March 7, 2024 • 27 mins
In today's episode, we speak with Jack Levitt, a cornerstone of Congregation Rodeph Sholom. Growing up navigating the vibrant streets of New York's West Side, where the shadow of World War II loomed, Jack's narrative intertwines with the city's heartbeat and shows that in the face of global and local fractures, the role of the synagogue emerges as a sanctuary for solace and connection. With wisdom and warmth, he shares the pivotal moments that drew him closer to our traditions, emphasizing the power of mentorship and community in shaping a sense of belonging.
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Episode Transcript
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Rabbi Ben Spratt (00:04):
The human story is the search for
belonging.
From childhood to adulthood, injoy and in struggle, we all sit
in questions of how to makesense of it all.
What is our place?
Why are we here?
What is our story of searching?
Join us in conversation withcommunity members each sharing
some of their own story.
(00:25):
I am Ben Spratt and this isbelonging, so it is an honor
today to be in conversation witha dear friend and legendary
leader of our synagogue.
Jack Levitt is a past presidentof our congregation.
There are many other titlesthat he holds.
(00:46):
One of them is he's a proudmentor to Generations of Chlorgy
, one of the people who is aprimary mentor to our Rabbi
emeritus, Rabbi Robert Levine,and certainly to me, one of the
people who has been a mentor inshaping my rabbinate and
creating my own sense ofbelonging here.
And Jack, it is truly a gift tobe in conversation with you
(01:07):
today, my friend.
Jack Levitt (01:08):
Well, thanks, that's all very flattering and
true in part.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (01:17):
Oh, you have to tell me what's not true then?
Jack Levitt (01:19):
It's all true to a lesser degree than you indicate,
but yeah, I have loved thisplace and I've been around it
for a long, long time.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (01:27):
Well, with that, jack, and I think as a
person in my own life that hasoften sat with me and offered
the reflective questions ofwanting to know what is pressing
on my mind and in my heart, Ifeel grateful to now be in a
position to ask you a fewquestions.
What has been your search forbelonging and, if you're willing
(01:48):
, over the arc of just a fewyears of your life here, of what
has been that search?
Where have you found it andwhat does it mean to you today?
Jack Levitt (01:57):
Well, since it's been a long, long life, it's
also been a long, long search,let's say as a young person, as
a kid, as a young adult, Iresisted religion, being from a
thoroughly Jewish family inevery way and feeling thoroughly
(02:18):
Jewish, so no shortage of thatselfhood as a Jew, but in terms
of religious interest orparticipation, resisted it and
fought it for quite a long time,including of having a bar
mitzvah or bar mitzvahpreparation and being a not at
(02:39):
all a bad kid but certainly anoutspoken one.
I made the point to my parentsthat they were being a bit
hypocritical in insisting on myreligious training and bar
mitzvah because they showed noevidence of it.
And I often say my fathershould have given me a good
(03:04):
whack on the side of the headand said good presentation, now
off to Hebrew school.
But he didn't do that.
He was a little put off by me.
So I never had a bar mitzvahuntil I was a dad and into my
upper 40s or lower 50s of age.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (03:24):
So what inspired you at that point to
decide that you wanted tocelebrate that milestone mark,
that kind of learning?
Jack Levitt (03:33):
Well, for a guy who is sometimes accused or
credited with fancy ways ofexpressing things, I will tell
you what I said to RabbiHirschberg.
I want to beat my kids to thebeamer.
I felt that if I wanted them tohave a religious education
which I very much did I had tostep up to the plate.
(03:56):
And so into my middle yearsbecause I got married late and
we had our kids fairly late Istudied for and became a bar
mitzvah and I actually had a barmitzvah celebration, which I
urged not be a kind of funnyversion of a kid's bar mitzvah.
(04:19):
So we did it in relativelyquiet and sophisticated way.
But I did have an actual barmitzvah service here at Rodeph
Shalom at the age of in theneighborhood of 50.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (04:33):
And so becoming a parent made you
reflective of the role ofJudaism, wanting, it sounds like
, for that sense of Jewishnessto be passed on to your kids.
But why, if you grew up seeinghypocrisy as a child, pointing
it out to your parents?
What was it that planted thatseed that made you feel like you
(04:55):
know what?
This is something, nonetheless,I would like to pass on to my
children.
I assume, maybe passing on toyour children in a different way
than your parents passed it onto you, I'm not sure.
Do you remember where that camefrom?
Jack Levitt (05:05):
I always had a strong feeling of being Jewish,
of pride in that, ofidentification in every possible
way with Jewish people and evenJewish history.
I just knew I'm not sure, I'mnot sure, I'm not sure, I'm not
sure, I'm not sure, I'm not sure, I'm not sure, I'm not sure,
I'm not sure, I'm not sure, I'mnot sure, I'm not sure and I
wanted them to be identified asJews and to have some training
and learning.
