The Founding of the Jewish Chapel at West Point
Sermon given July 9, 1999, by COL Merton Singer
on the Occasion of the Temple's Armed Forces Sabbath
The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is both a military school and a university. It was started in 1802 by President Jefferson, acting on George Washington's advice that to avoid war our country must be strong. Admission is by appointment by the President, Vice President, U. S. Senators and Congressmen. Appointments are also available to enlisted soldiers and members of the ROTC by competition and examination.
The government pays for everything, including a salary, which is half the pay of a second lieutenant. West Point is co-ed. Graduates include President Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, Robert E. Lee, U. S. Grant, Stonewall Jackson, Omar Bradley, George Patton, William Westmoreland, and Norman Schwarzkopf. Graduates who have been, and are, prominent in civilian life, include many engineers, who helped to settle our country by building new railroads to the west. Also, there are many, many well-known leaders of industry, such as Gen. Robert E. Wood, founder of Sears. The list is in the thousands.
Of the first two graduates in 1803, one was Jewish. Records show, however, that over the years only 1% of the Corps of Cadets remained Jewish. However, there were never Jewish services until 1934, when I arranged to get them started when I was a plebe (freshman). Religious services were mandatory for about 150 years. Upon entering the Academy, I was asked, "What religious services do you want to attend – Catholic or Protestant?" I said, "Sir, I am Jewish." The upper classman retorted, "The question, mister, is, what services do you want to attend – Catholic or Protestant?" I said "Protestant," so, for four years, I attended Protestant services every Sunday. The experience didn't hurt, I guess.
However, in October of my freshman year, when the High Holy Days, Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, arrived, I realized there was no opportunity for a Jew to worship. I approached the Protestant Chaplain, whose name was Roscoe Faust, and informed him of the situation facing Jewish cadets. Chaplain Faust was an understanding gentleman. He had not realized that there were no Jewish services and felt that something should be done. He brought in Rabbi Bloom, a civilian from nearby Newburgh, New York, to hold services for the holidays. Rabbi Bloom then came in every Saturday afternoon, during free time for cadets, and held Sabbath services in Chaplain Faust's office. Attendance was optional and one to twelve Jewish cadets would attend.
Rabbi Bloom also did a great job of introducing cadets to Jewish young ladies from Newburgh. Attendance at chapel services had to compete with dating, athletic contests, picnics, and other extra-curricular events. So we had different numbers in attendance each Saturday afternoon. After about a year and a half or maybe two years, Rabbi Bloom, not surprisingly, grew tired of rendering Saturday afternoon services. I contacted the Jewish Welfare Board in New York City. The Jewish Welfare Board designated Reserve Colonel Rabbi Benjamin A. Tintner to hold services for Jewish cadets. Tintner sized up the situation quickly and decided to hold weekly services at West Point on Wednesday afternoons instead of Saturdays, thereby increasing attendance. He arranged the first ever Passover Seder in the cadet mess hall in April 1937. He brought all the Passover goodies from New York City. He made many heroic trips up the often snowbound Storm King Highway leading from New York City to West Point. At the appropriate time, Rabbi Tintner approached the West Point authorities and charmed them into accepting compulsory, separate Jewish services on Sunday mornings, the same time as the Catholic and Protestant ones. There was, and still is, a beautiful Protestant chapel built by the U. S. government and a lovely Catholic chapel paid for with private funds.
For Jewish services, the superintendent in September 1938, permitted Jewish cadets to use the old cadet chapel, which was made famous by Benedict Arnold, the infamous traitor, who turned vital military information over to the British army during our country's fight for independence. Rabbi Tintner continued his services for many years. It was a joy to see Jewish services finally accepted on the same level with the other two major religions. In the early 1970's, the U. S. Congress determined that religious services at West Point could not be compulsory, so attendance became optional, as it is today.
In 1960, I was assigned the job of commanding officer of Fort Jay, on Governors Island, which is close to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and four minutes by ferry from the Battery of New York City. I was also president of the West Point Society of New York, an alumni organization. Two graduates, brothers and New Yorkers Alan and Herbert Lichtenberg; the father of Jim Salander ('66); and I got together and decided that the time had come to build a Jewish cadet chapel at West Point, which I had dreamed about for 27 years while on active duty. Since I was, at that time, a trustee of the Military Academy and well known in military and New York civilian circles, the other three felt that I should assume the presidency of the West Point Jewish Cadet Chapel Committee.
The purpose of the committee was not only to commence raising funds, but also to procure the approval of the West Point superintendent and the Department of the Army to build the chapel. The superintendent of the Military Academy, LTG Donald Bennett, was understanding. He approved the concept of a Jewish cadet chapel. He procured the concurrence of the Department of the Army. He selected a magnificent site high on a hill on the same level as the Protestant and Catholic chapels. We found the right architect and we went to work raising money. Both Jews and Christians, graduates and non-graduates, served on the Fund Raising Committee. Fifteen years later, all the funds were raised and the chapel completed.
Today 46 Jewish cadets, out of a total enrollment of 4500, attend services, but still represent 1%. The chapel is headed by a regular Army Jewish chaplain, who is assigned as Jewish Chaplain, USMA. The chapel is the center of weekly services and social activities and is often frequented by Christian classmates. It is great for Jewish cadets to meet Jewish military, as well as civilian families. Of course, High Holy Days are celebrated in the traditional fashion, and the chapel is the locale for weddings, funerals, and other special occasions. There is a Jewish Cadet Chapel Choir that performs regularly, not only at West Point, but around the country. Each summer, New York City supporters send six to eight Jewish, as well as Christian, cadets to Israel for a week.
The chapel is a home away from home for Jewish cadets and is a place for cadets to rally when they have problems. It is the center of religious, as well as social, activities. The chapel is physically magnificent. It melds in with the traditional West Point cold gray color. It has become a monument and is visited by many thousands of tourists each year. The chapel is a tribute to our traditions and to our country.
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