Student Defends Chabad on Campus from Alcohol Accusations
A columnist for The Jewish Week recently attacked Chabad on Campus as being “nothing more than an outlet for binge drinking.” University of Michigan Student Ben Kaminsky took it upon himself to set the record straight.
In a letter to the Jewish week, titled Drawn to Chabad, he wrote:
The next time Gary Rosenblatt decides to write a scathing article on Jewish efforts with youth, he should please do his research first (“Back Off On The Bacchanalia,” editor’s column, April 1).
I find it disturbing that he criticized the efforts of Chabad Houses on campuses across the country as being nothing more than an outlet for binge drinking. Clearly he has never been to a Shabbat meal or a Torah class at Chabad on campus where the main features are friends, family and learning about Judaism. In fact here at the Chabad at the University of Michigan, alcohol is never a feature. [The Rabbi] feels so strongly about having a “dry” Chabad House that grape juice is used instead of wine for Kiddush.
Four years ago I walked into the Chabad House at U of M because I wanted to continue to learn about and experience Judaism. What keeps drawing me and many other students to Chabad is the no-strings-attached approach to Jewish learning and growth. I have never once felt pressured into doing anything I didn’t feel comfortable with, nor have I ever been bribed by the promise of alcohol.
I encourage Rosenblatt to come visit me and my friends at Chabad at U of M and see what really goes on at a Shabbat dinner, classes and lectures, or the next time he is in Israel, ask kids on a Birthright trip why they decided to go.
Ben Kaminsky
University of Michigan Ross School of Business
Class of 2011
chaim
Nice letter.
Funny how the featured picture only has non-kosher bottles.
Another dry Campus Chabad
Beautiful Ben and Beautiful Goldsteins!
Mendoza
The j week paper a lefty / lebral second rate paper
esp jonatan mark the self h…. Jew
BS--D
News is a sad thing, people run out of things to print and it turns into Loshon Hara, thanks to the student who set it straight!
e.g.a
thats right!!!
Ben all the way from HK!!
dovid
it shoul be called the weekjew not the jewishweek
jack
Sue them for Defemaation!!!!!!
@Chaim
Beg to differ…
Jack Daniel’s is kosher.
ari
i kinda of agree with original author about the drinking of chabbad how meany of chabbadnikim acctualy listen to the rebbes gezeira on no more then 4 why walk into any farbregen on shabbat and ull see at least half the place sprawled out drunk yes i have been to chabbad meals on campus like at hebrew u where the rabbi gets drunk there every shabbos and he serves it to all the students who come have u ever been to 770 on succoss or purim or even on a regular shabbos day where u can see how meany ppl are throwing up how meany of them are still drinking after the 4th lachaim i call this a b.s artical of someone who doesnt know what theyr talking about someone who has never acctualy experinced a chabbad shabbat dinner yes u do have the exeptions but the majority always overrules i say lets cut down on underage drinking and tell the mashpias that they cant serve vodka to the bochrim in zal or mesifta and the parents should also keep a watch on their alchoal supply how meany ppl have to go to the hospital for alchoal poisining before someone relises that its just as bad as smoking drugs b/c alchaol in itself is a drug and it can be addictive birthright kids not only go to israel to tour but they also go to get away from their parents and to a place where they know they can drink freely without consiquinces so to u ben wake up and smell the coffee chabbad is known around the world for its tolarence of drinking and that is something witch should change
chaim
What makes you think Jack is kosher?
What makes you think any mashke is kosher?
How can you be so strict on all other aspects of kosher and drink mashke with no idea weather it is kosher or not.
I know its easy to say something is not kosher but it takes huge baitzim to say something is.
Do you have any idea what the chances are that any random mashke is kosher? Do you have any idea of the steps between distilling and botteling?
Let’s take Jack Daniel’s as an example.
Who owns it? Is it public or privately owned? Are they Jewish?
These are the first questions to ask about any mashke.
I don’t know. Is there an issue of chometz sheovar olav hapesach.
Is there brandies or other wine products made in the same facility? Is this bottled on the same line? Is it a hot process? Is it stored in the same tanks for more than 24 hours as non kosher or wine products? I don’t know, do you know? I am no expert but I find it ridiculous for people to have no problem drinking or “promoting” any food or drink that has no hechsher.
Lechaim alle Yidden!
