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The Bar-Ilan University grew forth from a tree, a tree from an orchard in Volozhin. It is named after a son of Volozhin, Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan, a son of the NATZIV. Its founder and first Rector was Professor Pinchas Churgin,^[1] a student of the Yeshiva Etz-Chaim in Volozhin. However, there is a difference between the university^[2] on the hills of Volozhin and the one built on the plain surrounding Ramat-Gan.

The Yeshiva Etz-Chaim was forced to close because of its resistance to the Russian Government's demand to add non-religious classes to the curriculum, an idea that was also promoted by “the Movement of Enlightenment”. Its founder, Rabbi Chaim, believed that “there is nothing which is not alluded to in the Torah”. He referred to the Midrash Tehilim Chapter 19,5^[3] “Shmuel Bar Abba said: I know the stars in the Heavens as well as I know the streets of Nehardea [his city in Babylon]. We know that he did not ascend to the Heavens, but he studied the Torah and thus developed his knowledge about the stars.” This teaches us that a person who knows the Torah also acquires knowledge of all the Sciences. For example, Rabbi Shmuel became an astronomer through studying the Torah.

Bar-Ilan University, on the other hand, was destined to merge Torah with Enlightenment, Judaism and non-Jewish knowledge. Professor Churgin identified the basis of this link in the writings of the GAON of Vilna (the HAGR”A - Hagaon Rabenu Eliyahu) who was the teacher of Rabbi Chaim. The HAGR”A wrote that “all the Sciences use the knowledge of the Torah, and the Torah includes all the Sciences”. Therefore, a person who wants to have a deep understanding of the Talmud must also have knowledge of the “external” Sciences such as Astronomy, Geography, Mathematics, or Medicine.

The HAGR”A said: “A person must be erudite a hundred times more in the Torah than in the Sciences because the Torah and the Sciences are linked.” He asked Baruch Shick to translate the Geometry book of Euclid from Greek to Hebrew. He himself wrote the book “A Triple Ram” where he explained mathematical problems which appear in the Talmud.^[4]

Pinchas Churgin was born in Pahost (in the Minsk area) on November 25, 1894, son of Rabbi Reuven Yona and Devosha.

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His father was the Head of a famous Yeshiva in which he was educated. When he was eleven years old, the family moved to Eretz-Israel and settled in Jerusalem. He attended a Yeshiva in Jerusalem but wished to go back to Etz-Chaim. He believed that this was the best Yeshiva in the world. Consequently, he returned to Volozhin and spent four years under the tutelage of Rabbi Raphael Shapiro.

He then moved to the U.S.A and after studying there he became a professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University in New York.

Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan, the founder of the American branch of the Mizrachi Movement, took note of him and nominated him as the head of the School of Jewish Teachers, a part of the Rabbi Yitzhak-Elchanan Yeshiva in New York. Churgin led the School for over thirty years. The thousands of graduates of the School are the leaders of today's Jewish education in the country.

Churgin steered the schools towards a blend of Biblical and modern Jewish culture that served as a cornerstone of national Jewish strength. He did not see any conflict between the Torah and Science. Moreover, he reminded us that there were Jewish scholars who were scientists, engineers, mathematicians and physicians among the writers of the Talmud in Babylon, during the Middle Ages in Spain and down through the ages in Europe.

Churgin was a Torah Scholar but he himself was humble and modest. He adored small trees. When his brother asked him why he preferred smaller trees he said that small trees reminded him of everyday honest people who do not look down on others. Tall trees are scary and reminded him of people who pursue power. Those trees keep the sunlight for themselves and cast big shadows around them, depriving the small ones of sunlight.^[5]

Churgin adapted the learning method of the NATZIV, a method that emphasized researching the sources of Jewish Law and taught the students how to identify these sources. The students were educated both to understand the history of Jewish ideas and concepts and to be able to trace their development.

He followed Rabbi Chaim's pedagogical method which believed that the mind of the student is flexible and inventive and that a good teacher must not suppress the student's creativity. On the contrary, he should promote free thinking.

