Yosef Yitzhak "Yoshya" Rivlin (Hebrew: יוסף יצחק "יושעה" ריבלין‎, 18 December 1836 – 5 September 1896)[1][a] was an Orthodox Jewish scholar, writer, and community leader in the Old Yishuv of Jerusalem.

Scion of a family of Perushim, disciples of the Vilna Gaon who immigrated to Israel in the early 19th century, Rivlin spearheaded the establishment of the first Jewish neighborhoods outside the Old City walls.

[6] Rivlin absorbed the ideological vision of his paternal ancestors, preached by the Vilna Gaon, that by strengthening the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel they could hasten the onset of the messianic redemption.

[4][7] At the time, the Jewish population of Jerusalem was confined to the Old City, where they were prey to poverty, overcrowding, lack of sanitation, and heavy taxes imposed by the Ottoman government.

[8] He published his first Torah article at the age of 15 and went on to write prolifically about the importance of expanding the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel as a means of ushering in the redemption.

[8][10][4] He enlisted signatories in the company from among his acquaintances, wealthy relatives in Shklov and Mohilev, and pro-Israel committees in Amsterdam and London, and also traveled to Russia and Europe with his colleagues, Yoel Moshe Salomon and Michal HaCohen, to promote the plan.

[4] In 1863, Rivlin was asked to head the Central Committee of Knesseth Israel, the supreme council of the Ashkenazi community in the Old Yishuv formed by Chief Rabbi Shmuel Salant, a position he held for more than 30 years until his death.

[2] The Central Committee represented the community before the Ottoman authorities on everything from day-to-day issues to critical events, such as a proposed expulsion of Jewish foreign nationals.

[8] In his capacity as a director, Rivlin also welcomed the first Hovevei Zion immigrants to the yishuv and lauded the Sephardi communities for their contribution to Jerusalem's development.

[8][17] A prolific author, Rivlin wrote articles for the leading Hebrew newspapers in Palestine and abroad, urging the development of the yishuv as a means to hasten the messianic redemption, as preached by the Vilna Gaon.

[1] With his third wife, Minna, the daughter of Rabbi Zalman Brill Levi, Rivlin had one son, Moshe, who became a journalist for Der Morgen Journal in New York.