Morris J. Besdin

Morris J. Besdin (July 15, 1913-April 10, 1982, also known as Moshe Besdin) was a Jewish chaplain in the United States Army during World War II, a pulpit rabbi in Pennsylvania and New York, a university Jewish studies educator and a university administrator. For nearly a quarter-century he headed the Jewish Studies Program (JSP) at Yeshiva University, created to appeal to ba’alei teshuva (religious returnees). They constituted “a revolution in Jewish religious life”[1] and the movement was “a new phenomenon in Judaism; for the first time there are not only Jews who leave the fold ... but also substantial number who ‘return.’”[2] The “excellent”[3] JSP program was the “first Orthodox residential college (yeshiva) designed for newly or prospective Orthodox Jews”[4] and the “most dramatically successful” of any in its time.[5]

Early years

Besdin was born in Pruzhany, Poland,[6] son of Rabbi Eliezer Zvi Besdansky[7] (1882-1937[8]) and Ida[9] (née Olizevsky[10]) (1888-1955). On January 27, 1922, he arrived with his parents and two siblings at the Port of New York on board the SS Zeeland (1900).[11] Abraham R. Besdin (1922-93), a brother who published works on Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik,[12] was born months after the family emigrated. In the United States, Besdin used the name “Moshe Besdansky”[13] until 1936,[14] when he applied to be the spiritual leader of Machzikeh Hadas in Scranton, Pennsylvania. For the rest of his life he was known as “Morris J. Besdin” or, using his Hebrew name, as “Moshe Besdin” (משה בית–דין).

Besdin was a standout student at New York schools. In 1924, he attended Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim, where he was among the top of his class,[15] and in 1931 he graduated from the Talmudical Academy,[16] the first high school in America to offer secular and religious subjects in a Jewish setting.[17] In 1936, at the fifth annual commencement of Yeshiva College,[18] he received a BA degree cum laude[19] and rabbinic ordination (semikha) from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.[20] His classmates judged him the “Most Respected” member of the Senior Class.[21] At the Teachers Institute program at Yeshiva, from which he graduated,[22] he was a student of Dr. Nathan Klotz, Professor of Bible.[23]

In 1948, Besdin married Bertha Reichman (d. 2012), who had studied in Vienna, Antwerp, and New York City.[24] The couple had four children.[25]

Pulpit career

In September 1936, Besdin succeeded Moses Mescheloff[26] at Congregation Machzikai Hadas[27] (also known as the Vine Street Synagogue), in Scranton, Pennsylvania, as rabbi and principal of the Hebrew school. There on occasion he delivered sermons in Yiddish and English.[28]

In 1937,[29] Besdin was appointed rabbi at Beth Hamedrash Hagodol Synagogue, West 175th Street,[30] the oldest synagogue in Washington Heights (founded 1916).[31] In 1938, he started the Yeshiva Rabbi Moses Soloveitchik in Manhattan, which was located on the synagogue premises.[32] From its early years, it appealed to boys and girls who had minimal knowledge of Hebrew.[33]

Besdin continued as chairman of the education committee at the Yeshiva, and at the synagogue itself, until 1950, when he became spiritual leader of Kew Gardens Adath Yeshurun Synagogue in Kew Gardens, Queens.[34] The institution was “the first Orthodox synagogue established and built in New York shortly after the war.”[35] It helped to meet the needs of the Jewish population of the Borough of Queens, which had increased from fewer than 25,000 in 1920 to 200,000 in 1950 and 250,000 in 1953.[36] He remained there until 1958.[37]

Chaplaincy

Besdin’s pulpit career was interrupted in March 1944, when he was inducted into the United States Army as a Jewish chaplain.[38] A shortage of available Jewish Army chaplains persisted throughout World War II, with Besdin being one of 68 Orthodox rabbis to serve in that position during that time.[39]

In April 1944, Besdin was assigned to the U.S. Military training base at Camp Livingston, Louisiana.[40] That Christmas, he urged Jewish soldiers in the “spirit of brotherhood and cooperation” to volunteer to take the assignments of Christian soldiers who wished to observe the holiday.[41]

