Nimitz Strike Group Sailors Observe Jewish High Holy Days in the Arabian Gulf

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Bryant Lang | 200928-N-EB640-1003 ARABIAN GULF (September 28, 2020) Lt. Emily Rosenzweig, a rabbi, deputy chaplain for Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 9, leads a Yom Kippur service aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz, the flagship of Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and three critical chokepoints to the free flow of global commerce. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Bryant Lang)  

ARABIAN GULF

09.29.2020

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Greg Hall  

USS Nimitz (CVN 68)   

ARABIAN GULF – Quiet singing fills the small chapel as Sailors join their voices in a Hebrew hymn. The rabbi removes the Torah from an Ark with careful hands and remarks about what it means to their faith. Each Sailor speaks a prayer in unison and reflects upon the significance of each word.
COVID-19 brought many changes to the world, including the way people are able to worship. Over the past several months, individuals may have observed religious holidays in a number of ways, including through video chat.
Capping off ten days of reflection and repentance, Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) found themselves in a different environment when it came time to observe Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.
“Part of the power of the holiday is to be a room with other people who are sharing the experience of confessing to transgressions and asking for forgiveness as one community,” said Lt. Emily Rosenzweig, deputy chaplain for Destroyer Squadron 9, embarked on Nimitz for the High Holy Days and the only currently deployed Navy rabbi. “I imagine it was challenging for rabbis around the world to recreate that feeling over virtual connections. While this deployment has brought its own challenges, being in our bubble has made it possible for the Nimitz Jewish community to have in-person holiday services for Passover, the High Holy Days, and all the Shabbats in between.”
The High Holy Days of Judaism start with Rosh Hashanah, celebrated this year on Sept. 19. In an effort to ensure all who wanted to observe the Jewish New Year were able to do so in community, Sailors from across the strike group were afforded the opportunity to travel to Nimitz from their respective units to observe Rosh Hashanah. Ten days later, the High Holy Days end with the observance of Yom Kippur.
“Yom Kippur is established as a holy day on the tenth day of the seventh month on the Jewish calendar,” said Rosenzweig. “Since the Jewish calendar is based on the lunar cycle, the secular calendar date of Yom Kippur changes each year. Yom Kippur is observed as a fast day, so observant Jews won’t eat or drink from sundown when the holiday starts to sundown the next day when it ends. The holy day concludes a ten-day period that begins with the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the start of the Jewish year. In that time, called the Days of Repentance, Jews are meant to reflect on what they’ve done in the previous year and how they may need to ask for or offer forgiveness to the people in their lives.”
Throughout the Navy, chaplains work to provide worship services for members of all faiths. Though they only perform services for their specific religious denomination, they work to ensure Sailors have whatever is necessary for their form of worship.
This is especially true of Lt. Rosenzweig, the winner of the Navy’s first Joshua Goldberg Award. The Joshua Goldberg Award was created by the Jewish Welfare Board Jewish Chaplains Council to recognize chaplains that emulate Rabbi Goldberg’s passion for ministry to people of all faiths.
“The work I do here on Nimitz or with one of my DDGs is the reason I won the award,” said Rosenzweig. “I interact primarily with Sailors from other faith groups (or no religious connections at all) so I try to be as broad as possible in my thinking and in my counseling and prayers.”
Chaplains around the fleet work day in and day out to provide Sailors with the support they need regardless of religious affiliation. As Sailors find themselves thousands of miles away from home and their usual comforts, they can find time for peace and meditation in a quiet chapel on a ship, even if their Chaplain doesn’t share their faith background.
“Being a Jewish chaplain is a lot like being any other sort of chaplain except that I lead Jewish services and get more questions about my collar device,” continued Rosenzweig. “I often get asked if I lead some sort of non-religion-specific service that everyone could come to. By Navy guidelines, I’m only authorized to lead worship services in the manner of my faith group so my prayer services are Jewish in form and content, but I’m happy for people of all faith backgrounds to participate.”
The Nimitz carrier strike group transited through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Arabian Gulf Sept. 18. Nimitz CSG presence in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations (AOO), where it has operated since July, demonstrates the U.S. and its regional partners’ commitment to the free flow of commerce, regional maritime security and freedom of navigation.
The U.S. 5th Fleet AOO encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.

• Date Taken: 09.29.2020
• Date Posted: 09.29.2020 20:19
• Story ID: 379692
• Location: ARABIAN GULF