And, probably as important asthose things we heard, there was
(05:30):
a great preschool at Road ofShalom when my kids were three
years old and four years old andwe signed them up.
Membership was a requirement,as I recall, and that began a
lifetime of participation andcommitment and love of this
place.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (05:50):
So if you think back to those years, do
you remember at what point youstarted?
You woke up and realized oh,this actually is now bringing
something into my life.
You know that's no longer justabout what's being bestowed to
my kids, but it's actuallyaffecting me.
Jack Levitt (06:06):
I very much enjoyed Rabbi Gunter Hirschberg and got
to know him and has maybewilled get to in this
conversation.
What it says about me, I'm notsure, but I became a Rabbi guy.
I became interested in rabbis,wanting to know more about them,
(06:27):
learning about them and whatmoved them, and that became in
some ways an important part ofmy life and I've been good
friends with many rabbis and tohave been someone that's
available to them as well asthey're being available to me.
(06:48):
Later on in all of this longnarrative, I became interested
in what was going on at theHebrew Union College, where
almost all of our rabbis weretrained and became active down
there and therefore came to knowa lot of rabbinic students and
(07:11):
I guess in a crazy way, I'm alittle bit of a Rabbi freak.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (07:17):
And as one of the people who's benefited from
that, I'm sure I can say, onbehalf of everyone, thank you,
jack, because this is, yes, anorganization, but sometimes we
forget it was started by peoplewho are wanting to feel a sense
of belonging in the world, and Idon't know that everyone knows
that.
I think sometimes we walk intoservices, we either like them or
we don't.
(07:38):
We like the melody, we don't.
We like the sermon, or we don't.
We like the Hebrew schoolclasses or we don't.
But we don't always think aboutthe people, the stories, the
identities that led to thoseencounters.
And I do think that that'ssomething you've, at least since
I've known.
You always had your pulse on asthe humanness of it all, and
(07:58):
I'm wondering if you could tellme what you see as the unique
role rabbis play in America, insociety.
You've obviously had exposureto lots of different kinds of
leaders out in the world,professionally and your personal
life.
But what is it about rabbis?
What's the role that intriguesyou most?
Jack Levitt (08:17):
I faced the fact when I got interested, which was
after I got interested in thissynagogue and eventually at the
Hebrew Union College, where Iserved on the board of overseers
for a lot of years, and so itwas exposed to a whole lot of
rabbis in the making and theprocess and the formula and the
(08:38):
mixing of the stew.
In our day and this age,meaning the larger sense, not
just these few years, butcurrent 20th century and so
forth have an almost impossiblytough job to be what I would
think would be good rabbis,without abandoning, out of
(08:59):
necessity, some important partsof what being a rabbi to me
entails and requires, becauseit's not an age in which the
rabbi can depend on articles offaith.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (09:16):
So what are some of those qualities?
Jack Levitt (09:19):
Compassion, real interest in people as
individuals differently,interest in people as a
community to completely oralmost completely different
things and in unwillingness.
This may be the tougher part.
To make rabbinical life andteaching just another expression
(09:44):
of generous liberal attitudes,but to be something much more
than that.
They have to win theircommunities.
At one of the recent events inthe synagogue I made the point
that your story in so manyrespects, at least to me,
(10:07):
tracked the story of thissynagogue.
The place and you, rabbi, sortof came to the same point at the
same time, which was great forboth of you and all of us.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (10:19):
Thank you, shachar, and I feel very blessed
and feel grateful because Ithink in that, I think it
captures some of the humannessthat is a synagogue community.
And thinking back to our firstconversation together, where you
asked me mine and in everyconversation since there's often
(10:40):
an agenda that's set in advancethere are questions that are on
your mind, questions that areon my mind, and it's interesting
because, no matter what topicscome up, we ultimately come back
to our life stories, and it hasbeen one of the things that has
taught me, I think, as a rabbi,of what it means to love a
community and also love anindividual, is to see where
(11:03):
these two things intersect thestory of a larger community and
the story of a person.
So you've given us a tinysnapshot of how your story and
the story of Rhoda Shalomintersected.
I'd love to hear more of yourstory and then maybe we can pull
out some of their details alittle more.
Jack Levitt (11:18):
All right, let me see if I can, you know, since
it's a long one, given my age,et cetera.
Let me see, I was neither ahappy nor unhappy kid.
I grew up in Washington Heightsfor the first 11 or 12 years of
my life, and then down at 108thStreet, then on 79th Street.
(11:40):
They often say and it givesmost people a kick that the
whole physical spectrum of mylife was one straight line of
about five miles from 176thStreet to 66th Street, which is
where I live now.
So I'm sort of a New York hick.
(12:02):
I've never lived elsewhere forany period of time or been other
than a tourist.
West Side of Manhattan has beenmy whole life, as I think I may
already have mentioned I'm notsure when the time came, as I
said, for my Bar Mitzvahpreparation, I resisted it.
