David Berger (born 1943) is an American academic, dean of
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.["About YU]
on the Yeshiva Universit ...
's
Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies The Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies was Yeshiva University’s first graduate school. Founded in 1937, it was named for Yeshiva University's first president, Bernard Revel. Its curriculum prepares highly trained teachers, researchers ...
, as well as chair of Yeshiva College's Jewish Studies department. He is the author of various books and essays on medieval Jewish apologetics and polemics, as well as having edited the modern critical edition of the medieval polemic text
Nizzahon Vetus. Outside academic circles he is best known for ''
The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference'', a criticism of
Chabad messianism
Messianism in ChabadReferred to as Chabad messianism, Lubavitch messianism, or ''meshichism''. refers to the contested beliefs among members of the Chabad-Lubavitch community, a group within Hasidic Judaism, regarding the Jewish messiah, also ...
.
Education
Berger was raised in Brooklyn, NY, where he attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush for both elementary and high school. He received a
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
from
Yeshiva College in 1964; he majored in Classics and was class valedictorian. He then went on to
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
where he completed a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree in 1965 and his
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
in 1970. He received
rabbinic ordination
Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination.
The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...
from the
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Named after Yitzchak Elchanan S ...
and is a member of the
Rabbinical Council of America
The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union (OU). It is the main pr ...
, the official organization representing
Modern Orthodox
Modern may refer to:
History
*Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Philosoph ...
rabbis.
Activities
Before Berger prominently criticized
Chabad
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...
messianism, he was most famous as an expert on interfaith dialogue and
medieval Jewish-Christian debate. He has written commentaries on the Roman Catholic church's declarations on relations with other faiths ''
Nostra aetate
(from Latin: "In our time") is the incipit of the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions of the Second Vatican Council. Passed by a vote of 2,221 to 88 of the assembled bishops, this declaration was promulgated o ...
'' ("In Our Age," promulgated 1965), and ''
Dominus Iesus
( en, The Lord Jesus) is a declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (previously known as the "Holy Office"), approved in a plenary meeting of the Congregation and signed by its then prefect, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later ...
'' ("Lord Jesus," promulgated 2000) and Rabbi
Joseph Soloveitchik
Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( he, יוסף דב הלוי סולובייצ׳יק ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion o ...
's "Confrontation". The
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for ...
(OU) asked him to write a response to the broadly ecumenical ''
Dabru Emet
The Dabru Emet ( Heb. דברו אמת "Speak heTruth") is a document concerning the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. It was signed by over 220 rabbis and intellectuals from all branches of Judaism, as individuals and not as represent ...
'' ("Speak the Truth," 2000), and that response was subsequently adopted as the OU's official position. He has also contributed an essay about
Jacob Katz Jacob Katz (Hebrew: יעקב כ"ץ) (born 15 November 1904 in Magyargencs, Hungary, died 20 May 1998 in Israel) was an internationally known Jewish historian and educator, recognized as "one of this century's greatest and most influential historia ...
's views on medieval Jewish-Christian debate in the book, ''Pride of Jacob''.
Chabad controversy
Berger's 2001 book criticizing
Lubavitcher
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups ...
messianism as "precisely what Jews through the generations have seen as classic, Christian-style false messianism" made him a leading voice in criticism of Chabad. Berger argues that Chabad messianism goes beyond traditional halakhic boundaries of
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...
to the point that Orthodox Jews should not participate in prayer quorums with Chabad Jews.
[ "Berger points out that “this is precisely what Jews through the generations have seen as classic, Christian-style false messianism.”31 Berger became the most outspoken critic of Chabad, writing a book, The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference."]
Works
Books
Jews and "Jewish Christianity"
*
* ''
The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference'', Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2001.
Persecution, Polemic, and Dialogue: Essays in Jewish-Christian Relations
Cultures in Collision and Conversation: Essays in the Intellectual History of the Jews David Berger
Essays
* "On the Uses of History in Medieval Jewish Polemic Against Christianity: The Quest for the Historical Jesus," in ''Jewish History and Jewish Memory: Essays in Honor of Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi,'' ed. Elisheva Carlebach, John M. Efron.
* "Jacob Katz on Jews and Christians in the Middle Ages," in The Pride of Jacob: Essay on Jacob Katz and His Work, ed. JM Harris (Cambridge and London, 2002), 41–63,
References
External links
Rabbinical Council of America profile* Marissa Brostoff
"Yeshiva U. Brings on Critic of Chabad" ''
The Forward
''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ' ...
'', October 24, 2007.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, David
Living people
American Modern Orthodox rabbis
Yeshiva University alumni
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary semikhah recipients
Yeshiva University faculty
Columbia University alumni
American Jewish theologians
Place of birth missing (living people)
Orthodox rabbis from New York City
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American Jews