Uncle Sam issues Bibles, cheesecake for Shavuot

new york | U.S. Jewish soldiers are receiving two items that no Jew celebrating Shavuot can do without: a Bible and a cheesecake.

The Jewish Chaplains Council is teaming up with the Jewish Publication Society to send 2,750 copies of the Book of Psalms and the Bible to Jewish soldiers serving overseas.

"The traditional thing to do on Shavuot is to study," says Miriam Rinn, the council's communications manager.

Meanwhile, the Aleph Institute, a Florida-based organization that seeks to facilitate Jewish observance in the military, intends to bring a taste of the Jewish home to U.S. service personnel by sending out more than 1,000 portions of cheesecake for Shavuot. Jews traditionally eat dairy for the holiday, which begins the night of June 12.

The cheesecake will be "shelf-stable," which means it won't require refrigeration and can withstand the desert heat of countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the initiatives speak to the ongoing efforts of Jewish organizations to serve Jewish soldiers stationed in military bases throughout the world, especially in Iraq, where there are an estimated 1,500 U.S. Jewish soldiers.

"We are a resource for any Jewish soldier who needs anything Jewish," says Rabbi Menachem Katz, director of the Aleph Institute.

To that end, says Katz, the institute regularly sends prayer books, Bibles, tefillin and other Jewish materials to Jewish soldiers.

Chaplain Lt. Col. Ira Kronenberg recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan, where he conducted Passover seders for Jewish soldiers in Bagram. About 15 soldiers attended, he says.

"The army provided a Passover kit: matzahs, Haggadahs, grape juice," Kronenberg says. "The Aleph Institute sent shmurah matzahs."

For example, the army prepares special kosher versions of ready-to-eat meals, the staple for soldiers in the field.

Kronenberg recalls one soldier in Afghanistan who attended every religious service Kronenberg held, and regularly asked the rabbi questions about Judaism.

Before Kronenberg left, the soldier asked him to call his parents to tell them he was OK. When Kronenberg did so a few days later, he mentioned how impressed he was by the soldier's Jewish commitment.

"That's funny; he never attended any services here," the parents said.

Chaplain Shmuel Felzenberg echoes Kronenberg's sentiments. Felzenberg, a captain, concluded an 11-month deployment to Iraq last January, where he was assigned to an army base near Balad, a city some 70 miles north of Baghdad.