YITZCHAK ZEV SOLOVEITCHIK

Rabbi 'Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik' (Hebrew: 'יצחק זאב סולובייצ'יק'), also known as 'Velvel Soloveitchik' or as the 'Brisker Rov', (1886-1959), was a son of Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk. He is also commonly known as the ''GRYZ'', an acronym for '' 'G'aon 'R'abbi 'Y'itzchak 'Z'ev '' ("genius Rabbi Isaac Wolf").
He was the town rabbi of the Jewish community in Brisk and was the rosh yeshiva ("dean") of its ''yeshiva''. He fled the Holocaust and moved to the Palestine, where he re-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: the "Brisk method" or "Brisk 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 Rov 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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★ Brisk yeshivas