I accused my parents ofhypocrisy because they weren't
(12:24):
shoelgoers.
But they wisely said well, okay, but you have to have some kind
of alternative service, justlike a draft dodger has to go
through something.
And so we agreed that I wouldgo to a Yiddish-ishul, which is
(12:46):
a school run by an organizationwhich teaches Yiddish language,
cultural heritage and things ofthat kind a little on the
left-wing side but in no waycommunistic or anything of that
kind.
Of course my fatherparticularly would not have
allowed for anything like that.
(13:07):
And so I went to Yiddish-ishul,run by what was known as the
Arbiter Ring, the workman'scircle which many of you, or
many of your parents orgrandparents, you listeners, may
have heard about or been partof.
And so I went to a school whichtaught you how to read and
(13:28):
write Yiddish.
We put on little Yiddish playsand poems and recited poems.
I'll tell a joke on myself.
I could be sitting there withmy mother and her friends
yacking at the kitchen table andI would talk up and, you know,
(13:50):
contribute some opinion orcomment, and one of the women
would say to my mother that boyhas some mouth, he's going to be
a lawyer.
I apparently internalized thatopinion and went ahead and did
it Not for any more elegantreason than that.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (14:13):
So, and over the arc of that career, did you
find yourself gaining a sense ofbelonging through your work as
a lawyer.
Jack Levitt (14:21):
To some degree, yes , and to some degree.
I always felt myself inside andoutside of it and it's always
been true of me.
I'm always.
I make decisions and makecommitments and a big part of me
remains outside, viewing myselfand trying to decide if it's
(14:47):
really what I want to do, andthere's always been some
question about that.
But with that I was very muchan active and committed lawyer
and by and large with someexceptions and some very
brilliant positive things butboth I was a good and certainly
very interesting lawyer duringmy practice of all those years.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (15:12):
Well, it's heartening to know that even a
person who gave himself withsuch dedication and, dare I say,
success in his career also hadlingering questions, curiosities
, wonderings of what might elsehave been.
Jack Levitt (15:26):
Oh yeah.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (15:27):
Yeah, Because I do think.
I myself, you know, find myselfat times wondering if I hadn't
become a rabbi, what would Ihave been, what would that have
been like?
And I could give you a wholelaundry list of things, as I'm
sure you could like.
I'm curious what were some ofthe things you pondered other
than being a lawyer?
Jack Levitt (15:47):
I think, a scholar or, as a kid, a radio announcer,
and use my powers ofdescription to be a radio
personality, especially insports.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (16:05):
I love that.
Oh, and here you go.
Now you get to be lifting thatvoice up and I think that that
ability to be able to be fullycommitted in a career and still
raising curiosity.
So you know, I was on track tobeing a biochemist, a genetic
engineer, and there's still partof me that is that science geek
(16:29):
and wondering ah, you know,what would it be like to be in a
laboratory right now?
And it is.
I'm grateful to be exactly inthe place that I am and there's
a in the.
In the Talmud, in thecollection of early rabbinic
reflections, there's a greatdeal of obsession over
particular hours of the day dawnand dusk, the in-between hours
(16:55):
of the day.
You know, full blown daytime,full blown nighttime.
Those early rabbis aren't sointeresting, but they're
obsessed over what do you makeof the blurry middle margins of
time?
And I think about that in theJewish mentality, of what does
it mean to be the person who canbe both fully committed to a
community, to a career, and alsofind himself mentally or
(17:18):
emotionally wondering to themargins of it?
Jack Levitt (17:21):
Yeah, I mean what you were saying certainly
resonates with me.
I've always been both insideand also somewhat outside of
everything I'm doing, so thenotion of full commitment to
this age and day I may not know.
Luckily for me and them, mypartners in the law firm were
(17:43):
much more down to earth andpractical and money conscious
than I was, and so, fortunatelyfor me, I could be a successful
lawyer but didn't need to do thethings I wasn't good at,
because they kept the businessgoing and made sure the dollars
were in, and they kept me on mypath, what I sometimes wondered
(18:08):
as well.
So it was a lovely small lawfirm.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (18:12):
Beautiful.
So I have to ask Jack, growingup here on the west side maybe
upper upper west side do youremember what it was like being
here when World War II broke out?
Jack Levitt (18:26):
I mean, I was a smart little apple.
I was 10 or 12 or whatever thehell I was, and I read the
newspapers every day at that ageand followed the battles and
was very keenly aware of whatwas going on, certainly in the
European sector.
(18:47):
And I had an older brother, awonderful older brother, who's
dead now a long time.
He was only five years olderthan me but he was drafted and
he was in the army and he wassent over to Europe and so his
well-being and my parents'sleepless worry about him
(19:08):
because he was over there in themidst of things in the European
sector was the strongestrecollection I have of the
Second World War my parents'profound concern for my big
brother who was in the 10tharmored division over in Europe
(19:29):
and I was the kid brother andread all the battle things and
worried with my parents when wedidn't hear from him for a few
weeks.
