Where Are The Haredi Voices In Jewish Publications?

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Luke Ford

Rabbi Avi Shafran of Agudath Yisrael writes:

Yet all too often, only one side of each of those issues, and others, is regularly presented in the pages of some Jewish papers, including the Jewish Week. They tend to report and comment approvingly on any effort aimed at relaxing the Jewish bond to established halacha or to time-honored religious norms and convictions. Those who choose to hew to a more traditional Jewish path are commonly portrayed as obstacles to be overcome; their stances, as things to be “fought” or “undermined,” according to those chosen for quotation or offered column space. We haredim are accused of wielding influence beyond our numbers (even of being, as per Gary’s title, “All Powerful”) and of poisoning the wells of “tolerance.” (Sometimes I think the haredim have become the Jews’ Jews.)

There are a good number of haredi writers in English these days, each entirely capable of presenting haredi points of view for readers’ consideration. But none of them appear as regular columnists in the Jewish Week, and it is a very rare occasion for a haredi Jew’s byline to grace any of the paper’s op-ed offerings.

A newspaper, to be sure, is entitled to an editorial stance. But a paper aiming to serve the entire Jewish community best fulfils its mission by offering a variety of perspectives. Even the New York Times sees fit to include politically conservative columnists on its op-ed page.

Gary might reply that, well, haredi papers don’t exactly include non-haredi, and certainly not non-Orthodox, points of view. That is true. But haredi papers are very open about their mandate, which is entirely limited to providing the haredi community with news it needs and haredi views of current events. They are not, for better or worse, intended as forums for the broader Jewish community, and make no such claim.

I don’t think the Jewish Week sees itself in similarly constricted terms, as a paper promoting only the views of one or two parts of the Jewish community. As a Jewish Federation-supported paper, it is expected to cover and present the views of the entire community. And haredim are part of it.

Gary admits that “stereotypes abound” on both sides of the demographic divide in Israel, and he is right. But, in my experience, despite strong haredi feelings about non-traditional theologies and practices, the sort of personal anger and even animosity that is regularly aimed at haredim (and duly reproduced by the Jewish Week and some others) is not commonly expressed by haredim toward other Jews. All it takes is a little websurfing among haredi and other Jewish sites and blogs (especially their “comments” sections) to see that what ill will there is among the various sectors of the Jewish people tends to flow largely in one direction.

Some of that animus, sadly, seems hard-wired into some hearts, a tragedy of our time. But I wonder if some of it might result from the dearth of haredi points of view in important media outlets like the Jewish Week. Gary writes that he hopes to lunch with Chaim at some point, and that he will do his “best to hear him.” What he may hear is the pain of a Jew whose community is not only regularly portrayed negatively in some Jewish media but denied an effective opportunity to defend its perspectives. Should that conversation lead to a decision by Jewish Week’s editor and board of directors to consider the inclusion of a haredi viewpoint, what a wonderful gift that would be to the Jewish world – all of it.

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Joseph Shereshevsky A Rabbi?

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Luke Ford

A source emails:

FYI: Joseph Shereshevsky was never a rabbi. Rabbi Chaim Shereshevsky was his father.

I found the link you probably wanted to send me (re: Tranquility Bay):

He is referred to as Rabbi and research will tell you that it was a mistake.

The original article (see http://www.vosizneias.com/2008/03/new-york-son-of-ceo-hatzalah-rescued.html) used the title R’ which is short for Reb, which is different than Rav or Rabbi.

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Rabbi Arthur Waskow Gives Up The Jews’ Special Claim To The Land Of Israel

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Luke Ford

Rav Adlerstein blogs:

Rabbi Waskow could have left it at that, but struck out on his own to reassure the indignant Muslim cleric that pigs and monkeys could sometimes take on human-like features

There is growing amongst the Jewish people a reconsideration of conventional theology to ask whether God promised the land, which some call the Land of Israel and others call Falastin/Palestine, to both the families that descend from Avraham/ Ibrahim.

In other words, Rabbi Waskow offered to deconstruct Genesis so that it would no longer offer a special covenant with the Jewish people. In return for this, he hoped that dialogue would lead Muslims to “a reexamination of the passages in Quran that say the Jewish people has a special relationship with the Land of Israel.” We will both decide to take our traditions with a grain of salt, and find commonality in fuzziness.