Judging from Ari’s spelling and grammar, I think he had way more than four lechaims before he posted his unreadable response. I guess he does not hold by the Tzemach Tzedek regarding mashke during Chol Hamoed. (BTW in EY the drinking age is 18, so if the shaliach at Hebrew U really is handing out mashke, he’s not breaking any laws. Better to make lechaims like a Yid than to do what most students there do on Friday night which is to get shikker vi a goy.)
I think Rav Landa approves of Jack Daniel’s – however, yes, there may be an inyan of where you buy it after Pesach (if you’re not in CH where we can always go to Eber’s who sells their chometz).
Isn’t Wild Turkey also kosher?
@Chaim, again
@Lechaim alle Yiddin
ari
(1 i never said that he was breaking any of the governing rules but that hes trying to attract the wrong kind of crowd (2 when the rebbe said no more then four i think he included all of chabbad untill of course a cirtain age (3 u have to forgive my spelling and grammer but u can blame that on ur beloved school system of course that is if ur ready to accept critisim of the way u school the children but thats for a diffrent disscusion and what makes u think that the students are getting drunk via a guy chould it be that a jewish bar is open on shabbat or that they bought the mashke before shabbos 4) it doesnt set a good example to the students when they see the rabbi drunk every shabbat it makes them think down upon them and it also drives ppl away from chabbad it puts down the dignity of the shul and of the whole orginization and over here the age is 21 not 18 so u still have to watch to who u give mashke to thats if u realy care about what the rabbeim say
chaim
Are you that naive? Do you think the store on Kingston called everything but the baby actually sells everything but the baby?
I dare you to go back to that precious little website of yours and search for Jack Daniels or Wild Turkey and you will see they are both listed as not supervised, meaning there is no Rav that will say it is kosher.
to Lechaim alle Yidden!
Rav Lanada to my knowledge has never approved Jack Daniels there is no letter or notation I can find either way. Wild Turkey is certainly not supervised they make the mashke in one facility and ship it hundreds of miles away to be bottled in a facility that bottles all sorts of kosher and non-kosher drinks. Iam not saying anything is trief but by the standards we keep to on all other products I think these items would be considered not acceptable.
YOU HAVE MADE A BIG MISTAKE the fact that Ebers sells his chometz is wonderful and avoids the issue of chometz sheovar on all products that were distilled by non Jews and purchased by him. BUT, AND HERE IS THE IMPORTANT PART, if he bought a mashke distilled by Jews that did not sell their chometz , when he sells it the status remains the same and it is still chometz sheovar alov. and the broader problem is now the rabonim of crown heights made a deal (presumably there is hanoa) on this mashke that is chometz sheovar olav hapesach.
I understand this is hard to listen to because the truth hurts but just think about how careful you are to eat Glat and cholov yisroel before you buy the next round.
Sholom
Go Tante Esther and Uncle Ahrele!
Chaim
I should check my sources? Are you out of your mind? How dare you be so condescending when you nothing about the topic? over 90% of beverages with more than 40% alcohol are unsupervised and very likely not kosher.
I understand that you can hide behind your @chaim and say whatever helps you sleep better, but these fact still remain.
1-If any distillery owned by Jews does not sell their chometz over pesach its products are forbidden to use. (This is very common)
2-If a distillery makes a brandy (wine based) or uses natural grape flavors or other non-kosher flavors in any of its products the likelihood of cross contamination is very large. (This is very common)
3-if a distillery produces in one facility and bottles in another many issues can get in the way of the final product being kosher.(The large majority of foreign whiskeys are shipped to the united states and bottled here.)
If you ask a rav or someone in the kashrus field I am sure they could list many more issues.
Just watch what you do before you get all high and mighty.
Da lifnai mi ato omaid!!!
Lechaim alle Yidden!
Chaim – call Rav Landa’s office. I don’t drink JD but I did call them when whisk(e)y issues began to arise and I am almost sure that JD was one of the ones they approved.
Here is what liquor expert Rav Semelman of the Y-m Rabbanut has on JD: _186_138.” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.kosherliquorlist…
Yes, there is a whole machloikes about whether we can drink mashke from certain Jewish manufacturers and wholesalers. It does not apply to me where I am; while you’re checking with Rav Landa ask him about that. There is a list out there that mentions which brands might have an issue.
