Former RIETS Chairman Rabbi Julius Berman Passes Away at 90
Rabbi Julius Berman, chairman emeritus of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and a former leader of the Orthodox Union, died on Dec. 30. He was 90.
Berman, the uncle of YU President Ari Berman, was born in 1935 in Dūkštas, Lithuania, to Rabbi Henoch and Sarah Berman. He immigrated to the United States with his family in 1940. He graduated from the Yeshiva of Hartford as part of its first graduating class, earned a bachelor’s degree from Yeshiva College in 1956, received semikha from RIETS in 1959 and earned a J.D. from New York University Law School in 1960. He later became a partner at the law firm Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer.
Berman served as chairman of RIETS from 2000 to 2012 and held senior leadership roles in numerous Jewish organizations, including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Orthodox Union (OU), the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and the American Zionist Youth Foundation.
From 2014 to 2020, he also served as president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, after previously chairing its board. Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz, the Abraham Arbesfeld Torah Dean of RIETS, told The Commentator that Berman was particularly proud of his work at the Claims Conference, which supports Holocaust survivors and promotes Holocaust education.
“His ability to manage the task of making sure the Holocaust survivors got the money they needed to be able to continue to survive … that was really critical work for klal yisrael,” Lebowitz said.
Berman was a student of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and helped found the Toras Horav Foundation and OU Press, which published many of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s works.
“It doesn’t make sense that one man should be able to do all that he did — that he should lead as many organizations as he did,” Lebowitz told The Commentator. “I do think that he felt closest to RIETS, partially because RIETS most represented his rebbe (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik). But he may have been proudest of his contribution at the Claims Conference.”
In a Jan. 1 email to undergraduate students, President Berman shared how his uncle impacted his life.
“My uncle was a giant in the Jewish community, but to me he was something much more personal,” Berman wrote. “He was my teacher, mentor and rebbe.”
“His wholesale accomplishments on behalf of the Jewish people are breathtaking,” he continued. “In his day, he was a towering figure and defining force of American Jewry. Whenever I had some communal, rabbinic or life question, challenge or decision, I would turn to my uncle.”
Lebowitz, who is married to the late rabbi’s niece, spoke to The Commentator about Berman’s lasting impact on RIETS. He recalled Berman once describing to graduating RIETS students what it was like to learn directly from Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
“I think that really captures what he was trying to accomplish,” Lebowitz said. “He wanted the next generation of talmidim [students] to appreciate the mesorah [tradition] we come from — and to understand that this mesorah comes from the Rav, who was the face, heart and soul of the yeshiva.”
In a statement released on Dec. 31, the Orthodox Union mourned his passing.
“Julie was a devoted communal servant who led numerous organizations and initiatives while simultaneously working as a partner at the Kaye Scholer law firm,” the OU wrote. “Under Julie’s leadership, the OU started a number of important initiatives and founded Yachad, a groundbreaking organization to enhance the lives of Jews with developmental disabilities.”
“Dr. Berman’s devotion to the Jewish community was truly inspiring,” Yishai Gross (YC ‘28) told The Commentator. “He actualized and represented the values of the Torah in a way that we should all try to emulate. I’m very appreciative of the work he did on the board of RIETS, since it’s such a major part of what YU is.”
Photo Caption: Rabbi Julius Berman
Photo Credit: YUNews