And then we'd get about 10 ofthese letters and we're
reassured.
So that's some of myrecollection of that time.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (19:50):
Oh, I feel grateful for all the people who
gave sacrifice, push in order toget us to where we are right
now.
So over the arc of yourlifetime, jack, you have seen a
local, on a national, on aglobal level, many different
times where fracture, rupture,division, challenge has kind of
(20:10):
erupted.
And I'm curious, as we are hereright now, what gives you hope?
Jack Levitt (20:18):
Please forgive me Very little.
It springs eternal, but thespring is almost dry at the
moment.
Of course I have hope, but Iguess these days, rabbi, and
(20:39):
today particularly thismorning's headlines and all the
rest of it, make it very, verytough for me.
Even the old guy who tries tosee things in the bigger picture
and all that finds it very,very difficult to express much
optimism.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (21:00):
So what do you think is the purpose of a
synagogue like this in such aworld, in such an environment?
Jack Levitt (21:07):
Being there being a place which invites and
encourages and teaches belief ingood things and better things
and generous things a littlemore narrowly, a place for Jews
(21:31):
to be Jews comfortably, proudly,but not boastfully, and an
environment for our kids,grandkids, to become and be Jews
.
That certainly resonates for me.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (21:49):
And look, I think there are days where it's
easier to access the light thanothers, but I do think one of
the things that I think that Ithink is the most important
thing is that we have to be opento the light, and I think
that's the most important thingfor others.
But I do think one of the giftsin the Jewish psyche is this
legacy that I do feel has beenpassed down from generation to
(22:12):
generation of out of chapters ofadversity has come a Jewish
resilience, a maybe, dare I evensay, a relationship of
responsibility that even in thetimes when the well of hope
feels like it's running dry,this persistent Jewish push
towards believing butnonetheless we gotta get up, we
(22:33):
gotta move forward, we have tobelieve that tomorrow could be
better than today and give iteverything we have.
And I do think that there arevery few places in our world
today, very few beacons thatoffer that kind of message, and
I hope that for my children, formy grandchildren.
Jack Levitt (22:50):
Yeah, I agree completely, and I think the
synagogue, this one particularlyis a place to do those things
First of all, to be a home, asecond home, and to be a place
both of refuge, as needed andunfortunately there's a little
(23:13):
of that, if not a lot, going onright now in the world and where
we live but also a place toidentify and relate to
everything that went before usand to be nourished by it, to be
reassured and to learn, and Igotta say you're doing a great
(23:39):
job.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (23:40):
Thank you so much, jack.
Well, I really I know that youwill brush this off, but I
really do mean this when I say,for me, part of what has made
this community the place where Iwant to devote my life and my
life's work is it's also theplace where I feel like I've
discovered the very best ofhumanity.
It doesn't mean that it's alwayswonderful, and we're all human,
(24:03):
like myself, but I do feel likethere's something that gets
incubated here because of peoplelike yourself that have been
willing to sometimes seek refugeout of the storms outside and
and at times, be able to feelinvigorated with that
responsibility by stepping intothese walls, but nonetheless to
keep centering on people, on thestory we inherit, on how that
(24:26):
past can nourish us and inspireus to be shaping what comes next
in the story.
And so I know that there aremany in this congregation that
would offer this gratitude toyou, but I want to offer
gratitude for you being one ofthe people who reminds us of how
we are a part of that story,how our personal story matters,
and for all that you have givento make sure that more and more
(24:49):
people can feel woven into thatstory, and my hope is that, in
people hearing your voice, itwill inspire the next person who
may have been dissatisfied,perhaps, with their upbringing
and religion, to imagine thatmaybe it's through the lens of
their kids or their grandkids,or just their neighbor that they
could begin their own searchfor belonging and maybe, just
(25:10):
maybe, turn this place into anext generation of a beacon of
belonging for others.
Jack Levitt (25:15):
Yeah, I mean going back for a minute and accepting
some of the or reflecting someof the praise which you gave me.
I think my presidency a long,long, long time ago of this
place and, to some degree, mypredecessor, janet Newburger I
(25:38):
don't want to exclude her, ofcourse she too was a contributor
to what I'm about to say, butlet's say, our Presidencies
transitioned the lay leadershipfrom wonderful guys and I say
guys who felt that theirresponsibility and their
(26:01):
interest was almost exclusivelyon the practical side of the
congregation to a series ofrabbis, starting with me, or
Janet and me, who loved thisplace as a place of religious
life.
And some, perhaps most or all,but certainly many of my
(26:24):
successors as President of theUnited States successors as
President have been wonderfulJews as well as good practical
leaders.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (26:34):
Beautiful check.
Well, thank you, my friend.
This is such a gift.
I feel like we should do thisevery week here.
