Biu Aerial photograph of Bar-Ilan University (21004322376)

Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...

in the Tel Aviv District city of

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 ...

, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has about 20,000 students and 1,350

faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument) A faculty is a legal in ...

members. Bar-Ilan's mission is to "blend

Jewish 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""The ...

tradition with modern technologies and scholarship and the university endeavors to ... teach the Jewish heritage to all its students while providing nacademic education."

History

First Graduation at Bar Ilan University - Ogden Reid 1959

Bar-Ilan University has Jewish-American roots: It was conceived in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

in a meeting of the American Mizrahi organization in 1950, and was founded by Professor Pinkhos Churgin, an American Orthodox

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 ...

and educator, who was president from 1955 to 1957 where he was succeeded by

Joseph H. Lookstein Joseph Hyman Lookstein (Hebrew: ; December 25, 1902 – July 13, 1979) was a Russian-born American rabbi who served as spiritual leader of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and was a leader in Orthodox Judaism, ...

who was president from 1957 to 1967. When it was opened in 1955, it was described by ''The New York Times'' "as Cultural Link Between the sraeliRepublic and America". Presidents who followed were Max Jammer (1967–77),

Emanuel Rackman Rabbi (Menachem) Emanuel Rackman ( he, מנחם עמנואל רקמן ''Menachem 'immanuel Raqman''; June 24, 1910 in Albany – December 1, 2008) was an American Modern Orthodox Rabbi, president of the RCA, vice-president of Yeshiva University ...

(1977–86), Michael Albeck (1986–89), Ernest Krausz (1989), Zvi Arad (1989–92), and Shlomo Eckstein (1992–96). The university was named for Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan (originally ''Meir Berlin''), a

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, they ...

leader who served as the inspiration for its establishment. Although he was trained in Orthodox seminaries in Berlin, he believed there was a need for an institution providing a dual curriculum of secular

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

studies and religious

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

studies. BIU's student population is diverse and includes both Jewish and non-Jewish students. At least ten courses in

Jewish studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; he, מדעי היהדות, madey ha-yahadut, sciences of Judaism) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history ( ...

are required for graduation. These are available as academic

courses, as well as through more traditional

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mitzvah'' ("comma ...

, offered primarily by the ''Machon HaGavoah LeTorah'', established in the 1970s. The "Machon" operates a kollel /

bet midrash A ''beth midrash'' ( he, בית מדרש, or ''beis medrash'', ''beit midrash'', pl. ''batei midrash'' "House of Learning") is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall." It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth kne ...

for men, and a midrasha for women. The kollel offers traditional

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are stu ...

studies with an emphasis on

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

and

Halakha ''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 comm ...

(Jewish law), while the midrasha offers courses in

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

''Machshavah'' (Jewish philosophy). The midrasha is the largest in Israel. These programs are open to all students free of charge. Yitzhak Rabin's convicted assassin, Yigal Amir, was a student of law and computer science at Bar-Ilan, prompting charges that the university had become a hotbed of political

extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

. One of the steps taken by the university following the 1995 assassination was to encourage dialogue between

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...

and

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, autho ...

students. Under university president

Moshe Kaveh Moshe Kaveh (משה קוה; born 1943) is an Israeli physicist and former President of Bar-Ilan University. Biography Kaveh was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union where his parents sought safety after fleeing from Poland. All of his ...

(1996–2013), Bar-Ilan underwent a major expansion, with new buildings added on the northern side of the campus. New science programs have been introduced, including a multidisciplinary brain research center and a center for

nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...

. The university has placed

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...

as one of its priorities, and this includes excavations such as the Tell es-Safi/Gath archaeological excavations and the recently opened Bar-Ilan University/

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli univ ...

joint program in Archaeological Sciences. Bar-Ilan's Faculty of Law made headlines in 2008 by achieving the highest average Israeli bar exam grade of 81.9 by its graduates.

Daniel Hershkowitz Daniel Hershkowitz ( he, דניאל הרשקוביץ; born 2 January 1953 in Haifa, Israel) is an Israeli politician, mathematician, and Orthodox rabbi. Since 2018, he has headed the . He is professor emeritus of mathematics at the Technion, an ...

was university president from 2013 to 2017.

Arie Zaban Arie Zaban (Hebrew: ; born in 1961) is an Israeli professor of chemistry. He is President of Bar-Ilan University. Biography Arie Zaban was born in Israel. He served in the Israel Air Force as a Phantom pilot. He earned a B.Sc. in Chemistry and a ...

became the president of the university in 2017.

Academics

Bar-Ilan University has nine faculties: Exact Sciences,

Life Sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, th ...

Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the o ...

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at th ...

Jewish Studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; he, מדעי היהדות, madey ha-yahadut, sciences of Judaism) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history ( ...