A chaplain in three wars, Rabbi Engel was a spiritual advisor to Jewish GIs from the South Pacific to Europe. He was born in Palestine and came to the United States in 1937 after receiving a master's degree from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Engel served briefly as the religious leader of Brith Sholom Community Center in Philadelphia before joining the Army in November 1943. After tours of duty in the Pacific, he returned to civilian life in 1946, serving congregations in North Carolina and Massachusetts. Engel was called back into the military. Re-entering the Army in September 1950. Over the next 14 years he saw combat in Korea. He was the Jewish adviser to the European Army Command and became the first Jewish chaplain to be sent to Vietnam. He died in the U.S. Navy