Brisk tradition and Soloveitchik dynasty
The Soloveitchik dynasty of rabbinic scholars and their students originated the Brisker method of Talmudic study, which is embraced by their followers in the Brisk yeshivas.
More significantly, the "Brisker style" described below can already be found to some degree in the Beis HaLevi's works, which is not the case for earlier ancestors.
The surname "Soloveitchik" comes from the word for nightingale in Slavic languages; it was chosen by the family because the primary duty of the Levites in the Temple in Jerusalem was singing.
His primary work was Chidushei Rav Chaim HaLevi, a volume of insights on the Mishneh Torah which often would suggest novel understandings of the Talmud as well.
Like his father, Rabbi Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik published works based on the Mishneh Torah, often suggesting novel insights on the Talmud in the process.
His children and grandchildren live in Israel today, and have founded several yeshivas there, all known as "Brisk", based in Jerusalem.
He died at the age of 87 on April 2, 2016. his yeshiva is now headed by his son Rabbi Yechiel Soloveitchik together with his brother Rabbi Avrohom Soloveichick and another yeshiva by his son Reb Velvel and his brother Rabbi Yitzchok Zev "reb Velvel" Soloveitchik is the son of Rav Meshulam Dovid, as well as his successor as Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivas brisk.
He moved to America in 1929 and was appointed as a rosh yeshiva at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS).
(While RIETS has at no point ever called itself a "Brisk yeshiva" per se, it was home for many decades to Rabbi Moshe Soloveichik and later his sons.)
Today, Maimonides maintains many of the Rav's radical educational posits including co-education and female Talmud study.
He is often credited with being a primary founder of Modern Orthodoxy, a movement of Judaism which maintains that Jews must both practice a Halakhic life without shunning the outside world.
He also gave much needed validity to the Zionist effort in his famous work "Kol Dodi Dofek".
A film called The Lonely Man of Faith: the Life and Legacy of Joseph B. Soloveitchik documents the Rav's lifework and personality in greater detail.
After his brother Joseph became ill, beginning in 1986 he began to commute to New York City to lecture at RIETS as well.
Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik and his descendants, who settled in Israel, have made their opinion clear that they oppose a secular Zionist state and thus show no support for the Israeli government.
They do not follow anyone's lead and decide their opinions regarding the state on a case to case basis, therefore avoiding joining any political faction, including those who are anti Zionist, preferring to make an informed decision on their every interaction necessary with the state.
Turning to their forebears, Rabbi Chaim Brisker is quoted with some harsh statements against Zionism, though he lived in an era when Haredi anti-Zionism was far more prevalent.
This could be seen as more feminist than the "Rabbi & Mrs. So-And-So" (or in Hebrew, "Ploni BenPloni V'Rayaso") seen in many Haredi invitations today.
Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, and many of his students and descendants, on the other hand, have been guardedly more open to opportunities for women, Rabbi Soloveitchik himself delivering the opening Talmud lecture at Yeshiva University's Stern College for Women.
