Rabbi Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss (; 15 February 1902 – 14 June 1989), commonly known as the Minchas Yitzchak after the

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 ...

he authored, was the

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 ...

of the

Edah HaChareidis The Charedi Community of Jerusalem (, ''haEdah haCharedit'', Ashkenazi pronunciation: ''ho-Aideh HaCharaidis'' or ''ho-Eido ha-Chareidis''; "Community of God-Fearers") is a large Haredi Jewish communal organization based in Jerusalem. It has s ...

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 ...

at the time of his death, as well as a

posek In Jewish law, a ''posek'' ( , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the application of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah, in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities are incon ...

(decider on points of Jewish law), and

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 scholar. His rulings on Jewish law (

halacha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mi ...

) are frequently cited and relied upon by rabbinic courts and scholars.

Early life

Weiss was born in the town of

Dolyna Dolyna (, ; ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Kalush Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, south-western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Dolyna urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: In 2001, population was around ...

in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, the son of a chassidic rabbi, Yosef Yehuda Weiss, who was later head of the Hungarian Jewish community in Munkacs. He had frequent encounters with the

Ziditchover Ziditshov is a Hasidic dynasty originating in town Ziditshov (as known in Yiddish; or Zhydachiv in Ukrainian), in Galicia (a province of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire). It was founded by Rebbe Tzvi Hirsh of Ziditshov. Today, the few who ...

Rebbe A Rebbe () or Admor () is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spirituality (Audio)''. UCTV, 20 Oct 2011. web. ...

, Yehuda Zvi Eichenstein, until the age of seven when the latter died. However, with the onset of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, he moved with his parents to Munkacs in

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 ...

, where his father had lived before marrying. In 1918, the region was under the rule of independent

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. Weiss studied under his father and received

semicha ''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 ...

(rabbinic ordination) from the Munkatcher Rebbe, Chaim Elazar Shapiro. 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 he became a

Rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

(dean of a rabbinic school) in the town.

Career before WWII

Weiss was the Av Beth Din (chief judge of a rabbinical court) in Grosswardein, Romania, before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. When Grosswardein was ceded to Hungary as a result of the Vienna Award he fled to Romania in 1944, where his wife died of an illness. When the Nazis occupied the area and sent Jews to be murdered he and his family escaped them by hiding in bunkers and attics.

Post-World War II

Around 1949 he emigrated to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, 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 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 ...

Sir

Israel Brodie Sir Israel Brodie (10 May 1895 – 13 February 1979) was the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth 1948–1965. Biography He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford. He served as a Rabbi of Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Australi ...

and his successor Rabbi

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 ...

(then-Chief Rabbi of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

), were in attendance at Rabbi Weiss's induction in the Manchester Great Synagogue. Weiss remained in Manchester until 1970. After his retirement as head of the Manchester Beth Din he joined the

and became its head in 1979 when Yoel Teitelbaum died.

Works

Weiss wrote a ten-volume set of

, ''Minchas Yitzchak'', discussing many contemporary technological, social, and economic issues. In a section entitled ''Pirsumei Nissa'' ("publicising of the miracle") Weiss recorded the extreme ordeals that he experienced in the Second World War. Weiss also wrote ''Siach Yitzchak'' on the

ic tractate

Chagigah Hagigah or Chagigah () is one of the tractates comprising Moed, one of the six orders of the Mishnah, a collection of Jewish traditions included in the Talmud. It deals with the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot and the ...

Death

Weiss died of a heart attack at Bikur Cholim Hospital on 14 June 1989 at the age of 87.

References

External links

Yated Ne'eman biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Yitzchok Yaakov 1902 births 1989 deaths 20th-century rabbis in Jerusalem Rabbis of the Edah HaChareidis Hasidic rabbis in Europe Romanian emigrants to the United Kingdom British emigrants to Israel Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) People from Mukachevo Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives Czechoslovak rabbis 20th-century Romanian rabbis 20th-century English rabbis Rabbis from Manchester Hasidic poskim Rabbinic judges