Besdin remained at Camp Livingston until June 1945,[42] then moving to the U.S. Army installation at Fort Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska. That September he conducted Yom Kippur services there, to which local Jewish families were invited.[43] Although Jews began arriving in Alaska in 1942 in increasing numbers with American troops, there were barely 100 Jews in the territory prior to that, with no organized community or religious life.[44] Besdin continued to lead religious services in Alaska,[45] including speaking on “What Palestine Means to the Jew”.[46] He was discharged on June 19, 1946[47] with the rank of captain.[48]

Teaching and Administrative career

After completing his military service, Besdin returned to Beth HaMedrosh Hagodol as its spiritual leader[49] and, in 1946, became a lecturer in Talmud at the Teachers Institute of Yeshiva University.[50] In 1951, he was named Chairman, Board of Education, at Yeshiva Rabbi Dov Revel in Forest Hills, Queens.[51] During these years he spoke at forums on educational challenges facing the yeshiva ketana, Jewish elementary schools for boys.[52]

In March 1956, in keeping with his Orthodox expansionist outlook, Samuel Belkin, president of Yeshiva University, announced a new preparatory program.[53] “Nothing could be more beneficial to the Jewish community of America,” he said, “than the process of taking young students with Jewish backgrounds that are almost nil and turning them into well educated, Orthodox Jews.”[54] In September[55] 1956, the program geared to students “who, prior to entering Yeshiva College, had no preparation in Jewish studies” was launched. Such students were known as ba’alei teshuva (Hebrew, “masters of return” to Judaism), and the new venture was called the Jewish Studies Program (JSP). Teaching Bible, Besdin was one of three original instructors.[56]

JSP remained without an appointed head until 1958,[57] when Besdin was selected by Belkin[58] to serve as its first chairman.[59] In developing the program, Besdin acknowledged Belkin for his “constant and active encouragement".[60] Besdin’s leadership continued for nearly 25 years, with his planned retirement at the end of 1982[61] being cut short by his death that April.

Assessment of the Jewish Studies Program/James Striar School

In the United States from the early 1940s there were Orthodox yeshivot which provided educational opportunities from the elementary to college levels for men (and to a lesser extent, women) with limited Jewish backgrounds. From the late 1960s onwards, there were additional ones in the United States and Israel.[62] The Jewish Studies Program, launched in-between those times (and later known as the James Striar School),[63] reflected “the modern Orthodox, ‘centrist,’ philosophy and lifestyle of Yeshiva University.”[64] In their own way, these programs addressed the most common thread in the baal teshuva phenomenon, “a search for meaning and purpose, a realization ... that full immersion in American secular life does not answer the ultimate questions of meaning, that life is fuller and richer when people attach themselves to something larger than themselves.”[65] The Jewish Studies Program was “a new paradigm in the way the Orthodox community engaged with the larger American Jewry.”[66]

From the outset, there were concerns across Yeshiva University about the potential negative impact of the JSP program. Some feared that “the introduction of irreligious boys on campus will take away from the Yeshiva atmosphere;”[67] others were concerned about the impact of the “unlettered”, thought JSP may be no more than a “Jewish Sports Program,” and wondered about a secularizing impulse.[68] JSP students themselves expressed “disappointments” about the lack of mentorship by students in the two other Yeshiva divisions, RIETS and Teachers’ Institute.[69] Doubts lingered for years as to whether “a return to Judaism” was underway,[70] thus raising questions about the need for JSP.

Notwithstanding these concerns, it did not take long for the program to gain favor. JSP began with 19 students in October 1956[71] out of a total enrollment at Yeshiva College of 430.[72] In 1958, when Besdin was named chairman of the program,[73] the program had 33 students;[74] in 1962, JSP students constituted the second-largest portion of the freshman class (26%);[75] for the 1965-6 academic year, 286 students were enrolled.[76]

Secular studies faculty at Yeshiva lauded the program,[77] editors at the student newspaper called it an “overwhelming success,”[78] and one student said it was “probably one of the most dynamic and interesting experiments ever undertaken in the field of modern religious education.”[79] Less than a decade after being launched, JSP graduates were entering the RIETS semikha program.[80] “Even the severest critics of Yeshiva University,” concluded one academic, “have acclaimed the remarkable success of this program and are inclined to concede that no other institution within Orthodoxy is equipped to do a comparable job.”[81]

The success of the program was traceable to Besdin. He personally interviewed all JSP applicants to gauge their knowledge level, religious sincerity, and learning potential.[82] He vowed that “All the noncommitted shall not be admitted,”[83] and in the early years, over 50% were rejected.[84] He taught Bible to all incoming freshmen[85] and selected the JSP instructors and set performance requirements for them.[86]

