Commission to Revise J. W. B. Prayer Book for Jews in Armed Forces

A committee of rabbis to revise the prayer book prepared and distributed by the National Jewish Welfare Board to Jewish personnel in the U. S. armed forces has been created by the JWB’s Commission of Jewish Chaplaincy it was announced today. The committee consists of rabbis recommended by the Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform); Rabbinical Assembly of America (Conservative) and Rabbinical Council of America (Orthodox).

Prepared under war-time conditions and designed for personnel in combat, the Jewish prayer book for GI’s now in use has served nearly 1,000,000 men and women who were in the U.S. armed forces or who have been in VA hospitals. The need for the present revision, the manuscript of which is due to be completed by the fall of 1956, became evident as a result of reports received by JWB’s Commission on Jewish Chaplaincy from GI’s and Jewish chaplains. These reports indicated that a fuller text is required to meet the needs of a peacetime military establishment where more stress is being placed on the role of religion as a factor in morale.

Dr. Joshua Bloch, recently retired chief of the Jewish Division of the New York Public Library, has been named Jewish Welfare Board consultant to Jewish community center libraries. Dr. Bloch’s new position would include the following responsibilities. Consultation with Jewish Community Center and YM-YWHA library committees; consultation with Jewish Community Center and YM-YWHA librarians, evaluation of Jewish Community Center and YM-YWHA libraries in accordance with the criteria of the JWB-sponsored Jewish Book Council of America, and formulation of recommendations for Center libraries concerning facilities, personnel, selection of books, and other matters. There are 350 Jewish community centers and YM-YWHA’s affiliated with the JWB.