Jacob Joseph (Hebrew: יעקב יוסף 1840 – July 28, 1902) served as chief rabbi of New York City's Association of American Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, a federation of Eastern European Jewish synagogues, from 1888 until his death in 1902. Born in Krozhe, a province of Kovno, he studied in the Nevyozer Kloiz under Rabbi Yisrael Salanter and in the Volozhin yeshiva under the Netziv. In Volozhin, he was known as "Rav Yaakov Charif" (Rabbi Jacob Sharp) because of his sharp mind.
He became successively rabbi of Vilon in 1868, Yurburg in 1870, and later in Zhagory. His fame as a preacher spread, so that in 1883 the community of Vilna selected him as its maggid.
The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School, also known as RJJ, is named after him and a playground is named after and honors the memory of a great-grandson of Rabbi Jacob Joseph who carried his name.
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