ead. He was a guiding force in the
bunding of Yeshiva Beth Yehudah. He
)resided over the development of
cashruth inspection and Jewish divorce
proceedings.
What he was especially known
or, though, was his relationship with
-Ppple. He didn't care if they called
emselves Orthodox or Conservative
,r Reform. Rabbi Levin would re-
nember names. He'd call people if they
were ill. He'd learn Torah with rabbis
.nd laymen of non-Orthodox back-
;rounds.
For generations, he was known as
'he chief rabbi of this city. It's hard for
-lny of his students and synagogue
iiembers to think of living Jewishly
without him.
"He was a beloved and truly humble
eader," said his longtime friend Gary
'orgow. "He was universally respected
sai.- his great integrity and superior vi-
;ion, with a great love for every Jew. A
Inan with great, uncompromising prin-
toles, with an ability to create harmo-
\__,
and shalom throughout his
ipmmunity."
"He was what I would call a true re-
*gious Jew," said Temple Israel Rabbi
. Robert Syme. 'We spoke Yiddish. He
as so delighted a Reform rabbi could
peak Yiddish. We lived three doors
i-om each other (in 1953 on Glendale in
Detroit). He would often say to me,
What we are we are, but we are Jews.'
(le would always also say that we
thould get rid of labels.
"I remember when I first came here.
[ was at a meeting with some rabbis. I
proposed that if we had any communi-
,
;37 affairs, they should be kosher. He
came up to me and said, 'I would like
le honor of seconding that motion.' He
as the ideal of what a true Jew should
711 . He was a traditional Jew in the no-
lest sense of the word, loving those with
'fferences from him."
Rabbi Berel Wein, the noted author
nd speaker and son-in-law of Rabbi
vin, concurred with Rabbi Syme.
"I think his most outstanding feature
as his interest, love and empathy for
Jews in general. His whole life was ded-
Ited toward helping people. That was
he summation of Torah. He could do
t without compromising his own reli-
'ous observances and strongly felt be-
efs."
An example of this came in his
Os, when he decided to speak English
or 10 minutes at Saturday morning
habbat services in addition to the Yid-
dish he'd spoken at services for 50
----)
ears.
"He got up and he did it," said Rab-
i Wein. "And he reached hundreds and
undreds of people. He would say, 'Lit-
Fr le children come to shul, and why
'
' ,
t
Le
---
i
should they think the rabbi's a
stranger?' "
Elliott Greenberg of West Bloomfield
knew the rabbi in a different way.
His grandmother, Zlata Charlip, was
part of a ladies auxiliary that helped Rab-
bi Levin and his family relocate to De-
troit. What she didn't realize then was
the impact the rabbi would have on her
grandson to this day, even though he isn't
a member of the Orthodox community.
Mr. Greenberg and his family are among
the founders of Adat Shalom.
"I can't remember not knowing him,"
said M. Greenberg. "He was my rabbi
at my bar mitzvah. He was dynamic. He
was very hip — he really was. He had a
tremendous understanding of people
and of the [English] language. He wasn't
in a time warp. He could communicate
with me.
"I was not a tzaddik (holy person) by
any stretch of the imagination. But he
could communicate with me.
"He wasn't just a rabbi; he was the
Ray. He was the main man.
"He transcended Orthodoxy," said Mr.
Greenberg. "After my mother died, we
felt singularly honored that he would
call and ask us to come over and sit and
talk with him."
Because Rabbi Levin was 96 when
he died, there are many who still have
that picture of him as an older, more
frail man. Mr. Greenberg also remem-
bers the strong, robust Rabbi Levin,
and the high energy he used while
speaking from the bimah on the Sab-
bath.
Southfield caterer Paul Kohn also re-
members Rabbi Levin from the time Mr.
Kohn was a youth. The rabbi encour-
aged his mother, Elizabeth Mauthner,
to open a kosher catering business. That
business became the successful Quali-
ty Kosher Catering that Mr. Kohn heads
today.
There were other important influ-
ences as well. Mr. Kohn, who said he
came from a poor family, could not af-
ford tuition to the Telshe Yeshiva in
Chicago. Rabbi Levin arranged for him
to go for $10 a month. Rabbi Levin's son,
Rabbi Abraham Tzvi Levin, one of the
children who attended Detroit Public
Schools for a while, is the head of the
Telshe Yeshiva.
Once married and with his own fam-
ily, Mr. Kohn bought the house across
the street from the rabbi on George
Washington in Southfield. The rabbi's
home for years was the headquarters
for the Orthodox community. Meetings,
people, decisions — all were greeted
with serious concern or joy from the rab-
bi's study. Paul Kohn would cross the
street and learn with the rabbi every
morning, and help him walk to shul on
the Sabbath.
"It was a tremendous experience for
me being with him," said Mr. Kohn.
"Rabbi Levin was one of those men you
meet once in your lifetime who you could
say had natural greatness. He was one
of a kind. He was never afraid of hard
issues. He'd many times take one side
REMEMBERING page 50
Above:
Ezra Roberg with
Rabbi Levin and
Rabbi Fred
Pfeiffer from
Montreal.
Above right:
Rabbi Leizer
Levin: Detroit's
"chief rabbi."
Right:
Rabbi Levin with
his son-in-law,
Rabbi Berel Wein
(left), and Rabbi
Leib Bakst.
CN1
CC
c:C
z
49