Soloveichik, Joseph Baer of Volozhin

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Soloveichik, Joseph Baer of Volozhin (1820–92). Jewish Talmudic expert. Joseph was the son of Isaac Zeʾev, the rabbi of Kovno, who was himself the descendant of a line of eminent rabbis. He was the head of the yeshivah at Volozhin from 1849, although he fell out with his co-head, Naphtali Berlin. His grandson, Isaac Zeʾev ha-Levi Soloveichik (1886–1959), was regarded as a supreme halakhic authority in Jerusalem. Another grandson, Moses (1876–1914), was rosh-yeshivah at Yeshiva University; his eldest son, also Joseph Baer ( Joseph Solovei(t)chik), was a leading figure in the interpretation and application of halakhah in the USA. Although various responsa of the Soloveichiks have been preserved, there was a family tradition against publication.

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