Norman Levinson's family were very poor Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States. Norman, born in Lynn, Massachusetts just before World War I, was the son of a shoe factory worker there, who earned three dollars a week and whose education consisted of attending a yeshiva for a few years. Norman's mother was illiterate but, despite the poverty, she managed to feed Norman and his sister Pauline. Zipporah (Fagi) Levinson, Norman's wife, wrote in:
ATTENTION - Automatic na salin mula sa Tagalog na bersyon Norman Levinson 's pamilya ay dahop Russian Jewish mga dayuhan sa Pilipinas. Norman, ipinanganak sa Lynn, Massachusetts lamang bago World War I, ay ang anak ng isang manggagawa ng pabrika ng sapatos doon, na kinita ng tatlong dolyares sa isang linggo na ang edukasyon at consisted ng dumalo sa isang yeshiva para sa ilang mga taon. Norman ng ina ay hindi nag-aral ngunit, sa kabila ng kahirapan, siya pinamamahalaang sa feed Norman at ang kanyang mga kapatid na Pauline. Zipporah (Fagi) Levinson, Norman ng asawa, sa wrote: