Supporting Jews in jail

For most of us, the busy period from Rosh Hashana to Simchat Torah is a time of celebration with family and friends. For Jews in jail, it can be the hardest and most lonely of times.

Their lifeline to Jewish connection is the prison chaplaincy.

“The biggest challenges Jewish prisoners have is their sense of isolation and loneliness especially around the time of chagim (festivals), where typically one would be surrounded by friends and family,” says David, a Jewish chaplain in Victoria’s prison system.

 “We are caring for the people in the most vulnerable time often when they have lost all of their family,” adds Mark, another Victorian chaplain.

In the lead up to the High Holidays, I talked with Mark and David, who have both been visiting prisoners on a regular basis since 2017. They asked I withhold their last names due to the sensitive nature of their work.

Globally, visiting Jewish prisoners in jail took off in the 1980s, when the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the grand Hasidic rabbi of Chabad in New York, encouraged his followers to visit Jewish people in jail.

Unlike the legal system, which views prisoners as people deserving of punishment, the Rebbe took a radically progressive approach, asserting that all Jews are “responsible to make sure that criminals are helped in their lives, rehabilitating them to a productive life in a moral and just society…and ensure that prison acts not just as a punishment, but as an opportunity for positive growth.”

In Victoria and New South Wales, there are Jewish prison chaplaincies, run by Orthodox Jews who want to support those who are in jail. I’ve always been interested in the topic, because my dad Max Kaltmann, founded Victoria’s first Jewish prison chaplaincy, and served as a prison chaplain for 26 years. When my dad retired from the prison chaplaincy, it was taken over by a registered charity, the Jewish Prison Chaplaincy of Victoria.

Today, the Victorian Jewish chaplaincy is run mainly by volunteers (neither Mark nor David is paid)  and has a close working relationship with Corrections Victoria, the government agency that is responsible for maintaining prisons in Victoria.

Volunteering as a prison chaplain requires sensitivity and discretion. Chaplains must feel comfortable visiting inmates, some of whom have committed serious crimes like sexual abuse or murder. All chaplains must have a current police check and specific clearance for the prison that they visit.

When I asked the chaplains how they feel about visiting people who have committed serious offences, David stressed the lack of judgementalism required for this role. “I think about prison like Yom Kippur. Many people in jail, turn to spirituality and religion and think about what they have done, and I am there to provide support” he said.

The High Holiday period is one of the busiest times of the prison chaplaincy. There are requests for Jewish books, as well as holiday-specific supplies such as honey cakes, lulav and etrog sets, shofars. For women in jail the chaplaincy provides electric shabbat candles, and for men in jail, they can also provide tefillin.

Corrections Victoria provides kosher food for inmates who required it through a kosher caterer, but prison chaplains, with permission from the jail they are visiting, can bring in specific additional foods. David said rugelach, hummus and festival-specific foods such as hamantaschen and honey cake were popular requests.

But most of all, they provide emotional and spiritual support. “Chagim are a time of reflection, celebration and festivities: incarcerated people are missing that interaction, the warmth and love of family unity,” said David.

There are about a dozen Jewish prison chaplains in Victoria. While all chaplains are permitted to visit either men’s or women’s jails, the Jewish chaplaincy usually sends male chaplains to the men’s jail and female chaplains to the women’s jail.

The chaplains feel a great deal of responsibility about their work, knowing that the people they visit in jail are often don’t have many visitors and look forward to their visits. “I believe that every person should be looked after,” said David. “When times are not good you want to know your friends. Our role is to help,” said Mark.

For the chaplains, the best-case scenario is when a prisoner is released from jail and successfully reintegrate into society and no longer require their services

At a recent dinner held for their chaplains, there was a cause for celebration. A former inmate who was recently released from jail came to address the group of Jewish chaplains. “One of our chaplains helped to turn his life around. [The former prisoner] is now working for the government. This kind of thing makes it all worthwhile,” said Mark.