Israel of St. Louis, and Congregation House of Jacob of Utica, N.Y. He advocated for the right of young women to read from the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

at an Orthodox Jewish Bat-Mitzvah ceremony. He became president of the Religious Zionists of America before making aliya in 2005. In his later years, he taught at

in Jerusalem. In 2014, he returned to the United States to found the International Beit Din for

Agunot An aguna or agunah (, plural: , ''ʿaḡunoṯ'') is a Jewish woman who is stuck in her marriage as determined by traditional halakha (Jewish law). The classic case is a man who has left on a journey and has not returned or has gone into battle ...

, and served as its Founding Av Beit Din. He died from complications during hip replacement surgery at a hospital in Jerusalem on January 20, 2022 at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krauss, Simcha 1937 births 2022 deaths American Zionists American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Bar and bat mitzvah People from Sibiu