Rabbi Menachem Stern answered a 2008 ad for military chaplains, “went through all the hoops,” and in July 2009 was told

that the Accession Board had approved him, and at one point “I actually got orders to appear. I received a letter saying that if I agreed to a commission, I should report for swearing-in.”

Subsequently, that invitation was revoked because Stern, who represents an Orthodox sect of Judaism, wears a beard.

“For me, my beard is part of my religious garb,” he explained. “…By not trimming my beard, I show that I represent the unadulterated view of the holy Torah. While there would be ways around it, and many of these ways are kosher, keeping to the original version of the Torah is the only way we as members of the Chabad Lubavitch community believe a person should live.”

According to the Aleph Institute, the Army Chaplaincy isn’t opposed to the beard, but a waiver requires approval through the Army personnel process.  Some confusion may be present, because the article reports that an Army spokesman could find no record that Rabbi Stern had requested such a waiver.

Chaplain (Col) Jacob Goldstein holds a special Torah at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2007.

It is true that a one or two Sikhs have been granted the personal appearance waiver, as, apparently, has the Army’s highest ranking Jewish Chaplain, Chaplain (Colonel) Jacob Goldstein, pictured.

While a valid topic, the article is slightly premature.  Any person requesting an exception to dress standards prior to enlistment requires a waiver.  When Rabbi Stern receives an answer to his request, he will then be able to more fully describe his situation.  Until then, his status is the same as any other person desiring to enter the military service, but requiring an exception to policy to do so.  That said, the article accurately points out that the military suffers from a shortage of Chaplains, though there is no indication that Jewish Chaplains have the greatest shortfall.  (The cited inability to have a military rabbi present is more a function of the dispersion of adherents and Chaplains, not the quantity.)

First reported at the Religion Clause.