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The Wars of Torah

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Luke Ford

Jonathan Rosenblum writes for The Jerusalem Post:

Teenage haredi girls receive a secular education that is on a par with, and likely superior to, the average student in the state education system. Increasingly, haredi women are going into hi-tech, accounting and architecture, as well as the traditional haredi professions of teaching and special education. That leaves the boys, whose secular education generally ends in eighth grade.

Next, let us clarify the goals of education. Broadly speaking, those goals are twofold: conveying specific information and developing the ability to think. With respect to the first, most of us retain very little of the specific content of our schooling. How many reading this column can remember the quadratic formula, much less its application? My brother once built a stairwell using trigonometry, but for most people trigonometric functions play no role past high-school math tests.

Given the pathetic state of Israeli public education, haredi young men would not seem to be missing much in terms of content. Barely half of Jewish high-school students even qualify for a matriculation certificate. And anyone who has ever listened to students in elite Tel Aviv high schools stumped by questions such as “How did Israel come into possession of the Golan Heights?” and “What is the difference between the legislative and executive branches?” can only wonder what is taught in the civics portion of the core curriculum. As Tali Lipkin-Shahak once wrote: “The only thing more depressing than our students’ total ignorance is their utter indifference to that ignorance.”

Most haredi kids are avid readers – unlike their secular counterparts. Newspapers, magazines and lots of books are found in almost every haredi home. Unless the subject is sports or the sexual peccadilloes of our leaders, haredi kids are probably better informed about current events than their secular contemporaries. I would wager that the average haredi high-school-age student even knows more Israeli history and has toured more widely in Israel than his secular counterpart.

The New York State Regents once exempted Orthodox schools from teaching the state’s mandatory anti-AIDS curriculum on the grounds that an Orthodox education provided a superior defense against the disease, as reflected in the near nonexistence of AIDS in the Orthodox community. In light of the vastly lower rates of violence and crime in haredi schools and society, and the much higher rates of participation in the political process, perhaps haredi education should similarly be treated as the functional equivalent of the core’s civics requirement.

IN TERMS OF developing reasoning ability, nothing compares to Talmud study. Every proposition put forth by the Talmud is immediately challenged and a dizzying array of proofs adduced to each side. Not only is no proposition accepted at face value by the Talmud itself, but Talmud is studied together with a partner whose task it is to challenge every interpretation one offers. The process is justly called “the wars of Torah.”

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Rushing To Judgment On Agriprocessors

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Luke Ford

I have one quibble with Rabbi Avi Shafran’s essay. He seems to equate getting the results from a government investigation with getting the facts. I wonder why a government investigation is more intrinsically likely to get the facts than a journalistic one (such as one conducted by the Forward)? Well, the government can subpoena people which journalists can not. They are not as vulnerable as journalists to keeping sources happy (I constantly pull my punches on my blog to keep sources happy and this results in my presenting a distorted view of many stories in exchange for my getting scoops). So there are powerful arguments for the superiority of a government investigation over a journalistic one.

Rabbi Shafran writes:

Like an amusement park barker inviting passers-by to step right up and throw balls at some unfortunate’s head sticking through a hole, The New York Times editorial page seems to have been calling on any and all to pitch print projectiles at a mark of its own: the kosher-meat producer Agriprocessors.

An editorial in that newspaper on August 1 was entitled “’The Jungle’ Again” – a reference, of course, to Upton Sinclair’s famous novel depicting the horrors of the meatpacking industry in early 20th century Chicago. That book depicts a world of unsanitary, cruel and unsafe conditions, with human fingers mixed into ground meat, gross mistreatment of workers, corruption, venality and filth. Having set the tone with its title, The Times’ editorial begins by referring to “a slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa” with “an ugly reputation for abusing animals and workers,” and goes on to cite “reports of dirty, dangerous conditions” there.

While the editorial’s thrust was aimed at the government’s treatment of illegal immigrants arrested at the facility, the imagery of the “kosher meatpacking plant” [emphasis – or at least the italics – mine] and the “abusive practices” of which “once-silent workers now tell” was firmly embedded in minds’ eyes before they likely glazed over as the editorial went on with a predictable lambasting of the government for enforcing immigration laws.

