The Brandeis-Bardin Campus of American Jewish University is a Jewish retreat located since 1947 in the northeastern Simi Hills, in the city of Simi Valley, California. Formerly known as the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, it is used for nondenominational summer programs for children, teens, and young adults.

History

The Brandeis-Bardin Institute was founded in 1941 by Shlomo Bardin (Bardinstein), inspired by the ideals of the early Zionist movement and the ideas and financial support of Justice Louis Brandeis. In the 1950s, BBI was known as Brandeis Camp Institute (BCI), with Shlomo Bardin as the Director. The institute branched out into a program for college-aged Jews, now called Brandeis Collegiate Institute, and a summer and winter camp for young people named Alonim. In 1968 actor James Arness (of Gunsmoke) donated his entire Simi Hills ranch to the adjacent Brandeis Bardin Institute, making it, at 2,200 acres, the largest parcel of land owned by a Jewish institution outside the State of Israel. Founder Dr. Shlomo Bardin ran the Institute until 1976. He is buried on the grounds of the Brandeis Bardin Institute. Dennis Prager ran it from 1976 to 1983. Joseph Wapner sat on the board. In March 2007, officials from both the Brandeis-Bardin Institute and the University of Judaism, a non-denominational institution of higher education offering undergraduate and graduate degrees along with a rabbinical studies program located in Bel Air, announced they would merge into a new organization called American Jewish University. In February 2022, American Jewish University planned to sell its 15600 Mulholland Drive, Bel Air location, keeping the 1101 Peppertree Lane, Simi Valley location. The Milken Community School made a bid for the campus of approximately $60 million, but was outbid by a Swiss learning company. That deal fell through amid community opposition. On Tuesday, December 26, 2023, Milken announced that it had successfully reached a deal to buy the campus.

Alumni

Notable people who got their start at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute include Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the founder of Renewal Judaism; and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach Rabbi Zvi Dershowitz directed the Brandeis-Bardin Institute in the early 1960s, before becoming director of Camp Ramah in California and rabbi at Sinai Temple. In the 1970s Rabbis Abraham Joshua Heschel and Mordecai Kaplan frequented the institute. Later Rabbi Joseph Telushkin would lead a weekly Torah discussion at the House of the Book on the campus, and Dennis Prager would be among the many leaders of the institute. Journalist Daniel Pearl, who was beheaded by Al Qaeda in Pakistan in 2002 (and about whom the Angelina Jolie film A Mighty Heart was made), and his family were long-time supporters of (and campers at) Brandeis. Actor Skyler Gisondo attended Alonim as a camper before going on to work in several projects including the films Licorice Pizza, Booksmart, and Vacation, as well as the television programs The Righteous Gemstones and Santa Clarita Diet.

Architecture

The campus includes the House of the Book, a performance hall which was designed by architect Sidney Eisenshtat. Its futuristic-looking brutalist design has made it attractive as a filming location, and it has appeared in numerous film and television projects.

Use as filming location

The building has featured in the following productions: