Rabbi Berman to be the 10th rabbi to participate in a presidential inauguration and only the third to ever deliver the benediction.
(Courtesy of YU) Yeshiva University, the nation’s flagship Jewish university, has announced that its president, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, will deliver the benediction at the 60th U.S. presidential inauguration on the steps of the Capitol in Washington D.C. on Monday, January 20.
Rabbi Berman’s blessing, immediately following President Donald Trump’s inaugural address, will call for the nation to rise to this historic moment and unite around America’s foundational values as a source for realizing our shared dreams of a prosperous, compassionate country led by faith and trust in God. Rabbi Berman is the first American-Israeli to deliver remarks at a presidential inauguration, during which he will also pray for the well-being and safe return of the hostages who remain captive in Gaza.
Notably, at a time of great disruption on college campuses, Rabbi Berman will be the only university president delivering remarks during the ceremony and will speak to the aspirations of faith-based and values-driven universities across the nation.
Rabbi Berman said: “On behalf of Yeshiva University I am deeply honored to have been asked to deliver the benediction at this momentous time. As I prepare my remarks, I am inspired by the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who thousands of years ago walked through the roads of Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, and proclaimed ‘Blessed is the one who trusts in God.’ I pray that we are all united around the core values of life and liberty, of service and sacrifice, and especially of faith and morality, which George Washington called the ‘indispensable supports’ of American prosperity.”
Ira Mitzner, chairman of Yeshiva University’s board of trustees, said: “Having Rabbi Berman deliver the benediction is a testament to his leadership and to the prominence of Yeshiva University. As the nation’s flagship Jewish university, with an unwavering commitment to Torah values and academic excellence, Yeshiva University is a leading institution of higher education that is readying the next generation to contribute to society and live their most fulfilling lives. Never before have our mission and our presence been more important.”
Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman is the fifth president of Yeshiva University. Since the beginning of his tenure in 2017, he has anchored the university on the twin pillars of academic excellence and values-based education, guiding it into a new era of growth and innovation as a global leader in higher education.
Under Rabbi Berman’s leadership, Yeshiva University has flourished. The university has launched over 20 new degree programs and four new academic centers, increased graduate school enrollment over 100%, achieved record high undergraduate applications, established a new Health Science Campus in midtown Manhattan, more than doubled annual philanthropic giving, and has already secured $520 million of The Rise Up Campaign for $613 Million—publicly launched just three years ago.
Beyond campus, Rabbi Berman has emerged as a national leader for moral clarity and higher education. He founded a coalition of over 100 university presidents united against terrorism following the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel and led the first-ever delegation of university presidents on the March of the Living to Auschwitz. A founding member of the ACE Commission on Faith-Based Colleges and Universities, Rabbi Berman helped bring together leaders from institutions such as Notre Dame, Baylor, Pepperdine and Brigham Young University to advance access, affordability and innovation in higher education while highlighting the essential contributions of faith-based institutions across the broader educational landscape.
Rabbi Berman delivered the keynote address at the first Holocaust Commemoration Day in an Arab country in Dubai; presented a nationally viewed address at Brigham Young University on the transformative power of education; led a sustainability forum in Abu Dhabi promoting interfaith peace; joined global leaders in Hiroshima to champion human dignity in AI; and delivered the prestigious Hildesheimer Lecture in Berlin, analyzing the legal and historical intersections of Jewish and non-Jewish communities and presenting a hopeful vision for the future.
Rabbi Berman holds four degrees from Yeshiva University and a doctorate in Jewish thought from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is married to Anita Berman, and they have five children.
For more information about Yeshiva University and Rabbi Berman, please visit www.yu.edu.
