From the boardroom to the beis midrash, Rabbi Julius Berman exuded wisdom and leadership over many decades. He was mourned on Thursday, January 1, by his family and neighbors at the Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, who shared memories of the pioneering legal figure and community advocate known to them as Julie.
“He inspired me and he elevated me. My uncle was a giant in the Jewish community, an outstanding leader and spokesman for our people,” Yeshiva University President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman said. “He was my teacher, mentor, and rebbi. He wrote my bar mitzvah speech; he secured my first and second summer job. Brought me to lunch with him at Kaye Scholer and Olympia & York.”
“He initiated me into a level of wisdom I never knew existed.”
Born in Lithuania in 1935 to Rabbi Henoch and Sarah Berman, his family was fortunate to emigrate in 1940 as the war was raging across much of Europe. They settled in Hartford, Connecticut, where Julius was in the first graduating class of the Yeshiva of Hartford. He received semichah at Yeshiva University, learning with Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt”l, becoming his lifelong talmid and advisor. At the same time, he attended New York University Law School, graduating first in his class, working for the firm Kaye Scholer where he rose to partner, a rarity at the time for an Orthodox Jew.
“My uncle Julie impacted the entire world,” said Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz of North Woodmere. “Uncle Julie impacted every segment of society, young and old, brilliant rabbis and people with developmental disabilities. He impacted the kashrus of the food that we eat, the influence that we have in the halls of government, the quality of the schools that our kids attend during the year, and the camps where they spend their summers, the batei midrash where we learn and the boardrooms that, largely due to his trailblazing, we are able to occupy.”
Rabbi Lebowitz quoted a friend who said that Rabbi Berman’s life was “like Dayeinu” in regard to his professional and personal accomplishments.
“Each would have made him an above-the-fold obituary,” he said. Rabbi Berman applied his legal skills to assist Jewish organizations such as Yeshiva University, the Claims Conference, Conference of Presidents, Orthodox Union, and Yachad, among others.
“Our joke was that Uncle Julie had a picture with every United States president since Lincoln,” Rabbi Lebowitz noted. Then there was his spiritual leadership.
“He was a talmid chacham who was as dedicated to his Mishnah B’rurah shiur as he was to the many organizations that he was involved with,” he said.
Rabbi Joel Schreiber spoke of his beloved friend and brilliant chavrusa of over 70 years. At his most recent siyum six months ago, Rabbi Berman appeared and danced in his wheelchair.
“What remains are the memories of a lifetime well lived. He was a quiet giant who accomplished more than most men that I know or will ever know.” Looking back at old publications, Rabbi Schreiber spoke of an award that Rabbi Berman received in 1984 from the OU, in which he appeared in a photo with Rav Soloveitchik. They both attended YU, where their lifelong learning partnership began.
“It’s stunning to even consider what one human being can do,” he said. “How could he have possibly done all of that in one lifetime? It’s impossible!”
During the day, he studied for his semichah and attended law school at night, where he appeared in the law review. At RIETS, he condensed the Rav’s shiurim to key sentences that he shared with Rabbi Schreiber. “Many were the talmidim who sought after those notes,” he said. “Julie shaped the world that I became involved in.”
Rabbi Berman and his wife Dottie raised their three children, Zev, Myra Aminsky, and Eli in Forest Hills, where he delivered a weekly shiur for 36 years. Zev later asked for his parents to move closer to him in Jamaica Estates in 2010. “Our inviting them here was selfish on our part,” he said. “Once here, everyone wanted to talk to him. This actually became a safety issue,” as he sat near the exit. “People would line up either to talk to him or to wish him Good Shabbos. The line would snake around and it became a fire hazard.” The seat was changed, but at least the exit wasn’t blocked.
When his father was hospitalized a couple of months ago, Zev understood that it was a turning point and his absence in the shul was felt by everyone.
“Our kids had their grandparents on the block at the perfect time in their lives. They would just drop by whenever,” he said. “My father would sit at the head of the table and look out at his children with such delight.”
Eli Berman, his younger son, delivered the last eulogy. He spoke of Rabbi Berman as chair of the Conference of Presidents, which represented major Jewish organizations in this country. “They had to come together to speak with one voice and my father was able to build that consensus.” At the OU, he expanded its reach in kashrus supervision and, through OU Press, the teachings of his rebbi. He was also active in journalism as president of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, an international wire service, starting in 1989, and sitting on its board for more than two decades.
“He felt very strongly that Orthodox Jews should not limit themselves to Orthodox Jewish matters,” Eli said. “If they have talent, they should have a leading role in these organizations.”
Berman’s humility in leadership meant the acceptance of negative press, recognizing and elevating talented colleagues, making changes when needed, integrity, and wisely using every spare moment to learn.
“I can’t imagine an American Jewish world without the impact and influence of Rabbi Julie Berman,” said Rabbi Josh Joseph, the executive vice president and COO of the Orthodox Union, in a statement. “At each stage of my Jewish education and professional career, I have seen how his work directly touched me and thousands of others. As we mourn his loss, we are left with the gifts that he bestowed upon us.”
By Sergey Kadinsky