So many more questions I wantto ask, but I want to offer
thanks and looking forward tomany people getting to encounter
your voice, your reflection,thank you, thank you.
Thank you for joining us andlistening to this story of
(26:56):
belonging.
Stay connected with us onFacebook and Instagram.
You can find me on BenHSprattat Ben.
For more information about CRS,visit us online at rodephsholom
.
org.
The human story is the search for
belonging.
From childhood to adulthood, injoy and in struggle, we all sit
in questions of how to makesense of it all.
What is our place?
Why are we here?
What is our story of searching?
Join us in conversation withcommunity members each sharing
some of their own story.
(00:25):
I am Ben Spratt and this isbelonging, so it is an honor
today to be in conversation witha dear friend and legendary
leader of our synagogue.
Jack Levitt is a past presidentof our congregation.
There are many other titlesthat he holds.
(00:46):
One of them is he's a proudmentor to Generations of Chlorgy
, one of the people who is aprimary mentor to our Rabbi
emeritus, Rabbi Robert Levine,and certainly to me, one of the
people who has been a mentor inshaping my rabbinate and
creating my own sense ofbelonging here.
And Jack, it is truly a gift tobe in conversation with you
(01:07):
today, my friend.
Jack Levitt (01:08):
Well, thanks, that's all very flattering and
true in part.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (01:17):
Oh, you have to tell me what's not true then?
Jack Levitt (01:19):
It's all true to a lesser degree than you indicate,
but yeah, I have loved thisplace and I've been around it
for a long, long time.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (01:27):
Well, with that, jack, and I think as a
person in my own life that hasoften sat with me and offered
the reflective questions ofwanting to know what is pressing
on my mind and in my heart, Ifeel grateful to now be in a
position to ask you a fewquestions.
What has been your search forbelonging and, if you're willing
(01:48):
, over the arc of just a fewyears of your life here, of what
has been that search?
Where have you found it andwhat does it mean to you today?
Jack Levitt (01:57):
Well, since it's been a long, long life, it's
also been a long, long search,let's say as a young person, as
a kid, as a young adult, Iresisted religion, being from a
thoroughly Jewish family inevery way and feeling thoroughly
(02:18):
Jewish, so no shortage of thatselfhood as a Jew, but in terms
of religious interest orparticipation, resisted it and
fought it for quite a long time,including of having a bar
mitzvah or bar mitzvahpreparation and being a not at
(02:39):
all a bad kid but certainly anoutspoken one.
I made the point to my parentsthat they were being a bit
hypocritical in insisting on myreligious training and bar
mitzvah because they showed noevidence of it.
And I often say my fathershould have given me a good
(03:04):
whack on the side of the headand said good presentation, now
off to Hebrew school.
But he didn't do that.
He was a little put off by me.
So I never had a bar mitzvahuntil I was a dad and into my
upper 40s or lower 50s of age.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (03:24):
So what inspired you at that point to
decide that you wanted tocelebrate that milestone mark,
that kind of learning?
Jack Levitt (03:33):
Well, for a guy who is sometimes accused or
credited with fancy ways ofexpressing things, I will tell
you what I said to RabbiHirschberg.
I want to beat my kids to thebeamer.
I felt that if I wanted them tohave a religious education
which I very much did I had tostep up to the plate.
(03:56):
And so into my middle yearsbecause I got married late and
we had our kids fairly late Istudied for and became a bar
mitzvah and I actually had a barmitzvah celebration, which I
urged not be a kind of funnyversion of a kid's bar mitzvah.
(04:19):
So we did it in relativelyquiet and sophisticated way.
But I did have an actual barmitzvah service here at Rodeph
Shalom at the age of in theneighborhood of 50.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (04:33):
And so becoming a parent made you
reflective of the role ofJudaism, wanting, it sounds like
, for that sense of Jewishnessto be passed on to your kids.
But why, if you grew up seeinghypocrisy as a child, pointing
it out to your parents?
What was it that planted thatseed that made you feel like you
(04:55):
know what?
This is something, nonetheless,I would like to pass on to my
children.
I assume, maybe passing on toyour children in a different way
than your parents passed it onto you, I'm not sure.
Do you remember where that camefrom?
Jack Levitt (05:05):
I always had a strong feeling of being Jewish,
of pride in that, ofidentification in every possible
way with Jewish people and evenJewish history.
I just knew I'm not sure, I'mnot sure, I'm not sure, I'm not
sure, I'm not sure, I'm not sure, I'm not sure, I'm not sure,
I'm not sure, I'm not sure, I'mnot sure, I'm not sure and I
wanted them to be identified asJews and to have some training
and learning.
And, probably as important asthose things we heard, there was
(05:30):
a great preschool at Road ofShalom when my kids were three
years old and four years old andwe signed them up.
Membership was a requirement,as I recall, and that began a
lifetime of participation andcommitment and love of this
place.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (05:50):
So if you think back to those years, do
you remember at what point youstarted?
