New York – Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, [Dov Berish] the founder and president of Touro College and Lander College, was a brilliant man of vision and compassion who trail-blazed new paths in education for both Bnei Torah as well as gentiles. He passed away at the age of 94 on Monday evening, February 8th in his home in Queens, N.Y
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Rabbi Dr. Lander attended Yeshiva University in the 1930’s and received his Smicha in 1937. He was heavily influenced by Rabbi Dr. Samuel Belkin, who was at home both in secular studies and in the Torah world. Dr. Belkin had been a student at Radin, the Yeshiva of the saintly Chofetz Chaim. The young Rabbi Lander shared Dr. Belkin’s enthusiasm for Philo as well his penchant for achievement in both Torah and secular studies. Soon the newly minted Rabbi took his first shteller in a small shul in Baltimore, Maryland. While still in New York he had begun pursuing a doctorate in sociology at Columbia University.
His concern was always with helping others, whether it was helping Yeshiva boys find a means to making parnassah without shterring their learning, or whether it was in helping juvenile delinquents. The concern was reflected in his Columbia dissertation. The topic dealt with how the courts and police deal with juvenile delinquents.
Pharoah noticed Yoseph HaTzaddik’s wisdom and appointed him to high office. Rabbi lander did not slip by the radar either. The governor of Maryland noticed the Rav of the small congregation and tapped him to assist the state of Maryland in formulating its juvenile delinquent program.
Rabbi Lander soon returned to New York and was tapped by Mayor La Guardia to serve on a Civil Rights commission. He helped to get Jackie Robinson to play major league baseball. And the rest is history. The forties was a time where there were quotas that capped the amount of Jews that colleges took in. Rabbi Lander fought hard. Slowly, he and his colleagues on the commission caused people to rethink basic notions of freedom and the value of education. Doors began to open in the world of education.
He vigorously pursued academic positions too. Rabbi Dr. Lander taught sociology at Hunter College and served as dean of Yeshiva University’s graduate schools. From 1961 to 1969, Rabbi Dr. Lander researched poverty at Notre Dame, a Catholic University.
It was a period of time when there were some great expectation regarding Catholic Jewish relations. All eyes were looking at Heschel and others that were involved in the discussion with the church. Rabbi Lander was soon faced with a difficult quandary that he soon posed to the Gadol HaDor, Moreinu HaRav Moshe Feinstein, zatzal (See Igros Moshe YD Vol. III #43). It seems that Rabbi Lander had promised to attend a gathering on March the 5th, 1967 where Catholics, and Protestants would assemble with members of the Synagogue Council of America. Was it permissible to engage in dialogue with the church, or other Christian clergymen? This was right after the changes of Vatican Council II, and the official about face by the Catholic Church on anti-semitism and that all Jews are destined to burn in Gehenam. Rav Moshe responded negatively. It was a Psak that shook the modern orthodox world, and Rabbi Dr. Bernie Lander was at the center of the storm. In deference to Rav Moshe’s Psak, Rabbi Lander pulled out.
Soon Rabbi Dr. Lander was to launch his own college. In 1970, Touro College began with a freshman class of 35 students. Dr. Lander was a sharp businessman. Today, Touro has over 23,000 students in all its branches across the country and throughout the world. In less than a decade he built up his college substantially.
In the 1980’s he launched a college program for Yeshiva students that would provide them with an opportunity to earn a Bachelor’s degree in record time. It was called the Flatbush Evening Program for Men. They rented space in the Shulamith School at the corner of Avenue M and 14th Avenue. A separate program for women also opened. The Roshei Yeshiva, most of them, at any rate, liked the idea. Many of their students were attending Brooklyn College, and they did not like the scene. Here was an opportunity for these Yeshiva students to earn a degree in less than five semesters in the same gender environment with religious Jewish teachers.
Not everyone agreed, however. Two Roshei Yeshiva were livid and tried closing him down. Dr. Lander was courteous but firm.
The program was so successful that eventually Touro erected its own building in the heart of Flatbush, a few blocks away from the old location. Touro now has campus locations in New York, California, Florida, and Nevada. There are also branches in Europe and Russia, and in Eretz Yisroel.
He also started a law school, a medical school, and a Yeshiva which is headed by his son Rabbi Doniel Lander. Clearly, he was a man of astounding capabilities and accomplishments. The empire he built was started from scratch and on a shoestring budget, no less. The Levaya will take place at Yeshiva Ohr Chaim, his son’s Yeshiva, on Tuesday Morning at 11:00 AM.
The audio of the funeral service can be accessed by dialing the toll free number: 888-265-4641; International: 404-665-9136; Conference code: 4093565165 followed by the # key.
