Joseph Hirsch Weiss

Who was Joseph Hirsch Weiss?

Joseph Hirsch Weiss was a Hungarian rabbi.

He was a descendant of a long line of rabbis resident in Moravia 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, and in 1840 was appointed chief rabbi of Erlau, where he remained until his death. He was one of the leaders of the Haredi party in Hungary, and one of the chief opponents of the founders of the Reform movement in Pest. 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 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 to Columbia University in New York.