Honey, Darling?: agave, honey.The various ethical, environmental, and cultural issues surrounding honey have been considered and discussed on Hazon's blog The Jew and the Carrot, both in posts and comments.  Leah has explored whether honey is “kosher” for vegans, and wondered if there’s “any ethics-based diet that *doesn’t* have a little bit of hypocrisy clouding up its ideals.”  Michael Croland from HeebnVegan explained that the issue does little to promote veganism, and pointed us in the direction of this Satya Mag article on the subject.  Meanwhile, Rabbi Shmuel has suggested that we should critically re-examine the Rosh HaShanah custom of dipping apples in honey, and explore alternatives such as maple syrup, while Rabbi Debbie Prinz joined the conversation with a lip smacking guest post on how we can integrate chocolate into our Rosh HaShanah celebrations.

Rather than continue the debate on whether honey is vegan, eco-kashrut, or even just kosher (Leah notes that she has always “puzzled over how eating a food created by a decidedly non-kosher creature could be considered okay for the Tribe”), I’m offering a number of delicious, vegan, kosher, and organic ideas and recipes for a sweet new year.

Agave Nectar: Derived from the succulent plant of the same name, agave is like honey’s sophisticated big sister. Satisfyingly sweet and sticky, it makes for a perfect apple dip, plus it has a low glycemic index, a long shelf-life, and it won’t crystallize.  Madhava Agave Nectar is available in different grades, is certified organic, and is kosher.  It’s available online and at many markets across the US.

Maple Syrup: As Rabbi Shmuel noted, maple syrup is an ideal choice for Rosh HaShanah thanks to its rich symbolism and earthy sweetness.  “Maples,” he explains, “represent the ultimate in chesed (lovingkindness) giving freely of not only their wood and shelter but their sap - their very essence.” Shady Maple Farm offers certified organic, kosher, pure maple syrup, as do Coombs Family Farms, Highland Sugarworks, and a host of others.

Brown Rice Syrup: Rich in rice protein concentrates, brown rice syrup has been said to have a healthy effect on cholesterol levels, and may help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Because it’s produced from a whole food source and is composed of simple sugars, brown rice syrup is considered to be one of the healthiest sweeteners in the natural food industry.  With a light, sweet flavor and the consistency of honey, this is another great option to experiment with on Rosh HaShanah.  Lundberg Family Farms offers brown rice syrup that’s organic, eco-farmed, vegan, kosher, and gluten free!

Date Honey: It’s interesting to note that references to honey in the Torah are said to have referred to honey made from dates. This is quite possibly the ultimate symbolic Rosh HaShanah food, and also the hardest to find.  Our own Leah offered a recipe on the Lilith blog last year, but you may still have time to track some down at a local Middle Eastern market, or order it online in time for the holiday.  Try here and here.

Chocolate: It’s incredibly easy to find vegan chocolate these days, and what’s more, you can often find vegan chocolate that’s also organic and fair-trade.  Simply melt some semisweet, vegan chocolate chips with a drop of soy milk or oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Allow it to cool a bit before dipping your apples, bread, and fingers!

Vegan Caramel Sauce: Little goes better with apples than sweet, sticky, mouth watering caramel.  Unfortunately for vegans, caramel often contains milk and butter.  Not to worry, though!  Try one of these recipes for vegan caramel sauce, which create a thick, sweet, pourable alternative.

[Cross-posted from the Jew and the Carrot]

Did you know that the little kosher symbol on your food may have a geopolitical, rather than strictly religious, purpose – especially if you live in Israel? Some Orthodox rabbis in the Holy Land use that symbol to reduce the number of Palestinians working in Israel. Here’s how it works:

Jewish law requires that many foods be cooked by Jews. This means that even if the ingredients are fully kosher and the food was prepared in a kosher kitchen under the watchful eye of an Orthodox Jew, if a non-Jew did the cooking, Jews are not supposed to eat that food.

Of course, if you’ve eaten a kosher restaurant lately, you probably noticed non-Jews working there. You may also have noticed that many of those non-Jewish workers seem to be directly involved in food preparation. That’s because Jewish law has provisions in place to circumvent the ban. And herein lies the story.<!--break-->

Before the 16th century publication of the Shulkhan Arukh, the standard code still in use today, Jewish law was hodgepodge that varied much from place to place. While the biblical and Talmudic laws were constant, rabbinic laws, edicts, and interpretations were not. But the upheaval caused by the expulsion from Spain and the resulting Inquisition created a situation where Jews, all refugees from different towns and countries, now lived side by side as refugees. This meant Jews living in adjoining houses were each following, in effect, different laws.

Rabbi Yosef Karo, an exile from Spain who settled in Tzefat, now in northern Israel, sought to rectify this situation by standardizing and codifying Jewish law. It almost worked.

Karo relied on three major early legal works, the Rif, the Rosh, and Mishne Torah of Maimonides. The Rif was written in North Africa, and reflects the customs of prevalent there. The Rosh is representative of Ashkenazim, German Jewry, and its outgrowths. The Mishne Torah, although written in Egypt, reflects the traditions of Maimonides’ Spanish homeland. In effect, what Karo did is place the traditions of the three major Jewish communities extant at that time in front of him and decide the law based on the majority. So, for example, if Spain and Germany said "permitted," and North Africa said "prohibited," the majority won.

For the most part, Sefardi and North African Jewish communities accepted Karo’s code. Eastern European Jewry did not.

Rabbi Moshe Isserles, a leading Polish rabbi and contemporary of Karo known as the Rama, thought Karo had shorted Ashkenazi traditions. He wrote a commentary to Karo’s work, pointing out every case where current Ashkenazi practice differed from Karo’s decision. From the late 16th century onward, Karo’s Shulkhan Arukh has been printed with Isserles’ commentary interwoven in its text. Karo’s attempt at unity failed.