Besdin was prepared for the job. Well-educated himself, he had acquired first-hand knowledge of Jews lacking a Jewish background from his years as a chaplain[87] and from his role at New York yeshivas. Moreover, he was a “master teacher”[88] and a "marvelous educator."[89] Yeshiva President Norman Lamm called him “the greatest of all our educators.”[90]

Besdin attributed his skills to his father.[91] As a pedagogue, he insisted on textual learning of traditional Jewish primary sources. His description of this “It-ology”[92] approach – “[Teach] It, not about it”[93] – was so memorable that students imprinted it on t-shirts.[94] He mentored JSP instructor Shlomo Riskin,[95] and other teachers copied his method.[96]

Teaching dictums

  • "[Teach] It, not about it"[97]
  • “Gentlemen, the chumash is Bereshis. The sedrah is Bereshis. The perek is aleph. The pasuk is aleph.”[98]
  • “God gave us a corresponding finger on each hand – one [for] the Chumash, and one for Rashi.”[99]
  • “You must be totally dedicated to Torah and Torah ideals, otherwise you can’t go on here [at JSP]. We’ll part, but we’ll part friends. I’ll respect you, and you, I’m sure, will respect me, but you won’t be able to go on here.”[100]
  • The Jewish Studies Program is “a crash program to reverse the trend to willful assimilation.”[101]

Awards and recognition

  • Bernard Revel Memorial Award in Religion and Religious Education (1962).[102]
  • Yeshiva College Graduating Class Senior Professor Award (1964).[103]
  • Moshe Besdin Memorial Fund (1982)[104] providing scholarships for students from Russia, Iran, and elsewhere.

Further reading

  • Norman Lamm, "Eulogy For Rabbi Morris Besdin" (1982).
  • Shlomo Riskin, “Power Lunches with a Power Educator: Rav Moshe Besdin,” in Riskin, Listening to God: Inspirational Stories for My Grandchildren (Jerusalem: Maggid Books, 2010), 121-6.

