Temple Israel Welcomes Rabbi Ross Z. Levy as Assistant Rabbi

Nashville native returns “home” after HUC-Cincinnati and Los Angeles Rabbinate

Temple Israel is pleased to welcome Rabbi Ross Z. Levy as Assistant Rabbi.

Rabbi Levy will join Rabbis Greenstein and Dreifus this July in Memphis from West Hollywood, California, where he has served as Assistant Rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami.

“With Rabbi Dreifus and now Rabbi Levy, Memphis will host two of the most impressive, promising rabbis in the Reform Movement,” said Senior Rabbi Micah Greenstein.

“When I first set out to explore opportunities for the next chapter in my rabbinate, I knew I was looking for a community that exuded warmth, hospitality, and innovation blended with a deep sense of history and tradition,” said Rabbi Levy. “Throughout this process, I could feel all of these values in spades from Temple Israel and the city of Memphis as a whole.”

When I first set out to explore opportunities for the next chapter in my rabbinate, I knew I was looking for a community that exuded warmth, hospitality, and innovation blended with a deep sense of history and tradition.

Rabbi Levy

Rabbi Levy was born and raised in Nashville, where his family attends The Temple Congregation Ohabai Sholom, a sister Reform congregation of Temple Israel. He credits his passion for Judaism to two guiding perspectives: childhood summers spent at Camp Barney Medintz in Georgia and his high school years as an active local, regional, and international leader in BBYO. 

A graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, DC, Rabbi Levy received a degree in Religion and Philosophy and immediately enrolled in Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. While studying at HUC-JIR’s Cincinnati campus, Rabbi Levy served as a student pulpit rabbi and intern in cities including Cincinnati, Lafayette, LA, Nashville, TN, and Boulder, CO. He also spent one summer on staff at URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp.

“Ross has a keen appreciation for Southern Jewish history given his own Nashville roots, and his ability to connect to people is a gift you can’t teach,” said Rabbi Greenstein. “Having said that, Rabbi Levy’s Jewish mind and rabbinical school scholarship with professors I greatly admire are an added bonus for an already strong rabbinic team. I could not be happier for Temple Israel, the Jewish community, and the faith community of Memphis.”

Rabbi Levy’s Jewish mind and rabbinical school scholarship with professors I greatly admire are an added bonus for an already strong rabbinic team. I could not be happier for Temple Israel, the Jewish community, and the faith community of Memphis.”

Rabbi Greenstein

“A common refrain during my wonderful visit was, ‘If you love Memphis, it will love you back,’ but throughout my interactions with so many community members, it would seem that the first half of that statement might not even be a prerequisite—Memphis and Temple Israel has so much love to give regardless of who you are or where you come from,” continued Rabbi Levy. “I am thrilled to serve such a loving community, to continue to build on its rich legacy as a center of Judaism and justice both in Memphis and throughout the South, and, perhaps most importantly, to connect and build deep relationships with all of you.”

I am thrilled to serve such a loving community, to continue to build on its rich legacy as a center of Judaism and justice both in Memphis and throughout the South, and, perhaps most importantly, to connect and build deep relationships with all of you.

Rabbi Levy

Learn More