# Chana Timoner

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**Chana Timoner** (*née* **Carol Ann Surasky**; August 24, 1951 – July 13, 1998) was the first female [rabbi](/source/Rabbi) to hold an active duty assignment as a [chaplain](/source/Military_chaplain) in the [U.S. Army](/source/United_States_Army), which she began in 1993.[3][4]

## Early life and education

She was born in [New Haven, Connecticut](/source/New_Haven,_Connecticut), the daughter of Abraham Surasky and Mary Rose Surasky (*née* Greenberg). Her paternal grandparents, Anna and Morris (Max), were [Russian Jews](/source/Russian_Jews) who had immigrated in 1910.[5] Her mother had joined the [Canadian Army](/source/Canadian_Army) to fight in [World War II](/source/World_War_II) in 1940, a year before the [United States](/source/United_States) entered the war, and in 1941 her mother transferred to the newly organized [Women's Army Corps](/source/Women's_Army_Corps) of the United States.[4] Chana Timoner married at 18, and had two children by the time she graduated from college, yet was unhappy and restless as a homemaker and mother.[4]

## Rabbinical career

She began rabbinical studies in 1984 after a friend remarked one day, "you know, in 7 years you could be a 40-year-old housewife or you could be a 40-year-old rabbi."[4] She became a [Conservative Jewish](/source/Conservative_Judaism) rabbi, ordained in 1989.[4][6] She joined the army in 1993, and on the very day that year that she began her first assignment, at [Fort Bragg](/source/Fort_Bragg) in [North Carolina](/source/North_Carolina), [President Clinton](/source/Bill_Clinton) announced the *[Don't ask, don't tell](/source/Don't_ask,_don't_tell)* policy in the military.[4]

## See also

- [Timeline of women rabbis](/source/Timeline_of_women_rabbis)

## References

1. *Connecticut Death Index, 1949-2012*

1. *Connecticut, Marriage Index, 1959-2012*

1. ["Chana Timoner"](https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1998/07/18/chana-timoner/). *[The Orlando Sentinel](/source/The_Orlando_Sentinel)*. July 18, 1998. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20131019122953/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1998-07-18/news/9807180215_1_fort-bragg-chaplain-fort-benning) October 19, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 10, 2011.

1. ["Chana Timoner, 46, Rabbi and Chaplain, Dies"](https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/17/nyregion/chana-timoner-46-rabbi-and-chaplain-dies.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. July 17, 1998. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140226033954/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/17/nyregion/chana-timoner-46-rabbi-and-chaplain-dies.html) February 26, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 10, 2011.

1. 1930 United States Census

1. ["Army's First Full-time Female Jewish Chaplain"](https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/07/18/armys-first-full-time-female-jewish-chaplain/). *[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)*. July 18, 1998. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120917051215/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-07-18/news/9807180122_1_chaplain-epstein-barr-first-jewish-woman) September 17, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 10, 2011.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chana Timoner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chana_Timoner) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chana_Timoner?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.