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Churgin was aware of the limited availability and capacity of higher education during the early years of the State of Israel and started devoting his time and connections into forming a new University. He defined the vision for it as “We hope to educate a generation of people who would be committed to our ancient Torah. Losing the Torah, G-D forbid, as a cornerstone of the Nation may bring about the demise of the Nation. On the other hand – science and research do not contradict the belief in G-D.”^[6]

In 1949, Churgin was elected President of the American Branch of the Mizrachi. In 1950, he visited Israel and met Government officials to discuss the creation of the university. On July 26, 1953, the cornerstone of the University was laid. The “Foundation Scroll” (Megilat HaYesod) was placed in a cavity in the cornerstone. The text of the Scroll reads:

“With the grace of the One who gave mind to man and granted wisdom to humans, on this Sunday the fourteenth day of the month of Menachem-Av in the year of five thousand seven hundred and thirteen since the Creation, that is the sixth year of the independent State of Israel, in the presence of Torah Sages and Ministers of the State, people of wisdom and Science, leaders of Institutions and generous donors in the city of Ramat-Gan, let it blossom like a lily in the Valley of Sharon. Today we lay down the cornerstone to an Institution of Torah and Wisdom named after our leader, the President of the worldwide Mizrachi movement, our Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan z”l, the son of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin z”l. Let this Bar-Ilan University be a Tree of Life (Etz Chaim) for the heritage of the Eternal Nation, for the everlasting values of the Torah, wisdom and morals, justice and world peace. Let it be an oasis for intelligent people where science and research, skills and arts, creation and resurrection of the people and of the State can flourish. The University will be a source for the Jewish spirit, a place of creation and preservation for the spirit of young people. Belief will be the foundation and Science will be the crown of its students. It will be a Lighthouse to the nation of Israel and a place of wisdom to all Nations of the world.”

The Inauguration Ceremony took place on August 7, 1955. In attendance were one hundred students who represented the “Ingathering of the Exiles”: people from South America, Morocco, Egypt, Iraq, and other countries. Professor Churgin's opening remarks laid down the goals he set for the creation of the University:

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“There is a dichotomy among the people of Israel. One view believes in the study of the Torah and nothing else, ignoring scientific progress and the improvements made to human life and its condition. The other view opposes consecrated Jewish values and follows a spiritual nihilism when it comes to Jewish traditions. Our role is to develop the synthesis between our traditional life and the world's general culture. This blend existed during the times of the Talmud and the “Golden Era” in Spain and delivered manifolded benefits to Judaism.

He told the students “we pray that you will follow that great man who gave his name to this home, Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan z”l, who dedicated his life to the resurrection of the Nation and its people and to their spiritual foundations: the love of G-D, the love of every Jew and the love of all humanity. We hope Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan will be a model to you and to future generations. His way of life is a worthwhile symbol for this Institution and for your life.”

It is appropriate to quote the Chief Rabbi of Israel, the GAON Rabbi Herzog, who said:

“Two great forces are struggling for control of the human spirit since time immemorial, the presence of G-D and Science. However, it is not surprising that in our era, when Science discovers so many secrets of nature, some of the greatest scientists voice their opinion that Science does not conflict with ‘;In the beginning G-D created’. They realize that the power of Nature is not random, but that there is a Supreme Creator who shaped the world in an intelligent and wise way.”

The first year offered courses in Judaism: Talmud, Biblical Studies, Jewish History, the Hebrew Language and Literature, Linguistics, English, French, Spanish and Arabic. Science courses included Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Biology.

Professor Churgin was elected President of the University. He dedicated much of his time to admitting candidates. He interviewed each registered candidate trying to understand their personalities and knowledge and admitted only those that satisfied his criteria: their commitment to Judaism, their morals and their level of knowledge. In so doing, Churgin followed the custom of Rabbi Chaim who personally screened each candidate to his Yeshiva. He admitted only those who were committed to his own views of the kind of education the Yeshiva should instill in its students.

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Professor Churgin had an important principle: the student's financial ability must not hinder his admission. He remembered the Talmudic story of Rabbi Hillel who was not able to enter the Beit Midrash where Shemaiah and Avtalion were teaching. Hillel climbed on the roof and listened to their voices through the chimney. Churgin did not want to see this happening under his watch and admitted all worthy students, whatever their financial means.