So, what does all of this have to do with our restaurant problem? Karo’s code calls for a Jew to start the fire used for cooking. Without this involvement, most foods cooked by non-Jews are forbidden for Jews to eat.

Isserles allows a Jew to do a minor symbolic action – adding kindling to an existing fire, for example. In his view, this permits the food.

In Israel today, Isserles’ view on this issue determines the law for restaurants and food producers that carry the Jerusalem Rabbinate’s basic kosher supervision. In practice, this means a rabbinic supervisor can visit most restaurants in the morning, light the oven’s pilot lights, and leave. The restaurants' non-Jewish cooks – generally Palestinians – cook without his direct supervision for most of the day, while the rabbinic supervisor spot checks the restaurants periodically.

Karo’s stricter view is followed by restaurants and food producers carrying the Jerusalem Rabbinate’s mehadrin, “choice,” supervision. These restaurants tend to have a rabbinic supervisor on premises at all times, as well.

But now a group of settler rabbis, overwhelmingly Ashkenazim of eastern European origin, are challenging the Jerusalem Rabbinate’s reliance on Isserles, the Ashkenazi codifier. Why? Because forcing the Jerusalem Rabbinate to follow the stricter Sefardi view would force many restaurants to hire more Jews and, more importantly for these settler rabbis, to fire Arabs.

Kosharot, supposedly meant to be a kosher industry watchdog, leaked a report smearing dozens of Jerusalem eateries. The charges range from lax supervision to allowing Arabs to place uncooked food on the fire. Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Rabbinate, itself under ultra-Orthodox control, blasted Kosharot’s report, pointing out significant errors of both fact and law.

Rabbi Benny Lau, a leader of moderate Orthodox rabbis, investigated Kosharot’s charges and refuted them. He wrote, "There is a real concern that Kosharot's interests are not restricted solely to Halacha and kashrut. Rather, for them it is no less important to reduce the number of non-Jews working in Israel.”

But this is far from the first time kosher food law has been misused for a non-food-related purpose. Perhaps the earliest account on record goes back to the dawn of Rabbinic Judaism itself, approximately forty years before the destruction of the Second Temple.

The schools of Hillel and Shammai, the two competing camps that made up Rabbinic Judaism in the 1st century, disagreed about many aspects of Jewish law. One of those aspects was Judaism’s treatment of non-Jews. Shammai’s school waned gentiles kept as far away from Jews as possible. It viewed gentiles as a corrupting influence, and contact with them, in Shammai’s view, posed an unacceptable risk of intermarriage.

Shammai’s school tried to pass legislation banning contact with gentiles and enhancing the spiritual “cleanliness” of Jews. Hillel’s school opposed this. Shammai’s followers did not have the votes to win – so they went dirty. The Jerusalem Talmud (Shabbat 1:4) describes what happened.

The sages were meeting at the home of a prominent supporter, on the roof deck of his house. Beit Shammai came armed, murdered several members of Hillel’s school, and blocked the exits from the roof. Hillel’s remaining followers were held at spear-point until they cast votes for Shammai’s anti-gentile legislation. The 18 gezerot (decrees) proposed by Shammai’s school were then passed into law. The Jerusalem Talmud calls this day the “blackest day” to befall the Jewish people since the destruction of the Temple.

Most of those 18 gezerot are in force to this day, including bans on gentile-baked bread and gentile-produced wine. The theory was, if you can’t eat a gentile’s bread or drink his wine, you can’t eat in his home. If you can’t eat in his home, you can’t socialize with him. And, if you can’t socialize with him, you probably won’t marry him.

The law forbidding food cooked by non-Jews is a derivative of those laws.

What Israel’s settler rabbis are doing isn’t that different from what Shammai’s followers did. What they could never gain legitimately they seek to gain through fraud and deceit.

A flip side to this is B’maaglei Tzedek, a moderate Orthodox justice organization that certifies restaurants treat their employees fairly. About one third of Jerusalem restaurants now carry this certification alongside kosher supervision from the Jerusalem Rabbinate.

While Rabbinic Judaism claims to be following the traditions of Hillel’s school, the truth is far more complex. Rabbinic Judaism is a blend of both Hillel and Shammai’s outlook. In most ritual matters, we follow Hillel. But, in matters relating to contact with gentiles, Shammai’s view – the more radical and restrictive – still prevails.
Fanatics see the world in black and white, and their law reflects that. Moderates understand that nuance exists and that there is room for compromise. The fanatic position is easier to sell – think right wing talk radio – because moderation requires living with complexity and the uncertainty that always shadows it. Although the Academy was dominated by Hillel’s moderates, the populace was solidly in Shammai’s corner and would remain so until the Second Temple was destroyed. Indeed, it is thought that many of the zealots who helped cause the destruction were children of Shammai’s followers.

Just like in ancient times, there are two polarizing forces in Rabbinic Judaism. One is ever more radical, restrictive and exclusionary; the other, moderate.

Have the lessons of the past been learned? Only time will tell.

Rubashkins: not winning any prizes anytime soonSince the raid on the Agriprocessors plant on May 12th, bashing the kosher meat giant has become something of a sport. Everyone from the New York Times to failed messiah to yours truly has taken a few shots (some cheap, some well-deserved) at the Rubashkin family and the business they run out of Postville, Iowa.

I’ve never been a big fan of the Rubashkin family. In fact, I called for a boycott of their meat in January, months before Uri L’Tzedek was on the case. But I’m getting a little frustrated with the way the scandal is being dealt with by liberal-minded people like me.<!--break-->

First of all, the boycott was a joke. It was called off too early, but even if it was still going on it wouldn’t be having any effect on the company itself. Many, if not most, of the people involved in the boycott are not regular purchasers of kosher meat to begin with. Either they’re vegetarians, or they buy non-kosher meat. So while it’s admirable that they want to be on the record against the practices at the AgriProcessors plant, they’re not creating much of a business loss for the company. Case in point: A good friend of mine manages a kosher restaurant in Chicago, and said he received an irate phone call from a Reform rabbi who demanded that the restaurant stop buying Rubashkin meat. But the rabbi in question had never eaten at the restaurant before. My friend just hung up on him. AgriProcessors is having business trouble these days, but it has to do with a lack of workers, not a lack of demand. If their workers weren’t mostly incarcerated, they would likely be producing as much as ever.

