Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel is the
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
at the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
, in
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
.
The center is named in honor of
Commodore Uriah P. Levy
Uriah Phillips Levy (April 22, 1792 – March 26, 1862) 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.At the time, Commodore was the high ...
(1792–-1862), the first Jewish commodore in the United States Navy, who is famous for refusing to flog his sailors.
[Facts: The Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel]
Public Affairs Office. U.S. Naval Academy official website. Retrieved 2010-03-18. The Levy Center is adjacent to Mitscher Hall and contains a 410-seat
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
, a fellowship hall, a Character Learning Center, classrooms, and offices for the Brigade’s social director, the academic board, and the Academy’s Honor Board.
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Before the chapel was completed in 2005, Jewish midshipmen attended Congregation Knesset Israel in dow]