Manchester, NH — Potentially changing the course of prison life for Jewish inmates was the last thing the Chabad rabbi had in mind when he walked into the U.S. District Court one recent day.
Chabad Rabbi Informs Court Decision on Kosher Privileges for Inmates
Manchester, NH — Potentially changing the course of prison life for Jewish inmates was the last thing the Chabad rabbi had in mind when he walked into the U.S. District Court one recent day.
Chabad of New Hampshire’s Rabbi Levi Krinsky showed up at U.S. District Court in New Hampshire to offer moral support to Albert Kuperman, a teenager whose mistakes landed him in prison and whose spiritual awakening there breathed life into the term for jail that’s fallen out of fashion: penitentiary.
Kuperman was in court because prison officials revoked his kosher diet privileges as punishment for allegedly purchasing non-kosher food at the canteen and eating chicken prepared for the rest of the prisoners. The six-month suspension of kosher food service was in place to deter the non-sincere from gaining access to special diets, which cost slightly more than the average “chow line” fare. Kuperman maintained he had been “strong armed” into purchasing the canteen food, and that he did not eat it.
Judge James R. Muirhead mused whether the punishment fit the crime. He spotted Rabbi Krinsky, who’s advocated for New Hampshire’s handful of Jewish inmates in the past and asked Rabbi Krinsky to testify. The judge asked Rabbi Krinsky about the orthodox Jewish reaction to kosher backsliders. Rabbi Krinsky hit upon a satisfying parable.
“If a diabetic was caught eating candy, would it be appropriate for him to be punished by forcing him to eat a high sugar diet for six months?”
The judge saw the logic and quoted Rabbi Krinsky’s point in the decision. He recommended that officials find ways to punish infractions of prison rules “without disallowing their religious practice.” Judge Muirhead was clear that his decision only applied to sincerely observant Jews. Still Rabbi Krinsky feels that the ruling will have an important impact because punishing inmates with deprivation of kosher food for violating their diets is a widespread prison practice.
Even though there are only an estimated 6,000 Jewish in U.S. prisons, with only 2,000 of them requesting kosher, providing kosher food in prison has been a thorny issue for many years and the subject of many court cases. America’s largest Jewish prisoner advocacy group, Aleph Institute, run by Rabbi Sholom D. Lipskar of The Shul of Bal Harbour, FL, has been actively working on the issue since its founding in the 1980s.
Problems run the gamut from small town wardens who have never heard of kosher to kosher foods prepared in the jail’s non-kosher kitchens and prisons that expect non-pork vegetarian diets to suffice as kosher. Strides have been made, however. A standardized kosher menu was recently created for inmates in Federal prisons. In Texas, as a result of Chabad of Houston’s extensive efforts and litigation – with advice from Aleph – the state prisons have a kosher diet available. Last year, kosher diets became available in California state prisons.
Following the hearing, Kuperman’s kosher diet – three pre-packaged meals a day – was restored, pending approval by a U.S. District Court Judge. Rabbi Krinsky said that Kuperman called collect a few days later with news that he has been receiving his kosher food without restrictions and was “very happy with the result,” Rabbi Krinsky said.
“It feels good to help one Jew and know that your actions have the potential to help many more.”
http://lubavitch.com/top.html?ixobject=2018340
Inspired
Kol Hakavod Rabbi Krinsky
keep up the good work.
They deserve bread and water only
Thank goodness the murderers and theives are eating kosher….even though they caused their victims not to eat anything.
Tachlis
Good parable!
Guy at Aleph Inst.
To They Deserve Bread and Water,
Most inmates are people that have been involved in one horrible situation in their lives not thieves and murderers as you say. “Hagam shechata Yisroel Hu” They should be given the chance to observe Torah and mitzvahs and become Baalei Teshuva in the fullest sense of the term.
Judge Not
To “they deserve bread and water only”
Many men have been imprisoned for a variety of reasons not to do with commiting a violent crime. Do I need to point out the many Hassidim who were imprisioned? Do not assume a man’s guilt because he is behind bars.
Alternately; should a Jew be stripped of his rights as a Jew even if he has commited a crime according to US law?
It should never happen to you or one you love to find out how it might feel if you were on the other side of those bars.
fed up
techie,
Why in do so many stupid people post on this site, as “deserve bread and water”?
Hello
To “They Deserve Bread and Water”
Two wrongs do not make a right.
Even, if just for arguments sake, lets say they are murderes.
It does not change the fact that they are Jews.
And therefore require kosher food.
Period.
No connection.
OH, and grow up.
Bread and Water
I am very grown up and clear thinking. Okay, so visit them, bring them challah, and make sure they get their kosher food. But what are you doing for their victims? Are they being brought anything? Are you worrying about how they are living now? I work with victims of violent crimes and people who have had their life savings stolen from them.
You would not want YOUR family members to be victims of these people. Would you be bringing them their challahs and kosher food if YOUR family members were their victims?
