Charged with Purpose
Rabbi Berel Wein, a scion of a long line of Lithuanian Rabbis, grew up charged with responsibility for the spiritual survival of the Jewish people. Biographies of Torah giants sparked his fascination with the glorious world of the past and his lifelong commitment to preserving and sharing the Jewish story.
“In my opinion, a lack of knowledge of Jewish history, a lack of attachment to the Jewish story, is the greatest cause of the secularization of the Jewish People today. Without knowing Jewish history, we know neither who we were nor what we are meant to be.”
— Rabbi Wein in an interview with Mishpacha Magazine, 2022
Driven to Inspire
After acquiring Rabbinical ordination and a Doctorate of Jewish Letters from Chicago’s Hebrew Theological College and earning a Juris Doctor Degree from De Paul University Law School, Rabbi Wein threw himself into his law career by day – and into teaching Jewish history at night.
Soon, he left law behind and assumed the pulpit in Beth Israel Congregation in North Miami Beach. In 1972, he moved to New York to take on a leadership position in the Orthodox Union, simultaneously founding and serving as rabbi in Congregation Bais Torah in Monsey, NY. In 1977, he founded Yeshiva Shaarei Torah in Suffern, NY. After relocating to Israel in 1997, he joined and was eventually appointed as rabbi of Jerusalem’s Beit Knesset Hanasi.
As his renown spread throughout the world, Rabbi Wein also began visiting global communities and leading tours at historical Jewish sites, enriching the understanding of the Jewish diaspora.
Leading by Example
Throughout his impactful life’s journey, Rabbi Wein’s primary dedication has remained the study and teaching of the Torah, the mainstay of Jewish survival throughout the millennia – expressed through his published books of halachic essays, weekly Torah newsletters, and the hundreds of students and congregants he has guided and inspired.
“There is nothing that is as important in the world as the study and teaching of Torah.”
— Rabbi Wein, Covenant Award Acceptance Speech, 1993
In recognition of his immense contribution to the Jewish educational landscape, Rabbi Wein was the 1993 recipient of the Educator of the Year Award from the Covenant Foundation, as well as the recipient of the Torah Prize Award from Machon Harav Frank in Jerusalem.