. . . . as a lone candle flickered in a tent at Camp Commando near the Iraqi border, one of four Jewish soldiers at the evening Sabbath service began to cry when Rabbi Irving Elson put his hands on his shoulders and prayed. “Be strong and of courage and trust in the Lord,” Rabbi Elson said, quoting from the Book of Joshua.There are between 5000 and 8000 Jews in the US military, and about 1500 now in the Gulf. Jewish organizations have organized to provide them with chaplains (there are 4) and kosher-for-Pesach food. Rabbi Elson, who has been traveling throughout the Kuwaiti desert the last few weeks to conduct weekday and Sabbath services for the Jewish soldiers, described the services last Sabbath as “awesome.”
“I went with the Seventh Marines [who] … are literally in the tip of the spear,” he wrote in an e-mail. “We could see the lights of Iraq from our ‘synagogue.’ Every prayer seems to have extra meaning out here, in particular prayers such as Sim Shalom [bring peace] and Hashkiveinu [a prayer for God’s protecting love].”
There is also a listserv for Jewish families with members in the military.
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