Rubashkin Alternative

In New York, it’s relatively easy to avoid purchasing Rubashkin products while still keeping a kosher kitchen. What’s not easy is finding an alternative to Rubashkin that is truly different. I’m not suggesting that all industrial kosher slaughterhouse operations are guilty of the behavior that Rubashkin is accused of. It’s just that they’re all, well, industrial, with all of the de-“animalization” that goes with it. A loss of identity and individuality is part of the price we pay for automation and standardization, and animals pay it too, even if we have significantly lower thresholds of concern for them.

I recently stumbled on Mitzvah Meat, and they represent a real alternative. The animals they offer are pasture-raised and grass-fed. From their website:

The farmers we are working with are raising grass-fed, grass-finished animals.  In other words, these animals will have been living on pasture for all of their lives.  They are not treated with any chronic low-level antibiotics, artificial hormones or other growth promoters.  The animals and pastures are not treated with pesticides, herbicides, pour-on substances or internal wormers.  They are given hay throughout the winter with additional high quality minerals and supplements if needed, particularly under severe winter weather conditions. Some farms supplement with less than 10% farm-grown oats or corn during the coldest winter months.

In addition to all this, we’re talking about ethical practices in raising the animals and salughtering them, kosher supervision, and for New Yorkers, local production.

Ok, but how does it taste, right? We ordered the lamb last month, and I made lamb shoulder chops that were probably the best lamb dish I’ve ever eaten. As it happens, I’m a reasonable cook, but the texture of the meat was incomparable to any lamb I’ve ever had before. Here’s hoping the beef is as good. Maybe next time I’ll even take a picture or two.

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Agriprocessors in the Onion

That’s right, at least we’re being mocked and shamed in a quality publication:

Kosher Plant Cited For Child Labor

Kosher Klothes?

Growing up, my father always expressed suspicion about kosher certification. As he saw it, a shochet (ritual slaughterer) was considered trustworthy, without need for supervision, unless he specifically did something to lose that trust. The Kashrut industry turns that presumption on its head, by insisting that nobody can be trusted without supervision, but even a non-Jew who never spent a minute learning the laws of kashrut can be trusted for many things, so long as the threat of an inspector coming exists.

What truly jaundiced my father to the whole business was when products like water and bleach began to receive the OU, and when chickens were sold as Glatt Kosher (a halachic category which does not apply to fowl). It was then that he realized that kashrut was a business, and had little to do with religious duties. At that time, perhaps twenty years ago, he said to me that a business like kashrut can only grow in one of two ways. The first is to increase the number of customers who keep kosher or are interested in buying kosher. This is relatively difficult, though the industry has had success in this area. The second, and far easier method, is to certify more goods, irrespective of the whether there is any halachic imperative to certify them.

Why do I bring all this up? Because, as The Wolf reports, there is a movement underfoot to create a Vaad Hatzniyut (Modesty Council) in Lakewood. In Israel, there already exist organizations that will give a ‘hechsher’ to clothing store. My father was right – the industry needs to grow (after all, proceeds from the kashrut business prop up the yeshiva world system).

What makes this even more bitter is the response to the Agriprocessors scandal from within the Orthodox community, and the hostility towards the Conservative movement’s Hecsher Tzedek, which would grant certification to businesses with ethical practices. The outcry from many corners in the Orthodox world has been that, for example:

The fact remains that no one has challenged AgriProcessors in terms of its conformity to the laws governing the production of kosher food. Rather, there have been attempts to graft onto those laws issues that, while important in and of themselves, simply do not relate to kashrut as it is properly and historically understood.

That from the Jewish Press. The stink of hypocrisy doesn’t only taint the Kashrut industry and its apologists, it is humiliating to the entire Kosher community. Here, the zealous guardians of my kashrut observance, who have made sure that I don’t eat non-kosher bleach, or lettuce, or even water, suddenly wake up to the ‘proper and historical’ understanding of Kosher to justify their cruelty to man and beast.

Where has this led us? Raids by the US government on the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the US. Exposes in leading magazines. Investigative articles in the New York Times. A Chillul Hashem. A Shande fun deGoyim, a black eye, a gift to antisemites, arrows in the quiver of those who seek to ban kosher slaughter entirely. A sickening, gut-wrenching parade of rabbis and community leaders lining up to defend a rotten conspiracy all in the name of cheap meat and easy money.

