Samuel Belkin
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Samuel Belkin is best known as the second University President of Yeshiva University
. A distinguished Torah scholar, he is credited with leading Yeshiva University through a period of substantial expansion .
, Russian Empire
(now Belarus
) and studied in the yeshiva
s of Slonim
and Mir
. Recognized at a young age as an illui, a genius, he was ordained as a rabbi at the age of seventeen by the famed Yisrael Meir Kagan
, the Chofetz Chaim.
As a child, he sought to leave Poland after he witnessed his father being shot by a policeman in 1919. He emigrated to the United States in 1929, studied with Harry Austryn Wolfson
at Harvard and received his doctorate (concerned with the writings of Philo
) at Brown University
in 1935, one of the first awarded for Judaic studies in American academia
. In 1940, an elaboration of his Ph.D. thesis was published with the title “Philo and the Oral Law; the Philonic Interpretation of Biblical Law in Relation to the Palestinian Halakah.”
He then joined the faculty of Yeshiva College, New York, where he taught Greek. He became a full professor in 1940 and was appointed dean of its Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
(RIETS) the same year. In 1943, Belkin became president of the college and the seminary and under his guidance the institution expanded to become Yeshiva University
in 1945. Belkin was a visionary who transformed YU from a small college and rabbinical seminary into a significant institution of considerable stature not only in Judaic Studies but also in natural
and social sciences
and the humanities
.
As a scholar he published many works on Jewish law
and Hellenistic literature
. His most significant published works are "Philo and the Oral Law" (Cambridge; Harvard University Press, 1940) and "In His Image: The Jewish Philosophy of Man as Expressed in Rabbinic Tradition"(London: Abelard Schuman, 1960).
In his work, “In His Image,” Dr. Belkin describes Judaism as a Democratic Theocracy. A Theocracy because the first principle of Jewish thought describes the Kingship of God. And a Democracy because the Written and the Oral Law emphasize the infinite worth of each human being.
The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
gives an award to one graduating law student each year in Dr. Belkin's honor. The award recognizes exceptional contribution to the growth and development of the law school. Past recipients of the Dr. Samuel Belkin Award include:
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
. A distinguished Torah scholar, he is credited with leading Yeshiva University through a period of substantial expansion .
Biography
Belkin was born in SvislachSvislach
Svislach is a town in the South-West of Hrodna voblast, Belarus, an administrative center of the Svislach district.It is connected with Vaŭkavysk by a railroad branch and with Hrodna by a highway...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(now Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
) and studied in the yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
s of Slonim
Slonim
Slonim is a city in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus, capital of the Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa rivers, 143 km southeast of Hrodna. The population in 2008 was 50,800.-Etymology and historical names:...
and Mir
Mir yeshiva (Poland)
The Mir yeshiva , commonly known as the Mirrer Yeshiva or The Mir, was a Haredi yeshiva located in the town of Mir, Russian Empire...
. Recognized at a young age as an illui, a genius, he was ordained as a rabbi at the age of seventeen by the famed Yisrael Meir Kagan
Yisrael Meir Kagan
Yisrael Meir Poupko , known popularly as The Chofetz Chaim, was an influential Eastern European rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Jewish life...
, the Chofetz Chaim.
As a child, he sought to leave Poland after he witnessed his father being shot by a policeman in 1919. He emigrated to the United States in 1929, studied with Harry Austryn Wolfson
Harry Austryn Wolfson
Harry Austryn Wolfson was a scholar, philosopher, and historian at Harvard University, the first chairman of a Judaic Studies Center in the United States...
at Harvard and received his doctorate (concerned with the writings of Philo
Philo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
) at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
in 1935, one of the first awarded for Judaic studies in American academia
Jewish studies
Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history , religious studies, archeology, sociology, languages , political science, area studies, women's studies, and ethnic studies...
. In 1940, an elaboration of his Ph.D. thesis was published with the title “Philo and the Oral Law; the Philonic Interpretation of Biblical Law in Relation to the Palestinian Halakah.”
He then joined the faculty of Yeshiva College, New York, where he taught Greek. He became a full professor in 1940 and was appointed dean of its Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary , or Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University, located in Washington Heights, New York. It is named after Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, who died the year it was founded, 1896...
(RIETS) the same year. In 1943, Belkin became president of the college and the seminary and under his guidance the institution expanded to become Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
in 1945. Belkin was a visionary who transformed YU from a small college and rabbinical seminary into a significant institution of considerable stature not only in Judaic Studies but also in natural
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
and social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
and the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
.
As a scholar he published many works on Jewish law
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
and Hellenistic literature
Hellenistic civilization
Hellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE...
. His most significant published works are "Philo and the Oral Law" (Cambridge; Harvard University Press, 1940) and "In His Image: The Jewish Philosophy of Man as Expressed in Rabbinic Tradition"(London: Abelard Schuman, 1960).
In his work, “In His Image,” Dr. Belkin describes Judaism as a Democratic Theocracy. A Theocracy because the first principle of Jewish thought describes the Kingship of God. And a Democracy because the Written and the Oral Law emphasize the infinite worth of each human being.
The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University, located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo's success as a young school has been remarkable, leading some to characterize Cardozo as a...
gives an award to one graduating law student each year in Dr. Belkin's honor. The award recognizes exceptional contribution to the growth and development of the law school. Past recipients of the Dr. Samuel Belkin Award include:
- Frank M. Esposito (1994)
- Magda M. Jimenez (1995)
- Vsevolod "Steve" Maskin (2000)
- Alan Gotthelf (2001)
- Brandyne S. Warren (2005)and
- Kimberly N. Grant (2007)