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SALT LAKE CITY — According to family legend, David Levinsky already knew his calling in life when he was a toddler.
In his mind, the big cardboard box he was sitting in was a car in which he would drive to the synagogue and pretend to be a rabbi leading services.
He cannot remember a time when he did not want to be a rabbi, so it came as no surprise to those who knew him that he pursued the role as an adult. Now, a little more than a decade into his career, he has found a niche that seems to be just as natural of a fit.
Rabbi Levinsky has been chosen to be the newest leader for Temple Har Shalom in Park City, beginning July 1, 2015. He, his wife and middle school-aged son plan to stay for the long term, he said.
"I really knew within, you know, a few hours of actually being in Park City, that this was a great fit. It was just a very natural and easy conversation with (the congregation). We were all enjoying ourselves. It was just easy," he said.
I think he's going to bring a lot to Park City and to the area. I think were all very impressed with how bright he is. He's a very interesting guy. He's got a really interesting background.
–Darcy Amiel, a co-chairwoman of the search committee who selected the rabbi
Darcy Amiel, a co-chairwoman of the search committee who selected the rabbi, said people are already talking about his arrival.
"I think he's going to bring a lot to Park City and to the area," she said. "I think were all very impressed with how bright he is. He's a very interesting guy. He's got a really interesting background."
Amiel remembers the first time she sat in for one of Rabbi Levinsky's lessons. It was during his first interview and he told the committee that he was going to teach from an ancient document. She said he taught in a way that "just made me so interested in him, in what he had to say. … Frankly, I sat there in the sanctuary and I was so rapt."
His experience includes a Ph.D. in religious studies, time with congregations in Chicago, San Francisco and Palo Alto, California, improving worship services and interfaith dialogues and partnerships. He also is a musician, lending his vocal and guitar skills to rock bands including the Lilacs, with whom he recorded and toured.
Amiel describes him as a "brilliant" man "who is very much a teacher at heart, and that's what he wants to do."
John Scarlet, a member of the Temple Har Shalom, said he was pleased to see an incoming leader with his academic, personal and interreligious background.
"He's a really down-to-earth kind of simple person in his outlook on things," he said. "He's worked with common people and common problems and he understands basic needs of people. He's not just going to recite formal things."
Rabbi Levinsky said he does not yet have specific goals for the congregation because he does not know the people well enough yet. He hopes to see what strengths and needs the congregation has that will help him meet his ultimate aim.
“What I’m trying to do is ultimately use Judaism to help perfect the world. The real big question is what role does this community have in that process? And it’s hard to answer that question until I know more about it. I just don’t know the congregation well enough,” he said. “Ultimately that can take a lot of different forms. Different people have different roles in that.”
A few of the paths this could take would be a focus on social issues, advocacy for the voiceless, interfaith work and practicing the Jewish faith.
Rabbi Levinsky said he is eager to continue his history of reaching out to those of his own and other faiths. He grew up in a home that practiced Reform Judaism but spent time in his 20s familiarizing himself with other branches of Judaism. He has already reached out to some of the rabbis in the Salt Lake and Park City areas.
“I’m comfortable in a lot of Jewish spaces and still love those other spaces. At the same time, I’m a committed Reform Jew,” he said.
He has seen the benefits of working with and understanding those of other religions, including sometimes disparate groups such as Jews and Muslims where the rabbi says there can a "natural tension" from the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
He has found it easier to talk to a Muslim about God than a Christian, because their "conceptions of divinity" are more similar.
"To find out things like that can be really revelatory and hopefully can create paths toward peace and understanding," he said.
He pioneered interfaith initiatives while a rabbi in Chicago, including a Muslim-Jewish dialogue and a co-led partnership with a local Presbyterian church to benefit interfaith families. While at Stanford, the Levinskys befriended an LDS family. They were impressed with how the family was raising their children and decided they wanted to raise their son in a similar way.
“Encounters with people that are different than us and hold different beliefs and do different things are a really powerful way to engage in that process. The end result, and it’s a bit paradoxical, is that by being with people that are different than you, you become more you,” he said.
