Dorothy and Julius Berman

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Connecticut natives Julius and Dorothy Berman, will be honored at the Annual Dinner of Tribute hosted by the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) an affiliate of Yeshiva University, which will be held on Sunday, Nov. 13 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. RIETS professor, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, will also be honored at the dinner, whose theme is  “A Jubilee Celebration Honoring 50 Years of Torah and Community Leadership.”
Rabbi Berman, who together with his wife, Dorothy, is a long-standing board member and supporter of Yeshiva University, grew up in Hartford where he was among the first graduating class of the Yeshiva of Hartford, which is now called the Bess and Paul Sigel Hebrew Academy of Greater Hartford. He currently serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees of RIETS, as well as on the executive committee of YU. Berman is chairman of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, Inc. and honorary president of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. He has headed many national Jewish organizations, including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and the American Zionist Youth Foundation.
A confidant of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt”l, Berman has been instrumental in publishing the works of the man who, known as the “Rav” (translation: the rabbi), was considered one of the greatest Torah scholars of the 20th century.
A partner in the law firm of Kaye Scholer LLP, Berman received his Bachelor’s degree from YU in 1956, his semichah (rabbinic ordination) from RIETS in 1959, and his JD from New York University. He received an honorary doctorate from YU in 1995.
Born and raised in Bridgeport, Dorothy Berman graduated magna cum laude from YU’s Stern College for Women in 1959 and received her Master’s degree in education from the university’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology in 1960. Among her many communal activities, she is president of the Yeshivat Har Etzion Foundation and was national vice president of AMIT Women. She also serves as vice chair of the Board of Overseers of Stern College. The Bermans live in New York.
Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein serves as the Rabbi Henoch and Sarah D. Berman Professor of Talmud of RIETS and Rosh Kollel and director of the RIETS Caroline and Joseph S. Gruss Institute in Jerusalem. He is lauded for his intensive and original Torah study that reflects the tradition of his teacher and father-in-law, Rabbi Soloveitchik zt”l.
For more information on the annual dinner call (212) 960-0852 or email rietsdinner@yu.edu.