About B'Or Ha'Torah

B’Or Ha’Torah was founded in 1981 by Professor Herman Branover, who was then the chairman of the SHAMIR Association and Publishing House. Most of the papers for the first two volumes were written by distinguished scientists close to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who would discuss apparent contradictions between Torah and science with them both privately and in a group forum. The Rebbe urged the group to publish a professional journal to bring their discussions to a wider audience. When Professor Branover offered the services of the SHAMIR Publishing House, the Rebbe gave the periodical its name with his blessing.

From the onset, though, not all the B’Or Ha’Torah authors and peer-reviewers have been Lubavitchers. Out of its 97 authors, 28 are Habad Hasidim and 69 are not. Most of the referees are not affiliated with Habad. The pages of BHT are open to any writer who respects the Torah and whose manuscript passes peer-review.

Ilana Attia has been managing editor since the inception of B’Or Ha’Torah. As the main goal of its publisher SHAMIR is the dissemination of Jewish books for Russian-speaking Jews, the English-language BHT was not given the conditions that it needed. Lacking a budget to hire the necessary personnel, Attia performed the tasks of administrator, editor, typesetter, graphic artist, subscription manager, and marketer by herself. This resulted in a very slow rate of publication and small circulation. It is quite remarkable that, despite its many obstacles, BHT’s reputation has grown tremendously! The journal has been acclaimed throughout the world by leading rabbis and professors, as well as students and lay people. (See Feedback.)

B’Or Ha’Torah has organized seven successful international conferences on Torah and science. From 1999 to 2007 Professor Branover and Attia organized the content of five international conferences in conjunction with Rabbi Sholom Dovber Lipskar of The Shul of Bal Harbour and Professor Nathan Katz of Florida International University. Most of the articles in BHT since 2001 have been the written papers from the Miami conferences. The eighth conference is scheduled for December 17-20, 2009.

Two B’Or Ha’Torah anthologies have been published: H. Branover, A. Gotfryd, and S. Lipskar, eds., Fusion (Jerusalem/NY: Feldheim, 1990) and H. Branover and I. Attia, eds., Science in the Light of the Torah (Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson Publishers, 1996).

Since 1999, BHT has covered all its expenses except for Attia’s salary. Unfortunately, due to health problems, Professor Branover has retired from all his responsibilities to SHAMIR and BHT. In crisis, SHAMIR stopped paying Attia’s salary in July 1, 2008. SHAMIR continues to be the publisher of BHT, providing its administrative infrastructure as long as it does not have to pay anything. Attia works now on a volunteer basis while looking for a new owner and publisher of BHT to continue the legacy of Professor Branover.

The move to a new home is necessary in order to continue publishing B’Or Ha’Torah and to enable it to grow and reach a much wider circle of readers— Jewish students, professionals, and lay people—and thereby strengthen the understanding of how Torah and science interact in harmony.