Vol. LXXXII
No. 33
Omaha, NE
16 Nisan, 5763
April 18, 2003
SERVING NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IOWA FOR 82 YEARS
Passover in the Persian Gulf Jewish Federation-Supported Agency Provides Passover Seder Kits to Jewish Military Personnel by GLENN ROSENCRANZ, UJC New York--Matzah balls in the Iraqi desert? For Jewish military men and women serving in the Persian Gulf region, observing Passover was possible in the form of special holiday meal kits shipped to the area with Jewish communal support. More than 1,500 Passover Solo Seder Kits were shipped overseas so that Jewish military personnel could conduct their own seder despite the daily challenges they face. Kits were also shipped throughout the United States.
Chaplain Joel D. Newman, right, United States Navy, distributes a Passover Solo Seder Kit to PFC Sam Bonsky. The kits, which contain such items as a Haggadah, matzot, grape juice and gefilte fish, were shipped overseas and throughout the United States so that Jewish military personnel can conduct their own Passover seder despite the daily challenges they face. The kits were distributed by the Jewish Welfare Board Jewish Chaplains Council, an agency supported by United Jewish Communities (UJC) and Jewish Federations of North America. Photo courtesy of: Chaplain Joel D. Newman, United States Navy. “This is a spiritual mission that is being undertaken for the men and women in the military, who are serving G-d and serving our country,” said Rabbi David Lapp, Director of the Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) Jewish Chaplains Council, an agency of the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America. “Even after Passover, we will continue on with programs that show our unwavering support and express our tremendous gratitude for their bravery.” The JWB Jewish Chaplains Council has undertaken the project with the support of United Jewish Communities (UJC), representing 156 Jewish federations throughout North America, so that Jewish military personnel can take part in the rituals, customs and traditions of the holiday though they are far from home. The kits were particularly critical for servicemen and women who are on the front lines in the Gulf, as they are constantly moving and therefore cannot attend a traditional seder, said Rabbi Lapp. The kits allowed them to observe Passover no matter where they are, and provide a meaningful connection to Judaism amidst the turmoil of war. Seven Jewish Chaplains were deployed to the Gulf to help distribute the Passover Solo Seder Kits to military personnel and to meet their needs during the holiday, according to the JWB. Military personnel not in combat zones had the opportunity to attend a seder organized by a Chaplain. To help provide the kits, the JWB Jewish (Continued on page 2)
First Known Jewish Casualty in Iraq Talked of Enlisting in the IDF by JOE BERKOFSKY NEW YORK (JTA)--As a the 9th Infantry during World young boy, Mark Evnin insisted War II. Born in Poland, Wall on wearing a yarmulke to the told his grandson stories of Boy Scouts and later talked of how he went to Belgium, enlisting in the Israel Defense France and Germany and Force. worked with displaced perEven without his body, the sons. family of the first known Jewish “We had a great time togethcasualty of the war on Iraq sat er. He loved stories about shiva, the Jewish mourning World War II. He saw my chapperiod, at their home in lain uniform, and I gave him Burlington, VT. all my medals.” On April 1, Mindy Evnin got a After meeting Israeli soldiers call from her son, a Marine when he became a Marine, his sniper scout, who was somemother said, he talked of going where south of Baghdad. to Israel one day and serving “It was the first time I’d spoin the Israeli military. ken to him since he was “I am sure it mattered to him deployed” to Kuwait from Camp that he was doing something Pendleton, CA, in February, she that is probably helping Israel said. “You can always tell his Mark Evnin of Burlington, VT, is the right now,” she said. mood by his voice, and he sound- first known Jewish casualty of When Evnin was 6, his pared good.” Operation Iraqi Freedom. Photo/JTA ents separated, but his father, Two days later, Mark Evnin, Michael, of Rockville, MD, 21, a corporal with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Regiment returned and lived with his son from the ages of 8 to of the Marines’ 1st Division, was killed in the town 12. of Kut by Iraqi machine-gun fire. His father recalled that when Evnin was born, “he “He was a macho kid with a gentle soul,” his moth- looked like an angel. He was extremely beautiful, er told JTA this week as she was preparing her almost shockingly so. He had long, blond golden house for the shiva. “He was like a sabra,” using the hair which as an infant he wore down to his shoulterm for a native-born Israeli. ders.” And like most Israeli men, Mark seemed to know Though he did not grow up deeply religious, relahe was destined for military service from a young tives said, the extended family celebrated Jewish age. holidays and Evnin had his Bar Mitzvah at the “He was always interested in the military, ever Conservative synagogue his grandfather led. since he was a child,” recalled his maternal grandMark Evnin “always would say that his zayda was father, Rabbi Max Wall, 87, of Burlington. the chief rabbi of Vermont,” Mindy Evnin said. “He had some kind of inborn feeling that he should Rabbi Joshua Chasan, who currently leads Ohavi serve his country; it was just a question of which Zedek, recalls that Evnin attended Hebrew school uniform he should wear.” in U.S. Army fatigues. Evnin and his grandfather grew very close over “There’s no doubt about it, Mark did it his own the years. way,” Chasan said. “Vermont is a pretty liberal comWall, now rabbi emeritus of Ohavi Zedek munity, and this kid went into the Marine Corps.” Synagogue in Burlington, served as a chaplain with (Continued on page 9)
Temple Israel Scholar Rabbi Elliott Dorff to Discuss “the Right and the Good” by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator “Some of the old answers seem to do just fine in our modern world,” writes Rabbi Elliot Dorff in his newest book, To Do the Right and the Good, “whereas others seem to be woefully inadequate. In some cases, we are not even sure how to apply ancient wisdom to the new circumstances in which we find ourselves.” “You shall do the right and the good in the eyes of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:18). This law and other theological tenets of the Torah articulate social justice as a central Jewish principle. In his book, Rabbi Dorff explores the Jewish perspective of social justice in relation to topics such as poverty, war, intrafaith and interfaith relations, family, and privacy. He also covers Jewish social ethics as they relate to and contrast with today’s Christian and American belief systems. As a scholar-in-residence at Temple Israel the weekend of May 2-4, Rabbi Dorff, author of more than 150 articles on Jewish thought, law, and ethics as well as nine books, will discuss ethics in the business world, in issues of human intimacy and in bioethics. Rector and Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Judaism, Rabbi Dorff teaches a course on Jewish law at UCLA
School of Law as a visiting professor. Ordained a Conservative rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1970, Rabbi Dorff earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University in 1971 with a dissertation in moral theory. Since then, he has directed the rabRabbi Elliot Dorff binical and Masters programs at the University of Judaism. (Continued on page 11)
INSIDE: Insider’s View of AIPAC Conference....page 6 Moral Courage, Theme of Yom HaShoah..........................page 8 Shop Shalom Fever Building.............page 12