Herzfeld v. Lewin, Round 2
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld (he of NYTimes Op-Ed fame) and his congregant Nat Lewin (famed attorney and Agriprocessors defender) are having a little intra-shul spat over the ethics of kosher slaughter. Lewin called Herzfeld a "vigilante" in his response to Herzfeld's Times article and described his reasoning there as "fallacious."
Now Herzfeld is back for another round, though with the stipulation that he won't "engage in a back and forth." Oh, well maybe just one more time.
Herzfeld's response after the jump.
CORRECTION: This post originally referred to Herzfeld as Lewin's "rabbi." Though Lewin is a member of Herzfeld's shul, he regularly attends a different congregation near his Potomac, Md. home.
Response to Nat Lewin by Shmuel HerzfeldNat Lewin is one of our finest congregants and has always been a terrific advocate for the Jewish people. Obviously, our entire community is struggling with this difficult issue which asks us to balance the requirement of due process while not turning our backs on heart wrenching allegations that strike at the core of our identity.
I will not engage in a back and forth argument in this forum, but it is important to address the argument about the legitimacy of the position cited in the name of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter.
Many sources on this topic are cited in an article by Rabbi Avi Gisser, Chief Rabbi of Ofra, Israel in his article for Ma'aglei Tzedek, an organization in Israel that seeks to unite laws of kashrut with concerns for how workers are treated. The article is available on line at http://www.edah.org/mtzenglish.pdf.
The story about Rav Salanter was one story from a genre of Rav Salanter stories that might have been cited. Here is a small portion of Rav Gisser's article:
According to Rav Kook, what our generation needs, especially now, is to add fuel to the great flame of social justice that stems from a deep awe of G-d. Three anecdotes from the life of Rabbi Salanter demonstrate this. Once, Rabbi Salanter visited a new matzah bakery in order to check its work practices and level of kashrut. He reviewed all the manufacturing procedures extensively and observed the intense labor and toil of the employees. At the end of Rabbi Salanter's visit, the bakery owner proudly asked him, "What does the rabbi say?" He answered, "The Gentiles accuse us, G-d forbid, of using the blood of Christian children in matzah. While this is not the case, from what I have seen here, there is indeed a violation of the prohibition on blood in food. The blood of the workers is mixed with the matzah! I will not certify this bakery as kosher." In another case, Rabbi Salanter was asked what demands particular attention when baking matzah. He answered: "One must be scrupulous not to yell at the woman kneading the dough." He was also quoted as saying, "It is prohibited to enhance your mitzvot at the expense of others." One day Rabbi Salanter was hosted by a rich man. When he performed the ritual hand-washing before the meal, he used a sparing amount of water. He was asked, "Doesn't the Torah say it is praiseworthy to wash with a lot of water?" He answered,
"I can only do that in my own home. Here, however, I must consider the needs of the servant who must carry the buckets of water." When attending large dinners, Rabbi Salanter also hurried to finish eating quickly in consideration of the waiters and other workers, who had to wait until the end of the meal to go home. "Justice, justice you shall pursue in order that you may live in and inherit the land."
Rav Gisser's article is published with a powerful statement immediately following it. Here is a portion of that statement:
Out of concern for Israel's moral and humane character as a Jewish State, respecting all its citizens, in which justice is one of its basic principles, we wish to announce a social seal, committing all who believe in justice and morality. We hereby request all business proprietors to respect the dignity of their workers and visitors, both regarding to conditions of employment, and also assuring accessibility to people with disabilites. We ask all for whom the Jewish humane character of Israel is important to be aware of just consumerism, and to buy only in places holding the social seal.
It is signed by many of our greatest rabbis including, Rabbi Ya'akov Ariel, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Rabbi Yo'el Bin-Nun, Rabbi Chaim Drukman Rabbi Mordechay Elon, Rabbi Benni Lau and Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein.
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Go Rabbi Herzfeld.
What they say about Nat Lewin is true. Goyim are impressed by him; Jews not so much.
Mr. Lewin with all due respect has been an attorney for the family that owns Agri. Things there are weird as the Shabbos before the recent protest there were calls that it was a pogrom from the shul beamer.
The story about Rav Salanter was one story from a genre of Rav Salanter stories that might have been cited. Here is a small portion of Rav Gisser’s article:
And, thus, he proceeds to side-step Lewin’s challenges and simply re-state the anecdotes that Lewin found faulty in the first place. Rabbi Herzfeld, WADR, you have just proven Lewin’s point that your stories are thinly sourced and are to be believed only because of your say-so.
Rabbi Herzfeld cites Rabbi Salater as saying that” it is prohibited to enhance your mitzvah at the expense of others”. It seems tha Rabbi Herzfeld does believe that it is permitted to enhance his reputation at the expense of others.Why else publish his self serving, poorly researched piece in the NY Times? As if he is the white Rabbinic knight who unlike his colleagues is outraged by immorality.The Rabbi also did not think about the harm he might do by confirming allegations about a Kosher slaughtering plant before a government investigation was completed. His NY Times piece has already had a ripple effect in 2 European communities in a precarious position regarding government approval of Kosher Shechitah.
Had he really been the selfless spokesman for ethical Judaism that he claims to be, he would have chosen an in house venue as opposed to the NY Times. He also would have researched his piece better. The Edah Jounal is not a primary source on Rav Yisrael salater. There is no proof that the writer in the Edah Journal made any effort to check the accuracy of the Rav Yisrael Salanter any more than Rabbi Herzfeld. We now know that he did not research the story’s veracity at all.
His piece is a self serving piece at the expense of the reputations and well being of others.
Heshie Billet
Rabbi Billet,
Are you not a member of the RCA and the OU?
How could you let this chillul Hashem go on for two years?
If Shechitah is precarious in Europe, shouldn’t you be careful that the biggest Kosher slaughterhouse in the world in Postville, Iowa acts in a proper ethical manner.
Instead of attacking Rabbi Herzfeld, who is merely the messenger of the crimes coming out of Postville, why not try and correct their behavior instead of defending it.
Have you written any letters to the OU or the RCA?
Even if the meat coming out of there is not a nevelah, the “Rabbis” actions in Postville are “Menuval b’rishus hatorah”.
Don’t try and cover up anymore. Do something to fix it.
Too bad these rabbis don’t apply their lessons from R. Yisroel Salanter to the Palestinians who live in dreadfully oppressive conditions in the land. It’s a chilul hashem ayom venora for anyone to have any benefit from the suffering of the Palestinians. Judaism is not Zionism, despite all the fantasies of the brainwashed religious Zionists from Mizrachi to the Eyda.
Dear Dovy
There is no one in the RCA or OU who approve of the allegations at Agriprocessors if they are proven true. No one was aware of the allegations until the story broke. We all believe that Social Justice goes hand in hand with Kosher supervision. Wee also believe in due process. The accused has rights as well. There is also the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The process is not yet complete and the charges to date have not yet been proven.
My complaint with Rabbi Herzfeld is not with his right to criticize the OU or the RCA. My complaint is the platform he chose, his poor research, his self serving article in the Times ( the world should know that one Orthodox Rabbi cares and is different from the the others), and his failure to see that his article in the Times may impact negatively on Jewish communities in other parts of the world.
Had he written his piece exclusively in a Jewish publication, I would remain silent even if I thought him to be out of line.
Heshie Billet
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Arieh Lebowitz
08/12/08 11:24 AM
The online PDF is here: http://www.edah.org/mtzenglish.pdf - for some reason the link embedded in the above article doesn’t bring one there.
Rabbi Gisser’s article appars on pp 14-19 of the newsletter.