Avi – on campuses, the students are actually impressed by a drunk rabbi. That’s just a fact of life. And you mentioned Hebrew U. That is in EY last time I checked.
Lechaim alle Yidden!
The large majority of foreign whiskeys are shipped to the united states and bottled here.
Nope. Maybe the low-priced stuff, but not the single malts or the better blends. They’re bottled as soon as they are poured from the cask(s) in Scotland, Ireland or even Canada.
Mendoza
Ari kush a bear unter eck
Chaim
#19 I just emailed Rabbi Semelman of KWL asking for sources. I am not gonna get up here and argue with a rav about what is and is not Kosher but I sure as heck will make my points. There is a whiskey on the KWL website called old weller it is produced by the Sazerac family who are jewish and have not sold their chometz in the past, making everything they produce assur. It certainly is not “Kashrut Clasification: Kosher for Mehadrin Consumer”
Rav Lanadas office denies ever declaring JD Kosher.
how do certain halachos apply or not apply to certain people
#19 you are incorect (again)
whiskey is never bottled out of a barrel. barrels are dumped into tank. if its a single barrel bottle than one barrel is dumped in a tank but regardless of that the fact is it is dumped out of the barrel. how long it sits there and what was there before it I dont know. What else is bottled on the line and how it got to the bottler i dont know ethier. that is for the FEW that are bottled on site. these include as you so elequintly mentioned your higher end whiskeys. sorry if I was not clear. When I said the large majority of foreign alchohli bvrages I meant all of them not just the single malts.
Have you ever seen a cask. I have been to distileries in scotland and toured the facilities. the cask is filled and emptied from the middle, how then can you have it “bottled as soon as they are poured from the cask(s)”
berel
FYI
kosher whiskey and liquor website and rabbi semelman are affiliated with rabanut of jerusalem which by large is not acepted by Chabad
Lechaim alle Yidden!
I know who Rabbi Semelman is and who he works for. Regardless, he knows what he is doing and if you contact him he is more than willing to tell you that some things he approves are not approved by Rav Landa or other Chabad authorities.
I highly doubt you contacted Rav Landa; I don’t think his office is bothering to answer whiskey related questions on Pesach. If you did, kindly tell me what his office DOES approve of.
Sazerac is an issue, yes, but there are 2 sides to the issue. I don’t have access to Sazerac products so I never looked into it in depth. And regardless of the tank in between the cask, only the schlock blends are bottled on lines used for anything else. By schlock blends I mean real dreck, stuff you’d be embarrassed to serve to anyone who’s not underage or a Skid Row drunk. (The only anything else that may be bottled on good whisky lines is whisky that was aged in a sherry cask. Then the question is botel beshishim or not).
@Chaim
JD might not be your kosher, but it’s kosher.
Stop being, as you say, “all high and mighty”.
I actually have no experience in the matter, as you realize, but I know Jack is kosher.
chaim
Has Semelman been to Scotland or Tennessee to see what goes on. I doubt it. How anyone can say something is kosher without seeing it is ludicrous. The fact that he is associated with the Rabanut furthers my point. I wouldn’t eat anything that only had a rabanut hechsher in Israel where there is a mashgiach why would I eat something processed in a plant that was not even visited. Of course he approves things Rav Landa wouldn’t, he works for a triangle-K equivalent.
I too doubt his offices are open on the holiday smatypants. I requested information on American whiskey from his offices months ago and received a reply stating that He did not certify any american whiskeys.
How many sides can there be to Chometz Sheovar olav Hapesach, which is Asur B’hanaha.
Again your facts are not really fact but thoughts. Common practice among whiskey distillers and bottlers is only to rinse lines when going to a lighter color or lesser flavor. In addition when lines are cleaned they are not kashered. If a non-kosher drink sits in the tank for 24 hours it is as if it was cooked there, so when the next product comes in for another 24 hours it is cooked in a trief “pot”.
Anyone else have a smart answer for me?
berel
@
“24. @Chaim wrote:
JD might not be your kosher, but it’s kosher.
Stop being, as you say, “all high and mighty”.
I actually have no experience in the matter, as you realize, but I know Jack is kosher.”
Iam just trying to figure out how or why JD is kosher with no symbol on it but canned pineapple with a triangle-k is trief.
can yayin nesech be bottel?