You woke up and realized oh,this actually is now bringing
something into my life.
You know that's no longer justabout what's being bestowed to
my kids, but it's actuallyaffecting me.
Jack Levitt (06:06):
I very much enjoyed Rabbi Gunter Hirschberg and got
to know him and has maybewilled get to in this
conversation.
What it says about me, I'm notsure, but I became a Rabbi guy.
I became interested in rabbis,wanting to know more about them,
(06:27):
learning about them and whatmoved them, and that became in
some ways an important part ofmy life and I've been good
friends with many rabbis and tohave been someone that's
available to them as well asthey're being available to me.
(06:48):
Later on in all of this longnarrative, I became interested
in what was going on at theHebrew Union College, where
almost all of our rabbis weretrained and became active down
there and therefore came to knowa lot of rabbinic students and
(07:11):
I guess in a crazy way, I'm alittle bit of a Rabbi freak.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (07:17):
And as one of the people who's benefited from
that, I'm sure I can say, onbehalf of everyone, thank you,
jack, because this is, yes, anorganization, but sometimes we
forget it was started by peoplewho are wanting to feel a sense
of belonging in the world, and Idon't know that everyone knows
that.
I think sometimes we walk intoservices, we either like them or
we don't.
(07:38):
We like the melody, we don't.
We like the sermon, or we don't.
We like the Hebrew schoolclasses or we don't.
But we don't always think aboutthe people, the stories, the
identities that led to thoseencounters.
And I do think that that'ssomething you've, at least since
I've known.
You always had your pulse on asthe humanness of it all, and
(07:58):
I'm wondering if you could tellme what you see as the unique
role rabbis play in America, insociety.
You've obviously had exposureto lots of different kinds of
leaders out in the world,professionally and your personal
life.
But what is it about rabbis?
What's the role that intriguesyou most?
Jack Levitt (08:17):
I faced the fact when I got interested, which was
after I got interested in thissynagogue and eventually at the
Hebrew Union College, where Iserved on the board of overseers
for a lot of years, and so itwas exposed to a whole lot of
rabbis in the making and theprocess and the formula and the
(08:38):
mixing of the stew.
In our day and this age,meaning the larger sense, not
just these few years, butcurrent 20th century and so
forth have an almost impossiblytough job to be what I would
think would be good rabbis,without abandoning, out of
(08:59):
necessity, some important partsof what being a rabbi to me
entails and requires, becauseit's not an age in which the
rabbi can depend on articles offaith.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (09:16):
So what are some of those qualities?
Jack Levitt (09:19):
Compassion, real interest in people as
individuals differently,interest in people as a
community to completely oralmost completely different
things and in unwillingness.
This may be the tougher part.
To make rabbinical life andteaching just another expression
(09:44):
of generous liberal attitudes,but to be something much more
than that.
They have to win theircommunities.
At one of the recent events inthe synagogue I made the point
that your story in so manyrespects, at least to me,
(10:07):
tracked the story of thissynagogue.
The place and you, rabbi, sortof came to the same point at the
same time, which was great forboth of you and all of us.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (10:19):
Thank you, shachar, and I feel very blessed
and feel grateful because Ithink in that, I think it
captures some of the humannessthat is a synagogue community.
And thinking back to our firstconversation together, where you
asked me mine and in everyconversation since there's often
(10:40):
an agenda that's set in advancethere are questions that are on
your mind, questions that areon my mind, and it's interesting
because, no matter what topicscome up, we ultimately come back
to our life stories, and it hasbeen one of the things that has
taught me, I think, as a rabbi,of what it means to love a
community and also love anindividual, is to see where
(11:03):
these two things intersect thestory of a larger community and
the story of a person.
So you've given us a tinysnapshot of how your story and
the story of Rhoda Shalomintersected.
I'd love to hear more of yourstory and then maybe we can pull
out some of their details alittle more.
Jack Levitt (11:18):
All right, let me see if I can, you know, since
it's a long one, given my age,et cetera.
Let me see, I was neither ahappy nor unhappy kid.
I grew up in Washington Heightsfor the first 11 or 12 years of
my life, and then down at 108thStreet, then on 79th Street.
(11:40):
They often say and it givesmost people a kick that the
whole physical spectrum of mylife was one straight line of
about five miles from 176thStreet to 66th Street, which is
where I live now.
So I'm sort of a New York hick.
(12:02):
I've never lived elsewhere forany period of time or been other
than a tourist.
West Side of Manhattan has beenmy whole life, as I think I may
already have mentioned I'm notsure when the time came, as I
said, for my Bar Mitzvahpreparation, I resisted it.
I accused my parents ofhypocrisy because they weren't
(12:24):
shoelgoers.
But they wisely said well, okay, but you have to have some kind
of alternative service, justlike a draft dodger has to go
through something.
