Rabbi Robert Feinberg to Speak at Beth El
Shabbat Morning, March 6
By Michelle Levin
Beth El Congregation is pleased to welcome Rabbi Robert S. Feinberg, spiritual leader of Temple Israel in Akron, as guest speaker during Shabbat services on Saturday morning, February 6th. Rabbi Feinberg’s topic will be “The Four Chaplains: A Living Legacy.”
February 3rd will mark the anniversary of the four chaplains who served during World War II.
Rabbi Feinberg served as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy for 20 years, ending his career with the rank of captain. His assignments included Okinawa, Japan where the synagogue had 300 members;
the US Sixth Fleet, Naples Italy; the US Naval Academy; and Great Lakes Naval Training Center. He also helped establish the first Reform Congregation in the former Soviet Union.
Rabbi Feinberg graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University and holds an MBA from Temple University. He was ordained in 1982. Prior to coming to Akron this year with his wife Myra, Rabbi Feinberg served Congregation B’nai Torah in Highland Park,
Illinois.
The kiddush lunch that day will be sponsored by Dr. Martin and Sherry Hellman.
Those individuals in Beth El Congregation and Temple Israel who either are now serving in the military or are veterans will be honored during the services. Bob Cohen’s son Ryan just
completed his service in the Marines, and Dr. Art Benson was in the naval reserves for many years.
The story of The Four Chaplains: On the evening of Feb. 2, 1943, the U.S.A.T. Dorchester was crowded to capacity, carrying 902 service men, merchant seamen and civilian workers. Once a luxury coastal liner, the 5,649-ton vessel had been converted into
an Army transport ship. The Dorchester, one of three ships in the SG-19 convoy, was moving steadily across the icy waters from Newfoundland toward an American base in Greenland, escorted by Coast Guard Cutters Tampa, Escanaba and Comanche. On Feb. 3, at 12:55 a.m., a periscope broke the chilly Atlantic waters. An officer aboard the German submarine U-223 spotted the Dorchester. The U-223 approached the convoy on the surface, and after identifying and targeting the ship, he gave orders to fire the torpedoes; three were fired. The one that hit was decisive—and deadly—striking the starboard side, amid ship, far below the water line.
On board the Dorchester, panic and chaos set in. Through the pandemonium, four Army chaplains brought hope in despair and light in darkness. Those chaplains were Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lt. John P. Washington, Roman Catholic; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed. Quickly and quietly, the four chaplains spread out among the soldiers, trying to calm the frightened, tend the wounded and guide the disoriented toward safety. When life jackets ran out, the chaplains gave theirs to four frightened young men. As the ship went down, the chaplains could be heard
praying together.
The Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart were awarded posthumously December 19, 1944, to the chaplains’ next of kin by Lt. Gen. Brehon B. Somervell, Commanding General of the Army Service Forces, in a ceremony at the post chapel at Fort
Myer, VA. A one-time-only posthumous Special Medal for Heroism was authorized by Congress and awarded by President Eisenhower on January 18, 1961.
Please join Beth El in welcoming Rabbi Feinberg, learn more about “The Four Chaplains,” and honor those who have served our country.