References

  1. ^ Victor B. Geller, Orthodoxy Awakens: The Belkin Era and Yeshiva University (Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2003), 235.
  2. ^ M. Herbert Danzger, Returning to Tradition: The Contemporary Revival of Orthodox Judaism (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 2.
  3. ^ Sharon Strassfeld and Michael Strassfeld (eds.), The Second Jewish Catalog (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1976), 259.
  4. ^ Matthew C. Williams, "American Orthodox Jewish Outreach through Higher Education: Three Strategies for Fashioning a Post-Holocaust Judaism” (Stanford, PhD dissertation, 2021), iv.
  5. ^ Charles S. Leibman, “Orthodoxy in American Jewish Life,” American Jewish Year Book 1965 (New York: American Jewish Committee, [1965]), 63.
  6. ^ Pruzhany had been under Russian and Polish rule, in 1922 Pruzhany was part of Poland (Encyclopaedia Judaica vol. 16, 2ed., 2007, 656-7). On the List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States Immigration Officer at Port of Arrival, List 4, 27 Jan 1922, line 12, the country is identified as Russia.
  7. ^ List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States for the ship Zeeland, line 12, the name is spelled “Leiser Bezdansky”. In English works published in America, the name is usually spelled “Besdansky”. Morris Besdin’s father was rabbi of Congregation Chevra Tehillim Nusach Ashkenaz, in what is today Brooklyn (advertisement, “Thank you to Cantor Berele Shikoff,” Jewish Morning Journal, Nov. 6, 1925, 11, Yiddish).
  8. ^ "Detroit Rabbi Accepts Call to Serve in City,” Scranton Tribune (Aug. 5, 1937), 21.
  9. ^ “Rabbi [engaged] to Wed Miss Reichman,” New York Herald Tribune (March 26, 1948), 25.
  10. ^ Her Polish forename Chaja (Hebrew equivalent, Chaya) is as given in the List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States, line 13; the surname can be deduced from line 12, and is also spelled Oleshevsky (New York Herald Tribune, March 26, 1948, 25).
  11. ^ List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States for the ship Zeeland; “Besdin, Morris,” in Philip S. Bernstein, “Jewish Chaplains in World War II,” American Jewish Year Book 1945-46 vol. 46 (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1945), 180.
  12. ^ Ari L. Goldman, “Religion Notes,” New York Times (May 22, 1993), 25.
  13. ^ “Moshe” being the Hebrew equivalent of his born Polish-Yiddish forename “Mojsze” (List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States, line 15), and “Besdansky” being an English rendering of his born Yiddish surname, בעזדאנסקי (List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States, line 12).
  14. ^ “Rabbi [Besdin] to Lecture,” Scranton Republican (Sept. 16, 1936), 12; “Vine Street Synagogue”, Scranton Times (Sept. 22, 1936), 22.
  15. ^ “Honor List of the Outstanding Students of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim,” Jewish Morning Journal (Oct. 16, 1924), 4 (Yiddish); Encyclopaedia Judaica vol. 3 (2ed., 2007), 494, says he completed his elementary schooling at Yeshiva Chaim Berlin.
  16. ^ “Talmud Class Exercises. Preparatory School Here Presents Diplomas to 64,” New York Times (June 26, 1931), 13.
  17. ^ Gilbert Klaperman, The Story of Yeshiva University ([New York]: Macmillan Co., 1969), 141.
  18. ^ “30 To Be Graduated at Yeshiva Today,” New York Times (June 16, 1936), 31.
  19. ^ “Yeshiva College Exercises Today,” Brooklyn Times Union (June 16, 1936), 16; “30 To Be Graduated at Yeshiva Today,” New York Times (June 16, 1936), 31.
  20. ^ “YU Loses Rabbi Besdin: Director of JSS,” Yeshiva University Hamevaser vol. 20 (May 5, 1982), 1.
  21. ^ “Yeshiva Senior,” Masmid 1936 (n.p., s.i., n.d.), 72.
  22. ^ “Vine Street Synagogue Selects Rabbi Besdin,” Scranton Republican (Sept. 23, 1936), 21.
  23. ^ “Tribute Paid To Dr. Klotz At Assembly,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Feb. 27, 1950), 1; “Dr. Nathan Klotz, 67, Taught at Yeshiva U.,” New York Times (Dec. 23, 1949), 21.
  24. ^ Congratulatory advertisements (noting her Yiddish name, Bryna), including from Yeshiva Rabbi Moses Soloveitchik and Beth Hamedrash Hagodol, Jewish Morning Journal (June 22, 1948), 10 (Yiddish); “Rabbi [engaged] to Wed Miss Reichman,” New York Herald Tribune (March 26, 1948), 25.
