Date: October 22, 1938--1 to 4pm

Who: David Yitzchak Levine

Where: Raleigh, North Carolina
           518 South East Street

Occupation: Rabbi at House of Jacob

Writer and interviewer: Ariel Scheib

On the corner of South East Street and New Bern Avenue, there lays a small humble, two story wooden synagogue called the House of Jacob. The wooden boards were obviously deteriorating from old age and in desperate need of a fresh new coat of paint. All around the building, weeds, grass, and shrubbery were beginning to grow extremely tall. Surroundings indicated an almost stark poverty with feeble efforts of disguise.

Rabbi David Levine greeted me on the dusty cracked front steps of the Shul with a warm friendly smile covering his face. He was rather swarthy in appearance with thin black hair and a black bushy beard. He was slightly below medium height, but solidly built and very quiet. After I said hello and properly introduced myself, he wasted no time and immediately began.

"Here, take a seat. I thought it would be nice to talk outside since it's such a beautiful day."

I quickly sat down and took out my pen and paper.

"So I reckon you want to know all about my life. Well, I was born on March 14, 1901 in Raleigh, North Carolina to my parents Victor and Anne Levine. I was the youngest of two children. My sister Libby was a little over three years older than me. My parents were both born, raised, and married in Moscow, Russia. On June 1, 1897, almost one year after their marriage, my parents immigrated to New York City to escape being persecuted by the Russian government. Soon after arriving in America, they moved and settled here in Raleigh. My father's brother Yoni was already living here and running his own clothing store. When I  was younger, my mother stayed at home and raised Anne and me while my father went to work in the family clothing store downtown. At that time, we lived on East Street where most of the other Shul families lived."

"What got you interested in wanting to become a Rabbi?"

"Well, I can remember my favorite part of the week, when I was a young boy, was attending Saturday morning services with my father. For some reason, the melodies and prayers just got to me deep down inside."

"At that time, the Jewish families of our community met above Mr. Goldberg's grocery store. Mr. Goldberg was one the first Jews to settle in Raleigh, and since at one time he had studied to become a Rabbi, he took the responsibility of teaching Jewish history and Hebrew. Two or three years later in 1913, our
small congregation received its first real Rabbi. His name was Rabbi Satisky. That was also the year we moved into the House of Jacob."

"What was your education like?"

"I went to Hebrew school on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Friday we didn't have to go, but we did have to go again on Saturdays and Sundays. I also attended Branton Grammar School up through the twelfth grade. At 3:30 p.m. when school let out in the afternoon, I had to run from Harding Street to South East Street to get to Hebrew school on time. If I ever tried to cut classes, I wouldn't see the daylight of tomorrow. And since word spread so fast in our little community, nine times out of ten, Mama would have known what I did even before I got home."

"Life wasn't always easy when I was younger. When I was fifteen, my papa and sister both passed away from a terrible case of polio. After my papa died, may he rest in peace, my mama took over the family clothing store.  Unfortunately, she wasn't as outgoing with the public and had trouble running the business. Every day my mother would give me a penny before I left for school in the morning so I could buy a roll for lunch. Those were pretty hard years for me."

" Well what happened to your uncle? Wasn't he there to help?"

"Oh, well, my Uncle Yoni was much older than my father and he was having difficulties with his back and couldn't walk well.  Eventually, when I was nineteen, I took all the money I owned  and got on a train to go to New York to study at the rabbinical institute to become a rabbi."

"Five years later in 1925, I came back to Raleigh. At that time Rabbi Satisky had just passed away and the congregants were still in search of a replacement. A few days after my arrival home, they came to me and asked if I would take on the job.  Since I was in desperate need of one, I agreed willingly."

"I guess you can really call that luck!  Can you please tell me a little about your life today?"

"My wife Dora and I have a family of three beautiful daughters. The eldest Beth is fifteen, then Sarah, age seven, and last but not least my little angel Rachel who is not quite two."