Like many lefty issues, the decision to buy other brands of kosher meat, if they’re even available, and especially to push kosher organic meat, is only viable for the people who can afford the significant price tag that comes with most AgriProcessors alternatives. An ultra-Orthodox mother of 10 in Borough Park might care deeply about labor practices and animal treatment, but if she can’t afford organic kosher meat, she’ll end up with Rubashkins.

I’d love to say that vegetarianism is the answer to this crisis. As a milchigatarian I’ve observed the Rubashkin uproar with an admittedly smug smile. But while I think vegetarianism would be great for the Jewish community, I think the sell would be about as effective as the abstinence pitch for teenagers. It might work on a select few, but for most, the allure of a hamburger is just too great.

If we want to change the way AgriProcessors does business we have to recognize how important their product is to our community and be respectful and cognizant of what they need to stay a profitable business. We should also not forget ways in which the Rubashkins have been generous in the past. This includes donating kosher meat to various Jewish institutions, and exporting members of their small community to even smaller communities that otherwise wouldn’t have had a minyan for the High Holidays.

As far as I can tell, the most effective way of dealing with the Rubashkin family would be within a halachic framework. It is clear that they don’t feel any obligation to the American legal system, but they have to pay at least lip service to halacha, so an appropriate conversation with them would focus on the halachic violations in their plant (of which there were many) and how they could change their behavior to be compliant with halacha and maintain whatever profit margin they require. Obviously this conversation needs to be initiated by someone within the frum community, preferably someone within Chabad. A liberal activist, even one with smicha, is unlikely to be taken seriously by Rubashkin.

I have some pretty serious doubts as to whether AgriProcessors is likely to ever change its ways significantly enough that it would pass inspection by the liberal Jews I identify with. But if there’s any chance it will ever happen I think we need to be realistic about what would be the most effective way of negotiating with a company that doesn’t take us seriously.

(Cross-posted on The Jew and the Carrot)

Be Kind to Your Hoof-footed Friends: for a cow could be somebody's mother We Jews just love to beat ourselves up. We can't even get depressed without feeling guilty about it. This weekend is Tisha b'Av, the one time of year when Jews get to have a good old-fashioned bitching session. We weep and wail and curse at the miserable treatment of Jewish people throughout history: the destruction of both Temples, the expulsion from Spain, the Nazis.

Historians--at least, those historians who sport peyes and streimels and use the Chumash as a source text--say that all of these Jewish catastrophes happened on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. That's today, for those keeping track. The rub, though, is that Judaism is pretty clear on why these things happened: because Jews screwed up.

The first temple was destroyed because Jews worshipped idols, slept around, and killed people. The second temple was destroyed because Jews were feeling too much hate toward their neighbors. The Holocaust happened because...well, whatever we did wrong there, it must have been pretty bad. I guess it takes a Chief Rabbi of Israel to explain such a thing.<!--break-->

Pretty rough, this idea of Jewish karma. "Shit happens. But when it happens to you, you must have sinned."

So how might we avoid sin and the catastrophe it brings? Surely the wisdom of our "elders" can help us out here, right? Not necessarily. Jewish scripture is clear: God will punish us for repeating the sins of our elders.

Which brings me to the Agriprocessers scandal, in which the Orthodox Union certified a splendidly profitable but ethically abominable slaughterhouse run by Orthodox Jews.

Anyone who opposes the pointless torture of animals will agree that Orthodox Jews ought not use meat hooks to rip out the throat of cattle before leaving the animals to slowly bleed to death. Anyone who cares about this country's problem with illegal immigration will agree that Orthodox Jews ought not forge immigration documents in order to ruthlessly exploit undocumented Mexican workers, including children (one federal official called the mistreatment of workers at this Orthodox-certified facility "medieval.")

You don't have to be a Jew to recognize that the whole affair is a hillul hashem--a pitiful public disgrace in which Judaism and Jewish values are humiliated before all Americans, Jews and non-Jews alike. Orthodox Union President Stephen Savitsky might as well have purchased a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl, and broadcast himself shitting atop a copy of Pirkei Avot, the Talmud's foremost work of Jewish ethics.

For non-Orthodox Jews, the coincidence of this year's Tisha b'Av and the Agriprocessors scandal should serve as a wake-up call. Judaism tells us that a good, safe, and honorable future for the Jewish people is ours to make. To create that future, we must honor the principles of the Jewish tradition; in so doing, we must not defer to the false authority of those who claim to be our "elders," but whose behavior desecrates the same Jewish tradition they claim to uphold.

Let's start with this: After this year's Tisha b'Av, boycott kosher meat certified by the Orthodox Union. Just stop buying it altogether. Instead, buy the humane, eco-kosher meat recommended by the Shalom Center. It'll be better for you, and it may be better for the future of the Jewish people.

On May 12, 2008, 900 federal and state law enforcement personnel raided Agriprocessors, the country’s largest kosher slaughterhouse. They arrested almost 400 illegal alien workers and had outstanding warrants for hundreds more. On the day of the raid, more than two thirds of Agriprocessors’ workforce was illegal.

Reports of horrific worker abuse by Agriprocessors quickly surfaced, and a federal official present during the raid called conditions at Agriprocessors “medieval.”

It was the largest single-site immigration raid in US history, but the raid was not the first time Agriprocessors or its owners, the Rubashkin family of Chabad hasidim, have been in trouble with the law.

