Chapel hosts 'meet the rabbi' talk

  • Published
  • By Gina Randall
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  The RAF Mildenhall chapel hosted a "meet the rabbi" talk June 19, 2014.

The RAF Mildenhall chapel welcomed U.S. Navy Chaplain (Lt.) Rabbi Rafael Kaiserblueth, Marine Expeditionary Force Religious Unit 106 Naval Operations Support Center, Washington D.C.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Henry Close, 100th Air Refueling Wing Chaplain, was excited for Airmen and their families to have a rare opportunity to speak with the rabbi.

"He's the subject matter expert and the voice of authority for Jewish issues. He's qualified to hold services and celebrate Holy Days and definitively answer questions about the Jewish faith," Close said.

Close hoped Jewish Airmen would welcome this rare chance to meet the rabbi.

"We hope to convey to our Airmen an intentional pastoral care. There are only a few Jewish chaplains in the military, so having one available is a real blessing. In fact, our Airmen may not have had access to one since basic training. This (talk served as) an opportunity for Team Mildenhall Airmen to voice their needs and desires for activities to help vitalize the Jewish community," Close said.

The rabbi talked about his faith and what it means to him. He talked about religion being more than a job for him and how he wants to get out into the community and meet people.

"People ask what my job is and I feel like I am in the business (of taking care of) people. People often want to talk on the phone but I reply with 'let's meet in person.' While I am here, I am meeting and greeting and interacting with the people and seeing what they want for their community," Kaiserblueth said.

The RAF Mildenhall chapel hosts a wide variety of activities open to all faiths.

"This is the first visit for the rabbi. We also offer religious support for other religious groups, such as Buddhists or Pagans, if Airmen would like them," Close said.

At times, Airmen may be busy accomplishing the mission and their faith may take a back seat, explained Close. In order to help deal with the stresses and strains of modern day life many people use their faith to keep them grounded and provide them with skills to cope.

"Our spirituality is a factor in our resiliency. It's a resource to help us so that the bad day does not break us. We're in the military and there will be a bad day. Our sense of God, or god, or spiritual power can help carry us through," Close said. "Also, the Air Force moves us around a lot. Faith can connect us to our upbringing and values and lends us stability when it seems like everything is in transition."

The rabbi also feels his faith is vital to life.

"It's not only a religious thing, it's a culture thing, a historical thing, a nation thing and the way it infuses with my life dictates the way I behave and the way I interact with everybody," Kaiserblueth said. "To take that out of my life would be to take an incredible and important vital thing from me. You can't separate my faith from me. It literally defines who I am."