ON THE COVER

Call To Duty from page A21

Aron
Sandler:

Observance
Level Is
Ship-Shape

Aron Sandler on the USNS
Tippecanoe during his re-

enlistment ceremony.

Standing in line at Jerusalem Pizza in Southfield, Laura Sandler
remembers overhearing a man mention "the extraordinary sailor
he had seen in Tokyo at Chabad-Lubavitch during the High
Holidays — and how he could layn [read Torah] so well." Sandler
of Oak Park said proudly, "I tapped him on his shoulder and said:
`That was my son:"
She was referring to Aron Sandler, Operations Specialist 2nd
class (Surface Warfare), who has served in the U.S. Navy since
2003. He is an observant Jew, who keeps kosher and is shomer
Shabbat. "Being Orthodox in Oak Park was easy:' said his mom.
"It turned into a challenge — that he met — when he joined the
Navy. What defined Aron and his Jewish identity was keeping it in
alien environments:'
Aron Sandler explained that "keeping kosher pretty much
meant bringing as much of my own food as possible and eating
vegetarian once it ran out. I would bring the LaBriute self-heating
[kosher] meals on the ship, provided to me by Jews in Green and
the Aleph Institute. Finding a minyan on the ship was impossible;
the most Jews I have ever had on one ship was three. However,
if we were at a base there was almost
always a minyan. At Naval Base
Yokosuka, Japan, we had a community
of about 25-30 regular attendees and
about another 15 Jews who would
come every now and then!'
Sandler often served as lay leader
during services.
"Being shomer Shabbat was the
hardest thing:' he said. "It took a lot of
effort and a willingness to work late
during the week and on Sundays if the
rest of the ship worked on Saturday:'
Stationed in both the U.S. and
oversees, "he has also served with dis-
tinction onboard the USS Sacramento
[support ship], the destroyer USS
Curtis Wilbur and the supply ship
USNS Tippecanoe," said his mom.
Last September, Sandler re-enlisted

in the Navy and began a new posting as a recruiter in Sterling
Heights, where he lives. But he spends Shabbat and Jewish holi-
days with his parents, Laura and Ronald Sandler in Oak Park,
where they all attend Shaarey Shomayim synagogue.
Sandler, 23, joined the Navy partly to "travel and see the world"
but mostly because of a "sense of patriotic duty that developed
over 12 years as a Boy Scout inTroop 1579 of the Detroit Area
Council' he said. "At the time, it was Michigan's only shomer
Shabbat, kashrut-observant troop!'
Sandler's sense is that "the vast majority [of Jews in the mili-
tary] are non-practicing, Reform and Conservative. However, I
have met a handfuloffrum [observant] Jews;' he said.
"I feel that, especially being a Jew, serving in the American
military is vitally important for the Jewish people. America con-
tinues to be the one place besides Israel where Jews have corn-
plete freedom to worship as we please. America is also Israel's
strongest ally. The continued survival of this great country is vital
to the survival of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel:'
Sandler is grateful to "the plethora of support received
from organizations around the country;' including Jews in Green,
the Jewish Soldiers Foundation and, most specifically, Chabad
and the Chabad-run Aleph Institute.
"There is a Chabad house everywhere," he said. "Thanks
to Chabad, I have had seders in Tokyo, Seattle and Singapore,
and have had kosher meals in Hong Kong, Australia and the
Philippines. They have provided endless support in the form of
free siddurim, chumashim, shofars, Havdalah, Shabbat and yar-
ztheit candles, megillot, hamentashen, seder supplies and more
— all completely free of charge."
In addition, Laura Sandler said several Jewish communities
near where her son was stationed "were very friendly and helped
Aron:'
In one town, she said, "He stayed regularly with a family for
Shabbat."
Not only has being in the Navy not hindered Sandler's religious
observance level, but "both the Jewish Welfare Board and Aleph
have identified Aron as a potential candidate for the chaplaincy:'
his mom said. Her son verified that somewhere in the future,
that's a possibility. E

Supporting Our Jewish Troops

Aleph Institute: Operation Enduring Traditions

Jewish Soldier Foundation

Run by Chabad-Lubavitch, the group aims to provide Jewish books and materi-
als, moral and spiritual support, resources for study of Torah and mitzvot and a
connection with Jewish observances, traditions and prayers.
Through "Operation Enduring Traditions," the Aleph Institute has distributed
thousands of religious-based packages in the U.S. and overseas. In addition to
holiday supplies, the organization has shipped more than 2,000 soft-cover pock-
et-sized Hebrew-English psalm books along with other religious texts. Access the
Web site at: www.enduringtraditions.org .

Established by SPC Joe Kashnow as a resource for those in the U.S. military
and their families, the group advocates for Jewish soldiers by working with the
military and the U.S. Congress to provide educational resources for Jewish sol-
diers, offer ritual religious service items, books and kosher food and works to
break down barriers so observant Jews can serve in the military without having
to sacrifice their faith. Access the Web site at jewishsoldier.org ; send an e-mail
to joe@jewishsoldier.org ; write to the Jewish Soldier Foundation, P.O. Box 65216,
Baltimore, MD 21209; or call (410) 591-1564.

Jews In Green

The Brave

A Web site created by a Jewish Marine Corps officer to provide resources, allow
the sharing of experiences and offer support. It focuses on issues and topics
that affect service persons on a daily basis using a Web blog format. The site
provides resources for receiving religious and holiday packages, connects sub-
scribers with pen pals and lists Jewish-related information on military bases,
including chaplain contact numbers, locations of religious services and nearby
kosher restaurants and shopping. It also offers chat rooms including those for
spouses or parents of military service members and for discussion of military
issues and Jewish issues, including holidays, kashrut and ritual needs. Access
the Web site at: jewsingreen.com .

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism created the interactive listsery
as a connection for families of active Jewish military personnel to share experi-
ences and seek advice.
Subscribers, along with synagogue groups and organizations, have engaged
in efforts to provide service members with holiday food packages and personal
care items as well as with books of Jewish content, Shabbat candles and holiday
ritual items. Listery members also help educate Jewish communities about the
existence of Jews in the military. To subscribe, access the Web site at thebrave®
uscj.org , or send an e-mail to Iistserv®uscj.org . Leave the subject line blank and
type "subscribe the brave" and your name as the message.

A22

July 3 • 2008