These are your kosher butchers:

Name: Abraham Aaron Rubashkin Age: Early 80s Last Seen: Denying guilt

Aaron Rubashkin, a Russian-born Brooklyn butcher and Chabad-Lubavitch hasid with widespread business interests, founded Agriprocessors in 1987 after buying an abandoned slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa. In order to keep the plant open while paying what many regard as the industry’s lowest wages, Aaron Rubashkin turned to illegal, undocumented workers, first relying on Eastern Europeans funneled to Postville from Rubashkin’s Brooklyn butcher shop, as Stephen G. Bloom documented in his 2000 book Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America. When securing enough Eastern European illegal workers became difficult, Rubashkin turned to illegal workers from Mexico and Central America, reportedly paying them below the minimum wage and forcing them to work 14 to 17-hour shifts with unpaid overtime. Agriprocessors allegedly supplied illegals with forged identity papers and other documents. Over the years, Rubashkin bought up much of Postville’s available real estate, renting homes and apartments to illegals at what many consider to be inflated rates. Among the charges hurled at Rubashkin after the ICE raid was his alleged tying of property rental to employment, with illegals told that they should rent from Rubashkin in order to secure a job at Agriprocessors. Those workers then were trapped in an allegedly exploitative rental agreement that saw their rents raised monthly. Renting elsewhere meant loss of employment, transfer to an undesirable job within the plant or to an undesirable shift. Rubashkin was cited by the National Labor Relations Board for collecting union dues from workers at another business he owned, Cherry Hill Textiles (this with son Moshe – see below) but keeping the collected dues for his family. The National Labor Relations Board found the Rubashkins had a “proclivity” for violating the National Labor Relations Act and mandated repayment of all money collected, with interest. He was also implicated in the Allou Healthcare bankruptcy scandal. Although not charged, Rubashkin was found to have accepted $3.2 million dollars in payments from Allou, for which the government could find nothing Allou received in return. Speaking for Agriprocessors, Rubashkin’s son Sholom M. Rubashkin (see below) at first claimed nothing was given to Allou. Later, he amended his statement to claim Allou – in the healthcare equipment and pharmaceutical business – purchased $3.2 million dollars worth of kosher meat. No trace of that meat has ever been found and Rubashkin claimed the Agriprocessors executive responsible for the Allou transactions died at his desk in 2004, taking all details of the “sale” to his grave. Rubashkin was forced to pay $1.4 million dollars to help replay Allou’s creditors. Allou’s owners, Satmar hasidim, are now serving jail terms for fraud.

Name: Rabbi Sholom M. Rubashkin, Agriprocessors VP and CEO Age: Late 40s Last Seen: Dodging Immigration Agents

Ordained by Chabad, Sholom M. Rubashkin pursued a career as a Chabad House rabbi. In 1987, he was compelled by his father to leave the rabbinate and take over the on-site operations of Agriprocessors in Postville. Agriprocessors’ battles with the town of Postville, the EPA, the USDA, PETA, and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union have all been led by Sholom M. Rubashkin. Under his watch, slaughterers used meat hooks to rip out the throats of still conscious animals and kicked blood in the eyes of dying animals. Agriprocessors so polluted the environment that the the company was sued by the EPA. The Rubashkins eventually settled with the EPA, paying a $600,000 fine. Additionally, turkeys produced by Agriprocessors were found to have sodium levels far in excess of stated amounts. Along with his sister’s husband, Rabbi Milton Yehoshua Balkany (see below) Sholom M. Rubashkin is a frequent and generous donor to Republican political campaigns, giving tens of thousands of dollars to favored candidates including Catherine Harris, Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, Iowa Congressman Tom Lathum, and Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. The family’s contributions to Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge’s campaign for governor at a time she was responsible for regulating Agriprocessors also raised ethical issues. The family’s bundled contributions given to Grassley, Specter, and Harris – $20,000 each – along with lesser contributions to Lathum drew PETA’s ire in 2005, when PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich noted: “A federal legislator should not be taking money from a company that is being sued by one federal agency [the EPA – Rubashkin settled] and that is under investigation by another [the USDA – Rubashkin was found to have violated Humane Slaughter Law but the Bush Department of Justice declined to prosecute]—that just screams conflict of interest.”

Name: Rabbi Milton Yehoshua Balkany Age: 62 Last Seen: Playing Tony Soprano

The husband of Abraham Aaron Rubashkin’s daughter Sarah, Balkany is notorious for his practice of bundling campaign contributions to skirt federal campaign finance law, handing envelopes full of checks from various Balkany-Rubashkin family members to politicians. Balkany’s largess largely benefits Republican candidates, and his bundled contributions give him – and his father-in-law – aggregated influence. In 2003, Balkany was detained on charges he misused $700,000 in HUD grant money intended for handicapped toddlers. Most of the money had been transferred by Balkany into bank accounts controlled by his children, including at least one in Israel. Balkany also used this grant money to pay his personal credit card bills and to pad his personal bank accounts. In a deal with the US Attorney’s office, Balkany – who claimed his actions were sloppy accounting practices, not theft – agreed to make restitution and to refrain from seeking any more federal grants. He was never prosecuted. Balkany has been implicated in other scandals involving government funds and is now barred from lobbying Bureau of Prisons officials after allegations of bribe-taking surfaced. Balkany also tried to have a Jewish aide to then-US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan excommunicated after the aide wrote memos detailing Balkany’s strong-arm attempts to force the Israeli government to use US aid money for Balkany’s pet projects in Israel. In an attempt to end Orthodox justice group Uri L’Tzedek’s boycott of Agriprocessors, while officially representing Agriprocessors and his father-in-law at a meeting in mid-June, Balkany reportedly threatened the Orthodox justice group’s leadership in a manner eerily reminiscent of Tony Soprano.