And so we agreed that I wouldgo to a Yiddish-ishul, which is
(12:46):
a school run by an organizationwhich teaches Yiddish language,
cultural heritage and things ofthat kind a little on the
left-wing side but in no waycommunistic or anything of that
kind.
Of course my fatherparticularly would not have
allowed for anything like that.
(13:07):
And so I went to Yiddish-ishul,run by what was known as the
Arbiter Ring, the workman'scircle which many of you, or
many of your parents orgrandparents, you listeners, may
have heard about or been partof.
And so I went to a school whichtaught you how to read and
(13:28):
write Yiddish.
We put on little Yiddish playsand poems and recited poems.
I'll tell a joke on myself.
I could be sitting there withmy mother and her friends
yacking at the kitchen table andI would talk up and, you know,
(13:50):
contribute some opinion orcomment, and one of the women
would say to my mother that boyhas some mouth, he's going to be
a lawyer.
I apparently internalized thatopinion and went ahead and did
it Not for any more elegantreason than that.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (14:13):
So, and over the arc of that career, did you
find yourself gaining a sense ofbelonging through your work as
a lawyer.
Jack Levitt (14:21):
To some degree, yes , and to some degree.
I always felt myself inside andoutside of it and it's always
been true of me.
I'm always.
I make decisions and makecommitments and a big part of me
remains outside, viewing myselfand trying to decide if it's
(14:47):
really what I want to do, andthere's always been some
question about that.
But with that I was very muchan active and committed lawyer
and by and large with someexceptions and some very
brilliant positive things butboth I was a good and certainly
very interesting lawyer duringmy practice of all those years.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (15:12):
Well, it's heartening to know that even a
person who gave himself withsuch dedication and, dare I say,
success in his career also hadlingering questions, curiosities
, wonderings of what might elsehave been.
Jack Levitt (15:26):
Oh yeah.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (15:27):
Yeah, Because I do think.
I myself, you know, find myselfat times wondering if I hadn't
become a rabbi, what would Ihave been, what would that have
been like?
And I could give you a wholelaundry list of things, as I'm
sure you could like.
I'm curious what were some ofthe things you pondered other
than being a lawyer?
Jack Levitt (15:47):
I think, a scholar or, as a kid, a radio announcer,
and use my powers ofdescription to be a radio
personality, especially insports.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (16:05):
I love that.
Oh, and here you go.
Now you get to be lifting thatvoice up and I think that that
ability to be able to be fullycommitted in a career and still
raising curiosity.
So you know, I was on track tobeing a biochemist, a genetic
engineer, and there's still partof me that is that science geek
(16:29):
and wondering ah, you know,what would it be like to be in a
laboratory right now?
And it is.
I'm grateful to be exactly inthe place that I am and there's
a in the.
In the Talmud, in thecollection of early rabbinic
reflections, there's a greatdeal of obsession over
particular hours of the day dawnand dusk, the in-between hours
(16:55):
of the day.
You know, full blown daytime,full blown nighttime.
Those early rabbis aren't sointeresting, but they're
obsessed over what do you makeof the blurry middle margins of
time?
And I think about that in theJewish mentality, of what does
it mean to be the person who canbe both fully committed to a
community, to a career, and alsofind himself mentally or
(17:18):
emotionally wondering to themargins of it?
Jack Levitt (17:21):
Yeah, I mean what you were saying certainly
resonates with me.
I've always been both insideand also somewhat outside of
everything I'm doing, so thenotion of full commitment to
this age and day I may not know.
Luckily for me and them, mypartners in the law firm were
(17:43):
much more down to earth andpractical and money conscious
than I was, and so, fortunatelyfor me, I could be a successful
lawyer but didn't need to do thethings I wasn't good at,
because they kept the businessgoing and made sure the dollars
were in, and they kept me on mypath, what I sometimes wondered
(18:08):
as well.
So it was a lovely small lawfirm.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (18:12):
Beautiful.
So I have to ask Jack, growingup here on the west side maybe
upper upper west side do youremember what it was like being
here when World War II broke out?
Jack Levitt (18:26):
I mean, I was a smart little apple.
I was 10 or 12 or whatever thehell I was, and I read the
newspapers every day at that ageand followed the battles and
was very keenly aware of whatwas going on, certainly in the
European sector.
(18:47):
And I had an older brother, awonderful older brother, who's
dead now a long time.
He was only five years olderthan me but he was drafted and
he was in the army and he wassent over to Europe and so his
well-being and my parents'sleepless worry about him
(19:08):
because he was over there in themidst of things in the European
sector was the strongestrecollection I have of the
Second World War my parents'profound concern for my big
brother who was in the 10tharmored division over in Europe
(19:29):
and I was the kid brother andread all the battle things and
worried with my parents when wedidn't hear from him for a few
weeks.
And then we'd get about 10 ofthese letters and we're
reassured.
So that's some of myrecollection of that time.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (19:50):
Oh, I feel grateful for all the people who
gave sacrifice, push in order toget us to where we are right
now.
