Rabbi Aaron Landes, RADM (Ret) Z”L

Rabbi Aaron Landes, a retired Rear Admiral and former chairman of the Jewish Welfare Board, passed away last week at his home in Elkins Park, PA after a long battle with leukemia.

Rabbi Landes had a long and distinguished career devoted to Jewish service both in and out of the military.

He was involved in the creation of the Jewish chapel at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, and made a permanent mark on generations of midshipmen who served there.

In 1979, during a stint at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, an official asked Rabbi Landes why more Jewish students hadn’t enlisted.

Let’s analyze this, he said: At the time, the military school had a chapel for Christian services that seated 2,500. But its 45 Jewish midshipmen had to worship off-campus.

“He said, ‘You have no Jewish chaplains and no Jewish chapel,’ ” his wife, Sora, said. Rabbi Landes suggested that an unused room be converted into an all-faiths chapel – and Jewish services were held there until a designated chapel was built in 2005.

His pride in his military service and devotion to Jews in uniform so inspired his son, Josh Landes, that he funded the new siddur that will be available for issue to members of the Armed Forces.

Full obituaries that recount Landes’s lifetime of achievements can be found at the Jewish Exponent and Philly.com. Services were held today at Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Rabbi Aaron Landes Educational Fund at Beth Sholom.