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Isaac Cohen | |
|---|---|
 Dr Isaac Cohen | |
| Title | Chief Rabbi of Ireland |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Isaac Cohen (1914-07-26)26 July 1914 |
| Died | 30 November 2007(2007-11-30) (aged 93) Jerusalem, Israel |
| Spouse | Fanny Weisfogel |
| Occupation | Chief Rabbi |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Denomination | Orthodox |
| Jewish leader | |
| Predecessor | Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits |
| Successor | David Rosen |
| Position | Chief Rabbi |
| Began | 1959 |
| Ended | 1979 |
| Other | Chief Rabbi of Ireland |
Isaac Cohen (26 July 1914 – 30 November 2007) was a British Talmudic scholar andChief Rabbi of Ireland for 20 years.
Born inLlanelli, Wales to immigrants fromLithuania, he won a scholarship in 1928 to Aria College inPortsmouth, a boarding school which combined Jewish study with a place atPortsmouth Grammar School. In 1931 he enrolled atJews College andUniversity College London and gained a Bachelor of Arts in Semitics in 1935. In 1939 he married Fanny Weisfogel of London and they settled inLeeds. After the Second World War, he returned to London to complete his rabbinical diploma, which he gained in 1948, and subsequently took up a rabbinical position inEdinburgh. In 1956 he gained his PhD from theUniversity of Edinburgh for research into Talmudic thought.
His first post was at Harrow and Kenton Synagogue in Middlesex in 1935. In 1939 he moved toLeedsUnited Hebrew Congregation in the capacity of an additional minister in theMoortown area. He set up aCitizens Advice Bureau to help Jewish evacuees from London and was an officiatingchaplain for Jewish Servicemen. In 1947 he succeeded DrSalis Daiches as rabbi of the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation. In 1956 he succeeded Rabbi DrImmanuel Jakobovits as theDublin-based Chief Rabbi of Ireland. During this time he also served as theAv Beth Din in Dublin. With the decline of the Irish community, he considered leading a community in London or taking up a position at theLondon Beth Din. He ended up remaining in Dublin until retiring in 1979 and eventually settled inJerusalem, Israel.
While officiating in Dublin he promoted Jewish education and dealt with problems involving the supply ofkosher food. He was active in theSoviet Jewry Campaign and encouraged his community's support for Israel.
His main work was his 25-year studyActs of the Mind in Jewish Ritual Law – An Insight into Rabbinic Psychology which was published two weeks before his death. The book was requested by theUniversity of Edinburgh in order to award him an honorary doctorate.
| Jewish titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Chief Rabbi of Ireland 1959–1979 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| People | |
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