Yitzchak Blau
{{Short description|American-Israeli rabbi}}
{{Infobox Jewish leader
| honorific-prefix =
| buried =
| alma_mater = Yeshivat Har Etzion, Yeshiva University
| residence = Alon Shevut
| denomination = Modern Orthodox
| nationality = American-Israeli
| name = Yitzchak Blau
יצחק בלאו
| birth_date =
| caption =
| image =
| title =
| honorific-suffix =
| semicha = Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
| predecessor =
| children = 4
| yeshiva = Yeshivat Orayta
| yeshivaposition = Rosh Yeshiva
| father = Yosef Blau
| mother = Rivkah Teitz
}}
Yitzchak Blau (Hebrew: יצחק בלאו) is an American–Israeli Modern Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Orayta in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.{{Cite web |title=Rabbi Yitzchak Blau |url=https://www.orayta.org/our-team/faculty-staff/rabbi-yitzchak-blau.html |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=www.orayta.org}}{{Cite web |title=Rabbi Yitzchak Blau |url=https://mizrachi.org/speaker/rabbi-yitzchak-blau/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=World Mizrachi |language=en-US}} He is a contributor to and associate editor of Tradition, an Orthodox Jewish peer-reviewed academic journal.{{Cite web |title=Masthead |url=https://traditiononline.org/masthead/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=Tradition Online |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Rabbi Yitzchak Blau |url=https://tikvahfund.org/faculty/yitzchak-blau/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=The Tikvah Fund |language=en-US}} He also teaches at Midreshet Lindenbaum in Jerusalem.{{Cite web |title=Rav Yitzchak Blau |url=https://www.midreshet-lindenbaum.org.il/about-us/faculty/yitzchakblau |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=Midreshet Lindenbaum |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Yitzchak Blau, Author at Torah Musings |url=https://www.torahmusings.com/author/yitzchak-blau/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=Torah Musings |language=en-US}} Blau is the son of Rabbi Yosef Blau, senior mashgiach ruchani at Yeshiva University, and grandson of Rabbi Mordechai Pinchas Teitz.{{Cite web |last=Rahmafar |first=Gaby |date=2022-03-28 |title=Overseeing Generations of Growth: Rabbi Yosef Blau's Historic Career at YU |url=https://yucommentator.org/2022/03/overseeing-generations-of-growth-rabbi-yosef-blaus-historic-career-at-yu/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=The Commentator}}
Biography
Blau, born in 1968 to Yosef and Rivkah Blau, is a descendant of Mordecai Yoffe, known as the Levush ({{Langx|he|לבוש|rtl=yes}}). He grew up in Washington Heights.{{Cite web |title=Scholar in residence at UOS |url=https://jhvonline.com/scholar-in-residence-at-uos-p12310-89.htm |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=jhvonline.com}}
After high school, Blau studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shevut under Aharon Lichtenstein and Yehuda Amital.{{Cite web |title=Rav Yitzchak Blau {{!}} Yeshivat Har Etzion |url=https://etzion.org.il/en/authors/rav-yitzchak-blau |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=etzion.org.il}} He then attended Yeshiva University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature. He has a master's degree in medieval Jewish history from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and semikhah from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=JLNJ |date=2022-03-10 |title=Congregation Agudath Sholom to Host Rabbi Yitzchak Blau on Sunday |url=https://jewishlink.news/congregation-agudath-sholom-to-host-rabbi-yitzchak-blau-on-sunday/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=The Jewish Link |language=en}}
Blau taught at the Yeshiva of Flatbush High School for four years prior to making Aliyah. After moving to Israel, he taught at Yeshivat HaMivtar for eleven years. He also served as the rosh kollel of Yeshivat Shvilei Hatorah.{{Cite web |url=https://www.haretzion.org/sfarim.htm |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=www.haretzion.org}}
Blau serves as Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshivat Orayta, which was established in 2008.{{Cite web |last=Eisenberg |first=Malka |date=2013-11-13 |title=From Jerusalem's heart Rav Binny visits to rejuvenate and recruit |url=https://www.thejewishstar.com/stories/from-jerusalems-heartrav-binny-visits-to-rejuvenate-and-recruit,4478 |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=The Jewish Star |language=en}} He also teaches at Midreshet Lindenbaum.
On January 1, 2009, Blau published a book entitled Fresh Fruit & Vintage Wine: Ethics and Wisdom of the Aggada through KTAV Publishing House.{{Cite book |last=Blau |first=Yitzchak |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/436309914 |title=Fresh fruit & vintage wine: the ethics and wisdom of the Aggada |date=2009 |publisher=KTAV Pub. House |isbn=978-1-60280-008-3 |location=Jersey City, NJ |oclc=436309914}} The book focuses on aggadic portions of the Talmud, attempting to present a perspective integrating the halachic and aggadic portions of the text to arrive at novel insights.
Blau has published over thirty articles in various areas of Jewish studies. He has also published over 200 Torah-related articles through the Virtual Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion.{{Cite web |title=Rav Yitzchak Blau {{!}} Yeshivat Har Etzion |url=https://etzion.org.il/en/authors/rav-yitzchak-blau?from=1&size=200 |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=etzion.org.il}} Blau is associate editor for Tradition, and has published articles in The Commentator.{{Cite web |title=Rabbi Yitzchak Blau |url=https://yucommentator.org/author-posts/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=The Commentator}}{{Cite news |date=21 February 2023 |title=Rabbinic alumnus criticizes YU English department for neglecting Western canon |url=https://www.jns.org/rabbinic-alumnus-criticizes-yu-english-department-for-neglecting-western-canon/ |work=Jewish News Syndicate}}{{Cite web |date=2022-05-04 |title=Mammon In Light of Torah |url=https://yucommentator.org/2022/05/mammon-in-light-of-torah/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=The Commentator}}
Personal
Blau is married to Noa Jeselsohn. The Blaus reside in Alon Shevut and have four children.