David Berger (born 1943) is an American academic, dean emeritus of
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City. '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, upon his death in 1940. Its curriculum prepares highly train ...
, 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 ''
'', a criticism of
Chabad messianism.
Education
Berger was raised in Brooklyn, NY, where he attended the
Yeshivah of Flatbush
The Yeshivah of Flatbush (YOF) is a Modern Orthodox private Jewish day school located in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York. It educates students from age 2 to age 18 and includes an early childhood center, an elementary school and a sec ...
for both elementary and high school. He received a
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
from
Yeshiva College in 1964; he majored in Classics and was class valedictorian. He then went on to
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
where he completed a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...
degree in 1965 and his
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
in 1970. He received
rabbinic ordination 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 Judaism, Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union (OU). ...
, 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
Philosophy ...
rabbis.
Activities
Before Berger prominently criticized
Chabad
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...
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"), or the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions, is an official declaration of the Second Vatican Council, an Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. I ...
'' ("In Our Age," promulgated 1965), and ''
Dominus Iesus
(English: ''The Lord Jesus'') is a declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (previously known as the ''Holy Office'', and since 2022 known as the ''Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith'') published on August 6, 2000.
The ...
'' ("Lord Jesus," promulgated 2000) and Rabbi
Joseph Soloveitchik
Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( ''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 of the Lithuanian Jewish Soloveitchik rabbinic d ...
's "Confrontation". The
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, National Conference of Synagogue Youth, youth programs, Jew ...
(OU) asked him to write a response to the broadly ecumenical ''
Dabru Emet'' ("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's views on medieval Jewish-Christian debate in the book, ''Pride of Jacob''.
Chabad controversy
Berger's 2001 book criticizing
Chabad 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 a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...
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"
*
* ''
'', 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'' (), 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, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...
'', October 24, 2007.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, David
Living people
American Modern Orthodox rabbis
Yeshivah of Flatbush alumni
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
1943 births
21st-century American rabbis