Meir Bar-Ilan (; – ) was an
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
,
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
, and
Religious Zionist
Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, the ...
activist, who served as leader of the
Mizrachi movement in the United States and
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
.
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...
, founded in 1955, was named in his honour.
Biography
Early life
Bar-Ilan was born Meir Berlin in 1880 to a
Lithuanian Jewish
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent area ...
family, the youngest son of Rabbi
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (20 November 1816 in Mir, Russia – 10 August 1893 in Warsaw, Poland), also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was an Orthodox rabbi, '' Rosh yeshiva'' (dean) of the Volozhin ...
and his second wife Rayna Batya Miriam Berlin (). Bar-Ilan's father was the head of the famous
Volozhin Yeshiva
Yeshivas Etz Ḥayyim (), commonly called the Volozhin Yeshiva (), was a prestigious Lithuanian ''yeshiva'' located in the town of Volozhin, Russian Empire (now Valozhyn, Belarus). It was founded around 1803 by Rabbi Ḥayyim Volozhiner, a stude ...
in Lithuania. Bar-Ilan was also a descendant of Rabbi
Meir Katzenellenbogen, the Maharam of Padua.
He studied at the Volozhin Yeshiva and, after his father's death in 1894, at the traditional yeshivas of
Telshe,
Brisk and
Novardok, where he learned with his maternal grandfather, Rabbi
Yechiel Michel Epstein
Yechiel Michel ha-Levi Epstein ( he, יחיאל מיכל הלוי אפשטיין)
(24 January 1829 – 25 March 1908), often called "the ''Aruch haShulchan''" after his magnum opus, Aruch HaShulchan, was a Rabbi and ''Posek'' (authority in Jew ...
. After gaining ''
semicha
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 ...
'' in 1902 at the age of twenty-two, Bar-Ilan travelled to Germany to attend the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...
. There, he became acquainted with a more modern form 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 ...
that had a more tolerant attitude to secular education and to political
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
(although such attitudes were also present in the Lithuania of his youth). Bar-Ilan was deeply influenced by the local religious community and its philosophy of ''
Torah im Derech Eretz
''Torah im Derech Eretz'' ( he, תורה עם דרך ארץ – Torah with "the way of the land"Rabbi Y. Goldson, Aish HaTorah"The Way of the World", Ethics of the Fathers, 3:21/ref>)
is a phrase common in Rabbinic literature referring to vario ...
''.
Mizrachi movement and ''Ha’Ivri''
In 1905 Bar-Ilan joined the
Mizrachi movement, representing it at the
Seventh Zionist Congress, at which he voted against the
Uganda Proposal
The Uganda Scheme was a proposal presented at the Sixth World Zionist Congress in Basel in 1903 by Zionism founder Theodor Herzl to create a Jewish homeland in a portion of British East Africa. He presented it as a temporary refuge for Jews to ...
to create a temporary Jewish homeland in
British East Africa
East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Bri ...
, as suggested by Great Britain.
In 1911, he founded the
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
weekly newspaper
A weekly newspaper is a general-news or current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspaper is published once every two weeks. Weekly n ...
''Ha’Ivri'' in Berlin as a "non-party paper dedicated to all the affairs of Israel, faithful in its spirit to our religious tradition and to our national renaissance."
That same year, Bar-Ilan was appointed secretary of the world Mizrachi movement. In 1913 he came to the United States and developed local Mizrachi groups into a national organisation, chairing the first
American Mizrachi convention, held in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
in May 1914.
Bar-Ilan settled in New York in 1914, becoming president of the American Mizrachi movement the following year, a position he held until 1928.
In his absence ''Ha’Ivri'' ceased publication in April 1914, but was re-established under Bar-Ilan's direction in New York in January 1916. Published until 1921, the paper's contributors included such prominent writers as
S. Y. Agnon,
Joseph Opatoshu
Joseph Opatoshu () (January 1, 1886 – October 7, 1954) was a Polish-born Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated du ...
,
Reuben Brainin,
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, and
Yehuda Leib Maimon
Yehuda Leib Maimon ( he, יהודה לייב מימון, 11 December 1875 – 10 July 1962, also known as Yehuda Leib HaCohen Maimon) was an Israeli rabbi, politician and leader of the Religious Zionist movement. He was Israel's first Minis ...
