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{{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
| name = |
| name = Yitzchok A. Korff (Ira A.) | ||
| image = Yitzhak Aharon Korff 1.jpg | | image = Yitzhak Aharon Korff 1.jpg | ||
| alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by the blind and visually impaired's speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by the blind and visually impaired's speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | ||
| caption = | | caption = | ||
| birth_name = Ira A. Korff<ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_14/b3675178.htm|title=The Talented Ms. Redstone|work=]|author=Richard Siklos|date=3 April 2000|accessdate=4 February 2016}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite web|url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2009/11/trouble-in-the-house-of-redstone/|title=Trouble in the House of Redstone|work=]|accessdate=4 February 2016}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{cite web|url=http://upstart.bizjournals.com/executives/features/2009/01/07/Sumner-Redstone-and-Viacom-Losses.html?page=all|title=Sumner's Discontent|author=Lloyd Grove|date=7 January 2009|work=]|accessdate=4 February 2016}}</ref> | |||
| birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living people. Supply only the year unless the exact date is already widely published, as per WP:DOB. For people that have died, use {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}}. --> | | birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living people. Supply only the year unless the exact date is already widely published, as per WP:DOB. For people that have died, use {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}}. --> | ||
| birth_place = | | birth_place = | ||
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| nationality = American | | nationality = American | ||
| other_names = Yitzhak Aharon Korff<br>Yitzhak Korff<br>Y.A. Korff | | other_names = Yitzhak Aharon Korff<br>Yitzhak Korff<br>Y.A. Korff | ||
| occupation = Grand Rabbi, chaplain, lawyer, diplomat, businessman and entrepreneur | |||
| occupation = Attorney in ]<br>Owner and publisher of '']''<ref name="auto"/><br>Rabbi | |||
| years_active = | | years_active = | ||
| religion = ] | | religion = ] | ||
| known_for = Former son-in-law of businessman ] | |||
| spouse = ] (divorced) | |||
| alma_mater = | | alma_mater = | ||
| notable_works = | | notable_works = | ||
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]]] | ]]] | ||
Grand Rabbi '''Yitzhak Aharon Korff''' |
Grand Rabbi '''Yitzhak Aharon Korff''' is the ] of ] – ]. Since 1975 he has been the Chaplain of the City of ] (serving the Boston Police and Fire Departments, Mayor's Office, and other City departments and agencies) and spiritual leader of Congregation Bnai Jacob, Zvhil–Mezhbizh Beis Medrash of Boston, Miami, Florida, and ], Israel. He is a '']'' (judge of Jewish law) of the BaDaTz Boston '']'' (rabbinical court) and ''Vaad HaRabbonim'' (council of rabbis). He is also Consul General to the government of Austria and publisher of the Boston-based Jewish newspaper '']''. | ||
== Family == | |||
== Early life and education == | |||
Korff's father was Nathan Korff, who served as rabbi of Congregation B'nai Jacob in ].<ref name="WeddingAnnounce">{{cite news | url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=JPOST19800718-01.1.10 | title=The Social Calendar | work=The Jewish Post and Opinion | date=18 July 1980 | accessdate=3 February 2016 | author=Herschaft, Jean}}</ref> His uncle Rabbi Baruch Korff was well known as a spiritual advisor to ].<ref name="NathanKorffObit">{{cite news | url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/article/20100113/News/301139252 | title=Milton leader Rabbi Nathan Korff dies at 91 | work=WickedLocal | date=13 |
Rabbi Korff's father was Rabbi Nathan Korff, who served as rabbi of Congregation B'nai Jacob in ].<ref name="WeddingAnnounce">{{cite news | url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=JPOST19800718-01.1.10 | title=The Social Calendar | work=The Jewish Post and Opinion | date=18 July 1980 | accessdate=3 February 2016 | author=Herschaft, Jean}}</ref> His uncle Rabbi Baruch Korff was well known as a spiritual advisor to ].<ref name="NathanKorffObit">{{cite news | url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/article/20100113/News/301139252 | title=Milton leader Rabbi Nathan Korff dies at 91 | work=WickedLocal | date=13 Jan, 2010 | accessdate=3 February 2016 | author=Scheible, Sue}}</ref> | ||
