Newspapers / The Charlotte Jewish News … / Dec. 1, 1995, edition 1 / Page 18
Part of The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
The Charlotte Jewish News - December, 1995 - Page 18 Seven Rabbis From Charlotte — Who are They? Where are They? By Joel Goldman ^ Dovid Barman, Daniel Brenner, Binyamin Levin, Frank Levin, Janet Liss, Jacob Luski and Mordechai Richardson. Seven people from Charlotte who share one thing in common, and from this same thread weav ing through their lives come many questions. What is there about our city, our Jewish community and our Jewish institutions that caused these seven people to follow the identical calling in life? Or, has ^ Charlotte had little to do with their destinies, and are we in volved instead with an inner feeling of spirituality that tran scends environment? These seven individuals have chosen to become rabbis, and considering the fact the Charlotte Jewish community is not as large as other Jewish com munities which produce only one or two rabbis, the question invites closer scrutiny. To best understand this unique situation, one must con- Rabbi Daniel Brenner sider the role of parents in a child’s religious development as well as the parts religious school, temples, youth groups and other Jewish experiences play. Of course, the most reveal ing answers must come from the rabbis themselves, and each of the seven were eager to share * their thoughts. Rabbi Daniel Brenner is en rolled in his fourth year at the Reconstruction Rabbinical Col lege in Philadelphia. He is also the Rabbi for a liberal conserva tive synagogue in Bordentown, New Jersey. The son of Dr. Saul and Martha Brenner, spoke of his growing up in Charlotte. He and his brother were the only Jew ish children on their street. ’To be a Jewish youngster in a small Southern city in the 70s was to be very much a minority, and to ^ be Jewish on a Christian street was even more of a challenge,” Rabbi Brenner emphasized. He stated he first truly be came aware of his Jewishness at the North Carolina Hebrew Academy, which he attended from age 5 to 12. **It was an ex cellent experience about the cel ebration of being a Jew.** He remembers how impor tant Temple Israel’s Confirma tion Class was to him, and in particular, the USY. “From both the class and, in particular, from a USY meeting in Atlanta, I be gan to realize that Jewish kids my age throughout the region shared my concerns about grow ing up in the South as a member of a minority. I learned how they dealt with problems coming from being Jewish, and it in creased my pride in being Jew ish.” Another youngster growing up in Charlotte in the 1970s was Rabbi Frank Levin. He ecalled the closeness of the Jewish com munity in Charlotte at that time. “We were a small Jewish com munity in the South, and we looked to each other for our Jew ish identity.” He looks back fondly on those days because of youthful solidarity in the community. My experiences from that time were veiy good and positive ones,” he indicated. “Also,my parents, Norman and Donna Levin, in stilled within me a strong sense of pride in my Jewishness. They were an important force in my becoming involved in Judaism.” Rabbi Levin is the campus rabbi at the University of Penn sylvania, offering Jewish sup port and education to the students. He has, as his base, the Chabad House in Philadelphia. The only woman in this Rabbi Janet Liss group is Rabbi Janet Liss. The daughter of Ron Liss and Evelyn Floreste, She now serves as the rabbi of a Reformed temple in Tampa, Florida. She spc^e of her parents’ ac tivities in Temple Beth El. “My father was president of the syna gogue and my mother was presi dent of the Sisterhood. I was raised to believe in my religion, and to always be proud of the fact that I was a Jew.” Also, Rabbi Liss warmly re called the times spent as a youngster at the old Amity Club. “We were different than other children in Charlotte. In those days, public schools did little to recognize our holidays, and be ing together at Amity Club and youth groups gave us a strong sense of togetherness based upon our Jewish identity.” “Growing up in Charlotte,” she concluded made me feel very special. Those years were extremely important to me. Rabbi Mordecai Richardson leads a Conservative congrega tion in Israel, and was unavail able for comment. However, his father, Shai, spoke of his son’s early interest in Judaism. “He had a good Jewish family back ground,” Shai revealed, “and as a youngster he was an officer in the Conservative youth move ment in Charlotte. Later he went Rabbi Mordecai Richardson to university at Johns Hopkins, and later studied at the Hebrew