The Commodore Levy Chapel, established in 1942 and renamed in 1959 in honor of

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 ...

, is the United States Navy's oldest Jewish chapel, located at Naval Station Norfolk, in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. It is part of a chapel complex in the Naval Station's Frazier Hall that also includes Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim Chapels. Commodore Levy Chapel is one of two Navy chapels named for the same person, the other being the Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Chapel, 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 ...

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 ...

History

Although not renamed until 1959 for Levy,jewishvirtuallibrary.org
retrieved May 26, 2011. the chapel was created in 1942 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(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. Therefore, although it is recognized as the Navy's oldest land-based Jewish Chapel, the first Navy Jewish Chapel created as a free-standing building from the ground up is the Aloha Jewish Chapel,

Naval Station Pearl Harbor Naval Station Pearl Harbor is a United States naval base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. In 2010, along with the United States Air Force's Hickam Air Force Base, the facility was merged to form Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam. Pearl Harbor is ...

, in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. 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 The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, and they were officially named and dedicated on February 21, 1942.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. Jewish Chapel Norfolk VA

Jewish chaplain Selwyn Ruslander was assigned to Norfolk August 1942, and began conducting Jewish services in Frazier Hall, in the second floor auditorium area. That area was formally dedicated as a Jewish chapel the following year, during a conference of Jewish chaplains February 20–21, 1943. 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." The Jewish community of Norfolk presented a

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

, constructed by Lester Sherrick, a civilian member of the community, as part of the dedication ceremony. 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.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. In 1959, in honor of Levy's "dedication to his religion and his country," the chapel was renamed the "Commodore Levy Chapel." 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. 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. The ceremony honored the memory of Rabbi Samuel Sobel, the only Navy Jewish Chaplain who served twice at the Levy Chapel.“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 was the author of "Intrepid Sailor," a 1980 biography of Uriah P. Levy.Sobel, Samuel, ''Intrepid Sailor'', 1980, Cresset Publishers, Philadelphia, PA. Online
lib.virginia.edu
retrieved August 5, 2013. The keynote speaker was Rabbi Jonathan Panitz, 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.

Special events

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."1st Commodore Levy Sabbath Nov. 7," ''Soundings,'' October 9, 1980. 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." 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.Natkin, Fred, "Story of a Symbol: Jewish Chaplain's Insignia," "Navy Chaplain's Bulletin," ''OPNAV P-09G-2'', Volume 2, Number 5, Summer 1986. 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. Based on the unanimous recommendation of the panel, the change was made in 1981. 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."Art Work for Navy Chapel," ''Navy News'', September 1–8, 1982, pg 19. 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."

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.monthly-renaissance.com
retrieved May 26, 2011.

Photo gallery

Image:Commodore Levy Chapel interior.jpg, Chapel interior, facing

Image:Commodore Levy Chapel interior 2.jpg, Chapel interior, showing wall-hanging Image:Commodore Levy Chapel window.jpg, Small stained glass window, showing lion lying down with lamb

References

External links