This effort will make kosher more accessible to the U.S. Navy
By Howard Blass – chabad.org
Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Dilicia will begin a two-year assignment on the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier this month, but the nuclear engineer and electrical engineer says his experience with kosher food will be better than his first five years in the military. Are expected. Dilicia endured long periods of time on land and at sea, describing herself as a “starving soldier”.
When he deployed to the USS Roosevelt just before Hanukkah in 2020, no Kosher MRE (Meals, Ready-to-Eat, Preservable Self-Contained Food Ration) arrived on board.
“From Hanukkah to Pesach, I ate canned bean and tuna salad. I lost 35 pounds.”
As Passover approached and Dilithia and the sailors were in the South China Sea, he prepared to spend the holiday without matzah or other kosher provisions. “Kosher kits have stalled in Australia,” he laments. “Three hours before Pesach, the miracle of Pesach happened. Matzah and other foodstuffs came from box to box.”
Thanks to recent collaborations with the Navy, Chabad, the Aleph Institute and the Orthodox Union, a nutritious kosher meal is served daily for Jewish sailors on many of the 280 naval vessels, including aircraft carriers, cruisers and destroyers. becomes much easier.
New agreement breaks bureaucracy
Although kosher food has technically been available to Jewish sailors for many years, sailors on various naval vessels have expressed their frustrations and difficulties in maintaining kosher food to military contacts. began sharing with Rabbi Ellie Estrin, who is a role. Aleph Institute and editor Jewish American Warrior.
“We used to have kosher food on board,” Estrin said. “The problem was how to provide each type of vessel with its own viable system.” , also noted that maintaining kosher aboard warships would require complicated logistics, including carefully scripted meal menus, limited storage space and resupply opportunities, and heavy fires. Safety and food handling precautions required for naval vessels. “We have tried to fill this gap and show the Navy that there is kosher food on board and that it is not difficult to solve.”
Standardization of the new system by the Orthodox Union
After compiling feedback from kosher-adhering sailors, Estrin embarked on a patient and systematic approach to naval affairs in 2019. The process began with a brainstorming session and a conference call with the Navy Commander, the Navy’s Senior Jewish Chaplain. Aaron Kleinman, and the third is a Jewish Naval Quartermaster officer. They met with senior logistics personnel and began researching various issues and possibilities.
These conversations didn’t solve all the problems, but a big breakthrough came when Rabbi Eli Elef got involved. Aleph, the rabbi coordinator and community stakeholder for OU Kosher, the world’s largest kosher watchdog, began consulting with Aleph on questions about military pastorship. Estrin quickly realized that Eleff had both the knowledge of the food system and his OU’s organizational influence to move the process forward. The team got to work.
Elef worked closely with Kleinman, now stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, and other naval officers at the Atlantic Fleet Command. Mr. Kleinman granted Mr. Elef and OU Kashrut Senior Supervisor Rabbi Daniel Sharrat permission to inspect three ships, including an aircraft carrier, anchored at Norfolk Naval Base. USS Gerald R. Fordamphibious assault ship USS Bataan and destroyer USS Call. Atlantic Fleet Command chaplain Colonel Brian Stamm led the tour, accompanied by both Kleinman and Estrin.
“The professionalism of Rabbi Elef and Rabbi Sharratt was amazing,” says Estrin. “They have clearly impressed sailors, supply personnel and ship leaders with their understanding of the food system, their clarity, their sensitive investigative work, their incisive questioning and their assessment of the actual kosher potential from different angles. I gave.”
The work of the rabbis has helped us understand that the Navy is already on the road to providing a kosher experience for its sailors. The research team found that his 80% of the dry matter and fruits and vegetables used are already kosher certified or are kosher in nature.
In addition, it became clear to senior Navy officials that cooking foods that cannot be kosher in the kitchen creates complications. The rabbis confirmed to the Navy that with good communication and clear explanations of the basics of kashrut, there is an easy way for sailors on most naval vessels to enjoy three nutritious kosher meals daily. made me understand.
Comprehensive report
Elef and Sharat will then prepare a comprehensive report to distribute to naval supply officers, chaplains, and Jewish sailors. It provides guidelines for requesting kosher supplies and how to use a kosher diet on board various classes of vessels.
Aleph Institute CEO Rabbi Aaron Lipskal said he was pleased with his organization’s role in meeting the needs of the Jewish military. “Aleph is at the forefront of ensuring that Jews serving in the U.S. Armed Forces are fully supported, both materially and spiritually. It’s a big win for our country.”
Dilicia hopes future missions will provide delicious and nutritious meals on weekdays, Shabbat and holidays. He will go to sea for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and will lead the holiday prayers in addition to his electrician duties.
Dilicia is proud to continue military service, a family tradition that goes back several generations, but she also says she enjoys time on land as much as she can. deben Learn directly from Chabad. He said he could bring his experience with Chabad back to the ship and influence other Jewish sailors.
“I hope my fellow crew members have an easier time,” says Dilicia. “The system that makes kosher food available on board will change not only our relationship with G‑d, but our professional relationship as well.”
“Everything they’ve done has improved my military experience substantially, not just in the abstract,” he continues. “We are grateful that the U.S. Navy understands the desire of Jewish sailors to protect kosher and is willing to work to address this fundamental element of Judaism.”
