Avi Weiss

Rabbi Avi Weiss
Rabbi Weiss, 2007
Synagogue	Hebrew Institute of Riverdale
Yeshiva	Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Yeshivat Maharat
Personal details
Birth name	Avraham Weiss אברהם חיים יוסף הכהן ווייס‎
Born	June 24th, 1944
Nationality	United States of America
Denomination	Open Orthodox
Occupation	Rabbi, author
Alma mater	RIETS

Avraham Haim Yosef (Avi) haCohen Weiss (Hebrew: אברהם חיים יוסף הכהן ווייס‎; born June 24, 1944) is an American Modern Orthodox ordained rabbi, author, teacher, lecturer, and activist who heads the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in The Bronx, New York, from which he will be retired in 2015. He is the founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a rabbinical seminary he refers to as "Open Orthodox", a term he coined to describe an offshoot of Modern Orthodoxy, founder of Yeshivat Maharat for Orthodox women, co-founder of the International Rabbinical Fellowship, an Open Orthodox rabbinical association founded as a liberal alternative to the Modern Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America, and founder of the grassroots organization Coalition for Jewish Concerns – Amcha.

In 2013, Newsweek ranked him the 10th most prominent rabbi in the United States, climbing from number 11 in 2012 and number 12 in 2011, after being ranked number 18 in 2010.

On June 29, 2015, Weiss resigned from the Rabbinical Council of America.

On November 3, 2015, the Moetzes of Agudath Israel of America declared Open Orthodoxy, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Yeshivat Maharat and other affiliated entities to be similar to other dissident movements throughout Jewish history in having rejected basic tenets of Judaism.