Washington, DC Modern Orthodox Rabbi Calls For Rubashkin Ban

The ban is temporary, meant to be in place only until allegations against Agriprocesors and the Rubashkin family are proved false or true.

Still, once in place – and with the high probability of Rubashkin guilt, combined with so many previous Rubashkin crimes – it is likely the ban would stick.

Details…

…from VosIzNeais:

Rabbi Kalman Winter
Director
Vaad Harabonim of Washington
11161 New Hampshire Ave, Suite 402
Silver Spring, MD 20904

Dear Rabbi Winter:

It has been reported in The Washington Post that Agriprocessors Inc., also known as Rubashkin’s meat, has been the subject of a raid by the government on their kosher slaughtering plant.

It has been reported that numerous, serious ethical violations have gone on there and there has even been an allegation of a meth lab on the premises. Furthermore, certain other allegations might have a direct impact on whether the animals are actually slaughtered properly.

Although we can not be certain, at this time, whether the allegations are actually true, we should act with caution and concern.

Thus, I urge the Vaad Harabonim of Washington to temporarily suspend Rubashkin’s meat in the stores and caterers that it supervises. Because such a suspension, if it applied to product currently in the inventory of stores and caterers – as well as product in people’s homes and in restaurants – would impose a burden on those persons and entities, I suggest that this ban apply only to future shipments from Rubashkin’s and that the suspension expressly provide that it does not apply to product that had been shipped by Rubashkin’s prior to the suspension. I also urge the Vaad to personally investigate this matter and report back to the community on the status of this company.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
Ohev Sholom—The National Synagogue

VIN notes the Va'ad HaRabbanim has not yet responded. (VIN doesn't have the date of the letter, so we don't know how many days the Va'ad has had it.)

VIN also reports (as a commenter did earlier here) that an unnamed Orthodox Kashrut organization(s) will be issuing a ban on Rubashkin products early next week. (My guess? Star-K and/or the Chicago Rabbinical Council.)

[Hat Tip: Stephen M.]

Comments

[steve]

I urge the Vaad Harabonim of Washington to temporarily suspend Rubashkin’s meat in the stores and caterers that it supervises.
-Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld

Hopefully Washington, DC will be the first of many Rubashkin-free zones. The nation's capital is the perfect place to start. Uviarta Hara Mikirbecha!

[Paul Freedman]

The congregation is representative of the new "pioneering" non-Chabad orthodox shuls in the DC-area suburbs:

http://ostt.net/web/

[yo]

I didn't say it would be a ban. Maybe there's another org working on it too...

Herzfeld is a lackey of Avi Weiss. What should one expect except BS activism.

[You Better You Betzim]

Herzfeld is a lackey of Avi Weiss. What should one expect except BS activism.

Or, for the thoughtful amongst us, I would rephrase that to:

Herzfeld is an associate Avi Weiss. What should one expect except BETZIM activism.

[You Better You Betzim]

Okay - Now it's time for the Conservative movement to get a set and upgrade their recommendation into a ban like this one.

[Ariel Sokolovsky www.Moshiach.WS]

B"H
Disgusting behavior from a rabbi in a capital of the free world.
To boycot a frum Jewish company based on mere allegations to hurt its cash flow to make it harder to defend itself against these allegations true or not.
People should be no less outraged at this than at wholesale nullification of a 10s of thousands of modern Orthodox conversions by R.Sherman also in violation of(in that case halachik ) due process.
People should refuse to support or attend any synagogue that participates in these unwaranted financial persecution of our fellow Jews.
It should be looked upon no differntly than various "divest from Israel" campaigns or the like conducted by his liberal friends.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Re: Rubbishcan Boycott detractors. In the words of Dr. Evil: "Boo-frickety-hoo!" It's about time.

[Carol Ann Varley]

I am boycotting the following markets which sells trief meat from Agriprocessors: H.E.Butt, Pathmark, Ralph's, Trader Joe's, Wal-Mart, Shop Rite, Kroger, and Albertson's.

Petition the USDA to label meat from all religious slaughterhouses sold to secular markets for consumer choice.

There is a Constitutional right to separation of church and steak!

[rebitzman]

Mere allegations?

OK - I concede that due process has not run its course, but the FACTS are that a HUGE chunk of the workforce currently sits in jail - that MANY of them have simply pled guilty and are awaiting deportation, and that a whole bunch of them shared a common SS# (something that even the most inept HR person would have to catch).

You add these facts to others - like the PETA tape, like the convictions surrounding the little fire back east, like the backhanded end run around the labor laws that got them slapped, like.......

Bottom line: It don't take no Evel Knievel to make this leap.

