Joseph G. Weiss (1918 - August 25, 1969) was a scholar of

Jewish Mysticism Academic study of Jewish mysticism, especially since Gershom Scholem's ''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'' (1941), distinguishes between different forms of mysticism across different eras of Jewish history. Of these, Kabbalah, which emerged in 1 ...

and

Hasidism Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

. He was born in Budapest to a

Neolog Neologs ( hu, neológ irányzat, "Neolog faction") are one of the two large communal organizations among Hungarian Jews, Hungarian Jewry. Socially, the liberal and modernist Neologs had been more inclined toward integration into Hungarian society ...

family, and studied both in university and at the Jewish Theological Seminary (now the Budapest University of Jewish Studies) and after emigrating to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

, studied at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

under the tutelage of Prof. Gershom Scholem from 1941 till 1950, when Weiss moved to England. In England Weiss first taught children aged 5–11 at a Jewish School in Leeds, before spending time in London, Manchester and Oxford, where he occupied various research and teaching positions, eventually becoming the director of the

Institute of Jewish Studies at University College London The UCL Institute of Jewish Studies is an institute located in London, United Kingdom dedicated to the academic study of all branches of Jewish history and civilization. It is a privately funded institute within the Department of Hebrew and Jewi ...

. Weiss's work, which showed great originality, focused primarily upon the early stages of the Hasidic movement with a special emphasis upon Rabbi

Nachman of Breslov Nachman of Breslov ( he, רַבִּי נַחְמָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב ''Rabbī'' ''Naḥmān mīBreslev''), also known as Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover ( yi, רבי נחמן ברעסלאווער ''Rebe Nakhmen Breslover'' ...

.Zvi Leshem
Joseph Weiss: Trailblazer in Hasidic Research
His work, three volumes of which were published posthumously, utilizes a combination of both intellectual and social history. His closest student was Professor

Ada Rapoport-Albert Ada Rapoport-Albert (; 26 October 1945 – 18 June 2020) was an Israeli-British scholar whose scholarship focused on Jewish mysticism, Sabbateanism, and gender in Hasidic Judaism. Rapoport-Albert also served as the president of the Jewish Histori ...

, who continued his work at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. His son was the poet and translator Amos Weisz.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Joseph G. 1918 births 1969 deaths Jewish scholars