Pubdate: Sun, 03 Sep 2000 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Copyright: 2000 Houston Chronicle Contact: Viewpoints Editor, P.O. Box 4260 Houston, Texas 77210-4260 Fax: (713) 220-3575 Website: http://www.chron.com/ Forum: http://www.chron.com/content/hcitalk/index.html Author: Thom Marshall Note: Thom Marshall's e-mail address is additional articles on Texas are available at http://www.mapinc.org/states/tx.htm Note: additional columns from Thom Marshall are available at http://www.mapinc.org/authors/Marshall SYSTEM ANSWERS PRISON RABBI'S SOS State prisons held about 40 Jewish inmates 18 years ago when Rabbi Ted Sanders became the Texas prison system's only chaplain for that faith. Now, he said, there are about 220 Jewish inmates who have legitimate backgrounds in the religion, and at least 500 others who have declared Judaism as their religious preference. That level of interest may be explained, at least in part, he said, by something that happened a year ago last April. It started when a couple came to see him about getting married. In talking with them, Rabbi Sanders learned the young man worked as an adviser to Gov. George W. Bush. And so, recognizing an opportunity, the rabbi asked the young man to relay a request to his boss. He explained that with the dozens of new prison units built in recent years, and with the exploding inmate population due to the drug war, one chaplain could no longer provide support to the Jewish inmates held in 64 of the 115 units all over the state. A week later the rabbi was invited to a meeting in Huntsville. The results were three more rabbis being hired as chaplains, and the designation of seven units where Jewish inmates could request to be transferred, and where rabbis would regularly visit and conduct services. Faithful conversion In the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system, inmates can change their religion to something different every year if they wish, Rabbi Sanders said. He estimates about 70 percent of all who enter prison are not affiliated with any church, temple or synagogue. It is no secret that inmates consider some TDCJ units worse than others. And in one unit with a particularly unpleasant reputation, a large number of inmates claimed the Jewish faith, thinking that would get them transferred. "We don't go around looking for converts," Rabbi Sanders said. "They have to study. They have to buy books. I asked, `Would you all agree to be circumcised?' And they all agreed." So now he has about 350 inmates taking conversion lessons, he said, "and some of them are doing great. ... The idea was if they reached 15 lessons, I would endorse their transfer." The rabbi said a considerable portion of his work is with Jewish parents of inmates. "The Jewish community is very difficult with their children who shamed them," he said. "When a Jewish kid gets in trouble, in many cases the family says to hell with him and goes into mourning." He told about one young man -- quiet-spoken, very intelligent, college background -- who served time for drugs, then got out and seemed for a time to be doing all right. He moved in with his mother. He became religiously observant and developed a successful business. But it didn't last. He eventually started running with his old buddies and using drugs again and soon was back in prison. He was his mother's only son and had been her pride and joy, the rabbi said, but now she would not visit him, would not even answer his letters. Some bad choices It took a considerable amount of time and talking, but Rabbi Sanders said he finally managed to convince the mother that she was not doing herself or her son any good. Now she writes her son. The rabbi estimates that at least 70 percent of those Texas prison inmates who were raised Jewish are there because of drugs. They are not violent criminals. They went through bar mitzvah training, they know they have a tradition. But they made some bad choices. Family and community support is very important for them, he said, because people do not need prison for using drugs. They need medical help. And when they get out of prison, it is their families and the community who can make sure they get that help. The rabbi said another important facet of his work is helping a former inmate get started in business after release from prison. "The Jewish community has a free loan society," he said. "If I call and say he needs $2,000, which he will pay back, they will give it to him." - --- MAP posted-by: Thunder