| Honorific prefix | Rabbi |
|---|---|
| Birth date | April 30, 1939 (age 87) |
| Occupation | Rabbi, Professor |
| Alma mater | Yeshiva University, New York University, University of California, Berkeley, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University |
| Known for | Contributed to Encyclopedia Judaica |
| Office 1 | Senior Rabbi, Lincoln Square Synagogue |
| Term start 1 | 1984 |
| Term end 1 | 1990 |
| Office 2 | Chairman, Department of Judaic Studies, Stern College for Women |
| Term start 2 | 1971 |
| Term end 2 | 1984 |
| Office 3 | Director of Edah |
| Term start 3 | 1997 |
| Office 4 | Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, Yeshiva University |
| Term start 4 | 1990 |
Saul J. Berman (born April 30, 1939) is an American scholar and Modern Orthodox rabbi.
Berman was ordained at Yeshiva University, from which he also received his B.A. and his M.H.L. He completed a degree in law, a J.D., at New York University, and an M.A. in political science at the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied with David Daube.[1] He spent two years studying mishpat ivri in Israel at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at Tel Aviv University.
Career
Berman was the rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel (Berkeley, California) from 1963 to 1969, of Young Israel of Brookline from 1969 to 1971. In 1971, following his departure from Young Israel of Brookline Berman was appointed Chairman of the Department of Judaic Studies of Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University.[2] Under his leadership over the next thirteen years, it grew into the largest undergraduate Department of Jewish Studies in the United States.[3]
In 1984, he accepted the position as senior rabbi of Lincoln Square Synagogue in Manhattan, New York where he served until 1990.[4] During those years, he spearheaded an expansion of the adult education program, the creation of an extensive social action program based on frum commitments, the growth of the Synagogue's Women's Tefillah Group, and the creation of new outreach programs to the unaffiliated.
In 1990, Berman returned to academic life, as associate professor of Jewish Studies at Stern College, and as an adjunct professor at Columbia University School of Law, where he teaches a seminar in Jewish Law. From 1995 to 1997, he served as Scholar in Residence at the JCC on the Palisades in New Jersey.
Edah
In 1997, Berman became the Founding Director of Edah, a new organization devoted to the invigoration of modern Orthodox ideology and religious life.
Due to financial constraints, Edah was absorbed into Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, at which Berman took on an administrative position.
He now serves as an associate professor at Yeshiva University[5] and teaches at Columbia University Law School.[3][6]
Works
Berman contributed to the Encyclopedia Judaica and is the author of numerous articles which have been published in journals such as Tradition, Judaism, Journal of Jewish Studies, Dinei Yisrael, and many others.
References
- ^ "Rabbi Saul J. Berman Scholar-in-Residence - Event - Hebrew Institute of Riverdale - The Bayit". www.thebayit.org. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
- ^ "Rabbi Saul J. Berman | Torah In Motion". torahinmotion.org. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
- ^ "Saul Berman - Adjunct Faculty - Columbia Law School". Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ Our Staff, Edah website. Accessed August 19, 2009.
- ^ YU ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF JEWISH STUDIES, YU website. Accessed January 22, 2014.
- ^ "An Orthodox Choice", San Jose Mercury News (CA) - September 30, 2000