Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik
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Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik (Hebrew: יצחק זאב סולובייצ'יק) ( "Velvel Soloveitchik", 1886-1959) also referred to as the Brisker Rav, was a son of Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brest, Belarus (known amongst the Jews of the area as "Brisk"). He is also commonly known as the GRYZ, an acronym for Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Zev ("genius rabbi Isaac Wolf").
He led the Jewish community in Brisk and was the rosh yeshiva ("dean") its yeshiva. He fled the Holocaust and moved to the British Mandate of Palestine, where he established the Brisk Yeshiva in Israel. In Jerusalem he continued educating students as his father did, with what would come to be known as the Brisker Derech (Yiddish/Hebrew: the "Brisker method" or "Brisker approach") of analyzing Talmud. This form of analysis stressed conceptual understanding combined with strict adherence to the text; it is also characterised by its emphasis on Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah. After his death, the yeshiva split, each son taking part of the following of the yeshiva.
The Brisker Rav was a leader of the Haredi community in Israel and advocated complete withdrawal of participation with the Israeli government, the secular ideals and values of which were, in his view, antithetical to the principals of Orthodox Judaism. He went as far as opposing the reliance on government funding in support of yeshivas and other Torah institutions. This viewpoint was supported by Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum and disputed by Rabbi Elazar Shach.
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