Dr. Lander endured a lot of harsh criticism over many years from detractors who did not have “answers” to the issues he addressed through his actions. Many people who are Shomer Torah U’Mitzvos owe their parnasa to this man. My Rav, Avigdor Miller, once said that even the grocery man who sells food to a frum person is mekayaim “nosain lechem lchol basar.” Al achas kama v’kama Dr. Lander; zecher tzadik livracha.
He has a tremendous zechus in helping provide thousands of jews with the means of a parnassa through a kosher environment. My wife and I went to Touro and we BH have good careers. Additionally, the night program allowed me to stay longer in Yeshiva then I otherwise would have. May all the well deserved zechusim be with him.
Baruch Dayan HaEmes.
Thank you Dr. Lander for Touro College. I would not be where I am today without your farsighted vision.
Thank you again.
Dr lander made it possible for thousands of young men and women to earn a degree in a frum atmosphere enabling them to have a parnassah bederech kavod not needing to rely on food stamps, klal yisroel will forever be indebted to him
there are 2 yeshvos. ohr hachaim AND beis medrash ltalmud of lander college for men both in queens
Prediction: Even though overall the Yated will overall have a nice lengthy article on Rabbi Dr Lander, they will not be able to help themselves and will stick in a carefully hidden and disguised underhanded taunt about college somewhere in the article.
What did he accomplish that frum people going to college? How many yiddin are nebech nichshul in this I think now is the time for all gedolim to come together & sign a kol koreh even though for every other issue they can’t agree, but on college they should agree and ban it completely
BDE. Rabbi Dr. Lander was a truly great man. A man of vision and heart. And the main sign of how great he was lay in his unbelievable anivus, and I’m sure he knew who he was and what his kochas hanefesh were. I worked for him as a professor at Touro for many many productive years. Chaval al d’avdin vlo mishtakchin.
BDE. As a proud alumnus of Touro Flatbush (’95) I wish to extend my condolences to the Lander family. It would have been inconceivable for Chasidishe yungeleit, such as myself, to get a quality education and professional licensing without Dr. Lander’s vision and service to the Klal. We owe him a great debt of gratitude. May his memory be blessed.
#7 , u are so foolish! I bet u are on food stamps and medicaid! People need to make a parnassa and why not a frum place??
to #7 ;
Shtok et hapeh shelicha.
The man created mkomos torah, and even though you think secular education is a nichshol and others think Touro is a second rate school, statistics show you need a degree to succeed (exceptions are available). he arranged for our youth to get that degree with the least harm to their yiddishkeit. yehi zichro boruch….and I went to YU!
Baruch Dayan Emes. Rabbi Dr Lander has tremendous zchusim for creating a makom for bnei torah to learn a profession to provide parnassah for their families bkavod, while enabling them to stay in yeshiva uninterrupted to learn all day every day. I kept 2 sdorim daily for years in yeshiva while attending Touro at night and baruch hashem learned for 9 years knowing confidently that I would have parnassah when I ventured out into the world. Today, we owe tremendous gratitude to Rabbi Dr Lander for the opportunity he gave us to be amul btorah bparnassah brevach! He will be dearly missed and will be a melitz yosher for klal yisroel.
he was a talmid of the late great rabbi dr samuel belkin and served as dean at yu for 10 years before he first started touro at the age of 55. that is the biggest lesson. where are all of us in our careers at the age of 55? he built a lifetime empire from 55-94. wow.
Rabbi Dr Lander was a tremendous mensh who was genuinely concerned about the klal… I once called Dr lander to speak about some important issues- issues i felt were important anyay- not only did he speak with me right away but he arranged a meeting for us to speak in person… he treated me with respect and kavod giving of his time and ultimately working everything out. He will be a melitz yosher for klal yisroel
Baruch Dayan HaEmet. Rabbi Dr. Lander made a huge difference in the lives of many people and will be badly missed.
As a touro grad from one of the earlier graduating women’s classes…I wish the Lander family “nechomoh besoch she’ar avayalay Yisroel”. It is the end of an era.
Ahhh poor comment #7 . Everybody is hitting on your for your moronic words. But who are these hitters? Poor tormented yidden who were nichshol in the corrupt atmosphere of Touro, learning an honest made of living instead of sponging off the public with Food Stamps etc, or lying and stealing because they have no choice. At best if they are honest people, packing boxes or cashiering somewhere. But hold strong #7 , the Yated Neemon will surely come to your defense. Long live Food stamps and Section 8, down with an honest living as a respected CPA or corporate controller.
Even the Agudah has a parnassah training program. Why is his treif? Going to Touro and getting a good career because of it makes more of a kiddush hashem than being caught lying to the government to get government assistance.
to all you people answering commentator #7 ,
why are you bothering? this criminaly insane idiot does not deserve
any response,you do not argue with idiots,because by arguing with idiocy
you legitimize it.
