Airmen celebrate arrival of Jewish Torah and ark

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Lionel Castellano | Staff Sgt. Christopher Dudas, 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron structural craftsman, carefully drills tiny holes into the newly crafted ark that he volunteered to make for Gilbert Memorial Chapel. The ark will house a Torah, which is a big parchment leather scroll on which the Five Books of Moses are handwritten in Hebrew and the foundation for Jewish law, teachings, religion and society. Dudas is deployed from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; his hometown is Lyndonville, Vt.  

BALAD, IRAQ

03.28.2009

Story by Staff Sgt. John Gordinier 

332d Air Expeditionary Wing

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – Airmen celebrated the arrival of a Jewish Torah during a dedication ceremony at Gilbert Memorial Chapel, March 21.

A Torah is a big parchment leather scroll on which the Five Books of Moses are handwritten in Hebrew, said Capt. Sarah Schechter, chaplain, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing rabbi. For thousands of years, this is how Jews have maintained their law, teachings, religion and society. Every congregation has a Torah scroll, which is kept in a special ark. A dedication ceremony takes place whenever a new Torah is incorporated into a Jewish faith community.

"A new Torah or even the repair of one is very costly," she continued. "A new scroll can easily take a year to make. In this case, the Jewish Welfare Board, an organization that endorses rabbis in the U.S. Armed Forces and supports Jewish military programs, donated this Torah for our use here.

"Getting the Torah to Iraq was not an easy task," Schechter added. "It was not something we could just give to someone to take through customs and know for sure it would get through. After several weeks of talking to different shippers, the JWB shipped it through U.S. postage, but had to insure it for a fraction of its true value. The day it arrived here was an emotional time for me. It was almost like seeing a beloved member of my own family.

The Torah is housed in a structure called an ark and Staff Sgt. Christopher Dudas, 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron structual craftsman, volunteered to made JBB's ark, which is made of wood.

"It took him 10-15 hours to build the ark and he did a beautiful job," Schechter said. "I am so proud that we have something that was made by the people ... for the people of Joint Base Balad. It is more special than anything we could have bought."

The rabbi started the afternoon service with a number of prayers in Hebrew and then launched into the Torah dedication. Tech. Sgt. Craig Lifton, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs NCO in charge of journalism, read out loud from the new Torah as part of his bar mitzvah, which followed the dedication ceremony.

"We combined the dedication ceremony with an adult bar mitzvah," Schechter said. "A bar mitzvah is a rite of passage held traditionally for Jewish boys when they reach 13 years old and a day. Bar mitzvah literally means, 'son of the commandment,' -- meaning the person is now of age to fully participate in all aspects of the Jewish religion."

Sometimes history or a family situation, such as the death of a parent, overwhelms a family and the child never ends up receiving the training originally planned, Schechter said. This was the case for Sgt. Lifton.

"For a lot of personal reasons, to include the loss of my mother when I was a child, I never fully became involved in my religion," Lifton said. "I have learned a lot from Rabbi Schechter about my faith and the Hebrew language. This is probably the most enriching thing I have ever done."

"I am very proud of Lifton," Schechter said. "He did a great job. Here we were celebrating a Torah dedication and with Lifton's bar mitzvah, we were also celebrating his dedication to the Torah; to learning it and to living it. He's a real inspiration because it takes a lot of humility and patience to learn something new like this."

To conclude the dedication ceremony, Schechter placed JBB's new Torah in the wooden ark.

"It is a huge responsibility to have this in our possession and a great privilege," she said.

• Date Taken: 03.28.2009
• Date Posted: 03.28.2009 09:08
• Story ID: 31740
• Location: BALAD, IQ