Rabbi Simcha Krauss (June 29, 1937 – January 20, 2022) was a rabbi associated with the liberal end of

Centrist Orthodoxy ''Torah Umadda'' ( he, תּוֹרָה וּמַדָּע, "Torah and secular knowledge") is a worldview in Orthodox Judaism concerning the relationship between the secular world and Judaism, and in particular between secular knowledge and Jewish rel ...

. 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 iden ...

. After making

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

in 2005, he was involved with

Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi ''Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi'' ( he, ישיבת ארץ הצבי) 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. Rabbi David Ebn ...

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 ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the upp ...

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 ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

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

Yitzchak Hutner Yitzchak (Isaac) Hutner ( he, יצחק הוטנר; 1906–1980) was an American Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean). Originally from Warsaw, Hutner first studied the Torah in Slabodka. He then traveled to Mandatory Palestine where he became a ...

(where he received

Semikhah Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...

Yoreh Yoreh and Yadin Yadin), after which he studied at Rabbi Isaac Elchonon Theological Seminary under Rav Soloveitchik. 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 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 ''agunah'' ( he, עגונה, plural: agunot (); literally "anchored" or "chained") is a Jewish woman who is stuck in her religious marriage as determined by ''halakha'' (Jewish law). The classic case of this is a man who has left on a journey ...

, 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 People from Sibiu