Over the course of five days in early March, the streets of Bal Harbor, Fla., were filled with Jewish men and women who had flown in from around the world. However, these were not the typical religious Jews who normally walk the streets. These Jews were dressed in full military regalia.
One of the attendees was Doc Bleich, who spent the better part of a recent week doing important learning. A Navy Corpsman with the Marines as well as a lay leader, he attended Aleph Institute’s 18th Annual Military Training Program, which ran from March 5-9 and drew some 200 soldiers, chaplains, family members and other guests for a program aimed at providing practical information, insights and connection.
For his part, Bleich says he learned a lot from the five-day training event, which took place at The Shul in Surfside, Fla. “I learned a lot in the halachah capacity and I learned a lot in lay leadership,” he says. “The most meaningful element was getting to hang out and get to know my peers.”
An extensive military spouses track covered topics like deployment and living away from a Jewish community, and provided resources for kids and teens to connect as well, he says.
A group of West Point cadets who will be serving as officers in the army also took part in the event. And that Friday night, more than100 service members in their dress uniforms attended a Shabbat dinner.
This year’s theme centered around the military chaplain in combat and crisis, says Maj. Rabbi Elie Estrin, a chaplain and military personnel liaison for Aleph Institute, adding that participants from across the military’s branches attended the program.
“I hope they were able to head back to their bases with a clear sense of who they are and their special role as Jewish service members,” he says of the participants, including the chaplains, who provide guidance and help handle faith-based requests from across the ranks. “To be able to serve their country with even more energy and more pride to safeguard our freedoms.”
Among the event’s highlights was an address over Shabbat by Col. Jack Jacobs, a Medal of Honor recipient. “This is a Jewish hero who is proud of his Jewish and military careers, and really represents the best of both worlds, ” Estrin said.
Also during the group’s time together, a young woman had her bat mitzvah, and a marine who had become observant after meeting one of Aleph’s chaplains did a re-enlistment ceremony, sworn back in by a three-star marine general. “It’s unique and very special for him to be swearing in and re-enlisting a Jewish marine proudly wearing his yarmulke in front of an aron kodesh; that’s something that’s very powerful and a real representation of what this country stands for.”
‘It’s a Highly Respected Program’
When the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—came to the United States, he was tasked by his father-in-law, the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, of righteous memory with serving those who serve. Through World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the Rebbe worked to support chaplains to make sure that soldiers and airmen were serviced. The first Chabad chaplain was Rabbi Jacob Goldstein, who joined the chaplaincy in 1978 and served 38 years with the Rebbe’s permission and encouragement, says Estrin.
“It’s a highly respected program by the U.S. military itself,” he says. “It’s a critical need that Jews in the military have a spiritual recharge station.”
Aleph has been sending holiday supplies to Jews in the military since the mid-1990s with volunteers occasionally running programs like seders on bases. And in 2007, it became an endorsing agency, which meant it was able to provide certification for Jewish chaplains or lay leaders. The symposium serves as a yearly training for chaplains and lay leaders, getting them back together in a Jewish environment and providing them the inspiration information they need to serve G‑d and their country with their whole hearts and minds, says Estrin.
“We really want to give them a full plate to take back with them, so that they can service the Jews on their bases and beyond in a complete manner,” he says.
Jewish numbers in the military are on the rise, he suggests, based on the fact that two years ago, they had 100 service members and families attend the symposium, while this year was double that number. “So the more people come, the more our impact can grow to spread to really tiny corners of the world that nobody knows about,” he says.
Aaron Snyder, a sergeant in the marine corps stationed in Okinawa, Japan, for the past three years, came to the symposium after starting to study more Tanach on his own and most recently, with the new Chabad rabbi in Okinawa. “I got to see plenty of other military members who are observant, which is amazing. I’d never really seen that before, and I got to network with other fellow Jewish marines. It was very inspiring.”
He says he wanted to learn more to grow in his understanding of “why we do what we do,” and because of his experience and learning with the chaplains started putting on tefillin and observing Shabbat.
Snyder emphasizes that the chaplains have helped him in his pursuits and encourages others to reach out to them to access what they need. “If you’re going to join [the U.S. military], make sure you network, and don’t be like me. When I first joined, there were people that offered, ‘Hey, we’ll reach out to your command, we’ll let them know you need this and that to be observant,’ and I was, I guess, nervous or scared at the time. Don’t do that—find people who can help you. Network with Aleph; they’ll do everything they can to help you.”
‘It's Just an Amazing Resource’
For Emily Felzenberg, who came in from Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., with her family to attend the event, it was both an opportunity to meet other military spouses and a chance to be immersed in Jewish life.
Her husband, Menachem, is in the army as part of Space Command, and they live far from a Jewish community, she explains. “There’s no kosher food, so we were talking about that, talking about homeschooling and the different experiences than a typical frum family would have,” she says. She adds that she was glad to give her 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter the chance to play with other Jewish kids, and to immerse them in an environment where walking down the street, people would wish them a good Shabbat.
She says she benefited from programs aimed at educating military spouses on legal matters, such as power of attorney and wills, and ones that explored home and online schooling options for military kids. From a family with several active duty members, she says she enjoyed getting to spend time with relatives and her kids getting to play with their cousin, who was also in attendance.
“I would say that overall, it’s just an amazing resource and a fun experience,” she says. “We’re able to learn about different things we may not have known about and just really have time to bond with other Jewish service members because there are not many of us.”
Being surrounded by other chaplains with the same type of mission is heartening, says Lt. Yehoshua Rubin, who has been an Aleph chaplain for the past two years. “It reminds you that you’re not alone, and there are others like us doing that, and it gives me a lot of [strength] to go back out to continue the shlichus.”
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