So over the arc of yourlifetime, jack, you have seen a
local, on a national, on aglobal level, many different
times where fracture, rupture,division, challenge has kind of
(20:10):
erupted.
And I'm curious, as we are hereright now, what gives you hope?
Jack Levitt (20:18):
Please forgive me Very little.
It springs eternal, but thespring is almost dry at the
moment.
Of course I have hope, but Iguess these days, rabbi, and
(20:39):
today particularly thismorning's headlines and all the
rest of it, make it very, verytough for me.
Even the old guy who tries tosee things in the bigger picture
and all that finds it very,very difficult to express much
optimism.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (21:00):
So what do you think is the purpose of a
synagogue like this in such aworld, in such an environment?
Jack Levitt (21:07):
Being there being a place which invites and
encourages and teaches belief ingood things and better things
and generous things a littlemore narrowly, a place for Jews
(21:31):
to be Jews comfortably, proudly,but not boastfully, and an
environment for our kids,grandkids, to become and be Jews
.
That certainly resonates for me.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (21:49):
And look, I think there are days where it's
easier to access the light thanothers, but I do think one of
the things that I think that Ithink is the most important
thing is that we have to be opento the light, and I think
that's the most important thingfor others.
But I do think one of the giftsin the Jewish psyche is this
legacy that I do feel has beenpassed down from generation to
(22:12):
generation of out of chapters ofadversity has come a Jewish
resilience, a maybe, dare I evensay, a relationship of
responsibility that even in thetimes when the well of hope
feels like it's running dry,this persistent Jewish push
towards believing butnonetheless we gotta get up, we
(22:33):
gotta move forward, we have tobelieve that tomorrow could be
better than today and give iteverything we have.
And I do think that there arevery few places in our world
today, very few beacons thatoffer that kind of message, and
I hope that for my children, formy grandchildren.
Jack Levitt (22:50):
Yeah, I agree completely, and I think the
synagogue, this one particularlyis a place to do those things
First of all, to be a home, asecond home, and to be a place
both of refuge, as needed andunfortunately there's a little
(23:13):
of that, if not a lot, going onright now in the world and where
we live but also a place toidentify and relate to
everything that went before usand to be nourished by it, to be
reassured and to learn, and Igotta say you're doing a great
(23:39):
job.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (23:40):
Thank you so much, jack.
Well, I really I know that youwill brush this off, but I
really do mean this when I say,for me, part of what has made
this community the place where Iwant to devote my life and my
life's work is it's also theplace where I feel like I've
discovered the very best ofhumanity.
It doesn't mean that it's alwayswonderful, and we're all human,
(24:03):
like myself, but I do feel likethere's something that gets
incubated here because of peoplelike yourself that have been
willing to sometimes seek refugeout of the storms outside and
and at times, be able to feelinvigorated with that
responsibility by stepping intothese walls, but nonetheless to
keep centering on people, on thestory we inherit, on how that
(24:26):
past can nourish us and inspireus to be shaping what comes next
in the story.
And so I know that there aremany in this congregation that
would offer this gratitude toyou, but I want to offer
gratitude for you being one ofthe people who reminds us of how
we are a part of that story,how our personal story matters,
and for all that you have givento make sure that more and more
(24:49):
people can feel woven into thatstory, and my hope is that, in
people hearing your voice, itwill inspire the next person who
may have been dissatisfied,perhaps, with their upbringing
and religion, to imagine thatmaybe it's through the lens of
their kids or their grandkids,or just their neighbor that they
could begin their own searchfor belonging and maybe, just
(25:10):
maybe, turn this place into anext generation of a beacon of
belonging for others.
Jack Levitt (25:15):
Yeah, I mean going back for a minute and accepting
some of the or reflecting someof the praise which you gave me.
I think my presidency a long,long, long time ago of this
place and, to some degree, mypredecessor, janet Newburger I
(25:38):
don't want to exclude her, ofcourse she too was a contributor
to what I'm about to say, butlet's say, our Presidencies
transitioned the lay leadershipfrom wonderful guys and I say
guys who felt that theirresponsibility and their
(26:01):
interest was almost exclusivelyon the practical side of the
congregation to a series ofrabbis, starting with me, or
Janet and me, who loved thisplace as a place of religious
life.
And some, perhaps most or all,but certainly many of my
(26:24):
successors as President of theUnited States successors as
President have been wonderfulJews as well as good practical
leaders.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (26:34):
Beautiful check.
Well, thank you, my friend.
This is such a gift.
I feel like we should do thisevery week here.
So many more questions I wantto ask, but I want to offer
thanks and looking forward tomany people getting to encounter
your voice, your reflection,thank you, thank you.
Thank you for joining us andlistening to this story of
(26:56):
belonging.
Stay connected with us onFacebook and Instagram.
You can find me on BenHSprattat Ben.
For more information about CRS,visit us online at rodephsholom
.
org.
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