Those who participated included Air Force personnel, civilian employees and retirees.

The lunch — homemade pizza —was provided by base engineer Barry Hellman and his wife, Debra.

This session was one of the first for Chaplain (Capt.) Joshua Narrowe, the first active duty Jewish chaplain at Wright-Patt in more than a decade.

Narrowe, an Orthodox rabbi, recently arrived in the Dayton area with his wife, Adrienne, and their three children — Zev (8), Tova (6) and Noam (2) —following a three-year assignment at an air base in England.

Born in Philadelphia, Narrowe’s father is a Conservative rabbi who began his career as a Navy chaplain and ultimately served for several years as chief rabbi of Stock-holm, Sweden.

Growing up, Narrowe says he didn’t want to become a rabbi.

“Being a rabbi’s kid was difficult,” he says. “It effected my sister more, the idea that we couldn’t make mistakes. Not because of my father, but because of other congregants.”

Even so, when it was time for college, he went to the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where his father had become a rabbi.

At about that time, he says, he became more religious. Several trips to Israel played a key role in his shift to Orthodoxy.

“I went to Israel for the first time when I was 15. And that was a very powerful experience. I really felt God’s presence. And two years later I went to Israel again and I began wearing a yarmulka. I felt I was in Israel and I should wear a yarmulka to be closer to God.”

He has worn one ever since.

“I began thinking: what do I need to do so that when I have kids someday, they’ll be Jewish? That led me toward becoming more Orthodox. I really like the lifestyle and I began thinking more about theology.”

After graduating from JTS with a degree in Talmud, Narrowe returned to Israel, living for two years in Mea Shearim.

“And I just loved the spirituality they had there,” he says.

He then enrolled in the rabbinical school at Yeshiva University, where he would receive his ordination as an Orthodox rabbi.

“My parents were very supportive,” he says. There was really no conflict with my parents when it comes to religion. I disagree with them and we’ll have discussions and my father and I will disagree theologically, but my parents keep kosher, they keep Shabbat, so it’s very easy for me in that way.”

Still, Narrowe did not intend to focus on the rabbinate as a career. He says he went to rabbinical school to become a more knowledgable Jew.

While at YU, he also studied social work and became a social worker.

He first came in contact with the Air Force at a social work job fair almost 10 years ago.

“They asked me if I was a social worker. I said, ‘Yes, I’m a rabbi too.’ They asked me, ‘Have you ever thought about becoming a chaplain?’ I said, ‘Not really.’ They asked, ‘Well, would you?’ I said, ‘Sure.’”

A few days later, the senior rabbi in the Air Force called him and put him in touch with other Air Force rabbis.

“I decided to do it,” Narrowe says. “It’s great. I love my job.”

When he was stationed in San Antonio, he took part in clinical pastoral education, a year’s hospital residency.

“I spent one semester primarily working with cardiac patients — end-of-life issues — and I spent one semester working with the pediatrics ICU where I had to deal with a lot of bad stuff: kids dying of cancer, kids dying in car crashes, kids dying from SIDS, kids who have all kinds of issues. There were success stories, a lot of good stuff also.

“I had to deal with those theologically and that was a great learning experience and growing experience.”

For 67 days, Narrowe was in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He says this was “where they were wearing gas masks when the Scuds were coming down and we didn’t know if they were chemical or not.”

In some ways, he says, these were the easiest moments for him as a chaplain.

Reaching out

“When people say war is 99 percent sheer boredom and one percent exhilaration, there’s a lot of truth to that. Basically you deal with a lot of people who are very lonely in many ways. They’re far away from their family, they’re away from their friends. As a chaplain it’s a great opportunity to just reach out to people. I had more Jews coming to my services there than anywhere else.

“We used to have services on Friday nights and then we used to go to the dining facility. I had this conference room in the back which I reserved and then they would go get their food and I would get my kosher MREs. And we used to have Shabbas singing and Shabbas dinner in the dining facility there in Kuwait. We had five people keeping kosher for Passover, three for the first time in their lives. We had wonderful opportunities to minister to non- Jewish troops because they’re open to a lot of talking because they need somebody to talk to.”

