More than 50 years ago, Rabbi Brian Lurie delivered sermons from the bimah of San Francisco’s Congregation Emanu-El as an assistant rabbi. On Tuesday night, he returned to bless his son, Daniel Lurie, the night before his inauguration as the city’s mayor.
About 1,000 people, including nearly 60 religious leaders, gathered at the synagogue for an “interfaith unity celebration” organized by the San Francisco Interfaith Council.
The service featured a prayer from a leader of the Ohlone Nation, a reading from the Quran by an imam with the San Francisco Muslim Community Center, and prayers for the city by leaders of other houses of worship including St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church in Chinatown, Temple United Methodist Church and the Buddhist Church of San Francisco.
Michael Pappas, executive director of the S.F. Interfaith Council, delivered the opening remarks, in which he described Daniel Lurie as one “committed to that core tenet of Judaism — tikkun olam, repairing the broken world — and whose faith is actualized in service of the city and to those who are in the greatest of need.”
Beyond the persistent “Levi Strauss heir” label, Lurie is best known for his philanthropic work. In 2005, he founded the nonprofit Tipping Point Community, which awards grants to local groups fighting poverty through housing, education and employment initiatives. Lurie, 47, also worked with business owner Manny Yekutiel in 2023 to co-found the Civic Joy Fund, which works to revitalize commercial areas in the city that have struggled financially since the pandemic.
In his speech at Emanu-El, Lurie did not shy away from highlighting troubling issues for which San Francisco has gained a nationwide reputation.
“How can we be a bastion of compassion when we allow drugs and mental illness to take thousands of lives on our streets? Strong values are not enough,” Lurie said. “I will work tirelessly, I will work hard every single day to deliver results to San Franciscans. I will honor and protect our shared values of compassion, inclusion and progress.”
The S.F. Interfaith Council launched in 1988. Its co-founder is Rita Semel, a Bay Area Jewish community luminary who has been a major supporter of the organization over decades. The Interfaith Council, which counts 800 congregations as constituents, is heavily involved in charitable work benefiting the poor and homeless.
Pappas, who has led the Interfaith Council for 18 years, praised Lurie in an interview with J. “He was very instrumental in helping to navigate us … from the Great Recession to probably one of the greatest, in recent memory, periods of prosperity for our city,” Pappas said.
Among the council’s functions are hosting unity services for incoming political leaders, which it has done for newly elected mayors in San Francisco since 2004. The first was held for former Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Usually the service is conducted in a church. For Lurie, Emanu-El was the obvious choice. He is a member of the Reform synagogue and has attended services there since childhood.
Lurie’s wife, Becca Prowda, his two children and his mother, Miriam “Mimi” Lurie Haas, were with him to celebrate on Tuesday night as well.
After reciting the traditional blessing in Hebrew and English over his son that Jewish parents offer their children on Shabbat, the mayor’s father offered a final remark:
“I believe, with all my heart, that he will be a blessing for all of San Francisco.”
The inauguration ceremony took place Wednesday in Civic Center Plaza, framed by San Francisco City Hall and attended by a crowd of civic leaders and city residents. Speakers included Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and the new mayor’s wife, with performances by Michael Franti, the Glide Ensemble and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.