Zvi Dershowitz

Zvi Dershowitz (born May 4, 1928) is an American rabbi, and is currently Rabbi Emeritus at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.

Zvi Dershowitz
Rabbi Zvi Dershowitz delivers a speech at a baby-naming ceremony (Jewish life-cycle event) at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles on October 13, 2014.
Born
Hugo Zvi Dershowitz

(1928-05-04) May 4, 1928
Brno, Czechoslovakia
OccupationRabbi at Sinai Temple
Spouse(s)Tova
Children4
Rabbi Zvi Dershowitz leads services at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility and the Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles on September 21, 2000, shortly before Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). Rabbi Dershowitz served as the Board of Rabbis' chaplain to the L.A. county jail system for many years.
Rabbi Zvi Dershowitz delivers a speech to Sinai Temple's Men's Club on April 3, 2012. In his speech, Rabbi Dershowitz discussed how his escape from the Nazis in 1938 later motivated him to stand up for Jewish refugees from Yemen, Russia, and Iran, and welcome them into the Sinai Temple community.

Early life

Dershowitz was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1928. In 1938, just 33 days before the Nazis invaded, Dershowitz fled the country with his family (when he was just 10 years old). On February 2, 1939, Zvi emigrated to New York City along with his parents, Aaron and Ruth, and sister Lili. They settled in Brooklyn, in the Williamsburg neighborhood. There, he learned English, attended Mesivta Torah Vodaath, and became ordained as an orthodox rabbi in 1953.[1] However, throughout his life, Dershowitz affiliated with Conservative Judaism, and to this day considers himself a conservative rabbi.

In 1949, Dershowitz spent a year studying in Jerusalem, where he helped Jewish refugees from Yemen and elsewhere in the newly established State of Israel. Dershowitz met his wife Tova while recruiting in Ithaca, New York for Camp Soleil. They married in 1953.[1]

Career

Dershowitz later became rabbi at Temple Beth Shalom in Kansas City, Missouri before moving to St. Paul, Minnesota where he became a rabbi at the Temple of Aaron. He later went on to direct many Jewish summer camps, including Herzl Camp in Wisconsin from 1954-1961,[2] Camp Alonim/Brandeis-Bardin Institute (BCI) in Simi Valley, CA, from 1961-1963, and directed Camp Ramah in California for 10 years, from 1963-1973, making him the longest serving director in that camp's history.[3]

In 1973, Dershowitz became associate rabbi at Sinai Temple. He would remain in that role for 25 years before becoming the synagogue's Rabbi Emeritus in 1998. He also served as the synagogue's interim head rabbi on many occasions, including the year before Rabbi David Wolpe was hired.[4] In his tenure at Sinai, he helped Iranian Jews who were fleeing their country get entry to the United States in 1979. Rabbi Dershowitz is credited with welcoming them to the community and helping them adjust to life in America.[5] An immigrant himself, Dershowitz said, "I believe every Jew is responsible for every other Jew.”[6] Rabbi Dershowitz is also credited with serving the congregation well in times of crisis. He retired after 25 years of serving on the pulpit, and currently serves as the congregation's Rabbi Emeritus, thereby making him the longest serving rabbi in Sinai Temple's history. He is currently in his 45th year at the synagogue.[7] Dershowitz continues to work with bar/bat Mitzvah students at the synagogue, and also conducts life cycle events including baby namings, weddings, and funerals.

For many years, Rabbi Dershowitz also served as the chaplain from the local Board of Rabbis of Southern California to the Los Angeles jail system.[8]

Personal life

Dershowitz is related to Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz.[9] Rabbi Dershowitz and his late wife Tova have four children, nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

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References
  1. Honoring Rabbi Zvi Dershowitz -- Hon. Brad Sherman (Extensions of Remarks - June 4, 2013), Congressional Record, 113th Congress (2013-2014), page E781.
  2. "Complete History." Herzl Camp (accessed 2014-10-22).
  3. Julie G. Fax, "Class Notes: Camp Ramah celebrates Golden Anniversary", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, November 30, 2006.
  4. Tom Tugend, "Wolpe Reaches Sinai", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, July 24, 1997.
  5. Rabbi welcomes Iranian Jews
  6. http://jewishrefugees.blogspot.com/2007/04/beverly-hills-rabbi-fought-for.html
  7. Sinai Temple Leadership (retrieved October 10, 2014).
  8. Michael Aushenker, "A New Year for Everyone: Making sure that Jewish inmates are not excluded from holiday participation." The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, September 28, 2000.
  9. Greer Fay Cashman (December 25, 2009). "The Dershowitz dynasty".
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