Harold Terens, 102, of Florida, a U.S. soldier who fought in World War II, put on tefillin for the first time this week, was called to the Torah and celebrated his bar mitzvah during the annual military symposium of the Aleph Institute in the United States.
The event is considered the largest professional gathering of Jewish service members in the U.S. armed forces.
On D-Day — June 6, 1944 — Terens, who was born Aug. 6, 1923, helped repair planes returning from France so they could go back into combat. He said half the pilots in his unit were killed that day. He arrived in France 12 days later and assisted in transporting newly captured German soldiers and newly freed American prisoners of war back to England.
About a month after the war ended, Terens returned to the United States. He married Thelma in 1948, and the couple had two daughters and a son. He later served as an American vice president at a British corporation. In 2006, he and his first wife moved from New York to Florida after Thelma retired from teaching French. She died in 2018 after 70 years of marriage.
In June 2024, when he was 100, Terens was honored by the French as part of events marking the 80th anniversary of France’s liberation from Nazi rule. But that was not the only milestone on the beaches of Normandy. He married Jeanne Swerlin, now 98, during the commemorations.
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He did not celebrate a bar mitzvah because of his father’s opposition
(Photo: AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
At his 102nd birthday party in August, Terens said his brother received the traditional Jewish ceremony marking the beginning of religious adulthood when they were children in New York — and he did not.
“My mother came from Poland. My father came from Russia. And my mother was religious. My father was anti-religious. So they had two sons, and they reached a compromise: One son would have a bar mitzvah, and the other would not,” he said.
More than 200 U.S. military chaplains, service members and cadets from around the world gathered for the 19th annual military symposium organized by the Aleph Institute, which assists Jewish service members and prisoners in the United States. It is the largest professional gathering of Jews in the U.S. armed forces, bringing together Jewish personnel for professional training, spiritual growth and community building.
The symposium drew participants from across the United States and from overseas bases, including Spain, Germany, Japan and Hawaii. International military representatives from Israel and NATO countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Canada, also attended.
Among the participants were 25 cadets from the U.S. Military Academy, representing nearly 20% of its Jewish student population, along with cadets and staff from the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard Academy.
“The symposium is the anchor of Jewish life in the military,” said Rabbi Elie Estrin, director of military programs at the Aleph Institute. “Many leaders use the information, inspiration and mutual support they gain here throughout the year.”