Name: Moshe Rubashkin Age: 50 Last Seen: Pleading guilty

The elder son of Abraham Aaron Rubashkin has a criminal record stretching back twenty-five years. He was arrested in 1983 for felony assault and rioting (he later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges). As noted above, in 1995 he and his father were caught collecting union dues from their Cherry Hill Textiles employees but keeping the money for themselves. The National Labor relations Board forced the Rubashkins to repay the money taken with interest, and banned their attorney from practicing before the NLRB for six months. In 2002, Moshe Rubashkin was arrested for bank fraud. He pleaded guilty and served almost two years in Fort Dix Federal Prison. Just months after his release, Moshe Rubashkin was elected president of the Chabad-Lubavitch-controlled Crown Heights Jewish Community Council, which annually receives and administers millions of dollars in government funds. Late last year, Moshe and his son Sholom (the nephew of Agriprocessors’ CEO/VP Sholom M. Rubashkin) were indicted on federal charges related to the family’s abandoned textile mill in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which burned in a series of suspicious fires. Although the family engaged in a convoluted cover up meant to hide ownership of the property and defraud the EPA and the city of Allentown, Moshe Rubashkin was only charged with illegal storage of hazardous waste. His son was charged with knowingly making a false statement to federal authorities. Both charges are felonies. Originally due to be sentenced on July 16, the government agreed to postpone sentencing until November 3 to allow Moshe Rubashkin and his son more time to repay the $450,000 they owe the EPA. The rub? The money for this repayment appears to be coming from other Rubashkin family members who themselves draw their income from Agriprocessors and related companies, not from Moshe Rubashkin himself. When pressed, an official close to the case could not explain the need to allow Moshe Rubashkin and son to remain free to facilitate this repayment.

Name: Nathan Lewin Age: About 70 Last Seen: Defending Agriprocessors

The noted constitutional attorney has long served as legal counsel for Agriprocessors, and Lewin is also closely connected to Agudath Israel of America, the ultra-Orthodox advocacy organization. As I first reported in late 2004, on October 23, 2003, Agudath Israel officials, and, I’m told, Lewin, along with rabbis from various kosher supervisions, met with senior USDA staff in Washington. My sources tell me that Lewin did not disclose his connection to Agriprocessors. The subject of that meeting was a USDA directive that outlawed “sawing” during religious slaughter. Agudath Israel claimed the directive’s current language could easily be misinterpreted by USDA inspectors and would, they feared, be used incorrectly to stop kosher slaughter. The USDA agreed to change the language and relied heavily on Agudath Israel – and, it seems, Nathan Lewin – to write a new directive. What made its way into that new directive? Approval of a second cut to “facilitate bleeding” – the basis for Agriprocessors’ meat hook throat-ripping exposed by PETA. During the furor surrounding exposure of that throat-ripping, Lewin played the Holocaust card, comparing PETA to Nazis and alleging PETA’s true aim was to end shechita. In the days immediately preceding the release of PETA’s undercover video, Lewin told a sympathetic reporter for the New York Sun that he, as Agriprocessors counsel, had offered to discuss with PETA and, if necessary, resolve any problems at Agriprocessors. PETA, Lewin claimed, never responded to him. The actual letter Lewin sent to PETA – now posted on PETA’s website – shows that Lewin misrepresented the tone of his letter and that Lewin and Agriprocessors did not offer to meet PETA. At the close of Agudath Israel’s national convention in November 2004, on the eve of the release of PETA’s exposé, Agudath Israel leader Rabbi Chaim David Zwiebel asked the convention for a unanimous vote condemning PETA and supporting Agriprocessors. He got that vote – even though no one voting except for Lewin had seen PETA’s evidence. The USDA, in response to PETA’s video and other documentation, conducted its own investigation and found that Agriprocessors violated the Humane Slaughter Act. It also found its inspectors took illegal gifts from Agriprocessors and often slept or played computer games on the job. The USDA kept that decision secret for almost one year, while the US Attorney for Northern Iowa declined to prosecute. PETA forced release of the damning USDA findings by filing and actively pursuing Freedom of Information Act requests against the agency.

Name: Menachem Lubinsky Age: Unknown Last Seen: Spinning

Head of Lubicom, a kosher industry marketing and PR firm, Lubinsky is a former Agudath Israel of America VP and a current member of its board of trustees, as well as a longtime paid consultant and flack for Agriprocessors. Yet, in his role as editor of the industry trade journal Kosher Today, and as a sought after expert for media reports on kosher food, Lubinsky commented on various Agriprocessors scandals without identifying himself as a paid consultant of Agriprocessors. Like Lewin, Lubinsky played the Holocaust card, comparing PETA to Nazis and alleging PETA’s true aim was to end shechita.

Name: 5W Public Relations Age: 5 Last Seen: Impersonating Competent PR professionals

America’s “fastest growing” PR firm counts Agriprocessors, Paris Hilton, "Girls Gone Wild" producer Joe Francis, a handful of Israeli politicians, Pastor John Hagee, and various hip hop artists among its clients. Headed by CEO (and former Betar-USA head) Ronn Torossian and SVP Juda Engelmayer (owner of the Lower East Side icon Kossor’s Bialys), 5W was caught impersonating critics of Agriprocessors online. 5WPR at first denied the impersonations, and then blamed them on an unnamed “intern.” The problems for 5WPR multiplied when it became clear the “intern did it” excuse was not credible. In the wake of the massive immigration raid that crippled it, Agriprocessors promised to comply with the law and to begin a new era of ethical business. Despite those promises, Agriprocessors continues to retain 5WPR.

Since federal agents conducted an immigration raid on the Postville, IA, AgriProcessors meatpacking plant on May 12th, the Jewish community has been in a furor over everything from worker’s rights, to accusations of sexual harassment, to the possibility of a kosher meat shortage if AgriProcessors is forced to close.AgriProcessors: disconnected and unprofessional? In the last week there have been a fair number of developments:

• The Jew & The Carrot has an interview with Zalman Rothschild, a former mashkiach (kosher supervisor) at AgriProcessors. Rothschild says there was a nice rapport between the rabbis and the Mexicans who worked at the plant (except with the women, ahem) when he was there, but calls AgriProcessors “unprofessional” and “disconnected” from the day-to-day operations.

