It all began in New City, New York when seven kids decided they wanted to make a difference. The students at ToTal @ HaMerkaz, a Sunday Hebrew school, were thinking how they could show their support and appreciation to the American soldiers that are currently serving overseas. They came up with a wonderful idea called “Purim Treats for Troops”.

After they created this spectacular program, they decided to spread the idea to all the other schools in the ToTal network (about 30 joined in). The idea was to create Purim packages, or Mishloach Manot, that are traditionally given to friends and family on the holiday of Purim, and then mail these packages to the soldiers stationed overseas so that they would receive them in time for the Purim holiday.

Each and every school made a difference; some schools made only two packages, while one school made seventy. But quickly the numbers began adding up. By the time the program was completed, over THREE HUNDRED packages had been mailed to troops currently serving around the world.

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By Sheldon Derer
(From the cover)

“At Tarawa, Saipan & Tinian, I saw Marines killed and wounded in a shocking manner, but I saw nothing like the ghastliness that hung over the Iwo beachhead. Nothing any of us had ever known could compare with the utter anguish, frustration and constant inner battle to maintain some semblance of sanity,” said Lt. Cyril P. Zurlinger, later a casualty himself.
They don’t look any different then most other 70 plus year olds. They’re somewhat overweight, balding, brow and face lined with the creases of time. They laughed and joked. Talked about family and their lives here in Florida.

It’s hard to believe that these same men had been to hell and back. Both had been Marines and survived the battle and horrors of the volcanic speck in the Pacific called Iwo Jima.
Each had his own memories that when recalled, turned their faces from smiling congeniality to a stoic, almost robot look. There were memories of young men going down the rope netting of a troop ship, into a sea tossed “Higgins Boat.” This would land them on a strange black-sanded beach. Each would say that the exploding mortar shells and machine gun fire that took the lives of so many of their fellow marines just wasn’t meant for them. It was just plain luck.

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One of the most desired resources for many of our Jewish troops besides their own personal copy of “Prayer Book for Jewish Personnel of the Armed Forces of the United States” is a pocket size Torah or Tanakh, depending on one’s individual preference.  A Torah (the Five Books of Moses) used to be available in the Department of Defense’s supply system as the Prayer Book continues to be.  The Tanakh, although an available publication, appears to never have been in the system.  Both the Torahs and Tanakhs were and are available through several sources, but the Armed Forces Torah editions generally came from the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) of Philadelphia.

Searching for appropriate portable, pocket size Torahs and/or Tanakhs for the Jewish troops here at Fort Benning, I contacted two sources, the JPS and the Aleph Institute.  The latter is a support entity of the Lubavitch group and has its headquarters in Florida.

The Aleph Institute did not have an appropriate on-the-shelf Torah or Tanakh but undertook a special effort to create one.  It published a special edition of a Chumash, in English and Hebrew, and with commentary, to fit the pocket size requirement.  They even worked at making the cover in a camouflage motif.

Read on to find out how to order your own copies at a special discount…

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There was a big uproar the last time I wrote about conversions in Iraq, but this time there is a bit of good news on the subject.

The Chicago Tribune ran a story recently about how troops tend to find religion in times of war.  Go figure!

For many servicemen and women, duty in Iraq stirs intense spiritual experiences, often drawing them toward a deeper faith but sometimes challenging strongly held religious beliefs.

The part that got my attention, was this little tidbit about a recent convert to Judaism:

Lance Cpl. Jordan Parlier, 21, of Kenosha, Wis., said that during the 2003 push into Baghdad, he began seeking religion amid the devastation of war. He found answers from a Jewish friend a few months later in Najaf.  Raised as a Christian, Parlier has converted to the Jewish faith.

Now at the massive Al Asad air base near the end of his second deployment to Iraq, Parlier has become the lay Jewish leader for his battalion. Though he has yet to have his bar mitzvah, his tours in Iraq have deepened his religious convictions, and he treasures his religious bond with other Jews.

“You kind of look within and you look for a higher authority that’s going to help you get through,” he said. “It almost feels like an emancipation.”

I don’t know the details of his conversion or his formal status as a lay leader, but I hope to find out more and report about it here.

Even though we have lost some, it’s reassuring to know that we’ve gained a few too!

Michael Daly of the New York Daily News recently wrote about Rabbi Jacob Goldstein (an army chaplain), and Imam Zameer Sattaur coming together to lay to rest SPC Azhar Ali of the Fighting 69th of the New York Army National Guard.  Ali was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq.

The article reads more like a short story than a news piece:

The moment then came when the imam asked the rabbi to give a graveside prayer. Goldstein offered one translated from the Hebrew into English.

“You are here today, gone tomorrow,” Goldstein said. “You are a flower in the morning and in the afternoon you wilt.”

The imam gave the final prayer, and the mourners each tossed a handful of dirt onto the coffin, just as at a Jewish burial.

“That’s what they do, that’s what we do,” Goldstein said afterward.

It’s a touching story and I think a wonderful example of religious tolerance and how relations should be between our two peoples.  After all, we have the same father, no? 

I find that there is more of this acceptance in the military because we are all bound together as brothers & sisters in arms.  If only we could pass on some of this wisdom to the folks on the “outside”, the world might be a little better of a place.

I almost forgot, but it was one year ago last Wednesday that Jews in Green went “live”.

We’ve come a long way since then.  Here’s some general stats for year one:

• Over 500,000 hits to the site
• An average of 125 unique visitors per day
• 173 total posts (not including Featured Jews & photo gallery)
• Most read article: Kosher MRE Taste Test

It’s been a great year, and I look forward to many more.  Thanks to everyone who has helped out in one way or another.

I’m contacted every now and then by reporters looking to do stories on Jewish service members, particularly about veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  While, I have been happy with every story I’ve helped out with (so far), I have to draw particular attention to the latest work by Nextbook.

It is currently running as their cover story, or you can link directly to the article HERE. 

Aside from the great content, the presentation of the article is amazing.  You can read it like any other news article, but you can also listen to personal interviews with some of the Jewish vets, accompanied by a photo montage.  It is an amazing piece and the presentation really adds a personal touch to the subjects’ experiences.

Yesher koach to Nextbook on this fantastic work!

Thanks to the initiative of Ft. Benning Jewish Lay Leader, Neil Block, the Jewish Publication Society has made the JPS Torah (English) available to military personnel for only $7.50.  The complete TANACH (Hebrew-English) is also available for only $10.00.

Both are “pocketable” paperbacks (4"x6"), perfect for trips into the field!

The contact person at JPS is Dolores Verbit.  ()

The reference numbers for the books are ISBN: 0-8276-0680-X and ISBN 0-8276-0766-0.

I was recently interviewed by Megan Brown of New Voices for a story on Jewish troops serving in the current war on terror.

Well, the story is complete and you can view it online HERE.

It takes a look at Jews from all over; from a Jewish Air Force Academy cadet, to a wounded Iraq vet, to a Jewish chaplain (and of course a simple flight student).  Regular readers will probably be familiar with most of the characters, but it’s always great to see stuff like this get national coverage.

I ran across this website, from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

It spotlights a number of great resources for supporting us Jews in uniform. 

Jews in Green is certainly not the “end-all” of support (although we are mentioned in the list).  If you want some other great ways to support the troops check it out!