Korff is also a direct descendant of the ], the 18th century founder of the ] movement, through the Baal Shem Tov’s grandson ] of ], founder of the ]. Rabbi Korff also descended from numerous other Hasidic dynasties, including Zlotshev, ], Apt, Yampol and ], as well as ]. | Rabbi Korff is also a direct descendant of the ], the 18th century founder of the ] movement, through the Baal Shem Tov’s grandson ] of ], founder of the ]. Rabbi Korff also descended from numerous other Hasidic dynasties, including Zlotshev, ], Apt, Yampol and ], as well as ]. | ||
He is a descendant of the ] chasidic dynasty through the ] daughter and son-in-law Rabbi Yaakov Yisroel of Cherkass, son of Grand Rabbi ]. |
He is also a descendant of the ] chasidic dynasty through the ] daughter and son-in-law Rabbi Yaakov Yisroel of Cherkass, son of Grand Rabbi ]. | ||
⚫ | His first wife, ] whom he married in 1980 and later divorced, is the daughter of ], ] and controlling shareholder of the ] and ] media conglomerates.<ref name="WeddingAnnounce" /> | ||
⚫ | The Rebbe's second wife, the ] D. Korff, is a native of ] and a descendant of the Baal Shem Tov and the Hasidic dynasties of Zvhil, Zlotshev, and Tshernobl. She is the daughter of the late ] Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Avrohom Chayim Roth of Jerusalem and ], who was the son of Reb Arele. Her mother, the late Shomrei Emunim Rebbetzin, Rabbi Korff's third cousin, was the daughter of the previous Zvhiler Rebbe of Jerusalem, Rabbi Mordechai. | ||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | In addition, |
||
== |
==Education== | ||
⚫ | He received three ordinations (Smicha, D.D.), educated at ], the Rabbinical Seminary of Israel, and Yeshivas Beis Mordechai (Zvhil) of ], and was tutored privately by masters of ] and ]. | ||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | In addition, The Rebbe is a graduate of ], ], Hebrew College, Brooklyn Law School, and ] School of Law, and holds the BA., B.J.E., J.D., and LL.M. degrees. In conjunction with The ] of Law and Diplomacy and the Harvard Law School International Law Center he received an M.A. in international relations, an M.A.L.D. in international law and diplomacy, and a Ph.D. in international law. He was also a resident graduate at Harvard Divinity School. | ||
⚫ | |||
==Career== | ==Career== | ||
Grand Rabbi Korff simultaneously combined careers as a rabbi, chaplain, lawyer, diplomat, businessman and entrepreneur. His grandfather Jacob I. Korff was a Hasidic Rebbe,<ref name="DamagedTorahs" /> and he eventually assumed the position of successor to his grandfather. | |||
===Businessman=== | |||
After marrying Shari Redstone, Korff was brought into the family's entertainment business, which he expanded internationally. He served as president of ], the Redstone family business through which they exercise various degrees of control in Viacom and CBS, from 1987<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB111136989554384823|title=Shari Redstone Waits in Wings To Head Viacom|author=Carol Hymowitz and Joe Flint|date=22 March 2005|work=]|accessdate=4 February 2016|quote=Her husband, Ira Korff, became president of the Redstone family's theater-chain company, called National Amusements, in 1987. They later divorced and he left the company, subsequently focusing on his work as a rabbi.}}</ref> until 1994, when the two divorced.<ref name="TroubleRedstone">{{cite news | url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2009/11/trouble-in-the-house-of-redstone/ | title=Trouble in the House of Redstone | work=Boston Magazine | date=December 2009 | accessdate=22 May 2015 | author=O'Brien, Luke}}</ref> Upon leaving the company, he received a substantial severance package.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://variety.com/2006/biz/markets-festivals/ruling-favors-sumner-s-son-1200342323/|title=Ruling favors Sumner’s son|author=Jill Goldsmith|work=]|date=6 August 2006|accessdate=4 February 2016|quote=...and a rich severance package to Shari’s former husband, Ira Korff, after they split and he left the company.}}</ref> | |||
⚫ | In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Rabbi Korff served as rabbi of several Orthodox congregations in Boston and Providence, and at ], now a ] synagogue<ref name="TempleAliyah">{{cite web | url=https://templealiyah.com/About_Us/Mission_History | title=Our Mission and History | accessdate=22 May 2015}}</ref> in ].<ref name="DamagedTorahs">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19820312&id=UKQrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s_wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5119,2329438&hl=en | title=Damaged Torahs Buried | work=The Telegraph | date=12 Mar 1982 | agency=AP | accessdate=22 May 2015}}</ref> | ||