Sadly, Professor Churgin did not have long to oversee the University. He died in the U.S.A. on November 29, 1957. The day before his death his asked his brothers and daughters to cover him with his Tallit, to put his Tefillin on him and to sing HaTikva (“The Hope”, Israel's national anthem). These were the two great foundations of his life – Jewish hope and the belief in national redemption by studying the Torah.

Pinchas Churgin's determination and insistence that the Torah is the foundation of the Jewish Nation was a direct continuation of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, who wrote “a person who did not involve himself with the Torah could not perceive the utmost holiness and purify his soul.” (Nefesh Hachaim, Vol 4 Ch 22).

This note is not just about the story of Bar-Ilan University. It explains the motivation for establishing it and what its inner essence and goals are. It also tells a little about Professor Pinchas Churgin who was a modern Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin and about his motivation for creating the University. His drive to create Bar-Ilan University was based on his fear that the Nation might forget the Torah; the same fear that drove Rabbi Chaim to create the Yeshiva Etz-Chaim in Volozhin.

We do not know if the University has a faculty of “Volozhin Studies”, nor do we know if the book “Nefesh Hachaim” is mandatory reading for its students. In any case, we consider the University to be a part of Volozhin, a modern incarnation of the Yeshiva Etz-Chaim.

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“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers.” (Deuteronomy, Ch 8, 1)

“that you may live” the soul is not complete until they arrive at Eretz-Israel

(“Look Deep”, the NATZIV)

Translator's footnotes:

1. His picture is shown on page 167 Return
2. Eliezer Bran described it as “the only and the special university that educates rabbis in Lithuania”. HAMELIZ, Issue 45, February 22, 1891 Return
3. Nefesh Hachaim, Vol.4 Ch. 20 Return
4. See “The History of Jewish Literature” Vol. 3 Ch. 5 P. 293 by Dr. Israel Zinberg Return
5. Gershon A. Churgin Memoires, included in the Bar-Ilan University Yearbook 1963, page 11 Return
6. Bar-Ilan News, No.17, October 1957 Return

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Our Kibbutz, Ein HaNatziv, is in the valley of Beit-She'an near the crossroads of Jericho – Beit-She'an – Tirat-Zvi. It was the third Kibbutz in the “religious block”. It was founded after Tirat-Zvi and Sde-Eliyahu. Later, a fourth Kibbutz, Shluchot, was founded during the War of Independence.

The Kibbutz founders came from three groups of young people who had assembled in different locations: one was in Kvutzat “Rogers” (Kvutza is a collective group in Israel, working a farmstead cooperatively on national land) that later became “Kvutzat Yavneh”, a second was in Moshav “Sde-Yaakov” in the Valley of Izrael, and the third was in the “Ein-Ganim” neighborhood in the Bay of Haifa. The members of the three groups met in an agricultural training camp on the dunes of Nachalat Yehuda near Rishon-LeZion. When they realized they would not be able to find jobs in that vicinity, they started dispatching “work details” to any place where they could secure employment. This was during the time of the “Arab Revolt” of 1938. One work detail worked near Gaza, another one - in the Bay of Haifa and the third one worked near Jericho. The lack of permanent work, however, was instrumental in forging the group together in order to face future challenges.

The Second World War brought the Holocaust and the loss of our families in Europe. It was a period of rapid economic growth which created many work opportunities. After years of working in separated, dispersed groups, we gathered all our members in one location and hoped to finally start building our new settlement. However, the leaders of the Jewish Community in Eretz-Israel supported enlistment in the newly created Jewish units (“The Brigade”) in the British Army. Many of our members wanted to join the military and to fight the Nazis (most of our members were of Austrian and central European origin) but we eventually agreed on a limit of 10% in order to keep the group unified and to fulfill our main objective of starting a Kibbutz. The leaders of the Jewish Community directed some of the volunteers to join the local “army” (the PALMACH) and the rest of them joined the British Army.

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While living in the work camp it was not easy to find additional members for our group. We did, however succeed in recruiting several graduates of “Aliyat HaNoar” from the Mizrachi House for Women, from the “Mikve-Israel” Agricultural School and from the Religious Youth Village.

