When Chaim Mendelsohn swears his oath to the Queen and receives his commission as a military officer this morning, he will become the first rabbi to serve with the Canadian Forces since the guns of the Second World War felt silent.

Crawling across mud fields, living in tents and eating rations — even if they are kosher — will be quite a change of pace for the 27-year-old Orthodox Jew who is the Rabbi at the Ottawa Chabad House.

But Chaim Mendelsohn, a married father of two, is brimming with enthusiasm for the task of bringing comfort and faith to the men and women of Canada’s military.

Because he will join the reserve force, his initial commitment will be just three hours a week. But he said he would embrace the opportunity to serve in Afghanistan or anywhere his unit is needed.

The last rabbi to serve with the chaplain’s office of the Canadian Forces left the job in the mid-1940s. There just haven’t been enough Jews in the military since then to warrant having a rabbi in the service, said Major Neil Parker, a military chaplain.

And those numbers may not be there even now, Major Parker said. The Defence Department estimates that that just 1.1 per cent of the Forces are Jews, about the same as their presence in the Canadian population.

“But we are not going to wait until there are a certain number of people for whole faith groups before we start to meet the needs,” said Major Parker, adding that having representation of particular religions is one way of encouraging its adherents to join.

Mr. Mendelsohn knows his reserve unit with the 28 Field Ambulance will be composed of all denominations.

“My role in the Forces is to reach out to the soldiers, regardless of their faith,” he said. “Obviously, my Judaism is what inspires me and what moves me, and my commitment to Judaism is what directs my approach to life and everything that I feel.

“But I am joining the Forces as a spiritual leader, not as a Jewish leader.”

TGM