The Yeshiva University community will celebrate the formal investiture of Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman as the school’s fifth president on Sunday, September 10, at David H. Zysman Hall, 2540 Amsterdam Avenue, New York City.
As part of the celebration, Yeshiva University will host a variety of events for students, faculty, alumni and members of the community. At 10 a.m. roshei yeshiva will deliver a shiur [lecture] in the Fischel Beit Midrash. The ceremony and procession will begin at 11 a.m. in the Nathan Lamport Auditorium and will feature remarks by Dr. Berman as well as prominent guests, including U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. Following the investiture, festivities will continue with an “InvestFest” street fair on Amsterdam Avenue from 1 to 3 p.m., featuring a variety of food options and entertainment.
“The investiture will signify the official conferral of the presidency, marking a new and transformational era in Yeshiva University’s remarkable history,” said Provost Dr. Selma Botman, chair of the Investiture Committee. “We look forward to students, faculty, alumni and friends joining us on this momentous occasion.”
Yeshiva University will host a series of inaugural year events, including a symposium titled “YU in the World of Tomorrow,” scheduled for Sunday, October 22, on the Washington Heights Wilf Campus. To learn more about the investiture and upcoming inaugural year events or to request tickets, visit www.yu.edu/tomorrow.
Dr. Ari Berman graduated from four YU schools with distinction, earning honors for his academic work in both secular and Jewish studies. He graduated from Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy/Yeshiva University High School for Boys, received his bachelor’s degree from Yeshiva College, master’s degree in Medieval Jewish Philosophy from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, and rabbinical ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). Following ordination, he was selected as a Fellow in RIETS’ post-ordination study program for its most promising students and future rabbinic leaders. His studies included two years of learning at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel, under the tutelage of the seminal Jewish thinker and leader Rabbi Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein. After making aliyah in 2008, Dr. Berman completed his higher education with a Ph.D. in Jewish thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, supervised by renowned philosopher Professor Moshe Halbertal.
Dr. Berman has a broad range of distinguished experience in the worlds of higher education and Jewish communal life. In 2000, he was appointed rabbi of The Jewish Center in New York City. Under his leadership, the congregation experienced a rise in all of its key metrics, including congregational satisfaction, membership, programming, services, outreach, public activities and financial strength. Simultaneous with his pulpit at the Jewish Center, Dr. Berman served as an instructor of Talmud at Yeshiva College.
In 2013, he became instructor of jewish thought at Midreshet Moriah, lecturing on the interface between Jewish law and philosophy, and exploring the manner in which central theological issues were understood and addressed in different periods throughout Jewish history.
In 2015, Dr. Berman was appointed head (Rosh ha-Merkaz) of Hechal Shlomo—The Center of Jewish Heritage in Jerusalem, where he initiated a transformation of the historic organization into an international center for Jewish life, learning and leadership. He also served as a lecturer of rabbinic literature in Herzog College’s Jewish Studies Department and was selected to sit on its executive leadership council, the governing body that establishes policies and sets direction for all major issues regarding the college’s operation.
Dr. Berman is an active and erudite spokesman for the Jewish community. He lectures widely throughout the U.S. and Israel, and has written numerous articles on subjects including current trends in Jewish thought and the future of Orthodoxy. He is married to Anita Berman and they have five children.
