Rabbi Lewis ยป Bio
Born in Chicago, Rabbi Shelly Lewis was educated at the University of Chicago and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, where he was ordained as a rabbi. He was a student of Professor Abraham Joshua Heschel and was active in civil and human rights causes, especially the movement to free Soviet Jewry.
Rabbi Lewis served as an Army chaplain in Vietnam. For 33 years, he was the rabbi of Kol Emeth but recently retired and is now rabbi emeritus. He lived in Jerusalem for almost three years and is a frequent traveler to Israel. Rabbi Lewis has an abiding interest in reconciliation efforts in the Middle East as a supporter of the Open House in Ramle, the Al Amal School near Bethlehem, and Rabbis for Human Rights. He is currently at work on a book on peaceful conflict resolution within Jewish sources entitled: The Torah of Reconciliation. He is immediate past president of the Northern California Board of Rabbis.
Rabbi Lewis writes stories for children in his spare time and is especially interested in studying Hassidut and Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition.
Rabbi Lewis is married to Lorri, and they have been blessed with four sons, three daughters-in-law and, so far, five grandchildren.
