Camp Fannin, Texas – August 1943. US Army Private Samuel Lieberman arose at 5:30 a.m. to put on tefillin. His sergeant noticed and ordered him to remove them. Lieberman disobeyed and completed his prayers before complying. The infuriated sergeant forwarded the case to the company commander.
The commander told Lieberman, “This is the army, forget about your praying.” Lieberman replied, “President Roosevelt has stated that we are fighting in order to secure a world founded upon ‘Four Freedoms’ – Freedom of Speech; Freedom of Religion; Freedom from Want; and Freedom from Fear. If Freedom of Religion will be taken away from me, I will not fight for the other Three Freedoms!”
After some vigorous debate, Lieberman was given a dispensation to wear tefillin but was ordered to put them on only during breakfast. That solution created a new difficulty for Lieberman. In a letter to Mike Tress, president of the Agudath Israel Youth Council, Lieberman lamented, “I lay tefillin in the morning [during breakfast], therefore, I have no time to eat until 11:30 a.m. This is certainly very hard for me.”
Religious challenges were common on all US army bases and there were no standard regulations as to how those in authority should respond.
Private Chaim Pollack had a somewhat similar experience to Lieberman’s, albeit with a much happier conclusion. Pollack was an army medic. He put on tefillin every day and strictly adhered to all aspects of kashrus. In a letter to Mr. Tress, Pollack wrote, “I find it very hard here for there is no zecher [remnant] of kashrus. Since I am here, I didn’t have a warm meal… [Yet] I face it cheerfully and unflinchingly.”
In 1943, Pollack was transferred to Fort Totten in Long Island, New York. His first priority was to get relieved from work duty on Shabbos. He approached the top sergeant (senior non-commissioned officer) of his unit with his request. As he described it, “I had little hope but I felt it to be my duty to make an honest effort.” The officer said he would present his case to the lieutenant. The lieutenant summoned Pollack and asked, “Private, are you the fellow who lays phylacteries in the barracks?” When Pollack said yes, the lieutenant asked, “And are you the one who doesn’t eat meat?” Once again, Pollack replied in the affirmative.
The lieutenant then declared, “There is only one thing higher than the Army, and that is one’s religion.” He not only gave Pollack a dispensation to refrain from working on Shabbos but even suggested that since he would be off-duty on Shabbos, he might as well go home to Brooklyn which was close by! He told Pollack that he would provide him with a pass for each Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Upon hearing the news, an elated Mr. Tress wrote to Private Pollack, “You see, the Almighty does not forget [you] for even a single moment.”
Yet, even when the hashgacha was less obvious, Torah-true soldiers clung to their faith. Private Herman (Heshy) Moskowitz was stationed in Camp Pickett, Virginia. He wrote, “I had very little to eat the last week or so. I got along on the Hershey bars, milk, and ice cream which I bought at the pharmacy.”
