Kosher with Justice

(I wrote this before the Days of Awe and forgot to post it. It is still relevant and needs to be acted upon.)

Agriprocessors Inc. is the nation’s largest kosher meat packer and has just been presented with over 9000 criminal charges for child labor in addition to charges relating to the employment of illegal immigrants and use of hazardous chemicals. What do we do with this information as Jews?
In the New York Times I read that Rabbi Menachem Genack, in charge of kosher supervision for the Orthodox Union, said he would consider suspending supervision of kosher production at Agriprocessors. “Because of the new charges in the state of Iowa, we believe it is in the best interest of the kosher consuming public to have new management with a new C.E.O. that will give people a new sense of confidence that all laws and regulations are being completely complied with.” Agriprocessors, the largest producer of kosher meat, with annual kosher sales estimated at $80 million, must listen to the Orthodox Union.
On May 12th, 389 illegal immigrant workers were detained at Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, in a raid by the Immigration and Naturalization Services. This came long after PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals exposed unethical treatment and slaughter of cattle at the plant. What do we individuals do with this information as consumers of Agriprocessors meat?
In addition to reading about Agriprocessors in the New York Times, I was proud to hear my rabbi, Allan Kensky, speak about these abuses from his pulpit just after PETA released a video on YouTube exposing the situation in Postville, long before the Orthodox Union responded. I learned from my rabbi that the Conservative Movement was creating a new kosher designation call Heksher Tsedek, a seal of kashrut that raised the bar to include justice in the all aspects of kashrut. No longer can kosher meat be prepared through means that do not conform to Jewish values. Now kashrut will be a value, not just a method of preparing or a prohibition on certain types of foods.
Torah teaches us the importance of ethical business practice in Leviticus when we read, “You shall not falsify measures of length, weight or capacity. You shall have an honest balance, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin.” (Lev. 19:35)
Torah also teaches us about the ethical treatment of those who work for us. “The wages of a laborer shall not remain with [us] until morning (Lev. 19:13) and “[We] shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fellow countryman or a stranger…[We] must pay him his wages on the same day…for he is needy and sets his life on it, (Deut. 24:14-15)”
The actions the Conservative Movement are something I am proud of for one other reason. In Judaism we are taught to rebuke our fellow. "You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, but not do a sin in the process." (Leviticus 19:17) But it also qualifies the way we rebuke. From his pulpit, Rabbi Kensky told our congregation that he forbids purchasing Agriprocessors brands (Aaron’s Best and Rubashkin’s, among others) for the congregation. He also strongly encouraged us to boycott these brands. This was his form of thoughtful rebuke within the community. It is especially beautiful in light of the fact that Rabbi Kensky is a vegetarian and need not be bothered by this fiasco on a personal consumption level.
The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs in Chicago had a different approach to rebuke. They organized two bus loads of Chicagoans to travel to Postville and take action. These activists both demonstrated against Agriprocessors and in support of the immigrant families. JCUA’s position took rebuke to the general public while the Conservative Movement and my rabbi kept rebuke within the community. I am certain that both sides considered the qualification of rebuke laid out in Torah, “not [to]do a sin in the process." Both came up with very different answers, which is one of the great things about Judaism.
In speaking with Rabbi Taylor, the rabbi I work with at Congregation Solel, we considered having our congregants sign petitions to local grocers asking them to stop selling Agriprocessor’s brands in their stores. It is hard to put political pressure on markets when you are not the consumers of their goods. Reform Jews do not see kashrut as a binding mitsva for them. They see Jewish law as binding if it is about ethical behavior. I have a problem with this. On the one hand, I am for constantly reviewing and renewing the systems that guide my life and my Judaism. On the other hand, ethics cannot be the benchmark of Jewish behavior. What makes us unique is not our values, but how we get their. Without Yiddishkeit and a discussion about God, we would just be a humanistic community. There is room for atheism and agnosticism in the Jewish discourse, but there is no Judaism without Shabbat, Hebrew, Torah and community. Of course, this is a tangent to the discussion of Agriprocessors.
The other concern about the conversation with Rabbi Taylor is the second half of the rebuke command. Are we doing good by hurting Agriprocessors? When I was a college student in the 1980’s we demanded divestment from our universities as a way of forcing South Africa to end the terrible apartheid system. The reason we allowed ourselves to work for divestment is that we understood that the oppressed people in South Africa wanted us to use this tactic. I don’t know whether a poor Guatemalan immigrant family wants us to hurt the employer who, even while abusing them, pays their wages and puts food on their table. This is a terribly complicated question. How do we avoid sin in the process of rebuke?
A more complicated question is why do we allow the system to get to this before we take action? Why do we find ourselves reacting to the world instead of leading to the promised land of our liking? On one level, Rabbi Kensky is very right to respond to a Jewish problem strictly within our community. On another level, JCUA is right to make this a national issue and protest in public because we live among different people. And on still another level, Rabbi Taylor’s and my plan to lead a boycott of the Agriprocessors brands in our community is a great way to take action that will both affect change and cause an internal discussion among Jews. But I think the most important issue here is the one not addressed. We live in a country that includes and depends on human beings who live outside of the law, are not protected by it and are abused because of their illegal status. This is not the kind of country I want to live it.
While I have responded to the situation in Postville with a personal boycott of Agriprocessor’s brands, I have not done enough to address the situation of those abused by my country’s system. In this month of Elul, a time for reconciliation between people, I feel as if my indifference to the plight of undocumented people is a place where I deserve rebuke, and I vow to do more to understand these issues, formulate my own vision and take action.