Yitzhak of Volozhin

HagRIts Yitzhak ben Chaim of Volozhin
Title	Rabbi
Personal life
Born	Yitzchak Ickovits 1780 Volozhin, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Died	16 June 1849(1849-06-16) (aged 68–69) Ivenets, Minsk Oblast, Russian Empire
Parent	Chaim of Volozhin (father)
Religious life
Religion	Judaism
Denomination	Orthodox Judaism

Yitzhak of Volozhin (also known as Rabbi Yitzhak ben Chaim of Volozhin, Rabbi Itsele Volozhiner, and HagRIts; 1780 – 16 June 1849) was a rosh yeshiva of the Volozhin Yeshiva.

Biography

Yitzhak was born in 1780 in Volozhin, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to rabbi Chaim Ickovits of Volozhin.^[1][2] As Rosh Yeshiva, his father taught him in the Volozhin Yeshiva, making him one of his closest disciples in Torah.^[3][4]

Yitzhak would later become a teacher there during his father's lifetime and inherit the position of Rosh Yeshiva after his father's death.^[5][6][7][8] He would also name the yeshivah Eitz Chaim in honor of his father.^[4] He would earn the acronym HagRIts, Hagaon Rabbi Itskhak, according to rabbi Baruch Epstein.^[3][9] He would continue to operate the yeshiva after it was officially closed by government authorities in 1824, making a name for himself as a misnaged figure.^[10][11]

Photo of the Volozhin Yeshiva

In 1843 Yitzhak would attend a government convened conference on reforming Jewish education.^[12][13] The government, under the leadership of Tsar Nicholas I and Minister of Education Count Sergey Semionovich Uvarov, sought to push russification on the Jewish population through their agent Max Lilienthal. In the face of this, Yitzchak defended the Orthodox position, alongside leaders such as the Third Lubavitcher Rebbe, and would make a positive impression on Count Uvarov.^[14][15] Where the Lubavitcher Rebbe was putting up a desperate defense, claiming that the Jewish people's spiritual concerns supersede the Czar's government, Yitzhak presented the misnagdim as fearful of being brushed aside by the government and made attempts to achieve concessions from the Russian government without surrendering Jewish identity and values.^[16] Yitzchak argued that public school would be a danger to Jewish upbringing and that the Jewish people needed more political rights.^[10]

Yitzhak died on 16 June 1849 in Ivenets.^[10][13] Rabbi Eliezer Fried, the husband of one of his daughters, would succeed Yitzhak as Rosh Yeshiva.^[5][17] Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, a second son in law of Yitzhak, would succeed Rabbi Fried.^[7][18][19]

References

1. Brown, Benjamin (March 2020). "The Comeback of "Simple Faith": The Ultra-Orthodox Concept of Faith and Its Development in the Nineteenth Century". www.researchgate.net. Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
2. Rosman, Dovid (2016). Torah connections : reaching your potential through the Parashah. [Jerusalem]. ISBN 978-1-68025-045-9. OCLC 962758166.
3. Frishman Gabbay, Anita (1970). "Rabbi Itsele Volozhiner – Hagaon Rabbi Itskhok ("Hagrits"): R' Itsele, his personality, cleverness and sharpness". In Leoni, E. (ed.). Wolozyn; sefer shel ha-ir-shel yeshivat "Ets Hayim" [Wolozin; the Book of the City and of the Etz Hayyim Yeshiva]. Translated by Porat, Moshe. Tel-Aviv. pp. 99–102. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
4. Gliksman, Devora (2009). A Tale of Two Worlds: Rabbi Dovid and Rebbetzin Basya Bender : the Bridge Between the Yeshivah-Bais Yaakov Worlds of Pre-War Europe and Post-War America. Mesorah Publications. ISBN 978-1-4226-0888-3.
5. Assaf, David (2008-04-09). Journey to a Nineteenth-Century Shtetl: The Memoirs of Yekhezkel Kotik. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-3733-2.
6. Ferziger, Adam S. (1999). "The Lookstein Legacy: An American Orthodox Rabbinical Dynasty?". Jewish History. 13 (1): 127–149. doi:10.1007/BF02337433. ISSN 0334-701X. JSTOR 20101362. S2CID 162244473.
7. "The Volozhin Revolution". www.jewishhistory.org. 2011-12-12. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
8. Bierman, Michael A. (2003). Memories of a Giant: Eulogies in Memory of Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Zt"l. Urim. ISBN 978-965-7108-50-5.
9. Epstein, Baruch (2004). Mekor Baruch. Mekhon Shorashim.
10. Редакция. "Воложинер Хаим бен Ицхак". Электронная еврейская энциклопедия ОРТ (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-12-02.
11. Schneersohn, Shalom Dov Baer (1969). Kuntres Umaʻayon Mibais HaShem. Kehot Publication Society.
12. Etkes, I. (1993). Rabbi Israel Salanter and the Mussar Movement: Seeking the Torah of Truth. Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 978-0-8276-0438-4.
13. "Isaac Beb Ḥayyim of Volozhin - JewishEncyclopedia.com". www.jewishencyclopedia.com. 1906. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
14. Lempertas, I. (1991). Материалы научной конференции "Просвещение и культура евреев Литвы до Катастрофы" (in Lithuanian). Lietuvos Kultūros ir švietimo ministerija, Lietuvos MA Istorijos institutas, Vilniaus Pedagoginis institutas, Vilniaus Žydų nacionalinė mokykla, Lietuvos Pedagogų draugija.
15. Meiselman, Shulamit Soloveitchik (1995). The Soloveitchik Heritage: A Daughter's Memoir. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88125-525-6.
16. Loewenthal, Naftali (1990-05-31). Communicating the Infinite: The Emergence of the Habad School. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-49045-8.
17. Leibowitz, Nehama (1976). Studies in Bereshit (Genesis): In the Context of Ancient and Modern Jewish Bible Commentary. World Zionist Organization, Department for Torah Education and Culture.
18. Frankel, Jonathan. Jews and Gender: The Challenge to Hierarchy. Oxford University Press.
19. "The Lithuanian Yeshivot". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Retrieved 2021-05-31.