Surfing Rabbi

A former opera acrobat from Bushwick, Brooklyn, Rabbi Levenson arrived in the Hamptons with his dog, Yoyo, last year. He has since planted a flag outside the Jewish Center, declaring it a “spiritual playground” offering yoga, meditation and organic vegetable gardening.

How could the rabbi convince the preteen boys that it was important to memorize a new alphabet and difficult prayers for their bar mitzvahs?

The rabbi offered his students a deal.

“We were studying Hebrew and he said if I taught him to surf, he would teach me Hebrew,” said Jonah Dickson, 12. “It was a little surprising. I didn’t think a rabbi would want to surf.”
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