Rabbi Philip Lefkowitz

Agudas Achim North Shore Congregation, Chicago, IL

(Chicago, Illinois) Mar 19, 2014

For nearly two decades, Rabbi Phillip Lefkowitz has served as the Rabbi of the Agudas Achim North Shore Congregation in Chicago, Illinois. Rabbi Lefkowitz has been a leader in the Rabbinate for over forty years, having held positions in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. He held the position of Senior Minister to the Whitefield Hebrew Congregation of Manchester - one of the most significant Jewish congregations in the English provinces.

In Chicago, Rabbi Lefkowitz served as the Assistant Executive Director of the Chicago Rabbinical Council, where he represented the Orthodox Rabbinate before government agencies as well as the community at large. For several years, he served as the director of the Religious Zionists of Chicago.

Rabbi Lefkowitz is the author of "The Jew and Zion, An Eternal Bond" and "Israel and the American Diaspora - Conflict or Commitment" which were published by the Chicago Rabbinical Council and the Religious Zionists of Chicago respectively. A respected public speaker, Rabbi Lefkowitz regularly gives addresses on various subjects of Jewish interest before both Jewish and civic groups. For many years he authored a Torah column in the Chicago Jewish News. His articles on the contemporary scene appear in the Chicago Jewish Star, the Jewish Press, and many other national Jewish periodicals. Rabbi Lefkowitz is very involved with the Chicago community. He is a trustee of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and a member of the Clergy Coordinating Committee of the Coalition to Protect Public Housing. He has been a leader in Illinois on the issue of religious freedom, serving as a keynote speaker at a rally in Chicago's Federal Plaza as well as giving an address on the history of separation of church and state before a gathering of Illinois leadership on the issue at Halles Hall. He was the recipient of the City of Chicago's 1993 Human Relations Award, presented to him by Mayor Daley for his work in enhancing understanding and respect between African-American and Orthodox Jewish teens in Chicago.

Serving as a community advisor to the Field Museum, Rabbi Lefkowitz was part of a three year project to redirect the Museum's exhibits to be in tune with the concept of multi-culturism. He served on the planning panel of the Museum preparing its most successful exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls.