The army will provide arks and “Sifrei Torah” (Scrolls of the Law) for Jewish soldiers in 604 inter-denominational chapels to be constructed in training centers throughout the country, under an unprecedented program announced by the War Department today.
The program, which will cost $12,816,000, will give each regimental unit a chapel of its own. The chapels will be used at different hours of the day by chaplains of the Jewish, Catholic and Protestant faiths, all of whom will be assigned office space in the structures.
The Arks of the Law will be an innovation in Army chapels. It is expected that the scrolls will be purchased by the Army through the Quartermaster’s office of the Chief of Chaplains. The construction of these chapels will, for the first time, obviate for Jewish soldiers the necessity of going to nearby towns with synagogues in order to worship in a proper atmosphere.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
