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Jews behind bars
Rabbi New provides link to Yiddishkeit
by Max Meltzer
A rabbi asks three men seated
around a table which they think
worse—an attempt to take a Jew’s
religion from him or his life. Physical
attack, they agree, can be staved
off; attacks on religion are more
pernicious.
The rabbi is Yossi New, but the
setting is not his congregation,
Beth Tefillah. The men with whom
he is conversing are prisoners in
the United States (Atlanta) Federal
Penitentiary.
There are two full-time chaplains
with careers in the federal prisons,
a Catholic and a Methodist. Because
there are only approximately 10
Jewish inmates. New’s position as
official Jewish chaplain is funded
as part-time.
Prison chaplaincy is a service
provided by Chabad rabbis wherever
their organization is active. New’s
predecessor in Atlanta, Rabbi
Shlomo Bluming, visited the prisoners
during his tenure here.
Does a rabbi need special training
to serve the spiritual and psycho
logical needs of convicts? “The
circumstances are different,” New
says, “but the emotional problems
1 encounter in prison are the same
as those people have in the outside
world. A rabbi’s training, therefore,
is sufficient.” Rabbi New has had
previous experience as a prison
chaplain, however; he spent one
year as a chaplain at the Orange
County Prison in California.
Once a week, usually Sundays
from 1 1 a.m.-l p.m., the rabbi
drives to the prison to visit the
inmates. The prison has two main
units: a high-security facility and a
prison camp.
The high-security section is a
massive, ponderous building girdled
by a formidable wall. Currently it
is home to 1,850 Cuban detainees
and a cadre of 280 prisoners who
help run the facility. New visits
three prisoners there now. They
meet as a group in the prison
chapel.
He also visits the Jewish inmates
at the Federal Prison Camp, a
minimum security complex which
has no bars, fences or armed guards.
The buildings here are new and
immaculate. The visitor feels as if
he were at a college dormitory.
There are even picnic tables with
umbrellas on the grounds available
to the inmates.
Of its 250 inmates the majority,
who were convicted of non-violent
crimes, have relatively short sentences.
Many were found guilty of white-
collar crimes such as tax evasion.
As with the inmates in the main
Rabbi Yossi New in front of the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary.
prison, the rabbi puts tefillin on
with the men and recites prayers.
Sometimes he discusses a portion
of the week from the Torah or
leads discussions on germane topics.
On Monday, Dec. 16, he made a
special trip to bring the inmates
Hanuka packages. Each contained
a menorah, a box of candles, and a
pamphlet explaining the significance
of the holiday and how to observe
it. Most of the prisoners are not
very observant, but owing to their
situation, they find themselves
thinking more about spiritual matters;
therefore, they appreciate the
instruction.
The discussion this day turned
upon the significance of Hanuka
and a comparison of its message
with that of Purim. Also discussed
were the spiritual relationship of
God with Jews and how it differs
from His relationship with gentiles;
the Jewish opinion of gentiles and
how it compares with the gentile
opinion of Jews.
Usually, however, the conversation
turns to non-spiritual matters. These
visits provide the inmates with an
opportunity to air their frustrations
to a sympathetic ear.
This concern is not reserved for
the prisoners. New also counsels
their families and serves as a liaison
between them and the prison bureau
cracy. Since the prisoners come
from many states, Chabad of Georgia
provides Shabbat meals for visiting
relatives, as well.
The prisoners feel that anti-
Semitism is not a problem in the
penitentiary. The Rev. Bryn Carlson,
the Southeast Region counsel and
Prison Camp senior chaplain, is
always helpful, and the system is
sympathetic to the religious needs
of all its charges. So long as requests
are made through the proper channels,
most needs can be met.
Prisoners do not work on the
weekend, so there can be no conflict
concerning Shabbat observance.
They have no Shabbat service, but
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this is because New cannot drive
on the Sabbath. They have requested
the use of the chapel on Friday
night, however, and hope to conduct
their own service with prayer books
Rabbi New intends to provide.
The prisoners are excused from
work on the High Holy Days,
when they fall on weekdays. To
facilitate holiday observance, the
rabbi is permitted to bring them
yahrzeit candles, prayer books and
holiday foods such as matzot and
blintzes.
None of the Jewish inmates
currently incarcerated in Atlanta
feels any special guilt because of
his religion, although one, a native
of Atlanta, once told the rabbi,
“Please send my apologies to the
community for any embarassment
I may have caused them.”
Most of them feel a stronger
bond to the Jewish community
now. They were eager to get The
Southern Israelite, which is being
sent without charge.
They also requested religious
calendars, which the Jewish National
Fund has agreed to donate, and
Hanuka cards to send to their
families.
One inmate, a non-Jew, has asked
Rabbi New to see if he could get a
furlough to attend the bar mitzva
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of his Jewish wife’s son.
For the sake of the prisoners.
New would like to see his Atlanta
penitentiary congregation grow
smaller. But as long as there are
Jewish inmates, he will continue to
administer to them. His work, and
that of all the prison chaplains, is
warmly respected and appreciated,
according to William Noonan,
executive assistant to the warden.
And Rabbi New welcomes help
from the Atlanta community. The
men he visits enjoy visits from
outsiders; anyone interested in
accompanying the rabbi can contact
him at Congregation Beth Tefillah,
843-2464. First-time visitors tend
to be nervous in the constricting
environment, but the rabbi, the
prisoners, and the friendly, intelligent
conversation soon dispel all self-
consciousness.
“Prisoners are unique people,”
New explains, “but so are all people.”
Helping them, he reminds us, “is
certainly a mitzva.”
Dressed in their army surplus
uniforms, the prisoners shake hands
with visitors and smile. “Please
come back again,” one says. “We
don’t bite.”
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PAGE 9 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 20, 1985