Although by now we were high on the priority list for land allocation by the Jewish Agency, the rules of the “White Book” of the British Government did not allow the creation of new settlements. By the end of the War, most of the arriving survivors from Europe did not want to join a group that promoted a life of sharing, a cornerstone of the kibbutz movement. Moreover, the method of building a new kibbutz at the time “Homa u-Migdal” (Tower and Stockade) brought back nightmarish memories for them. They did not want to live inside a fenced settlement. We assisted these people by linking them up with others who had come from their hometowns and with the social services that were available.

Towards the end of 1945, we finally received an allocation of 500 dunams (123.5 Acres) of land that was held by several Kibbutzim around the city of Beit-She'an. This land area was surrounded by thousands of dunams of the British Mandate Government land that was cultivated by Arabs. On January 17, 1946, “Tu Bishvat Day”, a convoy of trucks loaded with small huts, tents and tools left Kibbutz Sde-Eliyahu and drove to the north. It stopped in the middle of a barley field and our settlement was ready a few hours later. “Hagana” soldiers and Jewish policemen stood on guard until we built the surrounding fence. Tents and huts were ready to house the people and a “security room” held our weapons. Tu Bishvat was commemorated by planting 12 trees – one for each settlement in the Valley of Beit-She'an. Dignitaries, including Moshe Shertok – the Head of the Diplomatic Branch of the Jewish Agency (later Sharett, the second Prime Minister of Israel), as well as Moshe Shapiro - the Head of the Immigration Branch of the Jewish Agency and many other representatives from the nearby settlements came to congratulate us and help us celebrate.

The Jewish population in Eretz-Israel was struggling with the British authorities for the right to bring survivors of the Holocaust from Europe into our independent State. No one knew how long this might take but it was clear that our situation, where our group was divided into two locations, was not sustainable. Moreover – we wanted to bring the women and children who had remained in Nachalat-Yehuda to live together with us.

The only land that the JNF owned in the area lay between Kfar-Ruppin and Sde-Eliyahu. However, we did not want to be “squeezed” between two already existing Kibbutzim. We had to wait for another year to pass until an appropriate area of land was transferred to us from Kibbutz Messilot. We immediately started building houses for the children and the Kibbutz members. We then built a cowshed and workshops and sowed the fields for animal fodder and vegetables.

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We had not yet named the Kibbutz before we moved to the location, but on the following day a news item in the DAVAR Daily newspaper announced that “The NATZIV has settled in the Valley of Beit-She'an”. Only a few people in the country knew who the NATZIV was and many people mistook him for the British Governor of Eretz-Israel. He was a hated person in the country at that time (the Hebrew word for governor is ‘;natziv’). The newspaper clarified that the NATZIV was Head of the Yeshiva of Volozhin, a teacher of the National Poet, Chaim Nachman Bialik, and the person that Bialik described in his famous poem ‘;HaMatmid’.

The settlement received the name “Ein-HaNatziv” (the Fountain of the NATZIV) on Lag BaOmer of that year, in May 1946. The name was proposed by Rabbi Meir Berlin (later: Bar-Ilan) who was the son of the NATZIV, the President of the Worldwide Mizrachi Movement and a Director of the JNF.

There are many water springs in the Valley of Beit-She'an. Three springs flow near the Kibbutz and their names are related to the NATZIV: The Naftali Spring, The Zvi Spring and The Yehuda Spring.

Our members, including the women and children, were waiting in other parts of the country. They joined us just two weeks before the historic vote of the United Nations in Lake Success on November 29, 1947. We hoped to dedicate all our efforts to building and developing the Kibbutz, but soon we found ourselves becoming soldiers with “part-time jobs” as farmers.

It was around that time we lost two of our members: Yoseph Kopler was killed with the 35 men who died on the road to Gush-Etzion and Yoseph Immerglick died on Mount Gilboa near the town of Jenin.

We committed ourselves to integrating and educating the refugee children found in churches and the homes of Christian citizens in Belgium and France by Alyat-HaNoar and the soldiers of the Brigada.

The time then came to focus on developing our own home. We prepared a plan for agricultural production; we bought equipment and formed different agriculture branches. Being a religious Kibbutz, we had to find ways to deal with such religious requirements as working on Shabbat, avoiding mixed crops or mandated donations. The most important question was educating the children. We allocated our best people to be teachers and along with the other three nearby religious Kibbutzim, we built a shared school. Each child receives 12 years of education in either one of two streams: Humanities or Science. The boys in grade 10 also spend some time at a Yeshiva.