Yochanan Lavie said it best: "Boo-frickety-hoo"

[Ariel Sokolovsky www.Moshiach.WS]

B"H
Any rabbi who joins this boycot deserves his rulings on other issues to be classified as suspect.
Why are the same people who were outraged by the boycot of El Al by Chareidim which included the decree to even suffer losses from being unable to return already purchased tickets are supporting this shtus?
The great champions of the consumers rights and advocates of the sanctity of halacha of not making unnecesary decrees that hurt Jews financially are now ignoring this very
same principle in an attempt to help destroy the largest kosher meat provider in America that is bound to hurt poor among kosher consumers if successful.
The only consolation is that many among the Modern Orthodox are not like Chareidim and lacking the concept of "daas haTorah" will think for themselves and will likely ignore this silly edict a waste of good paper.

Shabbat Shalom!

[Ariel Sokolovsky www.Moshiach.WS]

B"H
Any rabbi who joins this boycot deserves his rulings on other issues to be classified as suspect.
Why are the same people who were outraged by the boycot of El Al by Chareidim which included the decree to even suffer losses from being unable to return already purchased tickets are supporting this shtus?
The great champions of the consumers rights and advocates of the sanctity of halacha of not making unnecesary decrees that hurt Jews financially are now ignoring this very
same principle in an attempt to help destroy the largest kosher meat provider in America that is bound to hurt poor among kosher consumers if successful.
The only consolation is that many among the Modern Orthodox are not like Chareidim and lacking the concept of "daas haTorah" will think for themselves and will likely ignore this silly edict a waste of good paper.

Shabbat Shalom!

[Yochanan Lavie]

Any rabbi who believes a dead tzaddik is God deserves his rulings on other issues to be classified as suspect.

[Simon Rose]

I have already stopped buying their products own my own, the fact that KAJ pulled out saying something doesn't it?

[Ariel Sokolovsky www.BostonChabad.com]

B"H

I have already stopped buying their products own my own, the fact that KAJ pulled out saying something doesn't it?

Posted by: Simon Rose | May 23, 2008 at 05:28 PM

1) Their boycot mentions no kashrus issues.
2) KAJ pulled out after giving a 3 months notice if I remember correctly thus showing that whatever issues they had with Rubashkin were not seriuos enough to declare the meat unkosher if they pulled out because of any kashrus issues at all and not some other dispute.

[Ariel Sokolovsky www.BostonChabad.com]

B"H
Any rabbi who believes a dead tzaddik is God deserves his rulings on other issues to be classified as suspect.

Posted by: Yochanan Lavie | May 23, 2008 at 05:13 PM

I don't believe that.
All I am saying and have always said is that people shouldn't be branded heretics for making emotionaly charged metaphorical staments with sources in Torah and Jewish tradition just as one shouldn't excomunicate people who pray from a regular prayerbook on a suspicion of them literaly believing that G-d sits on a huge chair flies on a winged creatures called Cheruvim smites all the Egyptian the 1stborn with his outstreatched bare hand etc.
No Chabad Rabbi I know or heard of believes that when the Torah says "in the begining G-d created" one must undrestand it imagining the Rebbe standing in a silk kapotah in the middle of premordial chaos wavign a magic wand and announcing "let there be light, darkness, not to mention the crown of creation himself Yochanan Lavie:-)
On a more seriuos note see my post:
Why call someone G-d? http://rebbegod.blogspot.com/2006/12/why-call-someone-g-d.html

[one of many]

My comment was this:
After watching a video on the improper mistreatment of the cattle at the Rubahskins Kosher Slaughter house this year, and also wathcing the eye opener "A sacred duty", and as we are actively practicing Orthodox Judaism, we decided the only thing left to Morally, ethicially and spiritually do, was to become Vegan! Kiddush Hashem!
This serves to be a most important wake-up call today since so much scandal has been going on not only with Agri-processors but all over the world! The recall of millions of pounds of E-Coli contaminated beef, and shut down of Hallmark meats this past 6 months alone, should be for sure, the wake up call for all Jews and all others, to seriously consider becomeing a vegan/vegitarian! Thank you for the article!!

[Disgusted Secular Jew]

Rubashkin is the sole kosher meat supplier for New York-based online grocer FreshDirect. Please consider putting pressure on this company to cease doing business with the Rubashkin crime family.

As a secular Jew who is routinely disgusted by the way I am treated by the "kosher nostra," it gives me a significant amount of schadenfreude to watch this house of cards topple to the ground. Being Jewish doesn't give you a pass to break the law and treat others poorly, all in the name of the almighty buck. It's not antisemitism; it's about being a decent human being.

Somehow the law only matters when they're the ones wronged by it...

