More than 200 Jewish military chaplains, service members, and cadets from around the world gathered from February 11–15 for the 19th Annual Aleph Military Symposium, but one deeply personal moment came to define this year’s gathering: a 102-year-old World War II veteran putting on tefillin for the first time in his life.

The five-day conference, hosted by the Aleph Institute, is the largest professional gathering of Jews in the U.S. armed forces. It brings together Jewish personnel for professional training, spiritual growth, and community-building.

During the symposium, Harold Terens, a former U.S. Army Air Corps serviceman who fought in Normandy and the North Africa Campaign, participated in a Bar Mitzvah ceremony, putting on tefillin and being called up to the Torah for an aliyah.

The symposium drew participants from across the United States and overseas bases in Spain, Germany, Japan, and Hawaii. International military representatives attended from Israel and NATO countries, including the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, and Canada.

Among the participants were 25 cadets from the United States Military Academy, representing nearly 20 percent of its Jewish student population, along with cadets and personnel from the Naval, Air Force, and Coast Guard academies.

“The symposium is the fulcrum of Jewish life in the military,” said Chaplain Maj. Elie Estrin, director of Aleph’s military programs. “Jewish chaplains and lay leaders use the information, inspiration, and mutual mentorship they gain here all year long.”

For many service members, the annual symposium is their primary opportunity to gather in person with fellow Jewish personnel.

“The Aleph Institute Military Training and Symposium is unquestionably my most highly anticipated non-holiday annual event,” said Chaplain Lt. Col. Joseph Friedman, deputy director of the Air National Guard Chaplain Corps.

The symposium’s featured programs included “The Rebbe’s Approach to Handling Suicidal Ideation,” presented by Rabbi Yechiel Krisch, and “Halachic Decisions in Wartime,” by Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe of Congregation B’nai Torah in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Speakers also included representatives from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Chief Judge Matthew Solomson, and officials from the IDF Chief Rabbinate.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)