Union College.” Rabbi David Barman As with the other rabbis in terviewed, Rabbi Richardson’s secure family base and youth activities would seem to be the foundation upon which his adult involvement in the religion was built. “Kadima, Hebrew School and particularly Arthur Tirsun, Educational Director at Temple Israel.” So answered Rabbi David Barman, son of Marvin and Lorn Barman, when asked what, in Charlotte, influenced him the most. There were several teachers at Temple Israel Hebrew School who made a strong contribution to Rabbi Barman’s desire to leam more of his Jewish back ground. But, more than the oth ers, the Rabbi spoke of Tirsun and how he instilled within him the need to study Judaism in great depth. Rabbi Barman also spoke with emotion of Rabbi Richard Rocklin, a past Rabbi of Temple Israel. “Rabbi Rocklin was al ways there to answer any ques tions I had,” confrded Barman. “He made himself available to all of us, and he was of enormous help to me through his patience and knowledge.” At the present time. Rabbi Barman assists in the spiritual administration of Temple Mogen David in Surfside, Florida.“Pride! Pride in my Jew ishness. Pride in my religion.” So emphasized Rabbi Binyamin Levin, son of Jerry and Barbara Levin. “My par ents, because of their interest in Jewishness and the importance and love they felt for our holi days, gave me that same sense of identity with and respect for our religion.” After graduating high school in Charlotte, Rabbi Levin trav eled to Israel, where he culti vated a strong sense of identity with that nation. After college, he returned to Israel, and at tended a Yeshiva there. “This made me very open to Jewish educational experiences,” added the Rabbi. “I was impressed with the Yeshiva rabbi and he allowed me to appreciate even further the wisdom of our religion. Rabbi Binyamin Levin Also, Rabbi Levin recalled the contribution Rabbi Richard Rocklin of Temple Israel made to his life. “Rabbi Rocklin used words and metaphors as a means to tell a story with a message. His stories always made people more aware of their identity and pur pose in life, and I wanted to in corporate that approach in my own teaching of others, ” Rabbi Levin enthused. The Rabbi teaches Hebrew classes in Charlotte as well as torah on an independent basis,and brings groups together as a teacher to use his words and metaphors to their most benefi cial advantage. Now a conservative rabbi at Temple B’nai Israel in Tampa, Florida, Rabbi Jacob Luski moved to Charlotte in the 7th grade. He had exceptional religious guidance from his parents, Abe and Rose Luski , and this, coupled with his Jewish educa tion at Temple Israel served as a basis for his future involvement . in the religion. Rabbi Luski fondly recalled Rabbi Michael Hecht of Temple Israel as well as congregational Rabbi Jacob Lusici leader Morris Speizman. “They encouraged me to seek as much Jewish knowledge as possible,” Rabbi Luski men tioned. “They taught me how important all experience gained in Judaism is. They were very supportive of me and their ad vice is still an influence in my life.” He studied engineering at Georgia Tech and to help pay his college expenses he worked at the Atlanta conservative syna gogue. That, combined with a summer’s’ study at the Jewish Theological Seminary, were the stepping stones to his becoming a rabbi. And so the questions asked earlier, confront us again. What did Charlotte provide as a city and what did our Jewish com munity offer to cause these seven individuals to seek their lifes' callings in the rabbinate? Family was certainly a strong influence in their grow ing up years. Community and spiritual leaders influenced them as did youth groups. The warmth of their temple surroundings and experiences in Israel all served to shape their futures. Certainly a most important answer involves their having been raised in a small soutJiem city, where Jews were much in the minority. From this came the realization that participation in a group sharing history and tra dition brings a feeling of unity and identity. But is there not something else that rises above all these at tributes? How fulfilling and en during our religion must be to enable those who turn to it for strength to also find spirituality, joy and pride. In discovering spiritual sus tenance for themselves, these seven individuals have elected to pass on such a gift to others. And is this not possibly the common thread that weaves throughout our tapestry? Photo not available for Rabbi Frank Levin.
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 1, 1995, edition 1
18
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75