Chabad Rabbi Attacks Hechsher Tzedek

No real news here – not even the stupidity of the attack. But, because the author is Rabbi Levi Brackman, the obnoxious Ynet columnist…

…I'll point out a few of Brackman's errors:

1. The allegations are not proven. Really? Then why are so many illegal immigrants now serving jail terms? Why do Iowa state documents and citation records confirm an abysmally unsafe workplace and a company unwilling to provide a safe environment for its workers?

Yes, some allegations are still unproven. But even those allegations largely follow a pattern and are backed by voluminous evidence.

2. Everybody does it. Last time I checked, few companies other than Agriprocessors had a workforce that was (at least) 75% illegal.

3. Conservative rabbis underpay their janitors; therefore, Rubashkin did nothing unusual. Granting Brackman this unproven charge (note that Brackman has no problem using unproven charges to defend Rubashkin and attack Conservative rabbis), exactly how does that compare paying illegal workers below minimum wage; forcing them to work grueling 15 to 17 hour shifts, often with no overtime (and sometimes with no pay past the 8 hour mark); grossly unsafe working conditions; extorting them and sexually abusing them?

Perhaps Rabbi Brackman should find out whether Rabbi Pinchas Lew's housekeeper was legal and whether he used her immigration status to extort sexual favors from her. After all, Lew got his crime experience and training in Postville.

4. Mistreatment of workers, extortion, extortion of sexual favors and grossly unsafe working conditions have nothing to do with kosher. Therefore, to combine these "justice" issues with kosher is wrong and has no precedent in Jewish law or tradition – hadash assur min HaTorah. This seems to be Rubashkin's major talking point against Hechsher Tzedek. Unfortunately for Rubashkin, the point is false.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein banned the use of non-union grapes (and, I believe, lettuce) as non-kosher because of oshek, oppression, of migrant workers. So did the Boston Beit Din, at the time populated by close students of Rabbi Joseph Ber Soleveitchik.

To make the claim Brackman makes means Brackman is writing out Rabbis Feinstein and Soleveitchik from the halakhic tradition.

Also note that Menachem Lubinsky and other Rubashkin protectors have made the same basic claim. Those protectors include the OU's Rabbi Menachem Genack, who has no problem claiming on one had to be a follower of Rabbi Soleveitchik while on the other moving all issues of worker abuse, extortion and related crimes – including child labor – out of the realm of kosher, and his teacher out of the realm of normative halakhic discourse. And that should tell you how corrupt the OU really is.

Brackman – who has a book on Jewish wisdom for business success due out shortly – could claim he is ignorant of this crucial bit of halakhic history. Of course, what would that say about the quality of his book?

5. The Conservative Rabbis are only in this for the money. Even if that were true (it is not true – there is no evidence to support Brackman's claim) where is it written that only Orthodox – and especially haredim – have a right to make money off kosher supervision? Does the market "belong" to the Orthodox?

Most kosher consumers are not Orthodox. And that is what really frightens the OU and other Orthodox and haredi kosher supervisions about Hechsher Tzedek.

6. Brackman is a Chabad hasid. So is Rubashkin. Brackman does not disclose this connection, a glaring ethical lapse.

And now, here is Levi Brackman's attack on Hechsher Tzedek:

Is new justice certification for food ethical?
Rabbi Brackman probes question of keeping kosher in 21st century, says new regulations imply this is somehow different today than in past times

The new ethical certification for food products being promoted by Conservative Rabbi Morris Allen, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly seems like a great idea. Hekhsher Tzedek or Justice Certification will certify that food has been produced in an ethically correct manner and that no person was unfairly treated during the production process. It is an ethical seal of approval. Why should anyone object to such a noble cause?

The problem with this new initiative is not the concept it is the context. The slogan for Hekhsher Tzedek is “Keeping Kosher in the 21st century.” This implies that keeping Kosher today is somehow different than it was one hundred or one thousand years ago and therefore a new type of ethical kosher certification is needed.