[SJ]

>> Any rabbi who believes a dead tzaddik is God deserves his rulings on other issues to be classified as suspect.

all orthdox rabbis can kiss my @$$ and jump off a cliff for all i care. i make my own decisions on what i believe without the threat of being kicked out of any community. XD

its one of the joys of being secular.

[Dave]

If we welcomed more people into the Jewish faith- I am talking about MANY more people- then this ridiculous monopoly/ oligopoly type of market in kosher meat, also matza, etc., wouldn't exist, and hopefully there would be true competition, therefore less scandals. Until, we the Jewish people, reach 2 percent of humanity, we shall not be normative, and we shall continue to be warped by our minority status. Our goals should be more Jews- More Reform, more Conservative, more Orthodox, more African Jews, more Anusim reverting to Judaism, the entire Kaifeng community returning to Judaism, more Karaites (they believe in Torah mi'Sinai, even though they do not accept the Talmud). That way all points of view will be on the table, all Jews will become more moderate, some Jews will become more traditional, and hopefully all of us will learn and benefit from each other's unique perspectives without compromising the message of the Tanach.

[Richard Schwartz]

Kol hakavod to Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld. I am proud to say that I have known him and his family in Staten Island for almost 40 years.

I hope the Agriprocessors scandals will be wake-up calls to the realities behind the production and consumption of meat and other animal products -- the epidemic of diseases, the major contributions of 'livestock' agriculture to global warming and many environmental threats and the massive mistreatment of animals on factory farms.

Can we justify eating animal products today when animal-based diets and agriculture violate basic Jewish mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources and help hungry people?

Is there any rabbi to argue the affirmative side on the question "Should Jews Be Vegetarians?"

Please visit ASacredDuty.com to see our movie A SACRED DUTY: Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World, which shows how the application of Jewish values can reduce current environmental threats.

[Archie Bunker]

Sokolovsky may not have seen the original letter from KAJ that told old man Rubashkin he was being canned for kashrus violations. The KAJ tried to supress the letter but someone leaked it to Rabbi Yudel Shain.

Suckolovsky defends a company that has been fined repeatedly for egregious workers violations, pollution, diseased meat and poultry and is now proven to have used child labor. If a Jew makes a living criminally, others Jews are doing a great mitzvah when they boycott his business.

[Yossi]

This is an interesting tidbit about our fellow poster from other Chabadniks:

STATEMENT FROM CHABAD-LUBAVITCH OF OREGON:

We of Chabad-Lubavitch of Oregon were shocked to read about the beliefs of Ariel Sokolovsky in the Haaretz Newspaper. His beliefs are heretical and anathema to Torah.

Ariel Sokolovsky has no position in the Chabad Lubavitch movement. He is not a rabbi certified by our movement. He cannot possibly be described as a Chabad activist. He acts in numerous ways in complete contradiction of the Shulchan Aruch - The Code of Jewish Law.

His blasphemous blog is his own private initiative, just as the concubine blog that advocates ideas inimical to Torah and Jewish Tradition. His blog is not part of the Chabad web system. The statement by Haaretz that it is a Chabad website is false.

We strongly protest any assertion that he has any connection to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm
Regional Director
Chabad-Lubavitch of Oregon

[yidandahalf]

Reb Ariel has his quirks. The fact that he takes time to post here and the blog owner does not edit him or probhibit his posts says something edifying about both of them. In any case, I object to his being called Suckolovsky.
Yossi, please give us a link, where did you aquire this titbit?

[Amused]

The Shot Heard Around Nowhere

[Sephardiman]

My wife and I have decided to boycott Rubashkin products until they get their house in order.

[John K. Diamond]

Many thanks, Sephardiman for doing such a Kiddush HaShem.

But don't hold your breath; the "Animal Horror Houses" of Rubashkin will never be in order.

But, consider totally Kosher sources, such as "Blackwings Kosher Bison" or "Rosenblatt's Texas Kosher Beef".

[Yochanan Lavie]

Reb Ariel: I find it hard to believe that you don't believe that the rebbe, z"l, is God, when your blog is called "rebbegod." If I had a blog called "jesusgod" (chas v'shalom) there would be no ambiguity.

[PITA]

My wife and I have decided to boycott Agri meat and chicken either until they straighten out their act or until we get hungry.

Whichever comes first.

[steve]

PITA, if you get hungry, try Kiryas Yoel chicken or Alle meats. I guarantee you that the quality is better as well as the kashrus standards. If not, then have a falafel.

[Amused]

I feel it is my sacred duty as an American to treat all accused people as innocent until proven guilty. There seems to be a problem with Jews thinking this only applies to others but not to our own.

I'll keep eating Agri until the jury has spoken.