• Ben Harris at JTA went to Postville and spoke with Sholom Rubashkin, now former CEO of AgriProcessors. Though Rubashkin insisted he was “clean as a baby” and offered to give Harris a tour of the plant, the offer was eventually reneged, and Harris was referred to the company spokesperson, who refused to discuss the allegations the workers are making about hiring minors, forcing workers to take 14 and 15 hour shifts, and an environment of sexual harassment. Harris also went to Brooklyn to speak with Aaron Rubashkin, who started his business in 1953, the same year he emigrated from Russia. The elder Rubashkin was more forthcoming than his son, and flat out denies every allegation made. He comes across as scattered and affable, but uninformed. Included in the article is a lengthy audio clip of the interview.

• The Chicago Tribune reports that the State of Iowa is easing up on many of the fines that it initially imposed on AgriProcessors. After AgriProcessors “promised to improve safety for its workers” the fines were reduced from $182,000 to $42,750. Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley is concerned about the reduction in fines, and has spoken to the AP, explaining that he understands the reasoning behind the shrinking fines, and hopes AgriProcessors can live up to their promise to improve conditions for workers.

Aaron Rubashkin and his son Moshe: a tad evasive

• AgriProcessors frequently shipped meat to smaller communities, where other kosher meat and poultry options weren’t available. These communities are now feeling the pinch as AgriProcessors struggles to fill orders, and many are left without any kosher meat, reports the New York Jewish Week.

• The Forward reports that demand for AgriProcessors meat (which sells under the brand names Aaron’s Best, Rubashkin’s, Shor Habor, Iowa’s Best Beef and Supreme Kosher) has not slowed since the immigration raid on May 12th, and if anything they’re struggling to fill orders with the reduced output from Postville.

Giraffe: served with fingerling potatoes? Should you ever find yourself presented with the chance to eat giraffe, rest assured that it's not a violation of kashrut—just a violation of the unspoken rule that people really shouldn't eat potentially endangered species.

Heeb reports that the tall, spotted, long-tongued African ungulates have been declared kosher by Israeli Rabbi Shlomo Mahfoud. JTA affirms that since giraffes have cloven hooves and chew their cud, they are totally kosher. <!--[endif]-->

JTA also explains that eating giraffe meat only went out of fashion because the task of making a biblically correct slice on those notoriously long necks gave kosher butchers some serious headaches. <!--[endif]-->Their puzzlement did not, however, inhibit the consumption of giraffe milk (also kosher), which is incredibly refreshing on a hot Saharan day!

Karmically Safe: giraffe snax The resident wildlife experts here at Jewcy did a little digging and discovered that despite their dwindling numbers, giraffes are not currently shielded by an animal protection act. But because giraffe parts are sought after for "good-luck bracelets, fly whisks and thread for sewing or stringing beads" (their tails are considered to be especially precious), not to mention their meat and hide, the otherwise all but predator-less, nice-guy creatures often fall victim to human attack. Despite what the San Diego Zoo might say, it sounds like giraffes are in some serious trouble.

In short: We are not enthused that Rabbi Mahfoud just gave the world a thumbs up on giraffe cutlets. If you must, try the milk. But if you want to do something truly Jewish, find out how you can help save giraffes on the Wildlife Conservation Society website and sate yourself with animal crackers.

The British version of "The Apprentice," helmed by Sir Alan Sugar, a Jew, has an odd source of controversy this week: kosher vs. halal chicken. It also touches on the "who is a Jew" issue, and has us wondering why anyone would put "good Jewish boy" on their resume.
Michael Sophocles: a half-Jewish schmuck
In last week’s episode, two teams were tasked with haggling for various items in Marrakech, including  a kosher chicken.  One team succeeded, but the other ended up with a chicken that was halal. (At the market, they keep asking that the chicken be blessed by someone from the mosque and inexplicably making the sign of the cross. You can watch the video here).

Michael Sophocles was one of the two people sent to look for the kosher chicken, and when his team was called to the boardroom to discuss their loss with Sir Alan, he was called out for his lack of knowledge of kashrut, for not knowing what l’chaim means, and for putting "good Jewish boy" on his CV, which Sir Alan concluded was basically just a method of kissing up. His scintillating response: Well, he’s half-Jewish, and he does know what the word schmuck means.

Sophocles narrowly avoided being fired, but the whole spectacle is really amazing to watch. (You can see the boardroom interrogation here and here). In the boardroom Sophocles also refers to himself as a “nice Jewish boy” which seems in direct conflict with his claim that he “will manipulate others if necessary to get the prize.”

While it’s embarrassing that someone who claims to be a good/nice Jewish boy doesn’t know that there’s a difference between kosher and halal, it’s more depressing that knowing the word schmuck is Sophocles’ main claim to Judaism. And then there’s the issue of “half-Jewish.” Since his last name is Sophocles, it’s reasonable to assume it’s his mother who’s Jewish, and while Sophocles clearly can’t be expected to understand the nuances of Halacha, that would in fact make him 100% Jewish. Can someone really claim membership to Judaism with a line like "good Jewish boy," but simultaneously hide behind a disclaimer of half-Jewishness?

Sir Alan, at least, has a nice way of dealing with the situation. “I don’t give a shit,” he says. “Talk about chickens, I’ve got headless chickens right here.”

He May Look Delicious: but he ain't kosher

Ann VanderMeer, wife of bleeding-edge fantasy writer Jeff VanderMeer, says ET is treyf. When she's not busy working as the Fiction Editor of Weird Tales magazine, VanderMeer -- an observant Jew -- finds time to tutor Bar and Bat Mitzvah students. She recently fielded questions from Jeff's ravenous companion animal, Evil Monkey, regarding which imaginary animals are kosher. Ever wondered if would be halachically okay to eat a Cornish Owl Man? Find out on Jeff's blog.