  25. ^ “Condolences,” Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Chavrusa vol. 47 (Sept. 2012), 30.
  26. ^ “Vine Street Synagogue Selects Rabbi Besdin,” Scranton Republican (Sept. 23, 1936), 21.
  27. ^ “Machzike” is variously spelled: Machzikei, Machzikeh, also known as Vine Street Synagogue; amalgamates with Penn Avenue Synagogue (as “Michrikeh Hadas Synagogue”) around 1947 (Scrantonian Tribune, May 11, 1947, 7).
  28. ^ “Rabbi to Be Speaker,” Scranton Times (Aug. 28, 1936), 15.
  29. ^ “News Notes,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Jan. 5, 1938), 4, referencing “Morris Besdansky”.
  30. ^ “News Notes,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Jan. 5, 1938), 4. Also rendered: Beis Medrash HaGadol (Encyclopaedia Judaica vol. 3, 2ed., 2007, 494).
  31. ^ David Smigel, “Struggle and Triumph: A (Brief) History of the Oldest Shul in Washington Heights,” Yeshiva University Observer (Stern College) (March 10, 2025).
  32. ^ Bernard Postal and Lionel Koppman, Jewish Landmarks of New York: A Travel Guide and History (New York: Fleet Press, revised ed., 1978), 151 (where the name is spelled “Soloveichik”); the yeshiva closed in 1982 (Peretz Hochbaum, “Soloveichik Building Purchase,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Sept. 11, 1984), 1.
  33. ^ Advertisement, “Yeshiva Rabbeinu Moshe Soloveitchik”, Jewish Morning Journal (Feb. 18, 1948), 18 (Yiddish).
  34. ^ David Smigel, “Struggle and Triumph: A (Brief) History of the Oldest Shul in Washington Heights,” Yeshiva University Observer (Stern College) (March 10, 2025); “Death Notices. Rabbi Morris Besdin,” National Jewish Post and Opinion (April 16, 1982), 16. The synagogue was located at 82-17 Lefferts Blvd. (New York Daily News, Oct. 21, 1951, 31Q).
  35. ^ Victor Geller, “Besdin, Morris J.,” Encyclopaedia Judaica vol. 3 (2ed., 2007), 494. For Kew Gardens Hills, this distinction is accorded to Rabbi H. Joel Laks (1921-2001).
  36. ^ Bernard Postal and Lionel Koppman, A Jewish Tourist’s Guide to the U.S. (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1954), 459.
  37. ^ Victor Geller, “Besdin, Morris J.," Encyclopaedia Judaica vol. 3 (2ed., 2007), 494.
  38. ^ “Besdin, Morris,” in Philip S. Bernstein, “Jewish Chaplains in World War II,” American Jewish Year Book 1945-46 vol. 46 (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1945), 180.
  39. ^ Albert Isaac Slomovitz, “The Fighting Rabbis: A History of Jewish Military Chaplains, 1860-1945” (Loyola University Chicago, PhD dissertation, 1995), 174-186.
  40. ^ “N.Y. Rabbi Named as Chaplain for Hebrew Soldiers,” Alexandria Daily Town Talk (Louisiana)(May 4, 1944), 5.
  41. ^ “Jewish Men Urged to Volunteer For Duty on Christmas Holiday,” Camp Livingston Communiqué (Dec. 22, 1944), 3.
  42. ^ Matthew C. Williams, “American Orthodox Jewish Outreach through Higher Education: Three Strategies for Fashioning a Post-Holocaust Judaism” (Stanford, PhD dissertation, 2021), 52.
  43. ^ “Jewish People To Celebrate. New Year Services Planned At Post,” Anchorage Daily Times (Sept. 7, 1945), 3; “Yom Kippur Ends Tonight. Post Chapel Becomes Center of Local Rites,” Anchorage Daily Times (Sept. 17, 1945), 4.
  44. ^ Bernard Postal and Lionel Koppman, American Jewish Landmarks: A Travel Guide and History vol. 3 (New York: Fleet Press Corp., revised ed. 1986), 25.
  45. ^ “Plan Passover Services Here,” Anchorage Daily Times (April 13, 1946), 4.
  46. ^ “Cabin Notes from the U.S.O.,” Anchorage Daily Times (May 29, 1946), 2.
  47. ^ Matthew C. Williams, “American Orthodox Jewish Outreach through Higher Education: Three Strategies for Fashioning a Post-Holocaust Judaism” (Stanford, PhD dissertation, 2021), 54.
  48. ^ “Rabbi [engaged] to Wed Miss Reichman,” New York Herald Tribune (March 26, 1948), 25.
  49. ^ David Smigel, “Struggle and Triumph: A (Brief) History of the Oldest Shul in Washington Heights,” Yeshiva University Observer (Stern College) (March 10, 2025).
  50. ^ “New Administrator Named for J.S.P.,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Sept. 22, 1958), 1; lecturing to third year students, Yeshiva University Teachers Institute Program of Studies 1948 (New York: Shulsinger Bros. Publishing, 1948), 12, 23 (Hebrew and English); including being Lecturer in Talmud in 1954 (Yeshiva College Commentator, Dec. 30, 1954, 1).
