The world is full of talented people who are experts in their field, but it is truly rare to find an individual of Rabbi Levy’s caliber, who possessed an expert’s command of knowledge in several different areas. What was even more unique about Rabbi Levy was that despite this, he was a paradigm of humility, ahavas yisroel, and gemilas chassadim.
He was diligent in his Torah studies, setting aside copious amounts of time for Torah. He was highly organized in every aspect of his life and kept a daily routine that he rarely altered. Rabbi Levy was a driven person who lived his life with purpose. Good enough never was good enough, and he always looked to do more and to reach greater heights in every aspect of his life. He was not satisfied with mediocrity in his own life, certainly not with kashrus, and he tried to inspire others to be the same.
As a tech savvy person, Rabbi Levy utilized his vast knowledge to pioneer the use of technology in the building and strengthening of kashrus.
Rabbi Levy was a very deep thinker who was able to analyze all angles and take things apart quite effectively, while simultaneously having a clear vision of the bigger picture. This seemingly dichotomous nature set Rabbi Levy apart from most others, not only when it came to kashrus but in life in general.
Rabbi Levy knew his strengths, never lost sight of his values and his mission, and was very comfortable empowering others to reach their maximum potential. Because of his humility, Rabbi Levy made it a habit to reach out to experts to help inform decisions he could have easily
made on his own.
Rabbi Levy, while very much a klal person, was also quite devoted to his family.
The Torah response to Rabbi Levy’s passing is to remember and reflect on all his qualities and ask ourselves what we lessons we can glean from his life, and how we can absorb them into our daily lives. This will be a nechomo for his family and a nachas and an aliyah for his neshomoh.
Rabbi Yitzchak Hanoka is the Tri-State Rabbinic Coordinator at OK Kosher Certification