Historical Fiction

The three novels, The Ballad of East and West, The Secret of Redemption, and A Human Rights Odyssey follow the life and career of Rabbi Isaac Levin from his youth during the heyday of the Civil Rights Movement to the beginning of the twenty first century. In all three novels, Rabbi Levin grapples with racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and distrust of the other.

The Ballad of East and West

ﾠIn the fall of 1983, the events in the Old Country spoke against the joyfulness of the Jewish festivals. From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, the Iron Curtain, remained in force across the continent of Europe. The Berlin Wall, the most striking symbol of the Cold War, was very much in place. Under the iron-fist leadership of...

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The Secret of Redemption

It is November 2013, nearly thirty years after Rabbi Levin taught and comforted refusenik families in the former Soviet Union and presided over the twinning of his bat mitzvah student, Simone Da Costa, with Sanna Tsivkin of Leningrad. Rabbi Levin is currently serving a synagogue in northern Manhattan which consists of a substantial number of...

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A Human Rights Odyssey

From Dreams Deferred to Reconciliation

It is August 2014. Rabbi Isaac Levin’s dream has been realized. Rodef Tzedek synagogue has provided a home for secular and other faith-based organizations in northern Manhattan. This community center would become a city on a hill, a model of interfaith cooperation.Two tragedies spoke out against this wonderful milestone: the shooting of Michael...

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