I’ve had it. I won’t touch a Rubashkin product again. Moreover, I will try to avoid purchasing products that have certifications when they are not required. That’s right. I will favor uncertified bleach! I will not drink OU water. I won’t even shy away from “untrustworthy” certifications. We all see exactly how far the trustworthy ones got me, whether with regards tot his scandal or the Monsey chicken scandal. At this point, if the old boys of the Kashrut industry don’t trust or like you, you must be doing something right.

Finally, Some Sanity on Kosher Certifications

And from Israel, no less. I was recently emailed a responsum regarding what constitutes a reliable Hechsher from Rav Aviner, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim in Jerusalem I am reproducing the responsum in part. If you would like the whole things, please email me at rejewvenator[at]gmail.com

Question: Is it acceptance to eat food under the kosher certification of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel or should I only eat from Badatz?

Answer: Quite simply, all kosher certification is acceptable, whether it is Mehadrin, Badatz, or the Chief Rabbinate. Any product with any kosher certification is presumed to be acceptable until proven otherwise. We rely on the principle of “chazakah – presumption” based on the Gemara in Niddah (15b) that a Torah scholar “does not allow food to leave his domain without its kashrut being ensured.”  […] There is, however, a general principle: We must not doubt the kosher certification of Rabbis. It does not matter which Rabbi who gives certification – whether it a Rabbi with a knit-kippah or with a velvet kippah. If we say that it is not kosher, we are saying that this Rabbi is a sinner. He is feeding non-kosher food to the Jewish People! This is a serious accusation. This thought itself is the height of non-kosher thinking. Why would he do this? What is his motivation? He wants to make money? In order to make money he is willing to feed non-kosher food to people?! Making such an accusation against a Torah scholar is a serious transgression. One must be very careful about acting this way. […] All kosher certifications of all Rabbis are therefore acceptable until proven otherwise. I am obviously only referring to Orthodox Rabbis who are particular about the laws of Kashrut.

This type of halachic reasoning affirms that principle of derech eretz kadma la-Torah. Rather than falling into a discussion of halachics, R. Aviner recognizes the underlying principles of respect due to one another, and particularly, respect due to Rabbis, who are themselves ‘certified’.  But wait, there’s more!

Question: Nonetheless, perhaps I should be strict and only eat food with the kosher certification of the Ultra-Orthodox?

Answer: May a blessing come to anyone who is strict. The Talmud Yerushalami quoted by the Tosafot in Avodah Zarah (36a) says, however, that one of the conditions of one who is strict is that he does not shame other people and, all the more so, a Torah scholar. […] Someone who wants to be strict can be strict about whatever he wants, not necessarily relating to the laws of kashrut. He can be strict about the laws of tzitzit or Shabbat or lashon ha-ra (evil speech) or the Land of Israel or loving other people. Each person can choose to be strict about whatever he wants, but a person must also know where he stands. The Book “Mesillat Yesharim” discusses being strict in “Sha’ar Ha-Perishut – The Gate of Abstinence”: A. To separate from any pleasure which in unnecessary in life. B. To act strictly regarding everything in the world. C. To dedicate all of one’s time to divine service. I do not know if we are at this level. I am not at this level. A person who wants can be strict, but he must remember the “Vidu’i” (confession) of Rav Nissim Gaon: “For that [on] which you were strict, we were lenient; for that [on] which you were lenient, we where [sic] strict.” You were strict in the laws of kashrut, but lenient in the laws of lashon ha-ra. If you want to be strict, you can be strict, but I say that it is more important to be strict in honoring Torah scholars.

Of course! A lesson we teach to Baalei Teshuva (Jews returning to or first taking on traditional observances) is to recognize where you are, and not take on too many commitments if you are not at the point where you can truly maintain them and feel authentic about that level of observance. It’s a lesson we are often not even taught when being raised inside the religious community. Better to observe at a level that is consistent and authentic with your heart, and to take on strictures that are personally meaningful, than to be herded by a community into a hypocritical lifestyle of strict piety that holds no personal meaning for you and misrepresents you before God and man. It is comforting to hear R. Aviner expressing these sentiments, and taking aim at a ritual that has spun out of control and threatens the very meaning of Kashrut.

Halachics of Kashrut

Another post in the Halachics series – perhaps I should organize them into some kind of category.

