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Notes from a Chaplains Files

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This reflective memoir examines the experiences of a Jewish military chaplain serving in Alaska during the late 1960s, exploring the unique challenges of maintaining Jewish religious life in an isolated frontier environment. Through autobiographical narrative and ethnographic observation, Rabbi Azriel C. Fellner documents his two-year tenure as the sole Jewish chaplain serving military installations throughout Alaska. The study employs participant-observation methodology, presenting detailed case studies of congregants and their struggles with Jewish identity, intermarriage, conversion, and religious observance in extreme geographical and social isolation. Key findings reveal the complex dynamics of Jewish community formation in Alaska, including congregations led by non-Jewish officers, children of mixed heritage seeking Jewish education, and pioneer families maintaining kosher homes despite significant logistical challenges. The research illuminates the broader tensions between assimilation and religious preservation in diaspora communities, particularly those facing environmental extremes and cultural isolation. The author's analysis demonstrates how geographical remoteness intensifies both the challenges and importance of Jewish chaplaincy services. The memoir concludes that military chaplaincy serves essential functions in preserving Jewish continuity and providing spiritual guidance in isolated communities, despite the personal costs of professional isolation and emotional burden experienced by religious leaders serving in such contexts.

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  • Publication Information

    Published 1970

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  • Publication Credits

    Azriel Fellner