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The Commodore Levy Chapel, established in 1942 and renamed in 1959 in honor of Uriah P. Levy, is the United States Navy's oldest Jewish chapel, located at Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia. It is part of a chapel complex in the Naval Station's Frazier Hall that also includes Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim Chapels. Commodore Levy Chapel is one of two Navy chapels named for the same person, the other located being the Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Chapel, at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. ==History== Although not renamed until 1959 for Levy,〔(jewishvirtuallibrary.org ), retrieved May 26, 2011.〕 the chapel was created in 1942 during World War II (in a space formerly used as a chapel complex auditorium) as the Navy's first chapel dedicated to worship and religious events for Jewish military personnel and their families.〔 Therefore, although it is recognized as the Navy's oldest land-based Jewish Chapel,〔"Daily News Update: Commodore Levy Chapel 50th Anniversary." Online: (dvidshub.net ), retrieved May 26, 2011.〕 the first Navy Jewish Chapel created as a free-standing building from the ground up is the Aloha Jewish Chapel, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. The Protestant and Catholic chapels in the Frazier Hall (then part of Naval Operating Base Norfolk—NOB Norfolk) were opened two weeks after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, and they were officially named and dedicated on February 21, 1942.〔Sternlicht, Sanford, ''Uriah Phillips Levy: The Blue Star Commodore. Together with an account of the relationship between the Commodore Levy Chapel, United States Naval Station, Norfolk, and the Norfolk Jewish community.'', 1961, Young Press Inc., Norfolk Va. Online: (Hathi Trust ), retrieved August 5, 2013.〕 Jewish chaplain Selwyn Ruslander was assigned to Norfolk August 1942, and began conducting Jewish services in Frazier Hall, in the second floor auditorium area.〔 That area was formally dedicated as a Jewish chapel the following year, during a conference of Jewish chaplains February 20–21, 1943.〔 Present at the dedication was the Navy Chief of Chaplains, Chaplain Robert D. Workman; the senior chaplain for the Norfolk Operating Base and Officer-in-Charge of the Navy's Chaplain School, Cinton A. Neyman; and "other dignataries."〔 The Jewish community of Norfolk presented a Torah ark, constructed by Lester Sherrick, a civilian member of the community, as part of the dedication ceremony.〔 When Rabbi Julius Nodel was assigned to the NOB in the mid-40s, he not only led services in the Levy Chapel, but also led services for Jewish personnel at other bases, including two in North Carolina: the Patrol Plane Base and Coast Guard Air Station, Elizabeth City, N.C. and the Naval Air Station, Weeksville, N.C.〔Pollack, Rachel, “Guide to the Uriah P. Levy (1792-1862) Collection" American Jewish Historical Society, New York, NY. Online: (cjh.org ), retrieved August 5, 2013.〕 In 1959, in honor of Levy's "dedication to his religion and his country," the chapel was renamed the "Commodore Levy Chapel."〔 Credit for the choice of the name belongs to history-minded Lieutenant Commander William J. Jasper, DC USN, who suggested it to the Jewish Chaplain Samuel Sobel, CHC, USN.〔 Lieutenant Commander Jasper was the driving force behind the establishment of the Levy Chapel as the first permanent Jewish Chapel in the Navy. On December 13, 2009, special ceremonies were conducted to "rededicate" the Chapel on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.〔 The ceremony honored the memory of Rabbi Samuel Sobel, the only Navy Jewish Chaplain who served twice at the Levy Chapel.〔“Commodore Levy Chapel Celebrates 50th Anniversary of its naming with rededication B1 and B9" ''The Flagship'', Volume 17, Number 49, December 10, 2009. Online: (dvidshub.net ), retrieved August 5, 2013.〕 Sobel was the author of "Intrepid Sailor," a 1980 biography of Uriah P. Levy.〔Sobel, Samuel, ''Intrepid Sailor'', 1980, Cresset Publishers, Philadelphia, PA. Online: (lib.virginia.edu ), retrieved August 5, 2013.〕 The keynote speaker was Rabbi Jonathan Panitz,〔Wittmeyer, Alicia P.Q., "Oldest land-based Navy Jewish Chapel rededicated," ''The Virginia Pilot'', December 13, 2009. Online: (hamptonroads.com ), retrieved August 5, 2011.〕 who—while on active duty as a Jewish chaplain at the Naval Academy—was part of the original effort to raise funds in order to establish the Academy's Jewish chapel, also named for Levy.〔(jewishmaritime.blogspot.com ), retrieved May 27, 2011.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Commodore Levy Chapel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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