Joseph Hirsch Weiss ( hu, Weiss (Weisz) József; 1800, Podola ( sk, Podolie), ''Nyitra vármegye'',

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

– 1881,

Erlau Erlau is a municipality in the district of Mittelsachsen in Saxony in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germa ...

(german: Erlau)) 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 ...

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

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. Th ...

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, sk, Selice), and in 1840 was appointed chief rabbi of

, where he remained until his death. He was one of the leaders of the

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to '' halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in opp ...

party in

, and one of the chief opponents of the founders of the Reform movement in

Pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

. 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. Later he was arraigned before the royal authorities at

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

on a charge of sedition, but was ultimately acquitted. A considerable portion of his library, consisting mainly of '' responsa'', was presented by his grandson

Stephen S. 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 ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

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