The Rabbi at Camp Victory
“The rabbi, Mitchell Schranz, would rather his congregants leave their Berettas and their M-4 rifles at home than bring them to this nondescript alcove, not far from a former palace of Saddam Hussein. But this is Camp Victory, the American military’s main headquarters in Iraq ” and Jewish soldiers don’t always have the option of welcoming Shabbat unarmed.”
US Navy Commander/Rabbi/Chaplain Schranz is the only Rabbi at Camp Victory, where Jews make up a tiny portion of the 15,000 or so military personnel and civilian contractors. The 51-year-old was trained & ordained at Yeshiva University, and felt the call to help fill the gap in Jewish chaplains in the military. At a forward location, all the usual amenities of Jewish prayer usually aren’t available, so he makes do with what he can: for Havdalah, he sometimes uses a flashlight and gatorade. To bring a taste of Jewish community to the troops, after Havdalah they watch an episode of Seinfeld together. The minyan is small, but the troops’ heartfelt prayers are large. “Soldiers’ prayers tend to be straight from the heart. There’s an earnestness in their relations with the Almighty,” Schranz said as the thud of artillery shook the room, “because their day-to-day existence can be so tenuous.”
I’m surprised to read that What Chaplain Schranz writes:
“all the usual amenities of Jewish prayer usually aren’t available, so he makes do with what he can: for Havdalah, he uses a flashlight and gatorade”
As the Jewish supplier, I can tell you that we are constantly sending packages to Camp Victory. He might not know how to order stuff, a common problem with Chaplains.
So much for the false complaint that ‘there isn’t anything available’.
Dee
Jewish Prime Vendor
I just read the full article on the Forward, and I’m sorry to say that Lt Friedman ‘twisted’ it so it sounds bad.
Here are some actual quotes:
“Schranz, wearing a white prayer shawl and yarmulke over his gray-and-tan camouflage uniform, led the collection of soldiers and airmen through the traditional Friday night prayers.”
“The foot-tall Torah that serves as the centerpiece of Schranz’s Friday night service is made of paper, not the religiously required parchment. But it’s an improvement over what they had a few weeks ago”
“Everyone stood for the Mourner’s Kaddish, to remember lost comrades. Kiddush cups were poured extra generously; the two bottles of red, sweet Kedem are some of the only alcohol that’s allowed on base.”
This is proof that Jewish supplies are available.
“But before the beginning of the show, Schranz wanted to offer up a quick Havdalah prayer to mark the end of the Sabbath. All the wine was now locked up. There were no candles to be found. So Schranz took an olive-green flashlight from the desk. He took a fruit punch-flavored Gatorade out of the refrigerator. And then, he began to chant. When the prayer was over, he grinned.”
There was wine, it was locked up, so he took Gatorade. A far cry from insinuating that Gatorade is the ‘standard’ fare for Havdalah.
Dee
Hold on just a second. I re-read the article twice, and I don’t see any negative “twist.”
Whenever you are in the field, you have to make do without certain things (otherwise it would not be “the field”). Some people see this as a hardship, but it is often the creative and thoughtful improvisations that make the best memories of a deployment or field exercise. Lt Friedman selected a story for the JIG article that spotlighted, what I consider, a very creative substitution for standard ritual items.
When I read the story, it brought a smile to my face. I’ve said brachot many o’ times over Pepsi and chocolate moon-pies, and stuff like this brings back some great memories.
No one here is saying that there aren’t any Jewish items available. I know that as the Jewish Prime Vendor, you often fight an uphill battle to get much needed ritual items to the troops, but I really wish you wouldn’t see every story about Jews improvising in the field as an attack on you or the DLA. We love what you do, but things don’t always go as planned in the desert of Iraq (even if it’s only a locked cabinet) and our great Chaplains, like Rabbi Schranz, come through for the troops and help fulfill a few mitzvot.
Yeshar koach to CDR Schranz and all the other Jewish chaplains out on the front lines risking their lives to provide for our Jewish (and non-Jewish) service members.
I’m sure they have the best intentions when it comes to obtaining ritual items, but with our current deployment schedules and op-tempo, there are sure to be some additional challenges for our fighting rabbis. So please, cut these great men and women a little slack if they are a little behind on ordering from the catalog. There are two ends of the supply chain, and I promise you the receiving end is far more chaotic and challenging than the air-conditioned warehouse side.
You might be right with my sensitivity, if you would know of the ‘battle’ we must engage, perhaps you might understand. We (and the DSCP) get the ‘flack’ for all ‘Jewish mishaps’ whether they are in our control or not. Very few, if any, newspaper reporters do their homework when reporting of a shortage of Passover food or other lack of supplies, instead they fault all in their column or article. When I question them directly, they just say, ‘well, this was my assumption, sorry’. So, you may say, my antenna is ‘up and sniffing’.
I do realize, that JIG is friendly towards us and the DSCP and perhaps I should’ve given the benefit of doubt. I this time of Jewish repentance, I apoligize.
Dee
No hard feelings Dee. 🙂
I have to agree with you that many news sources (excluding JIG of course) tend to focus on the negatives of Jewish life in the military. I think it goes along with the sensationalism status-quo of the of media in general.
Your apology is accepted. I hope we can work together to ease the problems of distribution of goods to the troops. Keep fighting the good fight and thanks for all you do.
Todah and many thanks to all who wrote to share their comments. This line is not a quote from me. It was written by the author of the article: all the usual amenities of Jewish prayer usually aren’t available, so he makes do with what he can: for Havdalah, he uses a flashlight and gatorade.”
When the article was written, I had been in Iraq for less than one month. Thanks to the military, the JWB, Aleph Institute, as well as many very generous synagogues, sisterhoods, and individuals, we have a good supply of Judaica coming in.
The most-needed Judaica item-Rabbis in uniform-are still in short supply. The miltary did a great job this year of sending several Rabbis TDY/TAD to the region to fill the gap. This was in addition to the Rabbis who were already in theater.
Please also note that wine is not a requirement for Havdallah. Most any juice is acceptable.
As we begin the New Year, may I ask everyone to pray for and to remember our men and women serving in harm’s way. Their bravery and stamina are a great inspiration.
Shalom,
Rabbi Mitch Schranz
shalom,
didn’t you served as chaplain at the SUBIC NAVAL BASE?