USS Enterprise (CVN 65)
The Shuttle Newsletter Edition
“We are Legend”
September 14, 2012 Issue
Enterprise to Celebrate Jewish New Year Story by Lt. j. g. Matt Greene
USS ENTERPRISE, At sea − Sailors and Marines deployed aboard aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) will celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, underway in the Arabian Sea this week. Lt. Aaron Kleinman, a rabbi assigned to aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), is scheduled to fly from his homeport in Norfolk, Va., to visit deployed service members on several ships in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility and lead High Holy Days services for the ships’ Jewish Sailors and Marines. He is slated to be aboard Enterprise today through September 19. The Jewish High Holy Days are a period of spiritual renewal where Jews hope for a fresh start. The High Holy Days commence September 16 with the New Year’s celebration, Rosh Hashanah, which literally means “head of the year,” and continue for ten days through Yom Kippur, or the “Day of Atonement.” All Jewish holidays are based on the lunar Hebrew calendar where the holidays begin at sundown. Rosh Hashanah will ring in the year 5773 on the 1st day of the month of Tishrei, according to the Hebrew calendar, which corresponds to starting sundown September 16th. During the holiday, participants in the services aboard Enterprise will eat traditional foods, such as matzah (unleavened bread). They will also enjoy apples and honey, customarily served due to their sweet taste, to remind celebrants of the sweet possibilities of the new year and a new beginning. During Rosh Hashanah, it is a mitzvah (good deed) to hear someone play an instrument made from a ram’s horn called a shofar and read prayers from a machzor, a holiday prayer book. Rabbi Kleinman will also lead a Tashlich service during
one afternoon of his visit to Enterprise. A Tashlich service, which means “to cast away,” is always held near a body of water, making it easily accommodated by a ship at sea. In the ceremony, Jews symbolically cast away sins and transgressions of the past year by throwing bread crumbs into the water, getting themselves ready for a fresh start after the upcoming Day of Atonement at the end of the High Holy Days. The Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, will be celebrated September 26th. During this holiday, the holiest of the year in the Jewish faith, Jews reflect on their deeds of the past year and meditate on how they can improve themselves for the upcoming year. They repent for any wrongdoings they may have caused, either known or unknown to themselves, and forgive anyone who has wronged them. In this time of spiritual cleansing, where most of the day is spent in prayer, Jews remind themselves of their sins in the past and hope for a clean slate by fasting for 25 hours, abstaining from all food and water, until a large feast after sundown. The High Holy Days will be the first time a rabbi has visited Enterprise since Passover in April when Cmdr. Joel Newman, a rabbi from Naval Base Coronado, visited the ship and led a Passover Seder dinner in the commanding officer’s in-port cabin. Enterprise Sailors have continued to practice their Jewish faith through Shabbat (Sabbath) services on Friday nights in the ship’s chapel, as well as Torah (Bible) services on Saturday mornings. Rabbi Kleinman is scheduled to lead Shabbat services in the ship’s Chapel tonight at 5:30 p.m. He is also scheduled to lead a Torah discussion Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and a Havdalah service Saturday at 6:15 p.m., both in the Chapel. The schedule of locations and times for the rest of the services will be released upon his arrival.
U.S. Increases Embassy Security Worldwide After Libya Attack By CNN
The United States moved to increase embassy security around the world after the attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three staffers. “I have directed my Administration to provide all necessary resources to support the security of our personnel in Libya, and to increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe,” U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement Wednesday morning in response to the attack. The United States deployed a group of Marines known as a Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team to Libya to assist with securing U.S. facilities, two U.S. officials said Wednesday. It was unclear what steps the United States was taking elsewhere in the world.
The moves come a day after the attack in Benghazi that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens amid protests at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Demonstrators also attacked the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday. Protesters in both countries were apparently angry about an online film considered offensive to Islam. “There’s a lot of skittish people at the State Department right now,” said CNN foreign affairs reporter Elise Labott. It is unclear whether Stevens’ death resulted from the broader anti-American protests or a separate, local plot against the ambassador, former State Department official James Rubin said.