Bar-Ilan University Launches Annual Lecture Aiming to Strengthen Jewish Life and Identity

Bar-Ilan’s Prof. Eliyahu Assis delivered “More than Words: Living Out Biblical Justice,” the first lecture in the Adam Cherrick & Bernard Cherrick Memorial Lecture Series. The lecture was free and open to the public, and is now available on the university’s website and the department's YouTube channel).

The series was made possible by an initial gift of more than $100,000 from Jordan B. and Lorraine S. Cherrick, along with their daughter Rachel M. Cherrick. It is named in honor of Adam Cherrick z"l, late son of Jordan and Lorraine; and in memory of Bernard Cherrick z"l, Jordan’s cousin, friend, and religious advisor who was the vice president of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and who emigrated to Israel in 1947 after graduating from highly impressive academic institutions and serving in the rabbinate in London. 

Each year, the dean of Bar-Ilan’s Jewish Studies Faculty will select a distinguished scholar in that field to deliver the lecture. The annual lecture will be hosted at the Jewish Studies Department or another appropriate location at the university’s campus in Ramat Gan. The lectures will cover a broad spectrum of topics in Jewish Studies, including but not limited to: biblical and modern Hebrew language; Yiddish, Ladino, and other languages; Tanach (Hebrew Bible); Jewish law (Halacha and Talmud), ethics, philosophy, theology, and thought; Hasidism and Jewish mysticism; Jewish history; Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions; Jewish culture, literature, art, music, archeology, and science; Jewish feminism; and geographic conditions in the State of Israel.

“We deeply appreciate not only the Cherricks’ generosity but also their vision in creating a lecture series that simultaneously enriches the academic community and strengthens Jewish life,” said Jessica Feldan, CEO of American Friends of Bar-Ilan University. “Crucially, the Cherrick family has recognized that Bar-Ilan — a Jewish university with Jewish values — is the ideal home for actualizing that vision. Students at Bar-Ilan, the only major research university in Israel with a Jewish Studies requirement, graduate with a deeper understanding of what it means to be Jewish and to have a Jewish state. This lecture series promises to take the university’s impact on Israeli and global Jewish identity to even greater heights.”

Jordan Cherrick — a lifelong resident of St. Louis, Mo., and a graduate of Yeshiva University (summa cum laude) as well as Boston University School of Law — was a student of the renowned Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik z"l, whose genuine religious life and many lectures and works on Jewish thought significantly influenced his life.

“We are gratified that the Adam Cherrick & Bernard Cherrick Memorial Lecture Series will transmit the highest level of a broad range of Jewish educational topics and consequently, serve to bolster Jewish identity and continuity,” Jordan Cherrick said. “Our family chose Bar-Ilan University to host the annual lecture due to the university’s acclaimed Jewish Studies program, which truly stands out among its peers at other higher education institutions across Israel. Bar-Ilan advances the vibrancy of Judaism in the context of the religious and ethical model established by Rabbi Soloveitchik himself, rooted in his belief that Torah and secular studies are both essential for leading a genuine religious Jewish life in modern times.”

Lorraine Cherrick — an alumna of Yale University who also attended Boston University School of Law — is executive president, general counsel, and secretary of CSI Leasing, Inc., an international equipment finance company headquartered in St. Charles, Mo. Rachel Cherrick, a graduate of Barnard College who earned her Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, advises executives on issues relating to mental and social wellbeing at Spring Health, a national behavioral health company.

Prof. Assis, the first lecturer in the annual series, is a full professor in the Department of Bible at Bar-Ilan. He has previously served as the head of the department and as the university’s Dean of the Faculty of Jewish Studies, and has chaired the Bible Studies Committee at the Israeli Ministry of Education. His contributions to biblical scholarship encompass literary analyses of biblical texts, focusing on the narratives of Joshua, Judges, and the Twelve Minor Prophets.

Additionally, Bar-Ilan’s Prof. Michael Avioz is overseeing the annual lecture. He is a full professor in the Department of Bible and the current dean of the university’s Faculty of Jewish Studies. His expertise includes biblical historiography, particularly the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles; prophetic literature, especially the Book of Jeremiah; and early biblical interpretation, emphasizing Josephus.