3 Wings of Judaism Reach Compromise : 1st Female Jewish Chaplain in Military Causes a Stir

When Julie Schwartz was a little girl, she wanted to become a rabbi. It didn’t occur to her then that she had never seen a female rabbi or that there weren’t any at the time.

Today, not only is Schwartz among the increasing number of women rabbis, she also is the first active-duty female Jewish chaplain in the military--an appointment that caused a split in the 69-year-old commission that approves Jewish military chaplains.

Schwartz, 26, knew that her application for the Navy chaplaincy might cause a stir. The Commission on Jewish Chaplaincy of the JWB, which approves the applications, consists of Orthodox, Conservative and Reform rabbis, and the Orthodox wing does not ordain female rabbis.

Both she and her husband, Rabbi Steven Ballaban, applied for the chaplaincy before their ordinations June 7 and passed up civilian placements because they were confident that the chaplaincy would come through.

Schwartz, a Reform rabbi, was told that her endorsement went through without the support of the Orthodox members. But she later found out, when a reporter called her, that the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America withdrew from the commission because the Reform Central Conference of American Rabbis had endorsed Schwartz independently. When Schwartz’s application had first come through, the commission didn’t act because of the Orthodox opposition.

Schwartz said she had hoped that the problem would be solved in private.

“I didn’t think we were going to get so much public reaction,” she said.

Her other hope--that the three rabbinates could resolve their differences and reach a compromise--was recently fulfilled. Rabbis from the three branches met, formed a new body called the JWB/Jewish Chaplains Council and have reorganized the chaplain approval process. Now each of the three groups may endorse its own candidates for chaplaincy service.

New Body Set Up

“The overriding importance was to maintain cooperation between the three groups,” said Rabbi Nathan M. Landman, deputy director of the council.

Landman noted that there are representatives from all three groups of Judaism in the military and that the JWB serves each of them. The JWB, formerly the Jewish Welfare Board, is a U.S. government-authorized agency that serves the religious and welfare needs of Jewish military personnel.

“We recognize that any chaplain has to serve everybody,” Landman said. For example, a Jewish Conservative chaplain will most likely have to serve Orthodox and Reform Jews in the service, so each group must respect the others’ beliefs.

The controversy was “a source of great chagrin for the Orthodox community,” said Rabbi Maurice Lamm, president of the National Institute for Jewish Hospices in Los Angeles and former field officer of the JWB. The Orthodox rabbinate was upset because the Reform wing approved Schwartz without informing the entire commission, he said.

The formation of the new Jewish Chaplains Council was “a political rescue job,” Lamm said. He believes that a compromise could have been worked out before the demise of the earlier body occurred. The Reform movement’s action was a message to the Orthodox that ordination of women was more important than unity of the commission, Lamm said.

Lamm was upset to see one incident ruin the unity of the former commission and doesn’t think that the new council will be as unified.

“It’s not animosity, it’s divergent philosophy,” Lamm said.

He also noted that the Orthodox movement is not prejudiced against women, but abides by 3,000-year-old Jewish law.

The major difference between the former commission and the new council is that each group will endorse its own candidates without having to present them to the other groups, as was done in the past, said Rabbi Barry Hewitt Greene, council chairman.

“We’re delighted that unity has been preserved within the American Jewish community,” Greene said.

“This way no one’s forcing the Orthodox to compromise (their beliefs),” Schwartz said.

Her husband agreed.

“They managed to work things out,” Ballaban said. “No one had to surrender any deeply felt beliefs, and at the same time it has helped the Jews in the service.”

‘Wanted to Get Going’

Schwartz is grateful that she did not have to be personally involved in the controversy.

“I didn’t want to get caught up in the politics; I wanted to get out here and get going,” she said.

“Out here” in Oakland, Schwartz is assigned to the Naval Hospital, and Ballaban serves at the Naval Supply Center. Schwartz, a native of Cincinnati, and Ballaban, from Long Island, N.Y., were pleased to get an assignment on the West Coast and have been here since July 15.

Schwartz said her religion was an important part of her childhood. With her sights on the seminary, she earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in 1981. She then entered Cincinnati’s Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where she met Ballaban on the first day of school.

Women Rabbis Since ’72

Schwartz was one of eight women in her seminary class. The Reform movement has been ordaining women rabbis since 1972.

“Often I’m the first woman rabbi people meet,” Schwartz said, adding that all it takes is for someone to participate in one of her services to accept her.

Her duties at the hospital include visiting the patients in her assigned ward every day and working with the chaplains of other denominations to meet the different religious needs of the patients.

On weekends she conducts services and a Jewish religious education program for the hospital staff and patients.

“There is a severe need for Jewish chaplains,” she said, noting that there hasn’t been a Jewish chaplain at Oakland Naval Hospital for 15 years.