Mission Statement
The Aleph Institute is a 501c3 certified non-profit Jewish organization dedicated to assisting and caring for the wellbeing of members of specific populations that are isolated from the regular community: U.S. military personnel , prisoners, and people institutionalized or at risk of incarceration due to mental illness or addictions.
Aleph addresses their religious, educational, and spiritual needs, advocates for their civil and religious rights, and provides support to their families at home left to fend for themselves.
The Aleph Institute is committed to criminal justice reform and recidivism reduction through preventive-education and faith-based rehabilitation programs, re-entry assistance, alternative sentencing guidance and counsel, and policy research and recommendations.
History
The Aleph Institute is a national non-profit organization, founded in 1981 by Rabbi Sholom Ber Lipsker at the express direction of the Chabad-Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson.
Since its founding more than 35 years ago with the early and staunch endorsement of Judge Jack Weinstein, Senior Judge (EDNY), Aleph has been lauded for its work by an impressive array of jurists, judges, attorney generals, and military officers, and is a recognized ecclesiastical endorser for the U.S. Department of Defense.
The Aleph Institute’s team has grown from just one Rabbi to more than 65 dedicated staff members and over 500 volunteers, who literally save lives, helping countless individuals during some of the darkest moments of their lives, and impacting thousands of families across the globe through their work. We are an equal opportunity employer.
Departments
Aleph is made up of a number of departments that service the following constituencies:
- Military personnel and their families
- Prisoners and their families
- Clients at mental institutions and rehabilitation centers
- Young adults at risk
- Former inmates
Highlights of Aleph’s work:
- Military chaplaincy training and support
- Religious and medical rights advocacy and facilitation
- Inmate visitation, emotional support, spiritual guidance, and encouragement
- Spiritual guidance, provisions, and aid to US servicemen and their families
- Social services and crisis response for families with loved ones in prison
- Faith-based rehabilitation and recidivism reduction
- Judicial counsel on appropriate alternative sentencing solutions
- Re-entry services and guidance such as housing, jobs, life-skills programs, and post-release accountability
- Family coaching for legal enforcement of crime- preventive intervention and treatment
- Policy recommendations and governmental lobby for religious rights and criminal justice reform
- Development of extensive ties within federal and state penitentiaries and Bureau of Prisons
- Intervention response to certain emergency international situations