By Jessica Davis, JTNews Correspondent
About 60 students gave the enthusiastic Rabbi Sholom Ber Levitin of Chabad-Lubavitch their full attention at Seattle Prep School’s comparative religion class on Nov. 7.
Levitin talked about what it is like to be a rabbi and a Jew. He also spoke about having the opportunity to grow.
“It’s an opportunity for me to come to your class,” said Levitin. “We view anything and everything within bounds as opportunity.”
After speaking to the students, Levitin opened the discussion to a question and answer session. The questions ranged in scope from general questions about why the rabbi wore tefillin and the definition of kosher to more personal queries.
A student asked Levitin if he had ever been a target of a hate crime. Levitin said that in Brooklyn on Halloween night in 1962, a group of more than 100 teenagers cornered him and the other people he was walking with saying, “The dukes are here. The dukes are coming.” The teenagers proceeded to pelt him and the others he was with broomsticks and other hard objects. “We knew on certain nights of the year, we didn’t go out at night,” said Levitin. He said the opportunity in that hate crime was that he survived to share his story with the class.
“In your view, what is the value of suffering,” asked a student. “I would rather not say the word “˜suffering,’ but “˜denial,’” answered Levitin.
He told a short story of how he didn’t give in to a chocolate chip cookie.
“Controlling passions and desires is absolutely encouraged,” said Levitin. He said that people do things that they know are sabotage — giving into an urge, temptation or passion. “You have to preserve your life, preserve your health,” he said.
Another student asked him if, when he was a kid, he had ever been jealous of other kids who didn’t have to follow the same religious rituals as him. Levitin answered, “No, because I always have freedom. I have freedom to do what I want.”
He was also asked how he felt about “extreme” Hassidic rules. The rabbi responded by asking the student if he loved his parents. The student said “yes.” Levitin said that rules are not extreme if they are for someone you love. Levitin asked, “What’s extreme?” He said that in Judaism, praying to God three times a day everyday isn’t.
“What do you believe about afterlife,” asked a student. Levitin said there are different stages in afterlife. He said he believes in ultimate resurrection of the dead. When the messiah comes back, so do the dead bodies, said Levitin. Judaism does not accept that Jesus was a messiah or prophet, he said. “That’s what has fed anti-Semitism.”
The last question for Levitin was, “What’s the hardest part of your job?” “I believe a lot in tough love,” he said. “Because I love you, I’ve gotta be honest with you.”
He said it isn’t easy to interface in a tough love manner because people don’t want to hear it. He said he is often criticized for giving it too strong.