The Justice Certification initiative was born mainly out of the very unfortunate saga involving the kosher meat manufacturer Agriprocessors Inc. where illegal immigrants were employed and workers were allegedly mistreated. At present these allegations remain unproven. Nonetheless we cannot excuse companies which mistreat their employees or act in an unethical manner; and yes companies that are owned and operated by religious Jews should be held to the ethical and moral standards that the Torah demands. If these allegations are proven to be true the Chassidic owners of Agriprocessors Inc. will have much to answer for and none of us should patronize them until they change their practices. However, all of this has nothing to do with whether the food is Kosher to eat according to Jewish law.

Intellectual honesty demands that we delineate things properly. The requirements for food to be Kosher involves the laws of milk and meat, the types of animals, birds and fish that the Torah permits Jews to eat, the need for the animal to be healthy at the time of slaughter, the removal of the blood before eating and the humane slaughtering of animals. But kosher with regard food has nothing to do with the ethical treatment of workers or the morality of the company that produces the edible products. There are other Torah laws that deal with ethics and morality –laws which must also be followed with regards everything, not just food.

The kosher standards
One wonders whether these do-gooders have looked into the way the plants in China and elsewhere that manufacture their everyday consumer items treat their employees. Can they tell us if health insurance is given to those foreign workers? Is Morris Allen and his cohorts sure that all the clothes they wear were made in factories where safety for the employees was taken into consideration? Are the maintenance workers at the Jewish Theological Seminary and Conservative Synagogues unionized? What level of health coverage they get would also be of interest.

If Morris Allen and the Conservative Movement were consistent they would demand these high ethical standards within their own organizations and for all the things they personally buy. If they are in fact redefining the concept of kosher to include ethical manufacturing standards why aren’t they applying this standard to all consumer items? The fact that kosher food manufacturers have been singled out for these “21st century” kosher standards seems rather arbitrary and suspicious and may indicate other less principled motives.

Hiding behind this moral and ethical indignation may be the desire to get a piece of the multibillion dollar kosher food industry. As long as kosher food is defined by a set of Torah laws, Morris Allen and his friends at the Rabbinical Assembly – many of whom do not themselves keep to those strict traditional kosher laws – have little credibility.

Once, however, they say that kosher food necessitates an ethical manufacturing standard they suddenly seem credible especially when a meat company run by Orthodox Jews has allegedly mistreated their workers. In order for this new Justice Certification to appear ethical and honest it must encompass all consumer products – until then it remains suspect.

Rabbi Levi Brackman is executive director of Judaism in the Foothills . His upcoming book , "Jewish Wisdom for Business Success", is set to be published in late 2008.

Comments

[got vodka?]

happy gimmel tammuz!

[Schmorg de Borge]

No doubt Brackman wants to whitewash Agriprocessor's and Rubashkin...but to his credit, he did say:

"...we cannot excuse companies which mistreat their employees or act in an unethical manner; and yes companies that are owned and operated by religious Jews should be held to the ethical and moral standards that the Torah demands. If these allegations are proven to be true the Chassidic owners of Agriprocessors Inc. will have much to answer for and none of us should patronize them until they change their practices."

And, regardless of his motives, why not demand that all consumer products, not only food, adhere to higher standards?

[rebitzman]

++5. The Conservative Rabbis are only in this for the money.++

There's money in heksher Tzdedek?

Guess I need to shake down my rabbi spouse just a little harder - because I assure you that I haven't seen any of it.

[Shmarya]

And, regardless of his motives, why not demand that all consumer products, not only food, adhere to higher standards?

Hechsher Tzedek is focusing on specifically Jewish products like food, although any other business could get certification if it desired.

The idea is that, whatever is produced specifically because of Jewish ritual needs, should be produced with abusing workers, etc.

[Yosef ben Matitya]

"No doubt Brackman wants to whitewash Agriprocessor's and Rubashkin...but to his credit, he did say:"
sez reb Schmorg.
i say, let's not rush to conclusions.
when brackman* sez:
"...we cannot excuse companies which mistreat their employees or act in an unethical manner; ....."
His target audience are the innocent people who did not discern yet on ynet
a- that brackman is a lubavitcher, and
b- that rubashkin himself is so identified with lubavitch and crown heights.
Those of the readers who know nevertheless who is what, may get the false impression that brackman is honest and a lubavitcher who does not mind criticising his own. ahem, ahem, ahem!
When brackman sez: "and yes companies that are owned and operated by religious Jews should be held to the ethical and moral standards that the Torah demands."
He is actually still engaged in deception in presenting rubashkin enterprises as:
"and yes companies that are owned and operated by religious Jews" rubashkin is a run of the mill religious jew, not a chabadnik (a 'nossi bein haminim') that is a purveyor of what he calls as chassidishe shechita which he misrepresents as "ultra kosher".
brackman, lubovitz and theirs, should be told that the emperor is naked, and that they are transparent.

*(whose organisation is called:
'the fool on the hill' or something like that)

[Harold F]

When will they drop the "everyone does it" defence. If I'm caught speeding, will the "everyone does it" defence hold up?

No and it doesn't hold up here. You do the crime and get caught, too bad.

[Shmarya]

No doubt Brackman wants to whitewash Agriprocessor's and Rubashkin...but to his credit, he did say:

"...we cannot excuse companies which mistreat their employees or act in an unethical manner; and yes companies that are owned and operated by religious Jews should be held to the ethical and moral standards that the Torah demands. If these allegations are proven to be true the Chassidic owners of Agriprocessors Inc. will have much to answer for and none of us should patronize them until they change their practices."

Of course, some of the allegations already proved to be true, and hundreds of people are in jail because of that.

What Brackman means is, if a Rubashkin is convicted of complicity in any of these crimes, then and only then should we boycott the company.

Of course, Brackman will want the appeal process to run out before any boycott begins.

In other words, by the time any boycott started, Agriprocessors will have been "sold" to friends of the Rubashkins.

[rebitzman]

++What Brackman means is, if a Rubashkin is convicted of complicity in any of these crimes, then and only then should we boycott the company.++

Don't wish ill to befall anyone - however, we both know that should this come about, we will come up with yet another reason why a Rubashkin boycott is not called for.

[John K. Diamondj]

[Don't wish ill to befall anyone - however, we both know that should this come about, we will come up with yet another reason why a Rubashkin boycott is not called for.]

Correct, as there will be no Rubashkin "Animal Horror Houses" left to boycott.

Either all of the formerly Rubashkin facilities will be shut down permanently, or sold to responsible Jewish owners, ones who will run their operations according to Torah requirements.

Then, maybe, Dr. Temple Grandin will be hired to make all of them "World-Class" operations, something that she was willing to do for free 5 years ago and was given the "middle finger", so to speak.

[avi]

YOU MUST ATTACK GENAK HE IS A HYPO THE RAVZTL WOULD NEVER ALLOW THIS

[rebitzman]

>Dear Rebitzenman,
if indeed you're being honest, than your rabbi wife either isn't so smart or holding out on you...>>

We'll, she smart enough to know the difference between than and then.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Somebody impersonating me wrote:

"Hechsher Tzedek is a sham and just another layer of costly oversight. I can decide if I want to trust someone or not; I don't need a group of rabbis telling me that someone doesn't cheat on his taxes or hire illegal workers.

I'm smart and I can choose. Thank you

Posted by: Yochanan Lavie | July 06, 2008 at 09:53 PM"

I was away from my computer at the time, and I never wrote these statements. Shmarya, you need to do an investigation and delete those comments.

