Rabbi Richard N. Levy

Rabbi Richard N. Levy, z"l , was the Rabbi of the Campus Synagogue and Director of Spiritual Growth and was immediate past Director of the School of Rabbinic Studies at the Los Angeles campus of the Hebrew Union College. He was a past president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, in which post he shepherded the creation of the Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism in 1999, which is the subject of his book, A Vision of Holiness: The Future of Reform Judaism, published by the URJ Press in 2005. He was the editor of On Wings of Awe, a High Holyday prayerbook, re-issued in a revised edition in 2012; On Wings of Freedom, a Passover Haggadah; and On Wings of Light, a Shabbat evening prayerbook. His most recent book, Songs Ascending: The Book of Psalms in a New Translation with Textual and Spiritual Commentary, was published from CCAR Press in 2018. 

Torrah and Kippah

In Which the People and the Land Are Redeemed

Rabbi Richard N. Levy
As we have made our way through the Book of Leviticus, we have often noted how boundaries have been crossed—between the inside and outside of the body in issues of tzaraat ("leprosy"); between the clothing of the priest and the furniture of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle; between proper offerings of
Torrah and Kippah

Emor: Words for the Next Generation

Rabbi Richard N. Levy
When the Rabbis divided the Torah into its 54 parashiyot (portions), they generally arranged for each portion to begin with a unique or otherwise significant word that would in some way summarize major themes of the entire section. Such is the case for most of the portions we have studied
Torrah and Kippah

Being Holy - and Staying Alive

Rabbi Richard N. Levy
Acharei Mot, the first of this week's two parashiyot, begins on an unsettling note—a reminder of the death of Aaron's sons and the suggestion that such tragedies might occur again unless the priests take specified steps to prevent them
Torrah and Kippah

What Happens in the Body Stays in the Body - A Guide for When it Doesn’t

Rabbi Richard N. Levy
The first chapter of this double portion, chapter 12 of Leviticus, is perplexing. It seems to stand by itself. Its topic, the condition of a woman who has given birth, does not seem to relate to last week's portion, dealing with permitted and prohibited foodstuffs, and it does not seem

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