A cynic, or perhaps just a savvy observer, might note that many of the alleged abuses have been denied and none confirmed, and that federal inspectors were a constant presence at the plant.

He might further note the involvement of an activist labor union in the Agriprocessors controversy. And further still, that a possible reason why “once-silent” workers only began telling tales of mistreatment after their arrests and facing deportation may have to do with something called a “U visa” – a special permit to remain in the United States available to noncitizens who have been abused by employers and might be helpful to a prosecution of that crime.

One didn’t have to be either cynical or savvy, though, to have been unimpressed by a letter to the editor of the same paper several days earlier from Ingrid Newkirk, the president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, in which she draws a parallel between “routine animal abuse” at Agriprocessors (that would be a post-slaughter practice that was discontinued after objections to it were raised) and the “human suffering” of the company’s employees. “It should come as no surprise.” she wrote, “that a facility that profits from tormenting and killing animals would also oppress and abuse humans.”

One wonders what the PETA president might make of the principled vegetarianism of human abusers like Charles Manson, Pol Pot and Adolph Hitler. One needn’t even wonder, unfortunately, about her reaction to a recent murder, the stabbing to death, dismemberment and cannibalism of an innocent passenger on a bus near Manitoba, Canada. Ms. Newkirk attempted to place an ad in a local newspaper describing how “his cries are ignored… the man with the knife shows no emotion… the victim is slaughtered… and his flesh is eaten” – before informing readers that the description was – surprise! – of an animal in a slaughterhouse. The paper chose to reject the ad, perhaps seeing it as abusive in its own way. She should have tried The Times.

But the crowning outrage came on August 6, in a superficially high-minded but innately ugly op-ed piece deemed fit to print by The Times. Written by the rabbi of an Orthodox congregation in Washington, D.C., the piece’s “hook” was the imminence of the Jewish fast of Tisha B’Av, which is preceded by eight days when the eating of meat is eschewed by observant Jews. Therefrom, the writer – following The Times’ and Ms. Newkirk’s lead and taking accusations as facts – decries the “abusive practices” at Agriprocessors (described, he explains, in “government documents” – i.e. affidavits of illegal immigrant workers’ claims).

Although he takes the necessary pains to avoid a libel lawsuit, throwing in the requisite qualifiers, the rabbi marches proudly in step with the editorial page’s drumbeat, nobly slapping his fist against the collective Jewish breast in penance for the unproven sins of others.

I do not know if Agriprocessors knowingly hired illegal aliens, or mistreated workers or was a front for a drug operation, as statements in the “government documents” allege. But neither do The New York Times, PETA or the rabbi. And so, until the facts are known, none of us has any moral right to act as if we know what we cannot.

Which is why some readers, like this one, felt that the rabbi’s Tisha B’Av hook was indeed most appropriate for his op-ed. Although not quite in the way the rabbi intended.

For Tisha B’Av, according to Jewish tradition, has its roots in the failure of character of those Jews in the Sinai desert who, the Torah tells, spoke ill of the land promised them by G-d.

“If speaking ill of trees and stones is [so sinful],” comments the Talmud (Arachin 15a), “all the more so is speaking ill of one’s fellow.” And so Tisha B’Av is a mournful moment in Jewish time because of the grave sin of slander.

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Jewish Bloggers Conference Aug. 20 In Jerusalem

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Luke Ford

I don’t have a side in any of the debates in this article. I just have one opinion: Some people decided to create an event (Nefesh B’Nefesh Jewish Blogger Convention) for Jewish bloggers to come together. A sponsor was found who would pay airfare for many bloggers.

How can you trash this? So what if there is an agenda? Some people created something good. They deserve applause.

From Haaretz:

Shmarya Rosenberg, whose Failed Messiah blog is critical of Orthodox Judaism, also slammed the convention. "At first glance, the conference seems stacked in favor of Orthodox bloggers with right-wing political leanings," he told AngloFile. "I think what Nefesh B’Nefesh is doing is deceitful. A true Jewish bloggers’ conference would be both open to all Jewish bloggers and far more balanced."

