Religious Unity in War
Today as the various
denominations of American Jewry emphasize
their doctrinal differences, it is useful
to recall the wartime unifying actions of
the Committee on Army and Navy Religious
Activities (CANRA) of the Jewish Welfare
Board.
When World
War II began, there were only a handful
of chaplains in the Armed Services. With
the addition of tens of thousands of American
Jewish soldiers to the ranks, the need
for Jewish chaplains became acute. CANRA,
representing the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements, I upon to recruit, train, supply
and supervise a new generation of Jewish
chaplains.
CANRA put out a call to Jewish congregations to permit rabbis to volunteer for service
without losing their pulpits or salaries. Many congregations responded
with enthusiasm, and more than 1,000 rabbis applied to CANRA for certification
as chaplains. After rigorous interviews, CANRA recommended 311 of the
volunteers to the military.
Services overseas usually placed rabbis under great
stress. Since Jewish soldiers were scattered throughout the military,
most chaplains served several units. Often, they were the only Jewish
clergymen for miles around - and in the Pacific, islands around. Many
chaplains worked for months at a time without a day off. Some developed
illness caused by stress and fatigue.
A dilemma CANRA addressed was how to deal with halachic observance and respect the minhag (customs) of soldiers of differing
denominations. CANRA required that each candidate for a chaplaincy agree
to support the observance of all the soldiers he served, not just those
of his own branch of Judaism. The new chaplains received common training
at a school that CANRA operated, and CANRA created an official military
prayer book that was distributed to all chaplains and served as the siddur from which all Jewish
military services were conducted. Under the diplomatic guidance of David
de Sola Pool of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York, CANRA managed
to identify the core beliefs that bind Jews, and to use them to meet
the spiritual needs of Jewish G.I.'s, regardless of their upbringing.
The chaos of combat challenges those who wish to observe
the letter of Jewish law: keeping kashruth at a remote outpost; leaving one's buddies to observe shivah;
celebrating Shabbat in a
foxhole under fire. Because they did not want Jews to be singled out
for special treatment, CANRA insisted that Jewish soldiers not be segregated
into separate kosher dining rooms. They arranged for PX's to order canned
kosher meats from certified suppliers, so soldiers could eat alongside
non-Jews. Chaplains were discouraged from asking that Jewish combat
soldiers receive days off for mouming or holy
days. CANRA decided that, with so much at stake for world Jewry,
military emergency superceded the requirements of halachah.
CANRA"s Responsa Committee, composed of Rabbis
Solomon Freehof, Leo Jung and Milton Steinberg, interpreted halachic
law so that traditional Jewish requirements could be reconciled with
the exigencies of war. The CANRA archives, which reside at the American
Jewish Historical Society, preserve responsa that depict the conflicts
faced by Jewish chaplains as they buried those who died in combat:
PROBLEM: A chaplain says that he has always [stood]
at the foot of the grave during the ceremony and... army regulations
seem to require that the chaplain stand at the head of the grave.
DECISION: [This] is a matter not of law but of Minhag (custom). There is no objection in Jewish law to the chaplain conforming
to army practice and standing at the head of the grave.
PROBLEM: The military
custom is to have the man’s service cap
in his hand rather than on his head. Should
the chaplain request that the cap be placed
upon the head of the soldier who is to
be buried?
DECISION: If the deceased was known to the chaplain
as an observing Orthodox
Jew or if the chaplain knows that the family
of the deceased would prefer it so, he may ask that the cap be placed
upon the head of the deceased.
PROBLEM: Is burial on the Sabbath ever permissible?
Is it permissible during the War Emergency period?
DECISION: [Jewish] law is clear that burial on the Sabbath is forbidden. ... Yet even in civilian life in case of epidemic,
if the government orders the immediate burial of someone who dies
on Friday evening, then the burial must take place. In wartime, a
military command sets aside the laws of the Sabbath. However, the
chaplain should consult the officer in charge as to whether the burial
may not be postponed to another day when burial is permitted according
to Jewish practice.
As Jewish soldiers stood ready to pay the ultimate
price for freedom, CANRA found the fundamentals that unite us all as
Jews and Americans.
Sources: American Jewish Historical
Society |