⚫ | He organized and staffed one of the first White Collar Crime units in the United States as a special consultant to the Norfolk County (Mass.) District Attorney's Office, and he served as a Special Assistant Attorney General for Massachusetts. On a political level he has advised candidates for political office at the City Council, Mayoral, Mass. Senate, Governor’s Office, and U.S. Senate and Congressional level, and assisted officials in substantive matters following their election to office. | ||
⚫ | He has served as an advisor and consultant in both public and private international relations, assisting numerous governments (including the United States, the U.K., Austria, Thailand, China, Jordan and others) in matters of diplomacy and international relations, and he has advised numerous national and multi-national business ventures in the United States and abroad. |
||
After marrying Shari Redstone, Korff was brought into the family's entertainment business, which he expanded internationally. He served as president of ], the Redstone family business through which they exercise various degrees of control in Viacom and CBS, from 1987 until 1994, when the two divorced.<ref name="TroubleRedstone">{{cite news | url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2009/11/trouble-in-the-house-of-redstone/ | title=Trouble in the House of Redstone | work=Boston Magazine | date=December 2009 | accessdate=22 May 2015 | author=O'Brien, Luke}}</ref>. | |||
⚫ | He organized and staffed one of the first |
||
⚫ | He has served as an advisor and consultant in both public and private international relations, assisting numerous governments (including the United States, the U.K., Austria, Thailand, China, Jordan and others) in matters of diplomacy and international relations, and he has advised numerous national and multi-national business ventures in the United States and abroad. | ||
===Lawyer=== | |||
He was admitted to the ] on December 13, 1974.<ref></ref> | |||
===Rabbi=== | |||
⚫ | In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Korff served as rabbi of several Orthodox congregations in Boston and Providence, and at ], now a ] synagogue<ref name="TempleAliyah">{{cite web | url=https://templealiyah.com/About_Us/Mission_History | title=Our Mission and History | accessdate=22 May 2015}}</ref> in ].<ref name="DamagedTorahs">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19820312&id=UKQrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s_wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5119,2329438&hl=en | title=Damaged Torahs Buried | work=The Telegraph | date=12 |
||
== Works == | == Works == | ||
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see ]. --> | {{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see ]. --> | ||
| NAME = Korff, Yitzhak Aharon | | NAME = Korff, Yitzhak Aharon | ||
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Ira A. Korff | ||
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Grand Rabbi, chaplain, lawyer, diplomat, businessman and entrepreneur | ||
| DATE OF BIRTH = | | DATE OF BIRTH = | ||
| PLACE OF BIRTH = | | PLACE OF BIRTH = | ||
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Revision as of 21:57, 4 February 2016
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Yitzchok A. Korff (Ira A.) | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Other names | Yitzhak Aharon Korff Yitzhak Korff Y.A. Korff |
Occupation(s) | Grand Rabbi, chaplain, lawyer, diplomat, businessman and entrepreneur |
Grand Rabbi Yitzhak Aharon Korff is the Rebbe of Zvhil – Mezhbizh. Since 1975 he has been the Chaplain of the City of Boston (serving the Boston Police and Fire Departments, Mayor's Office, and other City departments and agencies) and spiritual leader of Congregation Bnai Jacob, Zvhil–Mezhbizh Beis Medrash of Boston, Miami, Florida, and Jerusalem, Israel. He is a dayan (judge of Jewish law) of the BaDaTz Boston Beth din (rabbinical court) and Vaad HaRabbonim (council of rabbis). He is also Consul General to the government of Austria and publisher of the Boston-based Jewish newspaper The Jewish Advocate.
Family
Rabbi Korff's father was Rabbi Nathan Korff, who served as rabbi of Congregation B'nai Jacob in Milton, Massachusetts. His uncle Rabbi Baruch Korff was well known as a spiritual advisor to Richard Nixon.
Rabbi Korff is also a direct descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, the 18th century founder of the Hasidic movement, through the Baal Shem Tov’s grandson Rabbi Boruch of Medzhybizh, founder of the Mezhbizh Hasidic dynasty. Rabbi Korff also descended from numerous other Hasidic dynasties, including Zlotshev, Chernobyl, Apt, Yampol and Karlin, as well as Zvhil.
