Tagged Ari Mandel

Soldier boychik: Disenchanted Chasid turns to the military

Ari Mandel at his wedding in Monsey, N.Y., August 2001. (Courtesy Ari Mandel)

NEW YORK (Yiddish Forward) — When Ari Mandel arrived at Army boot camp at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., in June 2007, it was a scorcher. His fellow soldiers, who had been accustomed to wearing airy shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops during the summer, groaned as they donned knee-high woolen socks,… Read more »