Yitzchak Blau

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. He is an author and associate editor of Tradition. He also teaches at Midreshet Lindenbaum in Jerusalem. Blau is the son of Rabbi Yosef Blau, senior mashgiach ruchani at Yeshiva University, and grandson of Rabbi Mordechai Pinchas Teitz.

Biography
Blau was born in 1968 to Yosef Blau and Rivkah Teitz Blau, daughter of Mordechai Pinchas Teitz, himself a descendant of Mordechai Yoffe, the Levush. He grew up in Washington Heights.

After high school, Blau studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shevut under Aharon Lichtenstein and Yehuda Amital. He then attended Yeshiva University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature. He has a Master's in Medieval Jewish History from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and Semikha from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.

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 at Yeshivat Shvilei Hatorah.

Blau serves as Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshivat Orayta, which was established in 2008. He also teaches at Midreshet Lindenbaum.

On January 1, 2009, Blau published a book titled, Fresh Fruit & Vintage Wine: Ethics and Wisdom of the Aggada through KTAV Publishing House. The book focuses on aggadic portions of the Talmud, attempting to present a perspective which integrates the halachic and aggadic portions in order to arrive at novel insights.

Blau has published over thirty articles in various areas of Jewish studies. He has also written over 200 Torah articles published on the Virtual Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion. Blau is associate editor for Tradition, and has published articles in The Commentator.

Personal
Blau is married to Noa Jeselsohn. The Blau's reside in Alon Shevut and have four children.