Bearded Chabad Rabbi Can Join U.S. Army
A bearded Chabad rabbi has won his battle to join the U.S. Army without shaving his beard.
Rabbi Menachem Stern, whose approval to serve as an Army Reserve chaplain in 2009 was rescinded because he refused to shave his beard, will be allowed to serve after settling a lawsuit against the military, Chabad-Lubavitch News reported. Stern expects to be sworn into service next week and begin chaplain training in January.
Though army policy does allow religious waivers for beards on a case-by-case basis, the waivers had previously been granted only after the men entered the service clean-shaven.
In December, Stern filed a lawsuit against the military after attempts – aided by Senators Joe Lieberman, Charles Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand – to receive a waiver failed.
According to the Aleph Institute, a Chabad organization that assists Jewish military personnel, there are currently 37 Jewish chaplains in the U.S. military, including nine rabbis on active duty.
The Aleph Institute will be live streaming Stern’s swearing in ceremony on Dec. 9.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.