Submitted Comments RSS Feed Comments by Arthur Lavinsky
Posted in: Agriprocessors halts production, hopes to resume Thursday
Shalom everyone. I am a congregational rabbi who has kept kosher all his life. I believe that the laws of Kashrut refine our souls and are a cornerstone of Jewish observance. For a short while, I lived in Stockholm, Sweden where Shechita (Jewish Ritual Slaughter) was forbidden. Meat had to be imported, usually from South America (there was limited availability from other parts of Europe). In that instance, I viewed the anti-Shechita laws as nothing but cloaked anti-Semitism. You could shoot an animal with an arrow in the forest and let it die over several hours as you tracked it an gutted it (arrow hunting is a big deal there). But they wouldn't allow Jews to slaughter their meat in the prescribed Kosher fashion without first employing an electric shock (by stunning), which posed all sorts of other Halachic concerns (issues of Jewish law). Rubashkin's on the other hand, is a cow of a different color. Their flagrant abuse of their workers - financiall and sexually; their serial disregard of immigration laws AND the horribly cruel treatment of animals that has been long documented in Postville has created a "Hillul Hashem" (a desecration of G-d's name) of the highest order. Unfortunately it is self inflicted! No movement, no rabbi, no organization, no individual has a right to ignore the law of the land (Dinah Demalchuta Dina! The law of the land is the law!) Their actions are indefensible and to attribute the prosecution of felons like Shalom Rubashkin to "anti-Semitism" distorts the real meaning of anti-Semitism and does no service to Jews. I grew up in Brooklyn and saw first hand when meter maids (in uniform) were called Nazis for writing citations to people in Boro Park who were parked illegally. No, they were cited because they were parked illegally, not because they were Jewish or Chassidic. A false cry of antisemitism is disgraceful. I want kosher food to be available. I am a life-long carnivore, and the lack of availability of kosher meat has impacted negatively on me. But I will no longer buy any food with the Rubashkin label, even if the company comes back to life, which seems highly unlikely. I pray that others will fill the void - but will practice Shechitah and the handling of animals in a humane way, in addition to following all of the state and local laws to which we are all bound. Sincerely, A.L.
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Updated 11/22/09 @ 05:02PM EDT
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Posted in: Agriprocessors sold, to remain kosher
07/21/09 02:06 PM
Recent reports note that Friedman thought very highly of the Rubashkins and expected to continue to employ some of the Rubashkin family members. If this is so, Friedman will be just a "front" for business as usual, where animals were treated improperly and human beings were treated like animals. I have kept Kosher all my life, and I am not some PETA extremist. But I have stopped buying from Rubashkins and hope that other Kosher slaughter houses will put this operation out of business. The Rubashkins perpetrated a Hillul Hashem, a desecration of G-d's name, and tried to hide behind a cloak of piety. I will give Friedman's endeavor a chance if I find out, for sure, that the split with the Rubashkins (Yemach Shemam) is real and complete. The first thing that I hope he does is remove the Rubashkin name from the products. Selling kosher food under the Rubashkin name would be like selling "Michael Vick" dogfood brand, or establishing the Dr. Mengele Health Center at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem (lehavdil).