Ten years after Rabbi Benjamin Levy came to Congregation Etz Chaim-Monroe Township Jewish Center, the synagogue has expanded both in physical size and in its understanding of Jewish values.

"He's been more than a religious leader," said congregation president Stephanie Belzer, who helped honor Levy on the occasion of his 10th anniversary with the Reform synagogue as part of Shabbat services Nov. 30.

The surprise celebration took on a double meaning — it was also Levy's birthday — as the rabbi was presented with a cake, gifts, and an announcement that the congregation was putting up a new memorial board in his honor.

The synagogue's multigenerational members include residents of Monroe's many adult communities.

"I was very surprised and honored," said Levy in a Dec. 6 interview with NJJN. "It blew me out of the water because of all the love in the room. I was really touched. They even had a huge cake that said, 'We love you Rabbi Levy.'"

Belzer said she was honored to present him with the gifts. "Most congregations would have given their rabbi a Kiddush cup or book," she said. "We gave him a bag of Yankee paraphernalia because that is his true love, and then we shared a lovely kosher Chinese dinner."

Harriet Katz is a former president of the temple. She was membership chair and on the rabbinic search committee when Levy was hired.

She read a piece describing the ideal rabbi — which, it turns out, Levy himself wrote as part of his application for the job at Etz Chaim.

"The rabbi should be a facilitator, teacher, and spiritual leader of a caring community where the highest ideals of Judaism are lived at the highest level...," wrote Levy, "[H]e must empower the congregation to keep in mind that everyone is created in God's image and has divine potential which must be nourished."

Katz read a response on behalf of the congregation in which she outlined how Levy has in the last decade become that ideal rabbi and "lives his life according to every principle in Judaism that exists and tries to raise others to that level."

"He has qualities that would have made him successful in any profession," said Katz in a phone interview. "He has such a dignity about himself and the way he treats others. He also has respect for himself and every other individual he comes in contact with as someone uniquely created in God's image."

Levy grew up in Queens and Spring Valley, NY, in a family that was not religious. Nevertheless, he said, he always felt a connection to Judaism and knew by age 11 he would become a rabbi. He "begged" his parents to send him to yeshiva.

At some point he abandoned his rabbinical dream for other career choices. He earned a bachelor's degree in drama from New York University and a master's degree in secondary special education from Hunter College in Manhattan. He taught special education at Livingston High School on the Upper West Side for five years.

He also worked as a disc jockey at the "oldies night" of an Upper East Side club, where he met his wife, Evelyn.

"Gradually, I experienced a spiritual change, and I realized that change was due to the transformative continued study of Torah," said Levy. "So my dream of becoming a rabbi was revived."

Although by this time in his 30s, married, and the father of a young son, Levy began the rabbinical program at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. The couple has two sons, Elijah, 19, and Reuven, 16.

Levy taught religious school at synagogues in New York City and served a rabbinical internship at the Community Temple Beth Ohr in Brooklyn before taking a position at Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester County in Chappaqua, NY.

Under his leadership, the Monroe synagogue completed an expansion seven years ago that doubled its size. Improvements continue to be made to its bima and sanctuary, including the addition of stained-glass windows. "Etz Chaim," or "tree of life" was added to its name because of the rabbi's belief that synagogues should have a Hebrew name. The congregation also recently formed a spiritual committee to determine where it wanted to be religiously in five years.

"To lead a religious life and have the opportunity to be their rabbi — there can be no greater privilege in life," said Levy. "This is a friendly congregation, where no one ignores you when you walk in the door. It is rich in positive feeling."