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.
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,
HagaonRabbi 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]
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]
^
abFrishman 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.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)