Suddenly a small girl with brown hair and hazelnut eyes peeped her head out the door from within the house and said with a meek voice,

"Papa, did you call me?"

" No, Sarah, but please go back inside and help your mama with supper."

" Yes sir."

"I'm sorry, where were we? Oh yes, about my life now. Well I'm paid once a month by the members of the Shul. I don't receive very much money only about $75.00. In the last four years, I have lost approximately 15 percent of my pay because many of the families of our Jewish community that pay for my living accommodations are now jobless with no spare money to give. Most of the men are merchants and, without banks, being able to loan them the money they need to stay in business, they have had to close down. But still, they try to pay with whatever they can. It is quite ironic if you think about it. I am now trying to the best of my ability to support these families who have supported me for so long. I open my doors to anyone who is in need of shelter. I try my best to keep the Jews of this community busy with any job I can imagine so they will do something other than occupy their time with their troubles. We are all in this together you know?"

"Yes, I absolutely agree. Oh I'm sorry, I interrupted, please continue."

"That's all right. Well, let's see...My family and I live on the lower floor of the building while the Shul services are held upstairs. I live in this house all year and since the salary they pay me, especially lately, is not enough to cover all the expenses, I have a delicatessen downstairs in the entrance hall. I sell sauerkraut and pickles for $.25 a jar. I also order Passover food and then sell it to obtain a few extra dollars."

"Twice a week I will slaughter and kosher the chickens in the back for the Jews in the community to come and buy. I also go out to the farms once a week to make sure the milk they ordered from other farmers is kosher. All other kosher meats and other various food items, though, I must order from Baltimore, Maryland."

"Since my family lives downstairs and services are conducted upstairs, the congregants and I often must daven surrounded by the aroma of tzimmes and other goodies from my wife's kitchen. Sometimes the aroma is so strong and wonderful smelling that it is hard for me to pay attention to the prayers."

"How many members are in the congregation?"

"The congregation is made up of 30 or 40 devoted and loyal Jews. Our community is small and pretty isolated, but we are all very close and the Shul is at the center. Everybody always knows what is happening in the community. Everyone knows everyone else and it is like one big happy family."

"Have you ever experienced any anti-Semitism in your life?"

"No, I don't reckon I have. When I was younger, none of the boys ever picked on me because, Boy, could I play some basketball! Back in my younger days, I could sure shoot some hoops. We were all really good friends. As far as school, I never ran into any problems, though I have heard of some racial slurs lately. Because of our successful background, the people in this town look at us as Americans and not just Jews. Actually, I do recall one event just recently. I can't believe it slipped my mind. When they built Longview Gardens, we were told we could not go there and that it was off limits to Jews and coloreds. But I must tell you that many of the Christians in this town admire us for who we are and  believe that rule is absurd."

"What are your political views?"

"Ever since I was eighteen and able to vote, I have been a strong supporter of the Democratic Party. I try to vote for the man instead of the party, but I'm sure you can only guess what great joy and relief I felt in 1933 when President Franklin Roosevelt succeeded that Mister Herbert Clark Hoover. Who did he think he was telling the people of the United States that their government should not be extended to the relief of individual suffering. I never liked him! The first time that I heard President Roosevelt's campaign speech, I said to myself that finally we have someone that will bring this poor and pathetic country out from its misery. And sure enough, today that is the exact road he is leading this nation down."

"Do you have any worries about where this country is heading?"

"No, surprisingly enough, I don't. True, many of us right now have been stripped of our dignity and basic staples of living, but we must adapt to what has happened, survive, and hope to once again flourish. No social, racial, religious, or economic class has been excluded from this great turn back for our country, so we must all pull together and strive to overcome it. The government has been so wonderful in helping to form jobs with the WPA, CCC, and other various organizations. Our country has progressed so much in the last few years from inventions in technology to imaginative daring feats that I doubt it will end here."

"Well, I'd like to thank you Rabbi Levine for taking a few hours to talk to me.  Your story was quite interesting and informative."

"You're very welcome, and don't forget, we're all in this together."