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Rabbi Craig Lewis
The Jaffe Family Assistant Rabbinic Chair
Rabbi Lewis is a native of Kansas City where his involvement in Temple life began at an early age. As a teen, he was active in NFTY, serving on his TYG board and eventually as a board member for the Missouri Valley Region. Following high school, Rabbi Lewis attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence. |
In 1996, having earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in French language, he spent sixteen months studying at a business school (L’École Supérieure de Commerce) in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Upon receiving his Master of Management degree in 1998, he returned to the States and quickly departed for Orange County. During his first stay in California, Rabbi Lewis worked as the Customer Service Manager for Cummins Cal Pacific (just a couple miles from Shir Hamaalot) and later as a special education teacher for a non-public school in Buena Park. In his spare time, Rabbi Lewis worked for the Bureau of Jewish Education staffing various youth programs including Adat Noar and TALIT. When he and his wife Jennifer were engaged, he left sunny California to be with her in Memphis, TN. While there, he made the decision to become a student once again and to pursue his dream of being a congregational rabbi.
Rabbi Lewis has served student pulpits in Mattoon, IL and Muncie, IN. Most recently he served Valley Temple in Cincinnati, OH as Rabbinic Intern. He earned a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters in May of 2007 and was ordained in May of 2008. He wrote his rabbinic thesis on the French literature written in the Jewish communities of North Africa.
When he is not at the Temple, you are likely to find Rabbi Lewis at the batting cages, at the movies, attending live theater, or out jogging with his dogs Nala and Tipper. He is also quite content to spend a quiet night at home with Jennifer, their son Eden, the dogs, and Wylie the cat.