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Rubashkin and the “Hekhsher Tzedek”

By Rabbi YY Jacobson for theyeshiva.net

Unethical in the Name of Ethics

Animal Vs. Human Flesh

The following moving episode from the “other side” of the Atlantic was related by Cantor Moshe Kraus from Ottawa, who observed it first-hand. *

As a youngster, Moshe Kraus worked in the home of one of the great religious and spiritual Jewish personalities in pre-war Europe, the Rabbi of Munkatsh (a town in southwestern Ukraine), Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira (1871-1937), known as the “Minchas Elazar.” In his duty of cleaning up and organizing the numerous scattered books in the Rabbi’s study, Moshe Kraus regularly encountered the many people who came to have the Rabbi mediate their disputes and quarrels.

One day, as moshe Kraus was organizing the books, the leader of a particular Jewish community, came to the Munkatcher Rebbe to settle an ongoing quarrel he had with the community Rabbi.

The community leader, who loathed the Rabbi deeply, has been hunting him down (what else is new in the world?). He went so far as to instruct his wife not to ask the Rabbi any questions concerning Jewish law. “Should you have any questions,” he told her, “you ask me.”

One Friday afternoon, a question arose regarding a chicken she was preparing for Sabbath, and her husband was not home. In desperation, she went to the Rabbi to receive a ruling concerning the chicken’s kosher status. The Rabbi ruled it was Kosher. So the woman went ahead and cooked it.

When her husband came home and found out what happened, he was furious. After inspecting the chicken himself, he announced that it was not-kosher. “Aha! He exclaimed. You see, I told you he’s not a competent Rabbi, as the chicken is not Kosher!” and with that he put away the chicken on the side and would not eat it.

After Sabbath, the husband, with chicken in tow, called on the Rabbi to come with him to the Munkatsher Rebbe to settle the matter. Once and for all, he would prove to the world that this Rabbi was indeed an ignoramus and unworthy of his position. Arriving at the Rebbe, the community leader proceeds to tell the whole story, showing the Rebbe the chicken. Finishing his narrative, he says: “Rebbe you see, the Rabbi is feeding us non-kosher food! He must be dismissed from his post.”

The Munkatsher Rebbe did not say a word. He simply took the chicken and examined it well. Then he took a piece of the chicken, closed his eyes, recited the blessing of shehakol (the blessing we recite before eating chicken or meat), and ate it.

The verdict has been stated: the community leader was in the wrong; the Rabbi was in the right. The community leader left the home angry and upset. His scheme to dethrone the Rabbi did not materialize.

Present at this occurrence was the Talmudic scholar Rabbi Yitzchok Sterhell (author of Kochav Yitzchok on the Jerusalem Talmud.) After the two plaintiffs had left, he turned to the Munkatcher Rebbe and asked: “Although according to basic Jewish law the chicken was indeed kosher, it was certainly not “Glatt?” It was certainly not on the highest level of Kashrut. Why did you have to eat from it; you could have merely said that it was kosher?”

The Munkatsher Rebbe slammed his fist on the table, causing all of the books to shake, and replied sternly: “And human ‘meat’ is Glatt Kosher?!”

The message the Munkatcher Rebbe was conveying was that if the laws of kosher food are being enforced while human flesh is being consumed, at the expense of human dignity and basic kindness, you ought to be weary of this type of “kashrut.” The Munkatcher was ready to lower his religious standards of kosher, in order to put an end to the ugly witch hunt of an innocent human being.

Where’s the Apology?

It is troubling to say, but such a form of “kashrut” has recently developed. A few years ago, a new kosher symbol by the name of “hekhsher tzedek” originated by rabbis within the Conservative movement and has been endorsed by the Rabbinical Assembly, the international association of Conservative rabbis. Its mission statement was to introduce higher ethics into the preparation of kosher food.

The new certification resulted from the initiative of Rabbi Morris Allen of Beth Jacob Congregation in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, following investigative reporting by Nathaniel Popper in The Forward (a weekly Jewish newspaper) regarding working conditions at the Rubashkin Agriprocessors kosher meat plant in Postville, Iowa.

In an interview with Pamela Miller from the Star Tribune, Rabbi Allen states, “While it [the team led by Rabbi Allen] was not able to verify all of the Forward’s claims, ‘we witnessed some things that went against the dignity of workers.’” Allen argues that “We should not be eating food that has been produced in a way that has denied the dignity of the laborer. We should not be more concerned about the smoothness of a cow’s lung than we are about the safety of a worker’s hand.”

Noble instincts indeed. Alas, as it turns out, this new kosher certification speaking in the name of ethics has been established on the foundations of horrific and unjust human abuse. For years, leading activists of Hekhsher Tzedek slandered the Agri kosher meat plant and its manager Sholom Rubashkin for the supposedly horrendous mistreatment of workers. Yet, on June 7th, a jury in Waterloo, Iowa proclaimed kosher slaughterhouse manager Sholom Rubashkin not guilty of all 67 child labor violations he has been charged with. It turns out that the accusations were unfounded.

[In separate charges for obtaining bank loans for the company through fraudulent reports, Rubashkin was sentenced today to 27 years in prison. The bank loans were being used to sustain the Agri plant and were paid up till the Federal government shut down the meat plant. The lawyers vowed to appeal this uniquely harsh sentence.]

