Rabbi emeritus at Kol Emeth in Palo Alto, Rabbi Sheldon Lewis has been active in climate, civil and human rights causes. Copresented by Dayenu and our Climate Action Team. Lunch catered by Mark ‘n Mike’s/One Market Restaurant and sponsored by Monica Levin and Nancy Igdaloff. Members only. Free. Reservations required by May 13, 10am. 

About Rabbi Lewis

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 retired in 2007 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 a past president of the Northern California Board of Rabbis. In 2012 he published a book on peaceful conflict resolution within Jewish sources entitled The Torah of Reconciliation. Learn more about The Torah of Reconciliation.

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 one waiting in the wings, and six grandchildren.

Dayenu is a movement of American Jews confronting the climate crisis with spiritual audacity and bold political action. We care deeply about equity and justice in our world and about the future we create for our children and future generations. We believe that together, drawing from our Jewish tradition, experience, and faith, we have the power to create real and lasting change.