Here's an appetizer, from the M's:

Man-Eating Tree - A: “Tree part yes, man-eating no, therefore treyf.”

Mermaid - A: “No, for the obvious reasons.” EM: “What if you marry one? Is that kosher? Will a rabbi marry you?” A: “Kosher is a term about eating, not about sex.” EM: “I’m not talking about sex–I’m talking about marriage!” A: “If the mermaid is Jewish, the rabbi will probably marry you. But only if you’re Jewish too. But you’ll definitely have to find the right rabbi…”

Mongolian Death Worm - A: “No, because you cannot eat anything that crawls on its belly.” EM: “Does that mean an injured kosher animal that is crawling along isn’t kosher any more?” A: “Yes, because you can’t eat an animal that’s been injured or is sick.” EM: “It’s a wonder you haven’t all starved to death.”

Just in time for Passover, lots of religious pet news! This week we learned that Pope Benedict XVI's loves cats -- he even has an authorized biography written by a furry friend named Chico who was his neighbor in Germany. The book is called “Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat" (as told to journalist Jeanne Perego).

As for Jewish furballs, a recent article at Petside.com suggests that Passover is the perfect time to have your pets keep kosher too. While the dogs at my seder (there were four!) seemed to enjoy a stray matzoh ball, the article doesn't offer much insight into KforP pet food. It does, however, provide some helpful hints for keeping Fido kosher the rest of the year:

The companies that now provide kosher kibble adhere to the strict separation of meat and dairy to qualify the food as kosher for animals. This does not make the pet food kosher for human consumption, and in a kosher household, the animal’s dish would have to be washed in a bathroom or laundry room sink, separate from the kosher supplies in the kitchen.

Of course, there are no Jewish laws stating that pets must keep kosher, but for pet owners, it can be a way to ensure that beloved dogs and cats are getting high quality food. In no time at all, they'll be ready for their Bark Mitzvahs.

Shrimp: Verdict is still out on shrimp flavored chips Stop! Put down that bag of frozen shrimp! Our sources inform us that it’s not kosher!

This week all members of the Orthodox Union’s e-mail list received an urgent “kashruth alert” regarding Full Circle Shrimp, a brand of frozen shrimp produced by Topco Associates LLC in Skokie, Illinois. According to the e-mail:

These products are bearing an unauthorized OU symbol and are being withdrawn from the marketplace. Consumers spotting these products are requested to contact the Orthodox Union at 212-613-8241 or via email at kashalerts@ou.org. <!--[endif]-->

The OU must have decided to get involved before too many people got punked into eating treif. The moral of the story is, if you have to ask why the shrimp was kosher in the first place, chances are something fishy is going on. So put those toothpicks and that dipping sauce away. If you’re gonna eat shrimp, you’re going to have to take the tofu route.

Any Way You Lick It: Maple-Bacon LollipopThough it might sound like a sick joke, it's true: The folks at Lollyphile have created a Maple-Bacon lollipop for the pork lovers among us. Before you start gagging, you should know that these suckers are fully sustainable and organic, made with only the finest cured bacon and Vermont maple syrup. Based in San Francisco, Lollyphile strives to produce “the most interesting and unique lollipops in the world,” and laughingly provides the disclaimer “definitely not kosher” for their popular meat suckers, which have completely sold out. Also on the Lollyphile menu: Absinthe suckers.

But what about kosher Jews who want in on the fun? Why no chicken soup lolly with specks of matzo ball? Or how about Gefilte fish with horseradish? Applesauce with latke bits, anyone?

We are issuing a challenge, Jewcy readers: What Jewish-inspired flavors should Lollyphile try next? And would you eat them?

Related: Last year, the flavor experts at Jones Soda released an all-kosher holiday season soda series which, ironically, included a Christmas ham flavored beverage.

Top Chef Hung Huynh Says: meet me at 56th and madisonKosher-keeping New York fans of Top Chef's season three winner, Hung Huynh, are in for a tasty treat: The incredibly creative cook has officially begun a one-month stint as Executive Chef at Solo, a Midtown Manhattan Mediterranean-Asian fusion glatt kosher restaurant. Try saying that three times fast with your mouth full of pickled veal tongue. (Why is veal kosher, by the way, when it's so undeniably cruel?)

Huynh set up camp at Solo yesterday, and will remain in the kitchen there through early April. Though the restaurant has been inundated by a deluge of emails and phone calls, space is still available and reservations are welcome.

Related: Jamie Oliver Is Not In Training To Be A Shochet

Jon Stewart: doesn't trust the pigsForget whether or not Jon Stewart believes in God: To some, he actually is God, which makes it all the more interesting that he questions the well-known law of kashrut that prohibits Jews from eating pork. The "TV personality, comedian, political gadfly, insightful commentator and all-around raconteur" (as his humble parishioners describe him) seems to think the rule is hogwash. If the following quote is any indication, Jon Stewart will start keeping kosher when pigs fly.

"Thou shall not kill. Thou shall not commit adultery. Don't eat pork. I'm sorry, what was that last one? Don't eat pork? Is that the word of God, or is that pigs trying to outsmart everybody?"

Previous: Michael Showalter on God, spiritual salvation, and corduroy pants.

The Vending Machine of the Future: organic, kosher, natural, vegetarian, healthy, and oh-so-deliciousAdmit it: those pre-peeled baby carrots you begrudgingly bring to work every day are inevitably trumped by the irresistible seductions of a vending machine stocked with salty, cheesy, chocolaty evils. Lately, though, a new breeze is blowing through the vending industry -- and it's not just flatulence! (Har).

A handful of companies are beginning to offer those with special dietary needs better options, from kosher and organic to vegetarian and "allergy-friendly."