  51. ^ “New Administrator Named for J.S.P.,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Sept. 22, 1958), 1; Bernard Postal and Lionel Koppman, Jewish Landmarks of New York: A Travel Guide and History (New York: Fleet Press, revised ed., 1978), 224.
  52. ^ “Rabbi M. Besdin Addresses First Education Session,” Yeshiva College Commentator (March 20, 1947), 1; “S.O.Y. Talks On Rabbinics Start Feb. 13,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Feb. 11, 1952), 1.
  53. ^ Jeffrey S. Gurock, The Men and Women of Yeshiva: Higher Education, Orthodoxy, and American Judaism (New York: Columbia University Press, 1988), 171.
  54. ^ “President Belkin Interviewed By Yeshiva Student Leaders,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Nov. 14, 1956), 1.
  55. ^ Victor B. Geller, Orthodoxy Awakens: The Belkin Era and Yeshiva University (Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2003), 236.
  56. ^ “Prep Class Begins On College Level; Will Study Mishna,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Oct. 17, 1956), 4.
  57. ^ Editorial, “Hamavdil ben kodesh l’chol ...”, Yeshiva College Commentator (May 24, 1962), 2.
  58. ^ Matthew C. Williams, “American Orthodox Jewish Outreach through Higher Education: Three Strategies for Fashioning a Post-Holocaust Judaism” (Stanford, PhD dissertation, 2021), 52, 60.
  59. ^ “Rabbi Appointed,” New York Daily News (Aug. 26, 1958), K1.
  60. ^ Jeffrey Mackler, “JSS ‘Chai’ Celebration Held; Rabbi Morris Besdin Honored,” Yeshiva College Commentator (May 21, 1975), 1.
  61. ^ Steven Kastin, “Rabbi Yudin Appointed Next Director Of JSS,” Yeshiva College Commentator (May 19, 1982), 1.
  62. ^ M. Herbert Danzger, Returning to Tradition: The Contemporary Revival of Orthodox Judaism (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 56-66, 115-6.
  63. ^ In 1965, JSP was renamed the James Striar School for Jewish Studies (JSS) (“JSP Now Separate School; May Issue Academic Degree,” Yeshiva College Commentator, Dec. 16, 1965, 6).
  64. ^ Bernhard H. Rosenberg, “The impact of education at Yeshiva University’s James Striar School” (Yeshiva University, PhD dissertation, 1992), 9.
  65. ^ Charles E. Silberman, A Certain People: American Jews and Their Lives Today (New York: Summit Books, 1985), 244.
  66. ^ Matthew C. Williams, “American Orthodox Jewish Outreach through Higher Education: Three Strategies for Fashioning a Post-Holocaust Judaism” (Stanford, PhD dissertation, 2021), 65.
  67. ^ Irving Green, “J.S.P. Acclaimed For Achievements; Optimistically Anticipates Future,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Dec. 24, 1958), 3.
  68. ^ Jeffrey S. Gurock, The Men and Women of Yeshiva: Higher Education, Orthodoxy, and American Judaism (New York: Columbia University Press, 1988), 172-3.
  69. ^ Irving Green, “J.S.P. Acclaimed For Achievements; Optimistically Anticipates Future,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Dec. 24, 1958), 3.
  70. ^ Charles E. Silberman, A Certain People: American Jews and Their Lives Today (New York: Summit Books, 1985), 268.
  71. ^ “Prep Class Begins On College Level; Will Study Mishna,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Oct. 17, 1956), 4; in a 1965 interview, Besdin gave the number as 18 (Arnold E. Rothkoff, “Vision and Realization: Bernard Revel and His Era,” Yeshiva University, DHL dissertation, 1967, 221 fn.50).
  72. ^ “Record Enrollment Of 137 Students In Freshman Class,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Nov. 5, 1956), 4.
  73. ^ “New Administrator Named for J.S.P.,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Sept. 22, 1958), 1.
  74. ^ Irving Green, “J.S.P. Acclaimed For Achievements; Optimistically Anticipates Future,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Dec. 24, 1958), 3.
  75. ^ “New Standards Higher; It’s Harder To Get In,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Nov. 1, 1962), 1.
  76. ^ Besdin statement, cited in Arnold E. Rothkoff, “Vision and Realization: Bernard Revel and His Era” (Yeshiva University, DHL dissertation, 1967), 221 fn.50
  77. ^ Joe Deitcher, “The Professor Exposed: Dr. Linn, Congenial Prof, Comments on Commentator,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Dec. 24, 1958), 3.
