War. What is it good for?

Rabbi James Rudin (a former U.S. Air Force chaplain) recently wrote a piece in the Staten Island Advance about Jewish views on various issues in war. The Hebrew Bible and the Jewish religious tradition offer keen insights and teachings about combat and warfare. Because nothing ever came easy to the ancient Israelites-famine, Egyptian slavery, the Exodus, 40 years in the […]

Read more

On a Lighter Note

I thought I would provide a little humor and light content for a change: In case you missed our feature on kosher MREs, you may want to take a look even if you don’t keep kosher. Why? Because the Army is currently developing a ration that can be rehydrated with urine! This is no joke. Although urine is not the […]

Read more

More Jewish Casualties in Iraq

Marine Sgt. Alan D. Sherman, a reservist serving with B Company of the 6th Engineer Support Battalion, based in Dover, PA., was killed on June 29, 2004, along with two other soldiers, when a bomb exploded near the front of his convoy. This was his unit’s reported second tour of duty in Iraq. Sherman, an Ocean Township, New Jersey resident, […]

Read more

Find a House at Your New Duty Station

There is a whole new way for service members to find homes at our next duty station and rent out our current homes to other military members. The Automated Housing Referral Service website has a nationwide database of currently available rentals in and around military bases. The listings include photos, maps and detailed info about the housing and surrounding area. […]

Read more

Coming Soon: Portable Challah & Manischewitz

Stars & Stripes has reported about the recent efforts of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps to develop portable ritual items. As of now, they have only developed portable sacraments (communion wafers and wine or juice), but “Soldier Spiritual Readiness Packets” are also in the works for us Jews as well. They come in a peel-and-serve package, “no larger than the […]

Read more

Jon S. Levinson

Private First Class, U.S. Army PFC Levinson was 23 when he was drafted in 1960 and was stationed at Fort Ord for 2 years.  He served as a Chaplain’s Assistant and Supply Clerk. In the third week of Basic Training at Ft. Ord, Levinson was called out of class and told that a sergeant would be his driver and that […]

Read more