Kosher Vending Industries is making sure that Jews on the run can get a kashrut snack where options are scarce. Organic Vending only stocks items that are free of artificial flavor, artificial color, preservatives, and trans fats, and a large majority of their products meet the USDA standard for Organics. YoNaturals Inc. stocks their vending machines with a wide range of products, from fresh juices to organic pita chips.

Every year around Chanukkah I get annoyed at how often I hear people misuse the word Menorah. This is mainly because I’m ornery. But still it’s probably good to know why a menorah and a Chanukiah are different.
Menorah: from Arch of Titus in Rome

Menorahs have seven branches and burn olive oil. There was a menorah in the Tabernacle, and then it was moved to the Temple. It was made out of pure gold, and all one piece. The instructions for how to craft it can be found in Exodus 25. Though now it’s become a symbol of Judaism, it was originally meant to symbolize the burning bush. The menorah was lit in the Temple, and when the Temple was looted by the Romans in 70 CE the menorah was taken to Rome and carried along during the triumph of Vespasian and Titus. A depiction of this event is preserved on the Arch of Titus that still stands today in Rome. It’s not clear what happened to the menorah after that. It may have been taken by the Visigoths or the Vandals, and later retrieved by the Bynzantine General Belisarius and taken to Constantinople. Basically, we don’t know, and no one seems to have it anymore. Anyway, the miracle in the story of Hanukkah is that the Maccabees were able to light the Menorah, and the light from that one small vessel lasted for eight days.

So, to commemorate the miracle of the Menorah, we light a Chanukiah, which has nine branches—one for each day of the miracle and a shamash. The name "chanukkiah" was given only in the end of the nineteenth century in Jerusalem by the wife of Eliezer Ben Yehuda, the revivor of the Hebrew language, but today in Israel chanukiah means the thing you light on Chanukkah, and menorah means the thing that was in the Temple.

The correct plural of menorah is menorot, but menorahs will do. The plural of chanukkiah is chanukkiot, but I guess chanukkiahs is cool, too.

There is a difference. I think ultimately the menorah is cooler because there’s a lot more history behind a menorah, but chanukiot are almost always more interesting looking.

Happy Chanukkah!
Chanukkiah: for a night at a club

Happy Chanukah!: Latke soda and vodka, anyone? Bleh.Uh, just in time for the various winter holidays, Jones Soda Co. is introducing Christmas and Chanukah multi-packs of soda. The Chanukah pack boasts the four soda flavors of latke, sufganyiot, apple sauce and chocolate gelt. While I enjoy all four food quite a bit, the thought of drinking latke-flavored soda on ice makes me want to gag. But, I will try it with an open mind. Hang on, though, it get so much creepier. We can pick up a Christmas four-pack for our Christmas-celebrating friends with Sugar Plum (maybe), Egg Nog (hmm), Christmas Tree (pardon?) and Christmas Ham (come again?). Wait, wait, it gets even better. All the flavors are kosher. All kosher. Even the Christmas Ham. Oy. Ugh. Can you imagine? Can you imagine the rabbinic inspection the day the Christmas Ham flavor was launched?  Oy. Anyway, I think my favorite part of the entire line is that the Chanukah package "includes one completely functional dreidel".

I will give Jones a point for creativity, though, certainly. I mean, this is the company who brought us the Thanksgiving packs in years past with flavors like "wild herb stuffing", "Brussels Sprout with Prosciutto" and "turkey and gravy". Correction. Turkey and Gravy soda is available this year, if that's your bag.

Or, if you're feeling particularly inspired, maybe we can all put our heads together and suggest a flavor. Hammentaschen? Carrot tzimmes? Challah? Potato kugel? Matzoh ball soda? Bleh. Okay, perhaps not.

I admit that I'm kind of at a loss here. I just don't know what to make of a Methodist-born billionaire publishing a "lifestyle" book full of kosher recipes.

Stacy Cohen is the wife of Israeli-born entrepreneur Mouli Cohen, whose "businesses have created thousands of jobs in the United States and generated more than $3 billion in stockholder value."

Born and raised in Texas, Stacy converted to Judaism when she married Mouli. Apparently, marrying rich and converting to Judaism made her an expert on all things luxurious and, um -- "kosher." Her book, the Kosher Billionaire's Secret Recipe, offers readers her very own, personal guidelines to living a "kosher life grounded in spirituality." In addition to the 50 recipes, the book includes a "total well-being nutritional program."

But wait, there's more! Most of the 224 pages (read: wasted trees) are actually big ol' photos of Miss Stacy, "wearing dozens of outfits from her collection of designer ensembles and jewels."

She poses in gorgeous settings that range from her Belvedere mansion to
Paris, India and other exotic locales. In one of the most provocative
shots, she wears a satiny bathrobe while standing above some of her
shoes, a boutique's worth of colorful, high-end heels that spill down a
staircase like sparkly spiked rocks on a river of deep-pile carpet.

What's going on here? Did Stacy miss the memo that Green is the new Black, and that the Imelda Marcos approach to shoe shopping is so last century? Could she appear any more out of touch? Go her for taking her new, kosher lifestyle so seriously, but really -- someone oughta tell her.

Keep kosher? Travel a lot? Find it frustrating when you're in a new town, feeling famished (and farmisht), and haven't the slightest idea where the closest Glatt Kosher eatery is? Have I got a pre-Hanukkah gift for you. Yitzie Katz, a food lovin' Orthodox Jew from Queens, has launched Kosher Restaurants GPS.

The idea came to him when he noticed that kosher restaurants weren't showing up on his own GPS device--even when he pulled up right in front of them.

Because he travels frequently for work, Katz completed his research for personal use and then decided to share it with others.

“Anyone who travels for work or vacation and is adhered to a strict
code of kashrut needs help when they leave their home,” said Katz,
whose database includes more than 1,000 restaurants and 2,000 minyanim
in the U.S. and Canada. “There are also people who need a minyan on a
regular basis, especially if they have a yahrzeit and must have a place
to daven.”