This article is about the Commodore Levy Chapel, Naval Station Norfolk. For information about the U.S. Naval Academy's "Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel,", see Naval Academy Jewish Chapel.
Frazier Hall, the Chapel complex, Naval Station Norfolk. The Commodore Levy Chapel (CLC) is on the second floor over the main entrance. The outline of the 3 stained glass windows along the back wall of the CLC can be seen in this photograph
The Commodore Levy Chapel, established in 1942 and renamed in 1959 in honor of Uriah P. Levy, is the United States Navy's oldest Jewish chapel, located at Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia. It is part of a chapel complex in the Naval Station's Frazier Hall that also includes Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim Chapels.
Although not renamed until 1959 for Levy,[1] the chapel was created in 1942 during World War II (in a space formerly used as a chapel complex auditorium) as the Navy's first chapel dedicated to worship and religious events for Jewish military personnel and their families.[1] Therefore, although it is recognized as the Navy's oldest land-based Jewish Chapel,[2] the first Navy Jewish Chapel created as a free-standing building from the ground up is the Aloha Jewish Chapel, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii.
The Protestant and Catholic chapels in the Frazier Hall (then part of Naval Operating Base Norfolk—NOB Norfolk) were opened two weeks after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, and they were officially named and dedicated on February 21, 1942.[3]
Chapel 7'x11' cloth-on-cloth wall-hanging, designed by Norfolk artist Leonette Adler, and dedicated as part of a community-wide "Jewish Pride in the Navy Day" celebration, September 12, 1982.
Jewish chaplain Selwyn Ruslander was assigned to Norfolk August 1942, and began conducting Jewish services in Frazier Hall, in the second floor auditorium area.[3] That area was formally dedicated as a Jewish chapel the following year, during a conference of Jewish chaplains February 20–21, 1943.[3] Present at the dedication was the Navy Chief of Chaplains, Chaplain Robert D. Workman; the senior chaplain for the Norfolk Operating Base and Officer-in-Charge of the Navy's Chaplain School, Cinton A. Neyman; and "other dignataries."[3] The Jewish community of Norfolk presented a Torah ark, constructed by Lester Sherrick, a civilian member of the community, as part of the dedication ceremony.[3]
When Rabbi Julius Nodel was assigned to the NOB in the mid-40s, he not only led services in the Levy Chapel, but also led services for Jewish personnel at other bases, including two in North Carolina: the Patrol Plane Base and Coast Guard Air Station, Elizabeth City, N.C., and the Naval Air Station, Weeksville, N.C.[4]
In 1959, in honor of Levy's "dedication to his religion and his country," the chapel was renamed the "Commodore Levy Chapel."[1] Credit for the choice of the name belongs to history-minded Lieutenant Commander William J. Jasper, DC USN, who suggested it to the Jewish Chaplain Samuel Sobel, CHC, USN.[3] Lieutenant Commander Jasper was the driving force behind the establishment of the Levy Chapel as the first permanent Jewish Chapel in the Navy.
On December 13, 2009, special ceremonies were conducted to "rededicate" the chapel on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.[4] The ceremony honored the memory of Rabbi Samuel Sobel, the only Navy Jewish Chaplain who served twice at the Levy Chapel.[5] Sobel was the author of "Intrepid Sailor," a 1980 biography of Uriah P. Levy.[6] The keynote speaker was Rabbi Jonathan Panitz,[7] who—while on active duty as a Jewish chaplain at the Naval Academy—was part of the original effort to raise funds in order to establish the academy's Jewish chapel, also named for Levy.[8]
Special events
Navy Captain Louis Colbus, then Chief of Staff, Commander Carrier Group EIGHT, takes the first piece of cake during "Jewish Pride in the Navy Day," a special Chapel celebration, September 12, 1982. The CLC symbol, "the Mariner's Tablets" – the Jewish chaplain insignia with the upper portion surrounded by a ship's wheel – can be seen as the cake design
Over the years, the chapel has been the site of many special programs and events. In 1980, Jewish chaplain Arnold Resnicoff initiated a quarterly "Commodore Levy Sabbath" program.[9] Because many military personnel participated in civilian synagogue services and programs closer to the areas in which they lived, this new program encouraged them to attend services at the Levy Chapel every three months, to have "the opportunity to renew acquaintances, and to allow the area 'old timers' to meet new arrivals."[9]
That same year, a "blue ribbon panel" composed of Navy Jewish chaplains met at Frazier Hall to consider the "beneficial suggestion" made to the Navy to change the Jewish chaplain uniform insignia.[10] The insignia, the two tablets of the ten commandments, topped by a six-pointed Star of David, had included Roman numerals to represent the ten commandments—but the recommendation was to replace those numerals with the first ten letters of the Hebrew alphabet.[10] Based on the unanimous recommendation of the panel, the change was made in 1981.[10]
On September 12, 1982, the Chapel sponsored a "Jewish Pride in the Navy Day," that included the dedication of an 11 by 7 foot cloth-on-cloth wall hanging for the chapel, designed by local Norfolk artist Leonette Adler, and cut and sewn by Jewish officers, sailors, and their spouses.[11] The celebration included music on the Frazier Hall lawn by members of the Navy band, and tours of local Navy ships. As described by the Navy News, "the hanging features a backdrop of silver moon and roaring waves of blue and white and words from the prophet Isaiah."[11]
Chapel complex
In addition to the Protestant and Catholic chapels that predate the Commodore Levy Chapel in the Frazier Hall chapel complex, a Muslim chapel/mosque was dedicated in November 1997.[12]
The Four Chaplains, also referred to as the Immortal Chaplains or the Dorchester Chaplains, were four chaplains who died rescuing civilian and military personnel as the American troop ship SS Dorchester sank on February 3, 1943, in what has been referred to as the second-worst sea disaster of World War II.
Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about 4 miles (6.4 km) of waterfront space and 11 miles (18 km) of pier and wharf space of the Hampton Roads peninsula known as Sewell's Point. It is the world's largest naval station, with the largest concentration of U.S. Navy forces through 75 ships alongside 14 piers and with 134 aircraft and 11 aircraft hangars at the adjacently operated Chambers Field. Port Services controls more than 3,100 ships' movements annually as they arrive and depart their berths.
The United States Navy Chaplain Corps is the body of military chaplains of the United States Navy who are commissioned naval officers. Their principal purpose is "to promote the spiritual, religious, moral, and personal well-being of the members of the Department of the Navy," which includes the Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Additionally, the Chaplain Corps provides chaplains to the United States Coast Guard.
A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases, they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations.
Uriah Phillips Levy was a naval officer, real estate investor, and philanthropist. He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and the first Jewish Commodore of the United States Navy. He was instrumental in helping to end the Navy's practice of flogging, and during his half-century-long service prevailed against the antisemitism he faced among some of his fellow naval officers.
The United States Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis, Maryland, is one of nine designated chapel spaces on the grounds of the United States Navy's service academy. Protestant and Catholic services are held there. The Brigade Chapel is a focal point of the Academy and the city of Annapolis. The chapel is an important feature which led to the Academy being designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel is the Jewish chapel at the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland.
Aloha Jewish Chapel is an unaffiliated Jewish synagogue located on the grounds of what is now Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii, in the United States.
Arnold E. Resnicoff is an American Conservative rabbi who served as a military officer and military chaplain. He served in Vietnam and Europe before attending rabbinical school. He then served as a U.S. Navy Chaplain for almost 25 years. He promoted the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and delivered the closing prayer at its 1982 dedication. In 1984 the President of the United States spoke on his eyewitness account of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. After retiring from the military he was National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee and served as Special Assistant to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, serving at the equivalent military rank of Brigadier General.
Jewish Americans have served in the United States armed forces dating back to before the colonial era, when Jews had served in militias of the Thirteen Colonies. Jewish military personnel have served in all branches of the armed forces and in every major armed conflict to which the United States has been involved. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, as of 2006 there were currently 3,973 known Jewish servicemen and servicewomen on active duty.
Religious symbolism in the United States military includes the use of religious symbols for military chaplain insignia, uniforms, emblems, flags, and chapels; symbolic gestures, actions, and words used in military rituals and ceremonies; and religious symbols or designations used in areas such as headstones and markers in national cemeteries, and military ID tags.
The Armed Forces Chaplaincy Center (AFCC) was the center for training of United States military chaplains, located at Fort Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina. Co-located on the AFCC campus were: the United States Army Chaplain Center and School, the United States Naval Chaplaincy School and Center, and the United States Air Force Chaplain Corps College. The Center includes the "Joint Center of Excellence for Religious Training and Education."
Commodore Uriah P. Levy Chapel may refer to:
Levy Chapel may refer to:
Commodore Levy Jewish Chapel may refer to:
Levy Jewish Chapel may refer to:
Uriah P. Levy Chapel may refer to:
Commodore Levy Jewish synagogue may refer to:
Aaron Landes was an American rabbi in the Conservative movement and a rear admiral in the United States Naval Reserve. He served as rabbi of Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania for 36 years. With his wife, Sora Eisenberg Landes, he founded the Forman Hebrew Day School, now known as the Forman branch of the Perelman Jewish Day School. He also was instrumental in founding the Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia. During his time in Philadelphia, Landes served on the Board of Governors at Gratz College.
↑ "Daily News Update: Commodore Levy Chapel 50th Anniversary." Online: dvidshub.net, retrieved May 26, 2011.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Sternlicht, Sanford, Uriah Phillips Levy: The Blue Star Commodore. Together with an account of the relationship between the Commodore Levy Chapel, United States Naval Station, Norfolk, and the Norfolk Jewish community., 1961, Young Press Inc., Norfolk Va. Online: Hathi Trust, retrieved August 5, 2013.
1 2 Pollack, Rachel, “Guide to the Uriah P. Levy (1792-1862) Collection" American Jewish Historical Society, New York, NY. Online: cjh.org, retrieved August 5, 2013.
↑ “Commodore Levy Chapel Celebrates 50th Anniversary of its naming with rededication B1 and B9" The Flagship, Volume 17, Number 49, December 10, 2009. Online: dvidshub.net, retrieved August 5, 2013.
↑ Sobel, Samuel, Intrepid Sailor, 1980, Cresset Publishers, Philadelphia, PA. Online: lib.virginia.edu[permanent dead link], retrieved August 5, 2013.
↑ Wittmeyer, Alicia P.Q., "Oldest land-based Navy Jewish Chapel rededicated," The Virginia Pilot, December 13, 2009. Online: hamptonroads.com, retrieved August 5, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
