Thousands of Prayer Books Headed for U.S. Troops

With less than two months left until the High Holidays, the Aleph Institute is gearing up for its annual distribution of prayer books, head coverings and other items to ensure that American Jewish servicemen and women will be able to celebrate the occasion.

Aleph, a Chabad-Lubavitch initiative based in Florida that assists United States armed forces in providing for their Jewish personnel both on and off the battlefield, has already begun receiving requests for siddurs, kippahs, and lulavs and etrogs for Sukkot. The organization is intending to ship one Sukkah booth to each battalion that requests one.

Officials are expecting thousands of new prayer books to be in the hands of troops before Rosh Hashanah, which this year begins on Sept. 12.

Aleph is also planning to send Lubavitch rabbis to bases that do not have a Jewish chaplain to conduct High Holiday services. In years past, the American station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, as well as bases in Japan and Vicenza, Italy, have availed themselves of this service.