Background
Weiss was born in Munkacz, Hungary (now Mukachevo, Ukraine). His father, Rabbi Samuel Zevi (Shmuel Tzvi) Weiss, was Av Beit Din of Munkacz, and his mother was the daughter of Tzvi Hirsch of Drohobycz, Hungary (now Drohobych, Ukraine).
Weiss was born in Munkacz, Hungary (now Mukachevo, Ukraine). His father, Rabbi Samuel Zevi (Shmuel Tzvi) Weiss, was Av Beit Din of Munkacz, and his mother was the daughter of Tzvi Hirsch of Drohobycz, Hungary (now Drohobych, Ukraine).
Weiss attended the yeshiva of Rabbi Meir Eisenstaedter in Ungvar, Hungary (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine). Weiss then studied at Rabbi Shmuel Smelke Klein of Hust, Hungary (now Khust, Ukraine), author of Tzeror HaChaim.
When Meir Eisenstaedter died in 1852, Weiss continued his studies under Meir"s son, Rabbi Menachem Eisenstaedter. Eichenstein said of his student Weiss: I don"t know why continues to visit us..He certainly does not need to acquire the fear of God from medical " Weiss was also influenced by Rabbis Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, Sholom Rokeach of Belz, and Menachem Mendel Hager, the first Rebbe of Vizhnitz. In 1854, when Weiss was 16, his mother died.
In Munkacs, Weiss established a yeshiva with a high level of Talmudic studies that drew students from other countries.
Following the death of his mentor, the Rebbe of Zidichov, in June 1873, Weiss established his own Hasidic sect in his third wife"s hometown of Spinka. Weiss was called a "miracle worker", and attracted thousands of followers.
He was also known for his self-mortification and ecstatic prayers. He prayed during festivals with the words from Musaf Amidah:
Weiss died in 1909 and in 1972, his remains were reinterred in Petah Tikva, Israel.
When World World War II broke out, Yitzchak Isaac moved the Spinka court to Munkacs.
After a few years, the Rabbi in Munkacs asked him to move, as his presence was causing friction between their followers. He was given 100Gulden as compensation and subsequently moved his court to selish. Yitzchak Isaac was murdered by the Nazis in the Auschwitz concentration camp, together with thirty one family members, in 1944.
After the war, Yitzchak Isaac"s grandson, Jacob Joseph Weiss, re-established the dynasty in Jerusalem.
Other offshoots were established by descendants of Yosef Meir in Williamsburg, Boro Park, Flatbush, Queens, Kiryas Joel, London, Antwerp, and Bnei Brak.