October 23, 2018
Rabbi Rozovsky ’08: A journey to military service and ministry is anchored at PC
By John Chatfield ’19
For more than a century, Providence College has cultivated a singular identity as a Catholic institution with a distinct, Dominican heritage. In the spirit of this tradition, tolerance was woven into its founding charter as one of the school’s fundamental values.
Welcoming students of every culture and creed, PC has long been a haven for marginalized communities. This was especially true during the mid-20th century — a time when Jewish students were systemically barred from other universities. Instead of coldness, they found open arms at PC, realizing the College was a place for all faiths to flourish.
Aaron A. Rozovsky ’08 found the same reception as so many others before him. Born to Jewish parents — Fay A. (Frank) Rozovsky, J.D. ’73 & ’08Hon. and the late Lorne E. Rozovsky — in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, he attended Hebrew grade school, participated in the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, and celebrated Shabbat every weekend.
He would relocate several times before settling in Virginia, but Rhode Island played a significant role in his religious upbringing. He fondly recalls visiting his grandparents in Cranston and observing holy days at Temple Beth-El in Providence. His mother is not only an Ocean State native but also the arbiter of a family legacy at Providence College.
“My mom said, ‘You don’t have to go to PC, but you have to apply,’” he said with a laugh.
In 2004, Rozovsky met both ends of his mother’s directive — joining his aunt, Ann M. (Frank) Goldstein ’75, and his brother, Joshua I. Rozovsky ’06SCE, as part of the Friar family. He came with a sense of purpose: Having witnessed a live broadcast of the 9/11 terror attacks in high school, he felt a resonant call towards a military career.
This would materialize as a sophomore, when he simultaneously enlisted with the Rhode Island Army National Guard and the Army ROTC program at PC. He regarded his teacher, Sergeant Major Gary Fortunato, as a personal hero, and of the fellow members of his commissioning class, he said, “To call them best friends doesn’t even do it justice. They’re like brothers to me.”
Formative relationships would abound at PC, and they were not limited to ROTC. As Rozovsky bonded with professors and administrators, he developed a particular admiration for the Dominican friars.
“It was how they acted, how they carried themselves, and what they represented … how they devoted their lives to others based on faith, and their authenticity.… It made me develop such a strong respect for the clergy and people of the cloth,” he said.
Rozovsky affectionately refers to Rev. Thomas P. McCreesh, O.P. ’65, associate professor of theology; Rev. Iriarte Andújar, O.P., associate dean of admission and chaplain of the College’s Army ROTC Patriot Battalion; and the late Rev. John S. Peterson, O.P. ’57, who was the PC National Alumni Association chaplain, as role models, mentors, and close friends. In retrospect, he believes that their example was the subconscious seed that shaped him for years to come.
After graduating in 2008 with bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in Spanish, Rozovsky was deployed to Guantanamo Bay with the 115th Military Police Company. There, he led a quick reaction force platoon while overseeing physical fitness and public affairs. He deployed for a second time one year later, joining the 43rd Military Police Brigade in Afghanistan as a battle captain.
Despite the length and scope of these tours, faith was always his foremost priority. At both bases, he worked as a Jewish lay leader, facilitating praise and worship. He found time for prayer on ruck marches and spent many nights reading the Tanakh, Talmud, and Midrash. In January 2018, he became the first Jewish chaplain in the R.I. Army National Guard.
In fact, it was during those seminal years in the Army that he discovered the dualistic nature of his vocation. At the suggestion of one of his sergeants who recognized his affinity for Jewish history, theology, and culture, Rozovsky began to consider the ordained life.
This period of discernment lasted through his completion of two master’s degrees — one from Central Connecticut State University and another from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio — and culminated with his ordination as a rabbi in the Reform Movement five years later, on June 2, 2018. He was one of eight students to be ordained in a ceremony at historic Plum Street Temple in Cincinnati.
Shortly after being ordained, Rozovsky moved to Jackson, Miss., where he is director of rabbinical services for the Institute of Southern Jewish Life. He provides a host of services to Jewish communities in 13 southern states.
He described his responsibilities as a military chaplain and as a rabbi as a “ministry of presence,” which includes leading Shabbat services, training fellow chaplains, pastoral counseling, intervention, and communal support. His goals are simple: “to take care of my soldiers’ spiritual, emotional, and moral needs” and “to keep the Jewish spirit alive.”
Rozovsky credited PC with providing him many life lessons, including “how to thrive as a Jew in a non-Jewish environment.” Although he was immersed in a Catholic setting, he was always embraced and encouraged by faculty, staff, and students alike, he said. He maintained that the size of the Jewish community at PC is not as important as its strength.
“PC taught me that it’s about effort, and it’s about quality over quantity. You don’t need huge numbers to live a good, quality life,” he said.
