(1888-1959). Rabbinic scholar and second Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of modern Israel. Born in Lomza, Poland, he later lived in Leeds, England, and Paris, France, where his father served in rabbinical positions. He pursued rabbinical studies on his own and by the age of 16 had completed study of the entire Talmud. Herzog also devoted himself to secular studies, receiving a doctorate in literature from London University for his thesis on "The Dyeing of Purple in Ancient Israel." He served as rabbi in Belfast (1916-19) and in Dublin, the capital of Ireland (1919-36). He was appointed Chief Rabbi of the Irish Free State and forged excellent relations with its political and ecclesiastical leaders.
In 1936, Herzog was elected to succeed Abraham Isaac Kook as Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine. Settling in Jerusalem in 1937, Herzog was soon caught up with the difficult problems that beset the country's Jewish community. He made numerous journeys to Europe both during and after the Holocaust to return Jewish children who had been placed for safekeeping in Christian homes and institutions to their families.
Herzog worked incessantly to guide the Orthodox community after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. He had to deal with a host of halakhic problems which had been purely academic since the fall of the Second Commonwealth. Among these was the observance of the Sabbath and Dietary Laws within the framework of a modern state and society. Above all, he struggled to secure recognition for halakhic standards in the spheres of marital and personal status.
Endowed with a brilliant analytical mind and a phenomenal memory, Herzog was recognized as one of the leading rabbinic scholars of his time. He published the first two volumes of his planned five-volume work Main Institutions of Jewish Law (1936, 1939). Three volumes of his extensive Responsa, entitled Hékhal Yitsḥak, appeared posthumously (1960-72). These are a valuable source of rabbinic guidance on contemporary issues. His son
Chaim Herzog (1918-1997 ), a former general and diplomat, was elected sixth President of the State of Israel in 1983.