Plenty of people have come out of horrible life situations and NOT become criminals, so no need for the sob stories about “why” they turn to a life of crime. Many people rise above that and make a better world.
I say make sure all the Jewish people, no matter what they have done to others, have kosher food…..but balance that with helping their victims as well.
willing to help
B”H
to bread and water:
help the victims… how? can you specify?
Bread and Water
“Willing to help”:
It is sort of sad that we have to wonder *how* or to ask *me* how to help victims of these criminals.
All the work and money that went into making sure the criminals had their Jewish needs met could go into the victims of their crimes.
Make those same Jewish criminals make restitution for their acts. The Rabbi’s wives who make the criminals challah every Thursday for their Rabbi husbands to bring to them on their prison visits….let them bring their victims some challah! Spend some time visiting them, counseling them, worrying about what *they* might need after having a loved one murdered or their savings swindled by a Jewish criminal.
I raise funds, mentor their children, and do certain social work for the victims of these criminals.
We have to care about the criminals Jewish neshamas, of course. But running ourselves ragged making sure laws are passed for religious rights and driving every week for prison visits could also be balanced by doing the same for the victims of these criminals.
Whether they are Jewish or not, these criminals have destroyed the lives of many and we need to remember that.
Shame on You
To “They deserve bread and water”
Have you never heard of a victimeless crime? Not evreyone in jail has commited a crime that has a victim.
Can you not see past your own experience to imagine others? To you anyone in jail must have done something to deserve it period, end of story. I guess it’s a good thing at least you’re a Jew otherwise you might have been the person in a small feudal European town who whenever anything went wrong pointed the finger and said,“the Jew did it”.
I grew up in a place where I was the only Jew in my public school. If something was missing, “the Jew stole it”, if someone hit me, “the Jew started it”. Our mailbox was shot at, swazstikas and crosses were drawn on my school locker. I was frequently asked, “ Where are my horns, how much Christian blood is used to make Matzoh, why did the Jews kill Jesus”.
The place I grew up was Manchester, NH, the same place Reb Krinsky now lives and runs a Chabad house. It was through his efforts that now at least a Jew, no matter what he has done or merely been accused of, he at least has the small decencey of continuing to live as a Jew.
Thank you Reb Krinsky for your decencey.
As for “they deserve..” try to remember not every Jew behind bars is the Son of Sam.
Senseless Bashing, Why?
Bread and Water:
Just like a pervious commenter stated “Hagam shechata Yisroel Hu”, that’s all that needs to be said. And just for the sake of taking a jab at you, you say you are grown up and clear thinking then take a second to think about this:
The Aleph Institute specializes in helping Jewish inmates in a variety of ways, from sending Bochurim out during the holidays to perform prayer services and supply kosher food to those that seek it.
This article is a beautiful article about great work an organization is doing for the aforementioned, and here you come and criticize this, and for no reason with no basis! When an article comes up about helping victims of crime, you can go ahead and write over there that “I help” or “I think this is an issue that needs to be better addressed”.
In the meantime stop trying to detract from this article with your senseless comments like “help both”, if you want to do that, Gezunterheit! By all means, get to it! But don’t bash this article (even in your inadvertent way) because you don’t help enough.
Wrongfully Accused
Dear Bread and Water
I was recently arrested on a case of mistaken identity. I was hancuffed, fingerprinted, photographed because over twenty years ago someone with the same name as myself failed to answer a summons to appear in court and pay a small fine for putting up posters. I spent 24 hrs in a too small filthy cell with violent criminals. No kosher food was supplied much less clean toilet facilities. It was no hardship to fast for 24 hrs, however why should I have had too. Moreover my point is that mistakes are made likely every day that land innocent Jews in jail. Someone I know was detained in custody initially at an airport because a stewardess mistook him for a Muslim, and therfore a possible terrorist. It wasn’t untill a US official showed up the next day that he was recognized for a Jew.
The victim in both these cases were the ones incarcerated.
In this country a person is presumed innocent.
The story in this article is about a young man who made a mistake, it does not say what it was. It’s quite wrong of you to assume that there was a victim other than he.
I’m sorry for you that the world is so cut and dry.
May all our deeds thoughts and actions merit the coming of Moshiach in our lifetime.
yossi
all you perople are bunch idiots all you people look as the negative were is your ahavas yisroel does everything have to be fight why can you say yesher koack to rabbi krinsky for his great work and that a yid has kosher food to eat you are not to judge after 120 years hashem will judge him how can you assume or make false accusations about this person there alllways has to be disagrement about something neva can we get along whats going on ova here the rebbe scrame out AND CRIED AHAVAS YISROEL are you just bored nothing better to do with your lives than argue and cause more sinas chinem wake up change your selfes ad mosai
Aleph volunteer
I visited this Albert Kuperman fellow on Aleph last summer. I glad to hear he straightened it out!