Occasionally he encounters Christians who feel more comfortable talking with a Christian chaplain. “That’s fine,” he says, “Catholics in particular want to talk to a father. That’s who they’re most comfortable with.”

Narrowe says his biggest personal challenge is often being far from Jewish communities.

“I just came from a few years in England where I was two and a half hours from the closest kosher butcher,” he says.

“It was a 45-minute drive to the closest (Jewish) community. It’s not necessarily the easiest way to have your kids grow up if you’re the only Jew in town.”

The Narrowes just bought a home within walking distance of Beth Jacob Congregation. They pray with the synagogue’s mechitzah (separate seating) minyan.

He says they’ll most likely be stationed here for two years.

“I’m hoping for three years, because we love Dayton,” he says. “So far, it’s been fantastic. People at Beth Jacob have been so wonderful. The Kollel guys have been wonderful. Rabbi Hillel (Fox) is a great person, and Rabbi Samuel (Fox) and the whole family. We’ve just been so welcomed. The kids are in Hillel and we love the school. The kids have learned so much over there.”

The chaplain has a list of 40 members of military personnel on base who identify as Jewish. He estimates there are probably another 40 Jews on base.

He is one of 14 active duty chaplains stationed at Wright-Patt; there are also 16 reserve duty chaplains including Rabbi Larry Friedman of Pittsburgh.

Narrowe says that most Jewish chaplains in the military are Orthodox. However, there is a shortage of Jewish chaplains overall.

To help remedy the situation, the Reform movement is considering allowing its cantors to serve as chaplains.

“I think there are pros and cons, but it’s still an internal Reform issue,” he says.

Narrowe believes the reason Reform rabbis choose congregations over the military is “partly because their pay is much better than ours.”

He conducts Shabbat services on the first and third Fridays of each month at 5 p.m. at the base’s Hospital Chapel; services are open to those with military ID cards.

In addition, Narrowe leads services on base for the major Jewish holidays.

For these military services, Narrowe does not use a mechitzah.

“It is more of an educational service than anything else,” he explains. “For educational reasons, I don’t feel I need to put up a mechitzah.”

Creating awareness of needs

Because he is not able to drive on Sabbath and festivals, he stays on base through the end of each holiday.

“This is a good example of how the military works. When I raised the issue (of sleeping accommodations near the chapel), they said ‘Oh, that’s right, we need to do that. Let’s work it.’ And the answer is I’m staying in the (base) hotel, which is within walking distance. Once the system realizes there’s a Jewish need, they’ll work with us.”

He said it can sometimes be a challenge “to work as a very strong Jew in a very strong non-Jewish environment.”

“We like to think of it as not, but the culture of America is a Christian culture. The structure of the chaplaincy is based on the parish model and not a model that we are necessarily used to.”

He adds that sometimes it’s hard to navigate the system.

“Not because the system doesn’t care or is against us,” he explains, “but it doesn’t realize what our needs are. And we have the issues of the Air Force Academy. And basically the situation at the Air Force Academy was just cultural issues. It’s awareness issues more than anything else.

“Usually we can get what we need if we push it. You have to be very much aware of what you need and how you ask it.”

One of Narrowe’s goals while in Dayton is to connect Jewish military with the area’s congregations.

“When I lead services, I’m very big on teaching them how a service works, to connect them to the choreography, the music of the synagogue,” he says.

“Most Jews in the military are not connected to Judaism. Maybe I can do Chanukah in one synagogue, Purim in a different synagogue, Tu B’Shevat in a different synagogue. I just really want the military Jews to become part of Jewish Dayton.”

He is also teaching for the Dayton Jewish Education Commissions’ B’Yachad Supplementary High School for Religious Studies.

“It’s a course on mitzvot (commandments), and a course on Jewish history — why we are what we are, the development of the various (Jewish) movements and why they do what they do.”

© 2005 The Dayton Jewish Observer