He is also a descendant of the Chabad chasidic dynasty through the Chabad Mitler Rebbe's daughter and son-in-law Rabbi Yaakov Yisroel of Cherkass, son of Grand Rabbi Mordechai (Magid of Chernobyl).
His first wife, Shari Redstone whom he married in 1980 and later divorced, is the daughter of Sumner Redstone, Chairman of the Board and controlling shareholder of the Viacom and CBS Corporation media conglomerates.
The Rebbe's second wife, the Rebbetzin D. Korff, is a native of Jerusalem and a descendant of the Baal Shem Tov and the Hasidic dynasties of Zvhil, Zlotshev, and Tshernobl. She is the daughter of the late Shomer Emunim Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Avrohom Chayim Roth of Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, who was the son of Reb Arele. Her mother, the late Shomrei Emunim Rebbetzin, Rabbi Korff's third cousin, was the daughter of the previous Zvhiler Rebbe of Jerusalem, Rabbi Mordechai.
Education
He received three ordinations (Smicha, D.D.), educated at Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, the Rabbinical Seminary of Israel, and Yeshivas Beis Mordechai (Zvhil) of Jerusalem, and was tutored privately by masters of Hasidism and Kabbalah.
In addition, The Rebbe is a graduate of Columbia University, Harvard University, Hebrew College, Brooklyn Law School, and Boston University School of Law, and holds the BA., B.J.E., J.D., and LL.M. degrees. In conjunction with The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Harvard Law School International Law Center he received an M.A. in international relations, an M.A.L.D. in international law and diplomacy, and a Ph.D. in international law. He was also a resident graduate at Harvard Divinity School.
Career
Grand Rabbi Korff simultaneously combined careers as a rabbi, chaplain, lawyer, diplomat, businessman and entrepreneur. His grandfather Jacob I. Korff was a Hasidic Rebbe, and he eventually assumed the position of successor to his grandfather.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Rabbi Korff served as rabbi of several Orthodox congregations in Boston and Providence, and at Temple Aliyah, now a Conservative synagogue in Needham.
He organized and staffed one of the first White Collar Crime units in the United States as a special consultant to the Norfolk County (Mass.) District Attorney's Office, and he served as a Special Assistant Attorney General for Massachusetts. On a political level he has advised candidates for political office at the City Council, Mayoral, Mass. Senate, Governor’s Office, and U.S. Senate and Congressional level, and assisted officials in substantive matters following their election to office.
After marrying Shari Redstone, Korff was brought into the family's entertainment business, which he expanded internationally. He served as president of National Amusements, the Redstone family business through which they exercise various degrees of control in Viacom and CBS, from 1987 until 1994, when the two divorced..
He has served as an advisor and consultant in both public and private international relations, assisting numerous governments (including the United States, the U.K., Austria, Thailand, China, Jordan and others) in matters of diplomacy and international relations, and he has advised numerous national and multi-national business ventures in the United States and abroad.
Works
Korff is the author of Meshivas Nefesh Yitzchok: Insights of a Contemporary Chassidic Master, published (2001) by the Jewish Advocate in the original Hebrew/Yiddish/Aramaic and in English translation, on Kabbalah and Halakha, Jewish laws.
See also
References
- ^ Herschaft, Jean (18 July 1980). "The Social Calendar". The Jewish Post and Opinion. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- Scheible, Sue (13 Jan, 2010). "Milton leader Rabbi Nathan Korff dies at 91". WickedLocal. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Damaged Torahs Buried". The Telegraph. AP. 12 Mar 1982. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- "Our Mission and History". Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- O'Brien, Luke (December 2009). "Trouble in the House of Redstone". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- "Meshivas Nefesh Yitzchok : Insights of a Contemporary Chassidic Master: Meshivas Nefesh Yitzchok, Y. A. Korff: 9780964536722: Amazon.com: Books". Amazon.com. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
Sources
- Toldos Anshei Shem, Rand and Greenblat, New York, 1950
- Sefer Meshivas Nefesh Yitzhak, New York, 2000, 2001, second Revised Edition ISBN 0-9645367-1-4
- HaHasidut, Prof. Yizhak Alfasi, Jerusalem.
External links
- Zvhil-Mezbuz Beis Medrash
- Department of State document, page 5, "MR. IRA A. KORFF, HONORARY CONSUL, Oct. 05, 1987." Retrieved February 4, 2016.