Naomi Levy
Encyclopedia
Naomi Levy is an American rabbi
, author and speaker.
Levy was born and raised in the Boro Park
section of Brooklyn
, New York
. She attended Bialik School and Yeshiva of Flatbush.
She attended Cornell University
where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude. In 1984, she was in the first class of women to enter The Jewish Theological Seminary
's rabbinical school. At the seminary, Rabbi Levy received honors as outstanding underclass student of Talmud
and outstanding underclass rabbinical student. In 1989, Rabbi Levy became the first female Conservative
rabbi to head a pulpit on the West Coast. She led Congregation Mishkon Tephilo in Venice, CA for seven years.
Levy's first book, To Begin Again (1998), discusses recovery from suffering and tragedy, and relates her own loss when her father was murdered in an armed robbery when she was 15. Her 2002 book, Talking to God, discusses the transformative effect of prayer.
In 2004 Rabbi Levy founded Nashuva, a spiritual outreach service for Jews turned off to traditional Jewish service. Nashuva holds Shabbat services the first Friday of each month at a church in Brentwood, drawing capacity crowds of 300 people. Nashuva, which means "we will return" in Hebrew, also leads monthly social service and social action projects in the L.A. area. "The goal of prayer isn’t only personal peace," says the group's web site. "At Nashuva we believe that prayer leads us to action. It reminds us that we are here to heal this broken world. Nashuva is a service that leads to service."
Levy has appeared on NBC
's Today Show and on Oprah
, and has been featured in Parade (magazine)
, Redbook
, SELF (magazine)
, and Los Angeles
magazines. She serves on the faculties of the Wexner Heritage Foundation and the Academy of Jewish Religion. She lectures widely on topics of faith, strength, renewal, spirituality, healing and prayer.
Levy has made multiple appearances on Newsweek
magazine's list of the 50 most influential rabbis in the nation and on the Forward 50 list of influential Jewish Americans.
In 2010 she published her third book, Hope Will Find You: My Search for the Wisdom to Stop Waiting and Start Living, which deals with what happened after her then 6-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a serious disease.
Rabbi Levy lives in Venice, California with her husband, Robert Eshman, editor-in-chief of the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, and their two children.
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, author and speaker.
Levy was born and raised in the Boro Park
Borough Park, Brooklyn
Borough Park , is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City in the United States....
section of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She attended Bialik School and Yeshiva of Flatbush.
She attended Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude. In 1984, she was in the first class of women to enter The Jewish Theological Seminary
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
's rabbinical school. At the seminary, Rabbi Levy received honors as outstanding underclass student of Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
and outstanding underclass rabbinical student. In 1989, Rabbi Levy became the first female Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
rabbi to head a pulpit on the West Coast. She led Congregation Mishkon Tephilo in Venice, CA for seven years.
Levy's first book, To Begin Again (1998), discusses recovery from suffering and tragedy, and relates her own loss when her father was murdered in an armed robbery when she was 15. Her 2002 book, Talking to God, discusses the transformative effect of prayer.
In 2004 Rabbi Levy founded Nashuva, a spiritual outreach service for Jews turned off to traditional Jewish service. Nashuva holds Shabbat services the first Friday of each month at a church in Brentwood, drawing capacity crowds of 300 people. Nashuva, which means "we will return" in Hebrew, also leads monthly social service and social action projects in the L.A. area. "The goal of prayer isn’t only personal peace," says the group's web site. "At Nashuva we believe that prayer leads us to action. It reminds us that we are here to heal this broken world. Nashuva is a service that leads to service."
Levy has appeared on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Today Show and on Oprah
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, and has been featured in Parade (magazine)
Parade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
, Redbook
Redbook
Redbook is an American women's magazine published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.-History:...
, SELF (magazine)
Self (magazine)
Self magazine is an American magazine for women that specializes in health, fitness, nutrition, beauty and happiness. Published by Condé Nast Publications 12 times a year, it has a circulation of 1,486,992 and a total audience of 5,541,000 readers, according to its corporate media kit. The...
, and Los Angeles
Los Angeles (magazine)
Los Angeles magazine is a monthly regional magazine of national stature. Published by Emmis Communications and produced monthly since the spring of 1961, LA Magazine is a combination of award-winning feature writing, investigative reporting, service journalism, and design, the definitive resource...
magazines. She serves on the faculties of the Wexner Heritage Foundation and the Academy of Jewish Religion. She lectures widely on topics of faith, strength, renewal, spirituality, healing and prayer.
Levy has made multiple appearances on Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine's list of the 50 most influential rabbis in the nation and on the Forward 50 list of influential Jewish Americans.
In 2010 she published her third book, Hope Will Find You: My Search for the Wisdom to Stop Waiting and Start Living, which deals with what happened after her then 6-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a serious disease.
Rabbi Levy lives in Venice, California with her husband, Robert Eshman, editor-in-chief of the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, and their two children.
External links
- Naomi Levy official website
- Nashuva official website