By Yehuda Ceitlin, editor of COLlive.com
A Lubavitch orator was invited by the NSA, the American Government’s intelligence agency, to lecture about Judaism to its thousands of employees, COLlive has learned.
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson, much sought-after speaker and Spiritual Leader of Congregation Bais Shmuel-Chabad in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights, traveled to the National Security Agency headquarters located in Fort Meade, Maryland, on February 3, 2009.
February 3 marked the 66th anniversary of what is now known as Four Chaplains Day, when German U-Boat U-223 torpedoed the U.S. transport ship USAT Dorchester.
The 4 Chaplains on board, including Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, selflessly tended to the 900 drowning men and sinking ship and were last seen, standing on the deck of the ship, arms linked and praying in unison.
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy posthumously presented the Chaplain’s Medal for Heroism to the Chaplains’ families. The day has since been commemorated in military circles.
For this year’s commemoration ceremony, Rabbi Jacobson was invited to lecture alongside a panel of academics specializing in Christianity and Islam. Jacobson was to represent Judaism’s take on the religious radicalism that is prevalent in today’s world.
TIGHT SECURITY
In a conversation with COLlive, Jacobson confirmed the report.
“I spoke to close to a thousand NSA employees, many who hold senior positions and top level clearance in American espionage,” he said. “The lecture was transmitted via satellite to over 30,000 additional employees of the NSA.”
Jacobson disclosed that his visit was highly discreet. “Until the last moment, I did not know any of the details. The security was very tight. Use of my cellular phone and laptop was prohibited.”
“Security was so tight at the location where I spoke, I wasn’t permitted to venture anywhere in the massive complex without a security detail,” he added.
Jacobson, Editor-In-Chief of Yiddish-English weekly The Algemeiner Journal, and the dean of the popular online classroom www.TheYeshiva.Net, said that the content of his presentation focused on the Torah and Chassidus perspective on the respect for human life.
“Before I began, the NSA’s Chief of Staff told me: ‘You are about to address the foremost minds in mathematics, engineering and decoding.’
The U.S. Government agency NSA creates and decodes ciphers to protect classified information and is responsible for the protection of U.S. information systems.
NSA STATEMENT
Marci Green, Public Affairs Specialist at NSA Public and Media Affairs, told COLlive:
“We can confirm that Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson spoke at NSA/CSS on 3 February 2009.
“He was a panel member on a religious discussion sponsored by our Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Office and the NSA/CSS Religious Affairs Office.
“NSA/CSS often sponsors programs to educate and inform our very diverse workforce.”
the prison chaplaincy, now the NSA.
We DID get to hear the chaplain speech and would LOVE to hear as much as possible of this one.
G-d bless him for his Kiddush Hashem and constantly inspiring words to Anash
CAN WE HAVE THE SPEACH?
A video or the NSA?
we could tell you what he said but we would have to kill you
Breing a Rayeh Oif nisht…..
yasher koiach YY!