Rabbi Kevin Lefkowitz has had a busy year. In June, he got married to Melissa Carp Lefkowitz, and the next month, he started his first full-time rabbinical position at Adat Shalom in Los Angeles. So far, he’s had more than a warm welcome.
“The first time I came to Adat Shalom and was introduced as the next rabbi, it was the same weekend as my ordination,” Lefkowitz said. “My parents were in town and so were Melissa’s. We all went to shul, and right after services, all six of us were swarmed. We were all in different conversations with people. It was so welcoming and wonderful that they wanted to get to know us. That’s Adat Shalom.”
The rabbi will be working with 170 families at the congregation, which caters to a mix of young families and older people. One of the plans he’s working on is holding a rotating Shabbat program, where once a month, new families host each other. Lefkowitz is also going to be teaching classes on learning the blessings, prayers and Jewish practice, and the shul will host a community Shabbaton in the coming year.
“The way we do programming is that the community leads it, since they know what they want,” he said. “We’re really tapping into the community’s needs and desires before putting on a program, which we think is the best strategy.”
Lefkowitz grew up in Houston, Texas, and attended Congregation Beth Yeshurun as a child. He was raised in a Conservative Jewish home, but attended Orthodox day school through middle school.
“We kept kosher and went to shul every Saturday morning,” he said. “We were observant Conservative.”
The rabbi would go to synagogue with six to eight other kids regularly; three of them were his siblings.
“I loved it,” he said.
Lefkowitz thought he wanted to go into politics when he was older. But in his freshman year of college, with a little help from his parents, he came to the realization that he’d like to serve the Jewish people instead.
“I told my parents I liked helping people and being in the room to make decisions that help people on a greater scale,” he said. “They said I should be a rabbi. It really clicked.”
After graduating from the University of Texas, Lefkowitz went right into rabbinical school at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University, where he also earned his MA in Education.
“I became a Conservative rabbi because I’m an halachic Jew, and I try to connect as many people as I can to the mitzvot,” he said. “I also recognize that in the 21st century, there is a constant balance between tradition and modernity, and for me, the Conservative movement strikes that balance.”
The rabbi, whose wife is graduating soon from rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College, finds that Adat Shalom is very heimish (homey).
“It’s self-selecting to live in a city with many big shuls, and I chose a small and intimate community,” he said. “It’s the type of community that I knew would welcome my family and I with open arms.”
Lefkowitz’s goal in his work is to figure out ways that he can help his congregants engage with Judaism.
“The ways that Jews have connected to Jewish life in the past aren’t necessarily the ways the next generation of Jews will connect … We need to be highlight Jewish rituals and meet people where they are.”
“The ways that Jews have connected to Jewish life in the past aren’t necessarily the ways the next generation of Jews will connect,” he said. “The Jewish rituals are the same, and they have worked for thousands of years. We need to highlight Jewish rituals and meet people where they are.”
Sometimes, a person is primarily connected to Judaism by living among other Jews. Other times, they feel connected when they say a bracha or take a class.
“Mainly, it’s about living an authentic Jewish life,” Lefkowitz said. “Show people that what we are doing is both fun and heartbreaking and the entire scope of human emotion. It’s living.”
Fast Takes with Kevin Lefkowitz
Jewish Journal: What’s your favorite Jewish food?
Kevin Lefkowitz: It’s not traditionally a Jewish food, but my mom and grandparents made fajitas when I was growing up in Texas.
JJ: So, what’s your favorite Texas BBQ food?
KL: A good smoked brisket.
JJ: Are you taking any fun trips soon?
KL: Mel and I are planning a trip to San Francisco. We’re foodies, so we’re figuring out a way to find the best food there.
JJ: What would you be doing if you weren’t a rabbi?
KL: If you asked me this five or six years ago, I’d say being at the front office in baseball. I’d get some sort of statistics degree and get involved with base operations. But now, I can’t imagine my life outside of the rabbinate.
