WEISS, SAMSON

WEISS, SAMSON (1910–1990), U.S. rabbi and Orthodox leader. Born in Emden, Germany, Weiss received his rabbinical diploma at the yeshivah of Mir. He received his Ph.D. summa cum laude at Dorpat University, Estonia, after studying at the universities of Breslau, Berlin, and Zurich. He headed the Hebrew department of the Jewish teachers' college in Wuerz burg, Germany, before immigrating to the United States in 1938. After teaching at the Ner Israel Yeshivah in Baltimore (1938–40), Weiss moved to Detroit to direct Yeshivath Beth Yehudah in that city (1941–44). He moved to New York in 1944 where he became rabbi of Congregation Orach Chaim and organized torah umesorah , a national association for the promotion of Hebrew day-school education. In 1945 he founded and became director of Young Israel's Institute for Jewish Studies and two years later was made director of the National Council of young israel , serving in this position until 1956, when he became executive vice president of the union of orthodox jewish congregations of America. Weiss resigned from the latter position in 1972 to settle in Israel. He maintained his position as professor of Jewish philosophy at Touro College and was first chairman of the Department for Judaica Studies at Touro.