. Bar-Ilan was also an active member of the
Joint Distribution Committee
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a Jewish relief organization based in New York City. Since 1914 the organisation has supported Jewish people living in Israel and throughout the world. The organization i ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and served as vice president of the Central Relief Committee of New York City in 1916. He founded the Mizrachi Teachers Institute in 1917. From 1920 through 1922, Bar-Ilan briefly served as acting president for what is now
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.["About YU]
on the Yeshiva Universi ...
during the temporary absence of its then-president,
Bernard Revel
Bernard (Dov) Revel ( he, ברנרד רבל; September 17, 1885 – December 2, 1940) was an Orthodox rabbi and scholar. He served as the first President of Yeshiva College from 1915 until his death in 1940. The Bernard Revel Graduate School of ...
.
Life in Israel
In 1923 he moved to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. In Israel, Bar-Ilan founded the daily newspaper ''
Hatzofeh'' and initiated the ''Encyclopedia Talmudit'', a Hebrew encyclopedia summarizing
halachic
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...
topics in the Talmud, forty-two volumes of which have been published to date. Bar-Ilan also served on the board of directors of the
Mizrachi Bank and, in 1925, became a member of the Board of Directors of the
Jewish National Fund, devoted to financing the rebuilding of the Jewish homeland in the then-
British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to:
* Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan.
* Mandatory P ...
.
He was a vocal opponent of the 1937
United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as ...
and the 1939 British
White Paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white pape ...
, and advocated
civil disobedience and non-cooperation by the
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s with the British.
At the beginning of 1943, Bar-Ilan visited the United States to lobby the American government to rescue
Jewish refugees
This article lists expulsions, refugee crises and other forms of displacement that have affected Jews.
Timeline
The following is a list of Jewish expulsions and events that prompted significant streams of Jewish refugees.
Assyrian captivity
; ...
and help establish a Jewish state. He secured meetings with leading politicians and foreign ambassadors, including Vice President
Henry Wallace, Senator
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and '' Hart to Hart'' (1979� ...
, Senate Majority Leader
Alben Barkley
Alben William Barkley (; November 24, 1877 – April 30, 1956) was an American lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served in both houses of Congress and as the 35th vice president of the United States from 1949 to 1953 under Presid ...
, and House Minority Leader
Joseph Martin.
Scholarship
Along with Rabbi
Shlomo Yosef Zevin, Bar-Ilan was the editor of the ''Talmudical Encyclopedia'' (), Volumes I (Jerusalem, 1946) and II (published posthumously in 1949).
He also wrote articles on Talmudic subjects for various periodicals. Notable works of Bar-Ilan include:
* ' (; New York, 1934)
* ''Fun Volozhin biz Yerushalayim'' ( yi, פון וואָלאָז'ין בּיז ירושלים; in Yiddish, Yew York, 1933; in Hebrew, Tel Aviv, 1939–40), autobiography in two volumes
* ''Bishvil ha-Techiah'' (Tel Aviv, 1940)
* ''Raban shel Yisrael'' ( he, רבן של ישראל; New York, 1943)
After 1948, his activities were scholastically oriented. He organized a committee of scholars to examine the legal problems of the new state in the light of Jewish law and founded an institute for the publication of a new complete edition of the Talmud.
Legacy
Bar-Ilan inspired the founding of
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...
in
Ramat Gan
Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and man ...
by the American Mizrachi movement, named in his honour. The moshav
Beit Meir is named in his honour, as are the Meir Forest in the
Hebron Hills
The Hebron Hills, also known as Mount Hebron ( ar, جبل الخليل, translit=Jabal al-Khalīl, he, הר חברון, translit=Har Hevron), are a mountain ridge, geographic region, and geologic formation, comprising the southern part of the J ...
and
Bar-Ilan Street in Jerusalem.
References
External links
*
Podcast episodeon Meir Bar-Ilan by Jewish History Soundbites
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bar-Ilan, Meir
1880 births
1949 deaths
People from Valozhyn
People from Oshmyansky Uyezd
Belarusian Orthodox rabbis
American Orthodox rabbis
Heads of the Jewish Agency for Israel
Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine)
Orthodox rabbis in Mandatory Palestine
Religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis
Novardok Yeshiva alumni
20th-century American rabbis