My father was in the Navy, my husband is a Sergeant for the NYPD and my 12 year old son, Scott (right), wants to be in the Armed Forces. Scott told my family, “My grandfather and my dad and all the people in the Armed Forces are heroes in my eyes. They go unappreciated for what they do and I want to do something special for all of them”. This is why Scott decided to do “TANAKHS FOR TROOPS” as his Bar Mitzvah Project.

There has not been a Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) printed for the United States Troops since 1955. Now, The Jewish Publication Society is looking to print one. The Tanakhs will be sold at a discount rate of $10.50 for each one. Scott explains, “When I enter the Military I would like to have a Tanakh to carry around with me wherever I may be sent. I think men and women that are now in the Armed Forces probably feel the same way I do and I would like to help them get their own”.

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The Jewish Community of Okinawa celebrated a wonderful Passover Seder on Wednesday night, the 12th of April at the Camp Butler Officer’s Club. This was the kickoff to an exciting week of events celebrating the departure of the Jewish People from bondage in Egypt.  The Seder went extremely well with a grand turnout of approximately 70 people. Rabbi Jessica Oleon led the services in her progressive fashion which involved community participation and explanation of many of the things we do during the service.

We had a rest from the events on Thursday, though many of the families in the congregation had their own family Seders. On Friday night we had a guided discussion with the Rabbi about Judaism and homosexuality. This is a hot topic in the Jewish world right now as the Conservative movement continues to wrestle with it. The discussion was lively and insightful especially with the input and points of view from those in the military as homosexuality has also been an issue in the military community for many years.

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Another Yom Hashoah commemorative day for the Jews has come and gone.  Year after year since the Holocaust we cry out, “never again,” and yet, genocide continues to loom over the earth.  Right now, in the Sudan/Darfur region, over 400,000 have been murdered in the name of “ethnic cleansing.” Sound familiar?  We have a responsibility as Jews to let our voices be heard remembering the teaching of our sage, of beloved memory, Rabbi Hillel: “If I am not for myself, who will be?  If I am only for myself, what am I?  If not now, when?” Don’t wait another moment.  Visit http://www.savedarfur.org to act now!  Note that for every one email sent, this equates to 10,000 voices.

This week there are ongoing debates, negotiations, talks regarding the cessation of violence and murder of innocent children and whole families in Darfur.  There’s no debate - It has to stop now! 

Don’t forget to visit http://www.thejewishsoldier.com : a “one stop shop” for Torah study, Hebrew learning sources (to include FREE access to the Rosetta Stone Hebrew learning course), and some cool pics from our participation in the April Rally for Darfur in Washington, D.C.  Also visit http://www.savedarfur.org/home for more information on upcoming “Save Darfur” events around the globe.