Not only didn't I post that statement, I don't endorse it. I think Tzedek Hechsher is a good idea, and Brackman is a dickhead (as is the coward who wrote this in my name). Brackman should have checked my list of standard Rubbishcan excuses. There is nothing new under the sun.

[shmuel]

I thought so, too, Yochanan. Glad you cleared it up. Now, which shill wrote this in John's name?

"This website blog is a great resource. Without it, people would actually have to research stuff on their own. Here the opinion is already laid out for us so we don't have to think and do homework.
Thank you FM. Now I know that Chabad is evil and all things frum are too.
Posted by: John K. Diamond | July 06, 2008 at 09:56 PM"

[Yoel B]

The Conservative Rabbis are only in this for the money

In contrast to, say, the OU which does its hashgacha for nothing?

When I think of the OU with respect to Agriprocessors I keep hearing Mae West in my mind: "I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."

[John K. Diamond]

[I thought so, too, Yochanan. Glad you cleared it up. Now, which shill wrote this in John's name?

"This website blog is a great resource. Without it, people would actually have to research stuff on their own. Here the opinion is already laid out for us so we don't have to think and do homework.
Thank you FM. Now I know that Chabad is evil and all things frum are too.
Posted by: John K. Diamond | July 06, 2008 at 09:56 PM"

Posted by: shmuel | July 07, 2008 at 12:09 AM]

Thanks, Shmuel, for bring this to my attention.

Shmarya, please delete this false post.

Thank goodness for your website which sites the obvious and the truth that so many can so blindly overlook. I am embarrased to admit that I only recently found out about the issues with Rubashkin meat as the details have not been discussed openly in my community.

Ihave been reading with disbelief and sadness about the outright crimes of Agriprocessors (Rubashkin).I recently called one of our local kosher take out stores in Staten Island, NY and asked the owner if he still carries Rubashkin meat."Of course I do" he replied He then went on to say,"they hired illegal workers. Everyone does that, it's no big deal." When I brought to his attention the animal abuse that had taken place and was videoed, his response was that "it's all lies. The goyim are just jealous of the Jews and made the stories up." I asked him what research he did that convinced him that it's all made up. He said that the "OU still gives the hashgacha so this proves that the media is lying." The ignorance of his remarks reinfored the closed mindedness of so many frum individuals who cannot even accept the possibility of wrongdoing by other frum individuals, or they just don't care.

My question to them is:If you really believe in the Torah and you really believe that Kashrut and its laws are G-d given, then how can you so easily ignore what Rubashkin has done? If you eat Rubashkin meat, the meat you are eating and the meat being sold by this inhumane company "is not kosher." I consider meat purchased in a local supermarket, where the animals were killed instantly by a shot to the head as more "kosher" than Rubashkin's meat.And as far as giving this company a second chance, NO WAY. They got caught on videotape, which is the only reason they are making changes at all.

The Rubashkin family are a "chilul hashem." It doesn't matter how much money they give to charity. They make a mockery out of all of us by demanding to slaughter animals according to Jewish Law, pretending to the Jewish community to follow the shchita laws and then torturing the animals to the point of inhumanity.Humanity to the animal is the core value of the shchita laws. Thank goodness PETA, exposed the abuse.

But why should it shock anyone how the animals were treated, look at how the Rubashkins treated their own workers. They were the worst abusers of the labor laws in this country. They employed. -illegal workers including under age children to work 16+ hour days, paid them below minimum wage, took advantage of hard working indivduals just because they could and in the end sold "traif" meat to the Jewish community. While Rubashkin was saving money by hiring an illegal workforce, they certainly did not pass on their "savings" to the Jewish consumer. Rubashkin meat is still extremely expensive. And the frum Jewish community and their frum rabbis defend this company. Shame on the Orthodox Jewish Community.We have to wake up and finally face reality instead of always sweeping reality under the rug. These people are guilty and they bring shame to every one of us.We should place a ban on purchasing their meat. It should be publicly deemed "NOT KOSHER."

Linda Seidman