#7 ’s opinion, as noxious as it is, reflects the opinion of R. Elya Svei, zt”l as well. As a result, it will indeed be interesting to analyze the tortured phrasing in the half-hearted hesped for Dr. Lander coming up in this week’s Yated. The many deserved accolades for Dr. Lander (see, for example, Rabbi Adlerstein’s hesped in the most recent Cross-Currents) in a sense illustrates schizophrenia in the RW community.
#7 Have you no shame? Kavod hameis? Even if you differ from him is now the time to post such things?
Rabbi Lander was physically a small man, but had the courage of a lion. He started Touro from nothing and had battles all along the way, financial struggles, wars with anti semites who were opposed to a jewish law school, struggles with Rabbonim and others opposed to education. Notwithstanding all the struggles he had, he never had an unkind word to say about anybody, and would treat the simplest person with the greatest respect.
He ran Touro with frugal honesty. He worked endless hours and notwithstanding his feeble health, he flew coach when he was well into his 90s. When asked why he hadn’t retired he replied “I have looked through all Talmud Bavli, Yerushalmi, Midrash and Shulchan Aruch and I found no reference to retirement!”
Unlike many other mosdos, Touro is a true non profit with an independent board of directors. Dr lander set up Touro so that it is NOT owned by his family. He did his work as he believed himself to be a servant to Hashem, not for kavod or money.
He frequently said “my mission in life is to bring honest honorable parnossoh to Yiddishe Kinder”
He goes to olam hames with a simple message;
asisi shlichusi (I have fulfilled your command)
Burich Dayan ha’emes
Thanks Rav Dov for your holy work.
May it be zchus for you & your family.
Yes, food stamps are better than college right?
BDE Dr. Lander was a great man and respected Tzadikim. I was once in his private office and it came out of the shmooze that I am a descendant of the Shinever rov, he showed big respect and told me “mein mama was by the Shinever Tzadik”. Also at my graduation ceremony Dean Schmidt escorted me on stage to him and showed that we have now a yingerman with lange payos graduating he showed a lot of joy and respect. He told me once in private that he would do anything he could to help the Chasidim get higher education.
Not only did Rabbi Lander provide parnasa to his students who could go on to earn a living, but also to the many employees who work there. In difficult situations, he would give a job to people at Touro so they wouldn’t be left without income.
As far as the differences between Touro and YU, they are both necessary. They have different aims. Touro is very skill-oriented, so they teach things that have fixed sets of procedures and don’t require much liberal arts background or independent research. However, YU is a more traditional type of university where knowledge is taught for the sake of knowledge. This means being exposed to all kinds of ideas and being forced to grant academic freedom for people to advance their views. It also means that research is paramount and importance is placed on searching for new knowledge that nobody has discovered yet. It doesn’t mean that one sanctions kefira, but it means one must learn to counter it within the academic system. Simply calling somebody’s views rubbish does not go far in countering kefira in the academic world. However, writing a paper that can be published, citing all relevant sources and disproving the kefira does work.
BDE, Dr. Lander will be be missed by not only his family but by the thousands of young men & women who have had the opportunity to become professionals and Bnei Torah at the same time. Dr. Lander had the wsidom to put in place the old adagage give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. I truly hope that among the many Shomer Torah Mitzavah graduates there are those who will continute Dr. Landers noble undertaking and see that Furm young people are taught to “fish” for themselves and their families. as well as continue as Torah Scholars. Thank you Dr. Lander and may your memory and deeds be a Blessing for your family and Klal Yisroel.
Reply to # 49 . You are a Mensch . You are a credit to Am Yisroel ..
BDE Dr. Lander is an example what Jewish values should be about. Education, education, and education. Jews excelled for 3000 years only through constantly adapting, educating their children, and learning new skills to succeed in life.
יהא זכרו ברוך
Thanks to Rabbi Lander, I am on my way for a bachelors, attending a heimishe college in a 100% kosher environment.
If only our rabbonim and admorim had a fraction of Rabbi Lander’s vision and pragmatism…
Dr. Lander Z’L was a remarkable person. From 1958-1991 I served as Director of Residence and Mashgiach for Touro Manhattan. Several times Dr. Lander spoke to me as a boss, mentor, rebbe and parent all at the same time.
Dr. Lander’s dedication to Touro’s success was truly borne out of a desire to offer opportunity to many populations often ignored by higher education.
This is not to mention his efforts within the community and for Harbatzit Torah and to further Kiddush Hashem throughout the USA, Eretz Yisrael and the world.
May Dr, Lander be a melitz yosher for all who benefited from his vision
T’yeh Zircho Baruch
He was a man of great vision even when others could not see.