In addition, we helped the State by sharing our facilities with “Youth Seed Societies” – people with no prior experience in farming who were preparing themselves to build new Kibbutzim. These Societies would spend two to three years with us (and provided manpower to our small-sized Kibbutz).

After 23 years of existence in the Valley of Beit-She'an, we can feel satisfied with our many achievements. These achievements did not arrive “on a silver platter”. We are a Kibbutz with 150 members, 12 of them belong to one “Youth Seed Society”, and 160 children. We cultivate 8,000 dunams of land (3,100 sq.miles), about one-quarter of which is irrigated. We also care for 1,060 dunams of fishponds.

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The Synagogue in Kibbutz Ein-HaNatziv

The people of our Kibbutz, who maintain our Jewish religious beliefs, symbolize the eternal future of the Jewish nation, the eternal existence of the Torah, and the eternal presence of the spirit of Volozhin.

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Before he left for the U.S.A., Rabbi Shalom bought his wife a knitting machine. This machine knitted socks and was able to make the family financially independent while he was away.

Six years later, his wife and children joined Rabbi Shalom Eliezer Rogozin in New York. His wife brought the machine with her and this gave the family a head-start in their new country. In 1895 Rabbi Shalom opened a small knitting factory. In this factory Israel learned all about production, marketing and sales. He was only 12 years old when he became a “traveling salesman” for the family business. His first business trips were to Brooklyn and were followed later on by more trips to many other cities. By the age of 14 he had mastered all the different jobs in the company. In fact, when necessary, he was even able to repair the machines.

By 1903, his father, who was not interested in manufacturing and sales, became a teacher in the Yeshiva of Rabbi Yaakov-Yoseph. Israel, who was 16 years old by then, became the General Manager of his family's company.

Israel Rogozin dedicated a lot of time and effort expanding the factory. During this process, he became a major industrialist in the U.S.A. He was interviewed by the “Jewish Press Weekly” and was asked about “the secret of his success”. He said “I worked hard and I am still working hard. I had always believed that hard work and doing business fairly would bring success. I built up and grew the “Bonit” Company through many years of effort and dedication.”

Rogozin started expanding his business in 1912 at a time when he employed about 200 workers. By 1920 the Company owned 5 plants and employed one thousand workers. In that year he purchased his sixth plant – a factory that manufactured synthetic silk. The demand for this product grew very quickly and Rogozin's companies became an empire of synthetic silk and nylon products which employed ten thousand workers. Israel Rogozin sold “Bonit” in 1963 when annual sales had reached 150 million dollars and its products enjoyed an excellent reputation.

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However, Mr. Rogozin's goal in life was not increasing his personal wealth. He always shared his prosperity with the public and donated many millions for scientific and educational causes both in the U.S.A. and in Israel.

His relationship with Eretz-Israel started over fifty years ago. He helped with the financing of a factory that manufactured roof tiles in Motza and, over the years, invested about 30 million dollars. Recently, he donated four million dollars for educational projects in Israel through the charity organization managed by Rebbetzin Sara Herzog, the wife of Israel's Chief Rabbi. As well, he donated to Bar-Ilan University and built a Cultural Center for his workers in the city of Ashdod. He then donated all of his shares from this Ashdod company to several charities. In 1966, he donated a million dollars to the Yeshiva University in New York in order to create a Faculty for Ethics. Presently, thirty young Rabbis - Orthodox, Conservative and Reform study in this Faculty.

His investments in Israel are very successful. Half of the production from his tire factory is exported while the production and export levels grow greater every year.

Mr. Israel Rogozin is 83 years old now. He is very energetic and still developing new business plans.

Once, someone asked the GAON of Vilna how he had become a GAON (genius). He answered, “If you want it, you too can become a GAON.” Mr. Rogozin is proof of the goals one can achieve if one is strong-willed and hard-working.

(based on an article by Yitzhak Ya'akobi: “Israel Rogozin at 80” in DAVAR daily, February 17, 1967, and an article in HaDoar).

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