At 92, Rabbi Leah Novick can look back at a long life of helping others – and she is still at it.

Many in the community know Rabbi Leah Novick, perhaps because she is ready to communicate with everyone who approaches her. This mother of four was ordained as rabbi in 1987. Since then, she has become respected for her teachings on the divine feminine in Judaism, called the Shekhinah. A lifelong activist for gender and racial equality and social justice, Novick began by participating in fair housing action, a movement of white activists posing as potential tenants, receiving a different welcome than Black families. Landlords discriminating against Blacks were taken to court.

A part of the New Democratic Coalition, Novick protested against the war in Vietnam. She took part in the 1963 March on Washington as a Jewish groups organizer. She worked for politicians such as Senator George McGovern and Congressmember Bella Abzug. It was 1969, when she was not allowed to become a delegate, that Novick decided to step up from volunteering to politics. In 1970, Novick ran for the New York State Legislature.

In the late ’70s she shifted course and began teaching at Stanford. In the 1980s, she taught at UC Berkeley’s graduate school of public policy. She considers herself part of the Berkeley Jewish Revival. She is the author of the 2008 book On the Wings of Shekhinah: Rediscovering Judaism’s Divine Feminine. A film about Novick’s story is screening on Saturday, April 13.

Weekly: You were born in a coal community in Pennsylvania, then moved to New York at 12. Were you raised in a religious home?

Novick: My parents were first of all busy. It was an Orthodox Jewish family, even though our attendance at the synagogue depended on where the best cantor was. They were like celebrities back then. But yes, I was surrounded by a very Orthodox experience. My grandmother was Polish. The other line of the family was Hungarian. My grandfather, who ran away from the army in Galicia, was in charge of my Hebrew School at home.

Did it give you tools to study kabbalah?

Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism were study for Orthodox Jewish males, married and over 40. By the end of the 20th century, this world opened.

I received great teachings of kabbalah in Berkeley. In my 40s and 50s, I renewed my interest in Judaism.

What brought you to California?

I was raising money for Planned Parenthood. We were trying to offer women grants for abortions. I never thought we would have to do it again…

The right wing was so obnoxious. I was exhausted. I had this feeling that moving here will change my life. And I was right.

Stanford was first; we started to experiment with different spiritualities: Hindu, Buddhist, Native American. They all lead to God and the connection with the universe.

When I lived in Berkeley, I traveled to the Esalen Institute a lot. Then it happened that a rabbi in Salinas was needed.

You were involved in housing issues. What do you think about the housing situation in Monterey County?

They say that doctors can’t come because it’s too expensive for them to live here. There’s so much bureaucracy and opposition. It’s sad because a diverse environment is what we should strive for – kids growing up together.

How is the situation for female rabbis now?

I was part of the first wave. It was a big deal. We had no role models. Now there are about 100 female rabbis in the area.

Have you spent much time in Israel?

Typically a month each year. My son moved to Israel, and has five children. I’m a great-grandmother to 15 Israeli children. The situation has been very grim in recent months. I see Israeli children and I see Arab children.

I know one person can’t fix the Arab-Israeli conflict in Palestine. What is there to be done?

A peaceful coexistence is the goal. We need a pan-Arab peacekeeping force there for a few years. And then free elections and a two-state solution, I guess. Hamas is an obstacle to that.

It is possible. A right-wing government is not acceptable, not in Israel and not in the U.S.

And finally, how do you keep your eternal youth?

Genes, I guess. And helping people every day.

The film Discovering Wisdom: Rabbi Leah’s Journey screens at 7pm Saturday, April 13. Center for Spiritual Awakening, 522 Central Ave., Pacific Grove. A Q&A with Novick and Arlene Krebs, the creator of the film, follow. $15. csa-pg.org.