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“Send Me!”

By Chaplain (CPT) Rabbi Shaul Danyiels, USA



Hello JFAMily,

My name is Chaplain (CPT) Shaul Danyiels US Army. As I write these words my chaplain assistant and I are traveling around Poland and Germany visiting Jews on US military bases. My mission is to visit and provide Jewish services to as many Jewish service members in Europe as I can find. It is mind-boggling to contemplate that I am traveling the very roads and driving through a lush countryside where Judaism thrived just eighty years ago. As I cross over countless train tracks, my mind wanders. I can see a mental litany of cattle cars with the faces of frightened children peering out from barbed wired windows. And yet, here I am… a US Army chaplain rabbi in Europe sent to lift the spirits and treat the souls of my fellow Jews. Truly, Am Yisroel Chai, the Nation of Israel is alive!



It is not lost on me that an armed struggle between Russia and the Ukraine is playing out on the other side of the border. Another war, another conflict. This is one of the reasons why I have been sent here, to care for US military members who have been deployed in readiness for whatever may come. As I drive through cities, towns, and hamlets with familiar names from our history, my thoughts turn to the time of year we are in. Yom Kippur is upon us, and I want to share with you what I am feeling and thinking on these roads once traveled by our people.

On the afternoon of Yom Kippur, just prior to the moments when we storm the gates of Heaven via our Neilah prayer, we will pause and read from Sefer Yonah (the Book of Jonah). To me, Yonah is a fascinating if not bizarre story. Consider… a minor prophet gets a message from G-D to travel to Nineveh, a very cosmopolitan and sinfully non-Jewish city. His mission is to rebuke the inhabitants for their ungodly ways. For a myriad of reasons, he runs from his divine mission, boards a boat, gets caught in a storm, is chosen out of a rabbit’s hat as the cause of the gale, gets tossed overboard, where a whale (presumably) swallows him whole. After a few days living in acidic misery, he is spit onto land, makes his way to the original mission location, delivers the message, recuses himself to a lonely place outside the city and awaits to see the results. A Kikayon plant, a very destructive worm, and an intensely hot windy day caused him such intense misery that he asks G-D for death. Eventually he learns his lesson. He repents. Mission Success! What a confounding story!



As it turns out, we do have some background information on Yonah. One of the minor prophets, Yonah was a student of Elisha who had been risen from death as a child by none-other than the Eliyahu Ha’Navi. Yonah’s prophecy career occurred in the 8^th Century BCE during the reign of Yeravam the Second. He preferred to advocate for Am Yisroel rather than non-tribal members. He especially did not care for the city of Nineveh, nor its inhabitants. While he was not very successful at curtailing Yeravam’s evil idol worshiping nature, at least here in our story, he completed his task, albeit imperfectly; and while he eventually did learn the lesson, it was an uncomfortable experience. It is astounding to contemplate that Yonah believed he could run from G-D, let alone action an escape plan! I mean, here I am traversing Western and Eastern European countries in search of Jews and the thought never occurred to me to go AWOL and run to a beach in southern Italy or board a Mediterranean cruise. What was Yonah thinking?



There are many answers to this question. I want to share one with you that speaks volumes for me in my role as a military officer. First, let me give you a bit of background information on me and my family. My family has a proud martial history. On my father’s side relatives have served this great country in every war going all the way back to the Revolution. It is known to us Danyiels’ that some family members even served the British Empire before the colonial era. It was not a question if I would serve, but rather how fast could I don the uniform. Before I became a chaplain, I was an enlisted soldier with the storied 82^nd Airborne Division out of Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. My first contract in 1992 was as an Airborne Ranger. I deployed to Korea during my second tour, and I am jump qualified with over 44 jumps. A “Send Me” first attitude was instilled early on by my parents, and I so wanted to go and take care of business, especially after 9/11. It was only later in 2017, after hanging up my jump wings and becoming a Chaplain that I got to go to Kuwait and Iraq. While there, I not only led services for my fellow Jewish service members but also held Passover Sedarim on bases and embassies for DOD personnel. One memorable event was held in the home of the US ambassador to Kuwait. Jewish Danish diplomats were in attendance and we had a grand time singing our way through the Haggadah. Ha’Shem sent me at a time and to a place of his choosing to Me’Kadesh (sanctify) his name, and I stood up and said, “Send Me”. You see where this is going?



These days of contemplation and Teshuva started with Rosh Chodesh Elul. Our waypoints took us to Rosh Ha’Shana, and up next is Yom Kippur, followed by Sukkot, after which we will dance with Ha’Shem during Simchat Torah. Every Chag has a mission, and every mission has an experience. Our national goal this time of year is to realign with Ha’Shem expectations of us. How fortunate we are to be afforded the gift of adjusting the colors in the tapestry of our lives. Similarly, my assistant and I have been given a mission. Every road, train track, hamlet, town, and city we pass along the way brings us closer to the next base where we get to support our Jewish service members.  Who are we to reject the mission?



So, what does this have to do with Jonah?   In ancient times during the days of the Beit Ha’Mikdash it was said that Yom Kippur first and foremost atoned for the High Priest and his family. Next in the pecking order came atonement for the Tribe of Levi and eventually the entire collective of Bnei Yisroel. In the Nation of Israel, it is those with leadership capability, status, Torah knowledge, and holiness who serve the collective. In Judaism, kings inspire and lead, they are not worshipped as whimsical deities or lords. וְאַתֶּ֧ם תִּהְיוּ־לִ֛י מַמְלֶ֥כֶת כֹּהֲנִ֖ים וְג֣וֹי קָד֑וֹשׁ… You will be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). That is our primary mission in the service of G-D… Top down and bottom up. This is our Morasha, our inheritance… one does not reject their inheritance.



Yonah was called to service, and while his was an imperfect service, as is all of ours, he was ultimately successful, as we will be. You may not have any interest in the road Ha’Shem sets you upon. Maybe you will see frightened eyes behind barbed wire, or you might end up in the home of an ambassador singing the Mah Nishtana with Danish Jewish diplomats, but go you must. וּמִ֣י יֵֽלֶךְ־לָ֑נוּ וָאֹמַ֖ר הִנְנִ֥י שְׁלָחֵֽנִי, “Who should I send”, asks Ha’Shem, to which the Isaiah tells us regarding Amos… “Send me!”. Therefore, we read Sefer Yonah to remind us of our inescapable mission.



Poland once had a massive Jewish community, now it is hard to find Kosher food. Krakow and Warsaw are far from my scheduled itinerary and are thus inaccessible to me. Every time we drive across train tracks, I am overwhelmed.  I travel along in Poland from base to base, camp to camp, meeting the Jews of this land.  I will serve and some will come. I am on a mission because a call was put out and I answered.  I come across people who are not Jewish and have no understanding of the holidays but are curious, and so I teach to Me’Kadesh Ha’Shem’s great name. We leave seeds everywhere we go, and we don’t proselytize. Perhaps people will see our relationship with the Almighty and it will spark something in them for good. It is not for me to decide where I go, it is for me to heed the call. Who knows, maybe this is my Nineveh.

Hevrah, my blessing to all of you is to have no fear of your mission to serve Ha’Shem and your fellow Jews. Answer the call during these holy days to serve your families, communities, and nation. Live the best life you can and be an example that leads others to the Almighty. 



Shana Tovah, Um’Tukah

Chaplain (CPT) Shaul Danyiels, USA