In 2006, Rabbi Chesky Tenenbaum of the Jewish Uniformed Service Association of Maryland volunteered at a hospital in Montgomery County as a chaplain, leading Shabbat services once a week.
During one of those Shabbat services, Tenenbaum met a veteran and mentioned that his uncle was a retired colonel from the New York National Guard. A few weeks later, Tenenbaum got a call from that veteran asking him if he had ever considered joining the Maryland Defense Force, the state’s military reserve organization.
“I said, ‘not really,’ because … you’re not allowed to have a beard in the military,” Tenenbaum explained. “So, he said he’s going to help me with that and sure enough, it took nine months until I was able to receive a special exemption to be able to have a beard, and I became the first bearded member of any state guard in America.”
Tenenbaum said that after joining the Maryland Defense Force and becoming a chaplain for a local fire department, he “realized more and more that, especially for the Jewish members, [there was] a need for religious and spiritual support at that time.”
In 2011, Tenenbaum moved to Baltimore with a dream of starting an organization to support Jewish veterans, religiously and spiritually. The Jewish Uniformed Service Association of Maryland was established.
JUSA now functions like a synagogue as well as a veterans’ group, holding weekly Shabbat services and kiddush, as well as holiday services, at its “JUSA House” in Baltimore. For Veterans Day this year, it will host its annual “Veteran’s Shabbat,” featuring Chaplain Jacob Goldstein serving as JUSA’s scholar-in-residence. The event usually attracts between 50 and 60 people.
This year, Tenenbaum said JUSA has a special program for those who are affected by the government shutdown.
“As federal law enforcement, they still have to go to work every day, but they’re not getting paid,” he said. “So, on top of the worries of being law enforcement, now they have to worry about how they’re going to put food on the table. That’s where the JUSA Emergency Fund comes in.”
The JUSA Emergency Fund, also called the Federal Law Enforcement and Military Emergency Fund, is a loan program for those in law enforcement or military to be able to borrow money interest-free.
The fund relaunched after the start of this year’s shutdown on Oct. 1. JUSA has provided the service during past government shutdowns as well.
In addition to the Veteran’s Shabbat, which like other JUSA programs is free for former members of the military, JUSA will host a Kaddish service at Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery in Owings Mills on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
“This year, a Vietnam War veteran attended because we had the free tickets for the [High Holiday] service, and he said it was his first time attending [the High Holiday] service in over 30 years,” said Tenenbaum. “That was something very special.”
Another unique aspect of the Jewish Uniformed Service Association of Maryland is its Jewish military artifacts display, which has items such as a Jewish scripture book from World War II with a letter from President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the front page.
“Back in 2015, we rented office space on Westchester Road. Then, in 2018, we moved it to the basement of my home,” Tenenbaum added. “Then, a little less than three years ago, we were able to purchase property, and after that, we were really able to increase our programming.”
In addition to religious services, the Jewish Uniformed Service Association of Maryland also offers counseling and sensitivity training.
“The JUSA is a unique organization,” Tenenbaum added. “There’s no really other organization of its kind. And there was an idea that I had most after dealing with men and women in uniform, seeing the need, especially for the Jewish members, and that’s how it came to be the Jewish Uniform Services.”
