Review: The Fighting Rabbis

The Fighting Rabbis by Albert Slomovitz is a book I’ve had on my shelf for some time, but finally got around to reading recently. At first it appears this is going to just be a long and dry history of the Jewish chaplaincy. However, after I gave it a chapter or two it was clear that this was a bit more than a history textbook. While the book does follow a timeline, each chapter focuses on different aspects of Jewish life and the Jewish chaplaincy. The focus is clearly on the chaplaincy, but it does a great job of relaying what life was like for the average Jew serving in various time periods – from colonial America to modern day.

Something I found particularly interesting is the role that chaplains and various organizations played in fighting anti-Semetism outside of the military. When someone mentions anti-Semetism and the military in the same sentence we often think about some young soldier being mistreated or abused. However, throughout our country’s history many people in general society have tried to perpetuate the idea that Jews were incapable of being patriotic and that we abhor service. Time and again, activists and Jewish organizations presented proof to the contrary, particularly in regards to the history of Jewish service in the United States military. Much of this data could not have been compiled without the active participation of many Jewish chaplains who often gathered such information on their own time and in addition to their regular military duties.

In 1895 [Simon Wolf] published a three-hundred-page book listing, by state and family name, over eight thousand individuals whom he authenticated as having been Jewish who served in the Civil War. The book also contained written comments from senior officers praising the Jewish soldiers who had fought with them in various campaigns.

Slomovitz does a nice job of providing context of Jewish life in the various time periods before delving into specific issues that Jewish troops faced. I don’t want it to come across that the entire book focuses on anti-Semitism, but I was mostly unaware of much of the institutionalized anti-Semetism in our own country over the years, so these points were particularly eye opening to me. In fact, the book seems to more often highlight the good that Jewish military service did for American Jewish society as a whole. From its very inception, our military has often served as an example of fairness and equality, even when the society it defends lags it in moral practice. This is particularly evident in regards to Jewish service.

The book is not all big picture history and facts either. There are numerous intimate stories sprinkled throughout that do a nice job of providing an emotional connection to the conditions and challenges the troops and chaplains faced. One such story describes a service led by Rabbi Earl Stone whose plans for a grand Pesach Seder were cancelled the day before the holiday due to a night march on erev Pesach in preparation for a secret attack on a German stronghold:

In an open field that night, I stood before some 300 hardened veterans of six arduous months of battle… I asked them to sit on the ground and to conjure up in their minds the memory of a Seder at home… I recited the Kiddush with an imaginary cup of wine in my hand and had everyone break an imaginary matzo… At the end of the service man after man, with tears flowing down his cheeks, bade me Gut Yontif.

There are some amazing stories of rabbis risking a great deal to help survivors from many of the camps. The work of rabbis like Herbert Eskin and Abraham Klausner undoubtedly had a significant impact on the Jewish people as a whole. Beyond saving specific lives, some of these chaplains worked to influence U.S. policy on survivors. Their access as military chaplains and tireless effort to document details about the camps and survivors had a profound impact on U.S. postwar policy and beyond.

I know of no other book that is so comprehensive in its coverage of the Jewish experience in the military. However, I can’t help but notice that there is a giant chapter missing. Chaplain Slomovitz wrote this book in 1999 when he was serving as the Senior Chaplain at NAS Pensacola (coincidentally my current duty station). Following September 11, 2001, we have seen two major wars and countless actions around the globe. The challenges that Jews and their chaplains faced in these theaters were different than many in the past. It would be wonderful to see a new edition of The Fighting Rabbis with a few new chapters on the brave and amazing service since 2001.

Come to think of it, this service probably rates an entire book of its own. Hmm… Might have to add that to my to-do list.

Even without a revised edition, I can easily recommend this book for any Jew in uniform, past, present, or future, as well as anyone even remotely interested in Jewish military history. Despite its comprehensiveness, it is a relatively short read and other than a slow start, it kept my attention the entire way  through.

It’s available on Amazon for as little as $10 for the Kindle version.