…David Bogner, one of the panelists and author of Treppenwitz, a blog about the "specialness" of everyday life in Israel, might agree that the conference lineup is ideologically skewed, but is not bothered by that. "Who wants to go listen to some carefully hand-picked panel discussion where there are exactly equal numbers of right-wing, left-wing, girls, boys, religious, secular Sephardi, Ashkenazi – there’s no end to that kind of madness," he said. "I have the sense the organizers of the conference were going for pro-Israel, pro-aliyah bloggers who also get lots of traffic. Unfortunately, that demographic seems to skew somewhat right-wing religious – just as the actual aliyah statistics do." However Bogner, who moved from Connecticut, in the U.S., to Efrat, in the West Bank, in 2003, added that there are a number of "excellent secular and lefty bloggers" among the participants. "I’m sure they will more than make up for any disparity in numbers with their active participation."

The author of the Modern Orthodox religion blog Emes VeEmunah, Rabbi Harry Maryles, of Chicago,…: "One issue that may not be on the agenda that I would like to see discussed is how to increase our advertising revenue," he wrote in an e-mail to AngloFile. "I spend hours a day on my blog and have virtually no income from it. The money I make from the two Web ads I have barely pays for my monthly DSL [high-speed Internet connection] fees."

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Orthodox Rabbis & Social Activism

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Luke Ford

Rabbi Gil Student writes:

 

I don’t recall where, but someone recently mentioned (perhaps in the comments here) that R. Haskel Lookstein had once declared that we should treat lettuce as non-kosher due to the treatment of farm workers. As it happens, I recently obtained a copy of the new biography of R. Lookstein, Rav Chesed: The Life and Times of Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, that was written in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of R. Lookstein’s service to his synagogue. It is a wonderful tribute to a successful pulpit rabbi that emphasizes his service to the community, rather than the typical rabbinic biography that emphasizes the subject’s scholarship. Books like these are important because they teach us that there is more to Judaism than studying Torah and that there are role models in addition to roshei yeshivah.

The story about the lettuce is on pages 55-56 of the book, part of a chapter that focuses on R. Lookstein’s social activism, particularly on behalf of Soviet Jewry:
Click here to read more

Political or social activism was hardly the hallmark of American Orthodox rabbis in the 1960s. While a number of Conservative and Reform rabbis participated in the civil rights movement or protested U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, their Orthodox counterparts typically regarded such causes as too far removed from Jewish concerns to justify their involvement. Haskel Lookstein, while not personally active in those battles, early on recognized a connection between traditional Jewish concepts and modern social struggles. In a May 1966 sermon, which was the subject of a sizable article in the New York Times, he argued that the Talmud advocated principles similar to that of the civil rights movement. "It is the Talmud that says that no man is free if he must live in a segregated community, whether that segregation is the creation of law or the result of informal social consensus," he declared. "It is the Talmud that states that no man is free unless he has economic opportunity, a chance for employment, the social possibility to work in any geographical and economic area in accordance with his God-given and acquired talents." In 1971 he was one of the few Orthodox rabbis to publicly endorse Cesar Chavez’s battles for the rights of farm workers, he urged his KJ members to boycott nonunion lettuce. Technically, all lettuce was kosher, he acknowledged, but lettuce produced "under exploitative conditions" should be regarded as nonkosher. Years later, during his tenure as president of the New York Board of Rabbis, R. Haskel engineered the adoption of a resolution urging "all Rabbis and their congregants" to boycott nonunion grapes, declaring such produce to be in violation of "ethical kashrut."

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Is It The Job Of Kashrut Rabbis To Make Sure That Workers Are Fairly Paid?

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Luke Ford

Nobody has the wisdom to decide what is fair pay outside of the employer and employee who come to a deal.

If an illegal immigrant will work for $2 an hour, then that is fair pay.

Nobody is putting a gun to the head of illegal immigrants and forcing them to violate U.S. law in their entry to their country. No rabbi has the expertise to decide what they — or any other worker — should get paid. If certain illegal immigrants choose to have sex with their employers to keep their jobs, that is their free decision. It makes them whores and their employers pigs but does it make their meat unkosher? That is proper grounds for rabbinic rulings.