  78. ^ Editorial, “Hamavdil ben kodesh l’chol ...”, Yeshiva College Commentator (May 24, 1962), 2.
  79. ^ Charles Persky, “J.S.P. Undergoes Dynamic Changes,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Nov. 19, 1959), 4.
  80. ^ “Six JSP Grads Plan Entering Into RIETS,” Yeshiva College Commentator (May 5, 1964), 1.
  81. ^ Charles S. Leibman, “Orthodoxy in American Jewish Life,” American Jewish Year Book 1965 (New York: American Jewish Committee, [1965]), 63.
  82. ^ “Unique Program For College Students,” Yeshiva University Rabbinic Alumni Chavrusa vol.5 (Dec. 1960), 6; Matthew C. Williams, “American Orthodox Jewish Outreach through Higher Education: Three Strategies for Fashioning a Post-Holocaust Judaism” (Stanford, Ph.D. dissertation, 2021), 65-6.
  83. ^ Jeffrey S. Gurock, The Men and Women of Yeshiva: Higher Education, Orthodoxy, and American Judaism (New York: Columbia University Press, 1988), 173.
  84. ^ Charles Persky, “J.S.P. Undergoes Dynamic Changes,” Yeshiva College Commentator (Nov. 19, 1959), 2.
  85. ^ “YU Loses Rabbi Besdin: Director of JSS,” Yeshiva University Hamevaser vol. 20 (May 5, 1982), 1.
  86. ^ Shlomo Riskin, “The Master Teacher,” in My Yeshiva College: 75 Years of Memories, ed. by Menachem Butler and Zev Nagel ([New York]: Yashar Books, 2006), 255.
  87. ^ Matthew C. Williams, “American Orthodox Jewish Outreach through Higher Education: Three Strategies for Fashioning a Post-Holocaust Judaism” (Stanford, Ph.D. dissertation, 2021), 60. “The World War II chaplaincy proved to be an excellent training ground for Orthodox leaders of the ‘50s, ‘60s and the ‘70s” (Louis Bernstein, “The Emergence of the English Speaking Orthodox Rabbinate”, Yeshiva University, Ph.D. dissertation, 1977, 499).
  88. ^ Shlomo Riskin, “The Master Teacher,” in My Yeshiva College: 75 Years of Memories, ed. by Menachem Butler and Zev Nagel ([New York]: Yashar Books, 2006), 253.
  89. ^ Jeffrey S. Gurock, The Men and Women of Yeshiva: Higher Education, Orthodoxy, and American Judaism (New York: Columbia University Press, 1988), 171.
  90. ^ Norman Lamm, “Eulogy For Rabbi Morris Besdin,” Yeshiva University Hamevaser vol. 20 (May 5, 1982), 5.
  91. ^ Norman Lamm, “Eulogy For Rabbi Morris Besdin,” Yeshiva University Hamevaser vol. 20 (May 5, 1982), 5
  92. ^ Rena Krakowski, “To Learn To Teach,” Yeshiva University Observer (Stern College) (April 6, 1998), 13.
  93. ^ Shlomo Riskin, “The Master Teacher,” in My Yeshiva College: 75 Years of Memories, ed. by Menachem Butler and Zev Nagel ([New York]: Yashar Books, 2006), 255.
  94. ^ M. Herbert Danzger, Returning to Tradition: The Contemporary Revival of Orthodox Judaism (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 102.
  95. ^ Shlomo Riskin, “The Master Teacher,” in My Yeshiva College: 75 Years of Memories, ed. by Menachem Butler and Zev Nagel ([New York]: Yashar Books, 2006), 253-7.
  96. ^ Rena Krakowski, “To Learn To Teach,” Yeshiva University Observer (Stern College) (April 6, 1998), 13.
  97. ^ Besdin statement, cited in Edward Abramson, A Circle in the Square: Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Reinvents the Synagogue (Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2008), 71.
  98. ^ Besdin’s standard, all-business opening line in teaching the Book of Genesis, quoted in Matthew C. Williams, “American Orthodox Jewish Outreach through Higher Education: Three Strategies for Fashioning a Post-Holocaust Judaism” (Stanford, Ph.D. dissertation, 2021), 61.
  99. ^ Besdin statement, cited by Stuart R. Liss in Masmid 1983 (n.p., s.i., n.d.), 109.
  100. ^ Besdin statement, cited in Masmid 1968 (n.p., s.i., n.d.), [27].
  101. ^ Besdin statement, cited in Matthew C. Williams, “American Orthodox Jewish Outreach through Higher Education: Three Strategies for Fashioning a Post-Holocaust Judaism” (Stanford, Ph.D. dissertation, 2021), 6, 68.
  102. ^ “Rabbi Besdin to Get Revel Award,” New York Daily News (May 27, 1962), B48; “Yeshiva Honors Three Alumni,” New York Herald Tribune (May 28, 1962), 19.
  103. ^ “Besdin And Soloveitchik Receive Coveted Awards,” Yeshiva College Commentator (May 5, 1964), 5.
  104. ^ Herschel Chomsky, “Memorial Services Held For Besdin And Mirsky,” Yeshiva College Commentator (May 19, 1982), 10.
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