2008 Woodie Awards
Faith in Fallujah
Moshe Goldfeder
Issue date: 12/6/04 Section: Features
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For most students and even their families, the war in Iraq seems distant and only something read about in a newspaper or watched on television. But for others, the war is very real and close to home. Rabbi Irving Elson, YC '82, otherwise known as Chaplain (Rabbi) Commander Irving Elson, is one of the few and the proud who are able to serve their country while serving G-d at the same time. In 2003, Rabbi Elson spent seven months as the only Jewish Chaplain for the Marines in Iraq, and he has just returned home after an additional six-week stint.
Rabbi Elson grew up in Mexico City, the son of an ex-Marine and a Mexican mother. He joined the Naval Reserve while in college, and after graduation, Rabbi Elson was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in 1987. Commissioned an Ensign in the Naval Reserve through the Chaplain Candidate Program, Rabbi Elson has served at Marine bases in Okinawa, Italy, Charleston, S.C., as Staff Chaplain at the United States Naval Academy, and as a guest lecturer at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., and the Navy Chaplain's School. In January of 2003, Rabbi Elson was deployed to Kuwait, and when the preparations for the war with Iraq began, he was attached to a marine artillery brigade that spearheaded the invasion.
The Marines crossed into Iraq on March 25, 2003, Purim on the Hebrew calendar. Just before penetrating the country, Rabbi Elson was made chaplain for the entire 1st Battalion. His responsibilities for the rest of his tour of duty now included counseling, care of the wounded, and the running of religious services. In fact, for his part in Operation Iraqi Freedom, as chaplain for 1st Battalion and 11th Marine Regiment, Rabbi Elson was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by President George W. Bush.
In August 2004, Rabbi Elson was sent back to Fallujah, just in time to help the roughly 400 Jews in the Marines Expeditionary Force celebrate the High Holidays. Marines in Iraq have no one to blow the Shofar for them," he told his 3-year-old daughter, Abigail, before he left. From his station at a Marine base on the outskirts of the city, Rabbi Elson would take off on a jeep or helicopter to visit Jewish soldiers all over the Sunni Triangle. On Yom Kippur itself, despite the terrible heat, Jewish marines fasted all day, and Rabbi Elson describes his service during the High Holy Days as "a spiritual experience" that will stay with him for many years.
Rabbi Elson grew up in Mexico City, the son of an ex-Marine and a Mexican mother. He joined the Naval Reserve while in college, and after graduation, Rabbi Elson was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in 1987. Commissioned an Ensign in the Naval Reserve through the Chaplain Candidate Program, Rabbi Elson has served at Marine bases in Okinawa, Italy, Charleston, S.C., as Staff Chaplain at the United States Naval Academy, and as a guest lecturer at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., and the Navy Chaplain's School. In January of 2003, Rabbi Elson was deployed to Kuwait, and when the preparations for the war with Iraq began, he was attached to a marine artillery brigade that spearheaded the invasion.
The Marines crossed into Iraq on March 25, 2003, Purim on the Hebrew calendar. Just before penetrating the country, Rabbi Elson was made chaplain for the entire 1st Battalion. His responsibilities for the rest of his tour of duty now included counseling, care of the wounded, and the running of religious services. In fact, for his part in Operation Iraqi Freedom, as chaplain for 1st Battalion and 11th Marine Regiment, Rabbi Elson was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by President George W. Bush.
In August 2004, Rabbi Elson was sent back to Fallujah, just in time to help the roughly 400 Jews in the Marines Expeditionary Force celebrate the High Holidays. Marines in Iraq have no one to blow the Shofar for them," he told his 3-year-old daughter, Abigail, before he left. From his station at a Marine base on the outskirts of the city, Rabbi Elson would take off on a jeep or helicopter to visit Jewish soldiers all over the Sunni Triangle. On Yom Kippur itself, despite the terrible heat, Jewish marines fasted all day, and Rabbi Elson describes his service during the High Holy Days as "a spiritual experience" that will stay with him for many years.