I’m tired of rabbis who pronounce on matters where they have no expertise such as "fair pay" and global warming. A rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University does not convey special knowledge in climate change or give one superior understanding of the employment market.

In the Agriprocessors controversy, unless the rabbi has done extensive investigation, he should limit his public pronouncements to the following formula: "If what X says is true, then the Torah would say Y."

Letters to the NY Times in response to R. Shmuel Herzfeld’s Op-Ed (link):

To the Editor:

We take strong issue with Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld’s suggestions that the Orthodox American rabbinate, including the Rabbinical Council of America, has been indifferent to the accusations against Agriprocessors. The council issued a lengthy public statement on June 3, expressing our concern about the allegations and calling for a full investigation of the facts.

Unlike Rabbi Herzfeld, we believe that no rabbinic body — expert or otherwise — can do a better investigation than the federal and state authorities now engaged in such a review of the legal, non-kashrut aspects of Agriprocessors’ operations.

We are indeed greatly concerned about the ethical implications of the allegations, but they are still allegations — unproved and unverified.

We believe that it is also unethical to rush to judgment and deny due process to Agriprocessors. Jewish law — and the norms of American justice — requires no less than that.

By all accounts, current operations at the plant are in substantial conformity with the law and all applicable regulatory statutes.

(Rabbi) Shlomo Hochberg
(Rabbi) Basil Herring
New York, Aug. 6, 2008

The writers are, respectively, president and executive vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America.

To the Editor:

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld discusses the troubling accusations that have been raised against Agriprocessors and questions the response of the Orthodox Union. We believe that the various social and ethical issues — such as workers’ rights and safety, protection of the environment and animal welfare — are significant and ultimately rooted in biblical and Jewish tradition.

We also believe, however, that the definition, assessment and enforcement of these standards are best placed in the hands of the governmental agencies that have the expertise, resources and regulatory authority to deal with them appropriately.

There are various investigations in progress at the federal and state level. Due process is something to which Agriprocessors is entitled and with which the Orthodox Union will not interfere. Upon completion of these investigations, the Orthodox Union will take swift and appropriate action as warranted.

Our reaction over the past several years has been to respond with alacrity even to allegations. We were responsible for calling in Temple Grandin, a veterinary authority, to visit the plant and recommend appropriate procedures for the treatment of animals. Recently, we insisted that Agriprocessors install a competent compliance officer, and it appointed James G. Martin, a former United States attorney.

For the company to continue to function, it must do so in total conformity to ethical standards and to civil and kosher law.

(Rabbi) Menachem Genack
Rabbinic Administrator and C.E.O.
Orthodox Union Kosher
New York, Aug. 6, 2008

To the Editor:

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld’s article suggests that the organization that certifies that meat is kosher would have to certify that Agriprocessors is in compliance with secular laws as well.

In my view, the job of rabbis is not to certify that food is healthy, or the workers are fairly paid, or that they can legally work in the place that employs them, or that the treatment of the animals is ethical or even that the laws of the United States are followed.

The job of the rabbis is to certify that the food is kosher — nothing more and nothing less. I trust the government of the United States to make proper decisions about the other matters.

Michael J. Broyde
Atlanta, Aug. 6, 2008

The writer,

Rabbi Gil Student writes Haaretz:

To the editor of Haaretz, Ari Hart and Shmuly Yanklowitz wrote about their efforts in response to an immigration raid on the Agriprocessors plant (Repairing A Sacred Relationship, Aug. 9), actions for which I commend them. However, I was troubled by their unnecessary and inaccurate mention of the Orthodox Union’s failure to confront the owners on these issues. The facts are to the contrary. In response to these developments, the Orthodox Union forced management to replace its CEO and install an expert on compliance to prevent any future problems of the type of which the company is accused (for which Hart and Yanklowitz bizarrely take credit). However, the Orthodox Union is waiting for the conclusion of a federal investigation into the accusations before taking punitive action against the company. I believe that this faithfully represents the ethical requirements of Jewish law regarding someone accused of a crime – reserve judgment until an investigation is concluded but protect potential victims in case the allegations are true. In both American and Jewish law, those accused of a crime have the right to a trial before being judged guilty. The Orthodox Union seems to me to be responsibly balancing that right with the obligations it has to other parties.