We have not heard an apology from the Rabbinical Assembly for the creation of a new kosher symbol dedicated to ethics fueled, inspired and validated by the unjust character assassination of Mr. Rubashkin and his company. Does the Jewish world really want a kosher mark born of Jewish suffering?

Hath not Sholom Rubashkin eyes? Hath not Rubashkin hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? If you prick him, does he not bleed?

*) Cantor Kraus related this story to Rabbi Pinchas Williger from Montreal, who shared it with me.

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15 Comments

  • awacs

    “After the two plaintiffs had left”

    Don’t you mean “two litigants”?

    Also, when is a chicken *not* glatt kosher? I thought they all were.

  • Yehoshua Ben Reb Avraham

    Every Rabbi who cares about Ethics and Kosher should disallow any product carrying HECHSHER TZEDEK on its packaging or website.

    Every “yeser k’notul domi” every extra aspect on Kosher from people such as “Hechsher Tzedek” is not Tzedek and Not Hecsher.

    Rabbi Yehoshua S. Hecht
    Beth Israel of Westport?Norwalk CT
    President Rabbinical Council of CT

  • Aaron

    Really man, whats with the Shakespeare at the end? Cheezy.
    I believe that SM Rubashkin was unfairly sentenced, however, we have to clarify that the Law and Ethics do not always coincide. We may conclude that just because a plant is being run legally it does not necessarily follow that it was being run ethically.

  • CR

    This article is a complete waste of bytes and pixels. You are talking of two men who have no shame nor scruples when it comes to achieving their political objectives. Popper’s was to force unionization upon the plant’s workers, in concert with the UFCW’s “corporate campaign”. If unsuccessful then force the plant out of business. Allen, meanwhile, used this incident as grounds for drumming up business for his new supervision service; using the alleged plight of the workers to show the moral imperative. The mere fact that most of Allen’s sister congregations were not the least bit in compliance with Magen Tzedek guidelines is almost besides the point.

  • Yankiel

    Allen of Herksher Zedek now called Magen Zedek and the liberal Orthodox group Uri Tzedek are building on the suffering of Rubashkin. Uri Lezedek has launched its own ethical heksher called the Tav Hayashar for restaurants. Its time for us to boycott these two who attacked Sholom Mordechai. Yankolovich of Uri Lezdek wrote in the Jewish Week that Sholom Mordechia deserved to be in jail for Pesach. He heads this groups so called Herksher. We need to boycott them. This is a list of the restaurants. contact them and tell them as long as they have the so called Heksher you are going somewhere else.
    MANHATTAN:
    16 Handles – 153 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 212-260-4414
    Bagel Boss (Manhattan Location)- 263 1st Avenue, New York, NY 212-388-9292
    Cafe Nana – 606 W 115th St – 347.244.0033Cafe 11 – 11 Broadway – 212.425.2233Dovid’s Kosher Food Stand – 27 William St (Beaver St & Exchange Pl) – 212.248.9008Hartley Kosher Deli – W 114 St (Broadway & Amsterdam Ave) – 212.854.5111Hewitt Kosher Dining – W 116 St & Broadway – 212.854.6663Noah’s Ark Original Deli – 399 Grand St – 212.674.2200Sacred Chow – 227 Sullivan St (W 3 & Bleecker St) – 212.337.0863Soom Soom – 166 W 72 St – 212.712.2525Stogo – 159 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003 212-677-2301
    Supersol West Side – 661 Amsterdam Ave – 212.222.6332Tease – 379 3rd Avenue, New York, NY – 212-889-8727
    (V) Vegetarian Sandwich Bar – 1259 Park Ave (E 97 & 98 St) – 212.360.7185Your Heights Cafe – 4413 Broadway – 212.544.9044
    BRONX:Geshmake Fish Market – 513 W 236 St – 718.432.5157‎Mr Bagel Cafe & Catering – 5672 Broadway, Bronx, NY 718-549-0408
    Nathan’s Kosher Meats – 570 W 235 St – 718.548.1723Riverdale Kosher Market – 5683 Riverdale Ave – 718.884.2222Silverleaf Caterers – 5672 Broadway, Bronx, NY 201-304-5559
    QUEENS:A and A Gourmet – 188-09 Union Turnpike – 718.468.0903Isaac’s Prime Beef – 189-19 Union Turnpike – 718.217.9299Subway – 14124 Jewel Ave – 718.544.7827

    M

  • RABBI YY JACOBSON

    Why wasn’t the authors name put to the article? It is Rabbi Yossi Jacobson – I’ve seen it on the other sites under his name and received it by email.

    Sometimes he tries too hard!

  • Tav haYosher Aint Kosher

    Every Rabbi who cares about Ethics and Kosher should disallow any product carrying HECHSHER TZEDEK on its packaging or website.

    —

    Add to this all restaurants carrying the “Tav HaYosher” or whatever Yanklowitz the moiser’s “ethical” “certification” is called.

  • Dissapointed

    I thought it was actuall quite interesting. Great story! May we only hear good news with shalom rubashkin imy. I just have a question what’s the point in quarelling online over nothing can’t someone write an article without any negative feedback if you don’t agree fine but what’s the point in writng negative comments?

  • Blood Liable

    Its funny how all over the news reports about people who stole hundreds of thousands credit card numbers and charged the cards fraudly and they spent only 70 months (6 years) in prison

    here somoene who may have shown fake documents to a bank needs to spend his life in prison????

    We suffered enough blood liables in Russia, Spain and all over for the world
    AD MOSSAI!!!!