We are in deep gratitude to Dr. Lander for bringing the world to our young people in a Torah setting.
This whole college argument is a bunch of nonsense and is being foisted by those that were either brainwashed against it or too lazy to study to be something. The fact is that thousands of Bnei Torah today and the mosdos they support and/or pay tuition to, can thank college, be it Touro, Lander, YU, Brooklyn, Queens or any other, for their ability to have become talmidei chachomim, kovea ittim and bring up a new generation of frum yidden.
The fact is that the college educated guys are more often than not far more serious and, dare I say, advanced, in their learning than the non college guys who were not really cut out to learn full time. The proof is right in front of you. How can you possibly deny something that is so obvious. Look at all the doctors, lawyers, accountants, computer experts, teachers and etc. that are Bnei Torah. So, forget about these silly arguments. If you find ignorance to be bliss and that working in a pizza shop or being a slumlord is emotionally rewarding and intellectually satisfying -good for you. Otherwise, go to college.
Rav Lander was one in a million. His passion to help yidden live honest lives filled with Torah and still have the skills to support a family comfortably showed in everything he did. His level of success is unmatched. H” sent him here to ensure that we had the tools necessary in our community to continue on when so many were choosing lives of ignorance and public assistance through deception.
I never understood how anyone can say “better to cheat the government and take from your neighbors than get an education”.
Rav Lander taught us all (whether we went to Touro or not) how to live respectable, honest lives in the modern world of THIS generation when so many others thought is impossible. He is a TRUE hero.
BDE
Baurich Dayan Emes! I have always been amazed how a man like Rabbi Dr Lander could accomplish so much in life. He is an inspiration to me that at the age of 55 you can still accomplish so much and help so many people. His great Nashamah should be a Mailitz Yosher to all of us.
he also started 2 mesivtas. 1 in monsey called mesivta yesodei yisroel &mesivta; yesodei yeshurun in queens.he was the biggest mensch i have ever met.
poster number 64 sounds like a misreable ‘farbissaner” who is unhappy with his life..
nobody forced any touro students to attend touro..
they could go to brooklyn or harvard or wherever they choose for either more or less tuition. dr lander gave many religious jews an option they otherwise would not have.. despite what number 64 alludes, dr lander did not make millions off of the school.
people like 64 are dangerous because they cover their words with flowery vernacular.. in my opinion number 64 is spewing lashon harah.
he is different from number 7 who is either mentally feeble (most likely) or took a stupid pill this morning.. number 7 is easy to spot and refute..
number 64 is sadly dangerous and needs to be exposed.
Baruch Dayan Emes
I was a student at Touro during the late 70’s and early 80’s, and am saddened by this news.
There is one very important piece of information this article left out: Dr. Lander zt”l was a truly nice person. As a student during the early years, I had many occasions to interact with him personally. While it has been thirty years since I dealt with him, I still carry his picture in my mind. Despite how busy he was, I remember his warmth and his smile. The encounters with him may have been quick and superficial (a nod in the hallway, a ride in the dilapidated elevator), but, whatever else was going on in my life, these moments left me feeling better about myself.
For this, I will always have a special place in my heart for Dr. Lander zt”l.
I will leave writing about his greatness to others, as I am certainly not one qualified to judge. But his accomplishments are clearly obvious to all. (Even the negative comments from his detractors are a testament to his contribution to K’lal Israel — if they didn’t feel so threatened, they would not have written as they did.)
But, on a personal level, I can say that Dr. Lander zt”l has enriched my life.
FYI. The correct wordingis : Boruch Dayan Hu Emet. BDE is incorrect .
A Student Says: יהא זכרו ברוך
Thanks to Rabbi Lander, I am on my way for a bachelors, attending a heimishe college in a 100% kosher environment.
TO VIN EDITORS : I am the writer of #64 above. I regret that my comments were taken out of context by some of the commentators. I did not have the malice they claim I did. Nevertheless, after re-reading my own comments, I sincerely regret the implications and tone of my comments and now realize that #82 is indeed correct that this was not the forum for me to make my point about the nifter, whom I am truly in awe of his vast and noble accomplishments. I respectfully ask you to either publish this apology or better yet, for the sake of Kavod Hanifter, please delete comment #64 and all related messages. Thank you for understanding.
I went to Touro and thank Rabbi Dr. Lander. In addition to being a relative I have met and spoken to him personally and can say that he was involved in work for the Tzibur – not for himself.
He provided Jewish students, such as myself, the opportunity to get an education and parnassah while learning. He was strong on Jewish issues in public life, had no airs about himself and is someone for us all to learn from and emulate.
Any idea where nichum aveilim will be?
#7 , you’re very funny. what are you doing