Rabbi Gil Student writes:

Jewish newspapers are reporting on a rabbinic delegation that toured the Agriprocessors plant and, according to these reports, are declaring that there are no issues of concern there (5TJT, Jewish Press, JTA, Forward, Hamodia-PDF, Yated-PDF). If this is being reported properly, I’m simply at a loss. Perhaps what these rabbis meant was that, as of now, there has been insufficient investigation into the matter to justify refraining from buying Rubashkin meat. With my limited understanding, I agree (link).

But I can’t fathom how anyone, especially someone with no training or experience, can take a quick tour and render judgment on the matter. It is simply mind-boggling. There are many reports and I haven’t read each closely, but I don’t recall seeing anything about the rabbis interviewing the accusers. Or about them consulting financial records, medical records, and police reports. Did they speak to anyone at the local emergency room or at OSHA? I’m no expert but don’t these seem like things you should do before reaching a conclusion. Did they?

As I wrote before (link), it is a sign of wisdom to know what you don’t know. I’m having trouble with this whole episode and the only way I can understand it is by believing that these rabbis were somehow misunderstood and/or misquoted.

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Women Wearing Pants

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Luke Ford

I prefer life when men act like men and women like women (and wear skirts).

Religious Jewish women wear skirts and those who wear pants are not being religious in that respect.

Hirhurim writes:

R. Shmuel Katz, Kedoshim Tihyu, ch. 8 pp. 124-125:

A) The prohibition: There are those who are of the view that a woman wearing pants is a violation of "A man’s clothing shall not be worn by a woman" (Deut. 22:5), and also a lack of modesty[37]. Others are of the view that it does not entail the prohibition of "man’s clothing" but is immodest, since the pants cling to the body and cause the [outline of the] body parts to be seen[38]…

B) Pants specifically for women: A woman who wears pants made specifically for women, that are different in their cut and color from mens’ pants, and she does not intend to look like men — does not violate the prohibition of "man’s clothes". However, a woman should preferably (le-chat’chilah) not wear pants like those because they arouse specific attention. And if they are tight to her body, there is a lack of modesty[39]. There are those who also prohibit specific pants like these because they are still called pants like mens’ pants[40].

Click here to read moreC) Pants because of the cold: Women who wear pants in the winter because of the cold, if the pants are not tight then they have an opinion on which to rely[41]. There are those who have the view that in the winter they should wear a skirt over the pants[42].

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The Kosher Fight For Justice

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Luke Ford

Shmarya Rosenberg writes for Jewcy:

Undocumented workers, always one phone call away from deportation and a moment away from being summarily fired, are afraid to object to abusive working conditions. This makes them ripe for exploitation, as has been amply documented, and is one reason why US labor law does not allow employers to prevent illegal workers from unionizing. The May 12 immigration raid at Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa, the world’s largest kosher slaughterhouse, exposed the dark underbelly of illegal immigration. In response to this exploitation, the Jewish community has split in two.

One side, overwhelmingly non-Orthodox in affiliation, views the conduct of the Rubashkin family, Agriprocessors’ hasidic owners, as beyond the pale. It looks at the history of Agriprocessors and its owners and sees a clear, long term pattern of disregard for US law and halakha, Jewish law. It has demanded change, urged boycott, and rallied for justice.

The other side, overwhelmingly Orthodox, sees little wrong with Agriprocessors. It argues Agriprocessors is being mistreated; that liberal Jews, unions, and unnamed competitors are behind the raid and its media coverage; and that Jewish law governing treatment of workers should at any rate be divorced from Jewish law governing the preparation of kosher food. To these people, the many well documented sins of Agriprocessors and its owners, sins that stretch back many years in an unbroken chain, are irrelevant.

Absent from the first is much concern over the availability of kosher meat.

Absent from the second is much concern for the poor, often illiterate men and women (and children) who produce our food.

There is no biblical command to eat meat, and many of the Rubashkins’ fellow hasidim went years without eating meat because of the difficulty of getting kosher meat in the Soviet Union.

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