issue responsa on halakhic matters for the armed forces and did so throughout World War II . This represented the first effort to deal with questions across denominational lines on a national scale. It represented complete recognition of the legitimacy of each group and provided the Jewish community as well as the War Department with rulings which were uniform and official. It helped the Jewish military personnel who were no longer dependent on individual decisiions and the confusion which they brought.
This daring effort went one step further as many of the responsa were printed in two widely distributed booklets. The committee answered questions for Jewish service personnel. It set a precedent by combining the efforts of the three major Jewish religious groups and publishing the results of these deliberations. This was a declaration that cooperation was possible when a modicum of good will existed. Unfortunately this effort eventually ceased. This can be attributed to the strengthening of denominational ties after World War II in North America and even more to the chief rabbinate of Israel which did its best to avoid any kind of cooperation among Jewish religious groups.” Nothing even vaguely akin occurred in the older or the newer Jewish communities around the world.
Jewish chaplains served i in the British Imperial armies and other Allied Forces as well,” but never in the Russian armies. Jewish chaplains were to be found in the military forces of smaller nations as has been well documented for example the Canadian chaplains’ and others.
All of this indicated the complete acceptance of military service, both when conscripted and voluntary. It also demonstrated a broad range of acceptance of rabbis within the military ranks.
THE PEOPLE AND HALAKHAH
The broad acceptance of mandatory military service expressed the will of the people. After centuries in which military service was not even a speck on the horizon, young Jews suddenly supported it enthusiastically. Military service was seen as the clearest sign of true equality; it was a symbol similar to the destruction of the ghetto walls by Napoleon’s armies. It was perceived as a pathway to equal civil