Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor

Chief rabbi of Kovno, Yitzchak Elchanan (or Isaac Elchonon) Spektor (1817-1896) was born in Russia in the Hrodna voblast. He was one of the prominent rabbis of Lithuanian Judaism in the 19th century, rosh yeshiva (head of rabbinical college) and famous sage.

His achievements include participation in the Kovno kollel, membership of the Hovevei Zion movement, lobbying with the Russian government for lifting restrictions of the Jewish population, and the collection of responsa titled Be'er Yizhak (the Well of Isaac). He collaborated with many of his contemporaries, including Rabbis Yisrael Lipkin Salanter and Samson Raphael Hirsch, on issues affecting Russian Jewry.

Various institutions were named after him, including Yeshivas Knesses Beis Yitzchak (a yeshiva) and the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), part of Yeshiva University.

Reference

• Ephraim Shimoff: Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Spektor – Life and letters.

External links

• Spektor family