Dedication to Be Held at U.S. Capitol Before New Military Torah Leaves for Middle East
April 29, New York, NY--On Monday, May 10, 2010, at 10 a.m., religious leaders, military personnel, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and people who care about the spiritual welfare of Jewish troops in the U.S. Armed Forces will gather in the Lyndon Baines Johnson Room of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. to write the last few words in a special Torah scroll. This ceremony will mark the first step of a project called Torahs for Our Troops, spearheaded by JWB Jewish Chaplains Council, part of JCC Association, the leadership network for Jewish Community Centers in the U.S. and Canada.
Among those attending the Torah dedication are the following:
Michigan Senator Carl Levin, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee
Susan Sher, Chief of Staff to First Lady Michelle Obama
Rev. Mr. Barry Black, Chaplain of the Senate
Rear Admiral Robert Burt, CHC USN Navy Chief of Chaplains
Chaplain (MG) Douglas Carver, USA Army Chief of Chaplains
Chaplain (BG) David Cyr, USAF Air Force Deputy Chief of Chaplains
Rear Admiral Herman Shelanski, USN
Edward H. Kaplan, Honorary Chair of JCC Association
Noreen Gordon Sablotsky, Chair of JCC Association’s Committee on Service to Jewish Military Personnel
Allan Finkelstein, President of JCC Association
Representatives of national Jewish organizations and other dignitaries will also attend.
The most powerful ritual symbol in Jewish life, this Torah is much smaller and lighter than the Torahs that have been available to military rabbis and can be carried into the field and from ship to ship. With these more easily carried scrolls, Jewish chaplains will be able to bring this meaningful and potent object to Jewish troops wherever they are serving. JWB is continuing the Torahs for Our Troops project, and hopes to raise money for five more such scrolls.
"With the assistance of the scribe we will complete writing the last few words of Torah, and we will commemorate the loss of those Jews and so many others who gave of themselves because our nation called," said Rabbi Harold Robinson, director of JWB. "Jewish Americans have a long history of serving proudly in our nation’s military, and our mission is to provide them with the spiritual support and solace they deserve. These smaller Torahs will help us do that."
The completed Torah will be presented to Senator Levin and Chaplain Cyr. Chaplain Cyr will later convey the Torah to the Senior Air Force Chaplain for Central Command, Rabbi Bret Oxman, who will bring it with him to the Persian Gulf region later that week, in time for Shavuot. From there, it will be loaned to chaplains serving in the Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq. "I can't emphasize enough how crucial it is at this very time, when the nation is fighting two wars, to have a Torah scroll present at a worship service," Oxman said. "Regardless of whether there is one Jew or a hundred Jews, the presence of a Torah at services transforms the chapel tent environment into a synagogue, which then binds our troops to the entire Jewish community regardless of where they are at the time."
JWB was chartered in 1917 to represent the American Jewish community in service to the religious and spiritual needs of Jews in the armed forces.
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JCC Association
is the leadership network of, and central agency for the Jewish
Community Center Movement, which is comprised of 350 JCC,
YM-YWHA and camp sites in the U. S. and Canada. JCC Association
offers a wide range of services and resources to strengthen
the capacity of its affiliates to provide educational, cultural,
social, Jewish identity-building, and recreational programs
to enhance the lives of North American Jews of all ages and
backgrounds. Additionally, the movement fosters and strengthens
connections between North American Jews and Israel as well
as with world Jewry. JCC Association is also the U.S. government
accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs
of Jewish military personnel, their families, and patients
in VA hospitals through JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.
Miriam
Rinn
Communications Manager
JCC Association
520 8th Ave., NY, NY 10018
212-786-5092
fax: 212-481-4174
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