Born into a Chabad Lubavitch family, Rabbi Menachem Stern grew up with one ambition in life: to help people.
“Throughout my life I have pursued this goal by engaging in many different activities, ranging from visiting Jewish inmates in prisons to visiting the sick in hospitals and nursing homes,” he wrote in a short essay.
When he spotted an ad in August 2008 for military chaplains, Rabbi Stern said, “I knew I had found my calling.”
Rabbi Stern, 28, of Brooklyn, said he applied for a commission and “went through all the hoops for them. I had an interview with a chaplain at West Point, the chief of chaplains and his staff, as well as a physical — the full rundown they give to every new recruit.”
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