For the first time ever, U.S military service members stationed around the world will join together virtually to celebrate Chanukah via live video broadcast on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 5:30 p.m. EST. The center of activities will be Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, with Chabad-Lubavitch Chaplain Rabbi Mendy Stern organizing and leading the celebration. The event will be broadcast live via a defense conferencing service that will enable Jewish troops around the world to join and actively participate, and Chabad.org’s Jewish.tv will be broadcasting it to the public.
“This is our way of fulfilling the mitzvah of Hakhel—of bringing Jews together from all over the world, even virtually, for a special gathering,” said 34-year-old Stern, one of nine Jewish chaplains in the U.S. Army. “There are so many troops without a Jewish chaplain to help them celebrate the holidays, so this helps to connect us all so everyone have a joyous holiday.”
At last year’s annual Chanukah celebration on his base, Stern was able to connect interested military-service personnel in five different locations without a Jewish chaplain through homemade web connections. The response to the event was so positive that when Stern’s superior asked if he would do it again this year, he decided to make it even more effective through the help of Chabad.org’s live broadcast technology. Though the exact locations of participants cannot be specified because of security reasons, there will troops tuning in from all over the world.
“Even if they are alone—the only Jewish person in their location—they can still tune in and participate,” said Stern, who lives with his family on base. “For many servicepeople, morale drops around Chanukah time because holidays are associated with family and time spent together. This broadcast will help them celebrate in a more joyous way, boosting their morale and making it somewhat better for them.”
The 45-minute program will consist of explaining the meaning of Chanukah, hearing remarks from the base commander, and lighting and showcasing unique military-related menorahs. The menorah at Fort Leonard Wood, for example, was a gift from retired Chaplain Jacob Goldstein, and is made from cannon shells that were used in the battle of Grenada. This year will be the fourth time it is lit. Another location will be tuning in and lighting a menorah made from rockets that were logged against the southern Israeli town of Sderot just under two years ago.
“This is our way of utilizing elements of war for the sake of peace,” said Stern, who moved in 2011 from Brooklyn, N.Y., to become a chaplain. “We’re brightening the world this way. We’re gathering together on a mass scale to show Chanukah’s message of light overcoming darkness. Especially in such a volatile time in the world, this is an opportunity for Jews all over to show solidarity with the message of Chanukah—the message of freedom of religion.”
The U.S. Army menorah-lighting ceremony can be viewed below.
Chanukah Packages to Troops
In addition to the broadcast, the Aleph Institute, an organization that services Jewish prisoners and military personnel, is sending Chanukah packages to troops stationed at locations across the globe. The free packages include a menorah, candles, a booklet with the Chanukah story and blessings, dreidels and chocolate bars. Recipients are also able to request a book of Psalms (specially printed with a camouflage cover), a Friday-night prayer booklet and the “Courage and Safety Booklet,” which is a letter from the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory—to a U.S. soldier.
“These packages make all the difference to them,” said Rabbi Menachem Katz, director of outreach programs at the Aleph Institute. “They can’t buy these items where they are located, and it gets them more involved in the holidays.”
The Florida-based Aleph Institute has been distributing these types of packages since 1985, bringing it to a much greater scale after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Chaim Stitzer, a 26-year-old officer at the Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, attests that military personnel have been awaiting the packages this year.
“You can’t begin to imagine what it’s like to be so removed from the Jewish community and how cut off we feel, even if you’re not deployed,” said Stitzer, who is married with children. “Sometimes, it feels like everyone has just forgotten about you. These packages they send really remind us that there are people who think about us and remember us. It’s like having a lifeline back to the Jewish community.”
This year, the Aleph Institute will ship 1,168 menorahs, 1,875 boxes of candles, 1,300 dreidels and 682 Chanukah books to military installations around the world, in addition to prisons across the United States. Jewish inmates in 250 prisons will also receive Chanukah visits.
“When people join the military, most expect to lose their Judaism entirely,” continued Stitzer. “It never occurs to them that there are services out there to connect them back to Judaism.
“It’s hard to overstate how big of a deal these things are to us, even if we’re not deployed somewhere far away. It’s showing us that people remember that we exist, and we’re out here. It’s a huge deal for us.”
For Chanukah information—including locating public menorah-lightings—inspiration, recipes, events for the whole family and more, visit the Chabad.org Chanukah 2015 page here.
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