Like most bloggers, I keep an eye on lots of blogs, but I only read a select few religiously (no pun intended). Among my favorites is the Kosher Blog, which combines recipes and restaurant reviews with reporting on the kashrut industry. Recently Jonathan Abbet, the blog-owner, posted his notes on a lecture given by Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, a Rabbinic Administrator at the Star-K. I want to turn my attention to some of the issues R. Heinemann discussed.

The first issue covered at the lecture was the upcoming Shemitta year, and its impacts on the produce market. During Shemitta, produce grown on Jewish-owned land in Israel may not be sold commercially to other Jews, and as such, will not get a hechsher. In order to meet demand, companies contract with Arab farmers for their produce, grown on their land. Normally, there is not much demand for Arab produce, and it is usually much cheaper than the more in-demand Jewish produce. However, every Shemitta year, demand for Arab produce skyrockets, and Arab farmers are often not prepares to meet the demand. Since the price of Jewish produce plummets during Shemitta, Arab farmers will often meet shortfalls in their supply by purchasing and re-selling Jewish produce.

According to R. Heinemann, their actions undermine the efforts to respect the Shemitta year. What’s interesting is what the Star-K has decided to do about this issue. I nearly fell out of my chair when I read it:

[T]he Star-K has contracted with a French satellite company to take pictures of Arab farms every five minutes to discover any illicit deliveries of Jewish produce. The image resolution is high enough that a truck’s license plate can be read, and appropriate action may be taken.

I guess if you’re wondering why kosher products are so expensive, here’s your answer! Satellite surveillance!  Is this reasonable? I’ve been singing this tune for a while: the Kashrut industry has transformed our obligation from a standard of reasonable reliance to one of empirical kashrut. My understanding of the overall shape of the laws of kosher is that we are permitted to make a broad range of assumptions in determining whether something is kosher. Relying on these assumptions no doubt means that some of the food that enters into our bodies would be not kosher by empirical standard (some quantity of non-kosher molecules, if such a thing could be said to exist, will be eaten) the halacha is clear that the power of the Rabbis to declare something kosher supersedes the physical reality. This is not an uncommon feature of the power of psak.

Unfortunately, the kashrut industry has rejected this approach, and has decided instead ot attempt to meet a standard of absolute, empirical kashrut. While this is no doubt a middat chassidut, and a laudable practice for the especially pious, is this the proper standard for determining mainstream kashrut?

Here’s why I think it is not:

• As we’ve seen over the past year, even reputable and reliable hechsherim have been found to have shocking gaps in their operations, and their ability to enforce compliance has been severely compromised. The Monsey chicken scandal proves, in my mind, that no hashgacha is truly reliable to the level of empirical kashrut. As such, it is both fraudulent and self-defeating to set the empirical standard as normative.
• In personal conversation, anyone involved in kosher slaughter that I’ve ever spoken to has told me that if 70% of what is sold as kosher is, in fact, kosher empirically, it would be a miracle. Given this, who are we kidding by taking pictures of Arab farms from space?
• Empirical kashrut, and its step-sister, Glatt-only hechsherim, place a serious financial burden on the kosher community. If halacha allows us to observe more realistic standards, it behooves us to embrace them, rather than feeding more and more money into the Quixotic quest to achieve a standard not required by God or Halacha.
• How can empirical kashrut be such an important priority? In the days of the Talmud, when merchants tried to gouge Jews shopping for Shabbat, the leaders of the day declared that no person should buy from these merchants, even at the cost of not having fish and meat for Shabbat! Where is that sentiment today? Significant food savings would make an enormous difference for many kosher families, and lower prices for kosher products would enable more Jews to keep kosher, in whole or in larger part.

The madness did not stop with the satellites, however. Evidently, the Star-K is developing a leaf camera(!) that will be able to sort out produce that contains bugs from bug-free produce, based on its ability to detect protein, which is present in bugs, but not in leafy vegetables. Sorry folks, but this sort of thing is what convinces me that the whole system has jumped the tracks, and is careening wildly. The profit motive has replaced the pious motive, and their is no real oversight. The vision of the kashurt industry stands in stark contrast to the vision of kashrut expressed in our Mesorah, and what started as a public service to the community has become a private business supported out of the coffers of the public.

In response, I have decided to become far more liberal about which hechsherim I will accept in my home. If even the best hechsherim are essentially cheating me, by claiming to meet a standard that they do not meet, and if their standards far exceed halachic requirements anyway, why should I support them? Let them make their money off of kosher bleach and paper plates! What do you folks think?