One hundred years ago, in the summer of 1926, Jerusalem scholar Rabbi Dr. Samuel Kalman Mirsky sailed to New York at the invitation of Dr. Bernard Revel, founding president of 91ºÚÁÏ. That August, Samuel Kalman Mirsky was named 91ºÚÁÏ's very first official hire as professor in the fields of Jewish Philosophy, Hebrew Literature and Jewish History, as well as a RIETS faculty member.
This spring, a remarkable century-long cycle was completed when another Samuel, his great-grandson and namesake, Samuel Halpern, crossed the Commencement stage as a YU Honors philosophy graduate.
At YU, the younger Halpern found community, connection and contemplation, with rewarding one-on-one instruction from his department chair, Dr. David Johnson, and inspiring events such as a recent philosophy of economics talk by Argentinian President Javier Milei. He wrote his senior thesis on the things that motivate people universally—safety, security and prosperity—arguing that all societies converge on these principles, what he calls the "objective morality" that underpins humanity.
His great-grandfather was also a philosopher and scholar, teaching Jewish law and publishing medieval Jewish texts with new commentaries. The elder Samuel founded the Israel Institute at YU, as well as Sura and Talpiot journals, publishing works bolstering religious education and its connection to Israel and Jewish scholarship. He was the author of the seminal work commentary on the ³§³ó±ð’i±ô³Ù´Ç³Ù. From 1926 until his death 41 years later, in 1967, Samuel K. Mirsky helped build and shape 91ºÚÁÏ.
Studying philosophy on the same campus where his namesake once taught has given Samuel a quiet sense of continuity.
"It's a degree of connection, walking and studying in the same places he would have walked, even though I never met him," he said. "I feel honored to follow in his footsteps."
Through the years, the Mirsky family continued to play a central role in the growth, development and academic standing of 91ºÚÁÏ. Samuel's grandfather, David Mirsky, also attended YU as a student (YC ’42), received his Semikhah from RIETS, going on to become an educational force at YU. He served as Professor of Hebrew and English Literature, Dean of Admissions, Dean of Stern College and Vice President of Academic Affairs, becoming, alongside then YU President Dr. Samuel Belkin, a guiding light in the rise of 91ºÚÁÏ. Together they carved out 91ºÚÁÏ’s place as an academic powerhouse, a position 91ºÚÁÏ proudly maintains today.
Samuel's mother Zipporah and his uncles, Moshe and Yehudah Mirsky, are all YU graduates. Perhaps the same ideas that drew young Samuel to his thesis are the ones that have drawn his family to YU generation after generation. The University is deeply rooted in securing the continuation of the Jewish people from one generation to the next - not only securing it, but enabling its graduates to thrive in whatever field they choose. For this family, it is that balance, deeply rooted yet always looking forward, that has brought them back time and again.
As Samuel received his diploma alongside hundreds of fellow graduates at YU's 95th Annual Commencement, the 100-year cycle came full circle. He now plans to study law and to pursue Semikhah, just as his great-grandfather, grandfather and father Rabbi Micah D. Halpern, did before him. For both the family and the University, the future looks bright, shaped by dedicated students, scholars and scions.
