Volume 65 Number 13
Produced: Tue, 16 Nov 21 17:02:41 -0500
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Ben & Jerry's may lose US kashrut renewal over settler boycott (2)
[Chaim Casper Michael Rogovin]
Kristallnacht: An Historical Perspective (2)
[Martin Stern Irwin Weiss]
Shidduch Problems Past and Present (3)
[Stuart Wise Martin Stern Chaim Casper]
The Conservative Movement is no more - it has turned Reform (2)
[Joseph Kaplan Michael Rogovin]
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From: Chaim Casper <info@...>
Date: Mon, Nov 15,2021 at 09:17 PM
Subject: Ben & Jerry's may lose US kashrut renewal over settler boycott
Prof L Levine (MJ 65#12) asks:
> Should kashrut certification only be withheld where there is a violation of
> the Jewish dietary laws or should this be used as a means to put pressure on
> companies for more general policy matters.
Is Ben & Jerry's any different from the issue of a number of years ago (2008)
here in the US where Rabbi Sholom Rubashkin of the meat packing company that
bears his family name was arrested for "knowingly hiring undocument[ed] aliens"
and related bank fraud issues. In addition he was accused of abusing those
aliens because he took advantage of their undocumented status to pay them only
partially, to do forced overtime and not provide medical care for those injured
on the job and etc. etc. etc.
For those not familiar with the Rubashkin story, go to:
https://collive.com/rubashkin-plant-closed-shalom-m-arrested/
The response of the Jewish community? The OU which supervised the factory and
their whole gamut of products said their job is only to verify the product is
kosher. They said we don't make value judgments, we just certify the food is kosher.
The head of the National Council of Young Israel said the Orthodox community
owes a debt of gratitude to Rubaskhin's for providing relatively inexpensive
kosher food to the Orthodox community.
And the laity was split on the issue. There were some who said the OU should
withdraw the hashgahah due to the hillul haShem while others defended Rubashkin
due to his service to the Orthodox community. At the time, there were numerous
calls for the OU to withdraw its hashgahah.
Is this any different from the case of Ben and Jerry's? The Kof-K is being paid
to certify the ice cream is kosher. Are they being paid to be the moral arbiter
of B&J? I suppose the readers of this post will have many varied answers.
For a discussion of the issues, see
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/ben-and-jerrys-may-lose-us-kashrut-renewal-over-settler-boycott-684771
A second point is that we now live in an era of political activism. There are
times when the public wants to influence public policy. The only tried and true
method we have for influencing the final outcome is through the purse. If the
object of our wrath stands to lose considerable amounts of money, they will
begin to see it our way.
B'virkat Torah,
Chaim Casper
North Miami Beach, FL
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From: Michael Rogovin <michael@...>
Date: Tue, Nov 16,2021 at 03:53 PM
Subject: Ben & Jerry's may lose US kashrut renewal over settler boycott
Prof. L. Levine wrote (MJ 65#12):
> This raises an important principle "Should kashrut certification only be
> withheld where there is a violation of the Jewish dietary laws or should this
> be used as a means to put pressure on companies for more general policy
> matters".
> ...
> Personally, I sincerely hope that the company loses its certification.
I disagree with his proscription and believe that kashruth should generally be
given to any product that meets the criteria of technical kashruth. So yes to
Impossible Pork and Ben and Jerry's.
Why? Because there are many opinions among Jews about whether to eat fake pork
or how to deal with the territories. We want all Jews to eat kosher and having
choices about what to eat are best left to the individual, not organizations as
if they act as thought police (that is hyperbole by the way, I know and respect
the leadership of many of the kashruth agencies). More kosher food increases the
likelihood of more kosher observance.
Are there exceptions? A company that consistently violates broadly held ethical
values (like gross abuse of workers or is known to the agency that it violates
laws like labor, immigration, or food safety or truthfulness), actively uses its
products to promote another religion, are examples of where it would not be
consistent to grant or continue supervision.
But political views or peripheral issues like the operations of a restaurant
where the customer has a choice of participating or not (e.g. couples dancing,
the name of the restaurant, or using terms like lamb bacon) should generally be
off limits. Let customers decide and do not run our lives for us.
Reminds me of the Rabbi who delayed maariv on leil sukkot until after 3 stars to
make sure that no one made kiddush too early rather than just teach us the
halacha and trust us to make our own decision.
Michael Rogovin
<michael@...> | 201.820.5504 | www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrogovin
Click to book a slot on my calendar
<https://doodle.com/mm/michaelrogovin/pick-a-meeting-time>
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From: Martin Stern <md.stern@...>
Date: Mon, Nov 15,2021 at 03:17 PM
Subject: Kristallnacht: An Historical Perspective
Prof. L. Levine wrote (MJ 65#12):
> Question: How could a people who were supposedly steeped in culture do this
> (Kristallnacht) and commit the innumerable atrocities that they committed
> during WW II? What does this say about Western culture?
Perhaps the answer is that any (not specifically Western) culture is a veneer
which can hide bestial tendencies until the opportunity to express them arises,
when it is discarded as the mere surface coating it always was.
Martin Stern
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From: Irwin Weiss <irwin@...>
Date: Tue, Nov 16,2021 at 03:53 PM
Subject: Kristallnacht: An Historical Perspective
Professor Levine asks (MJ 65#12):
> How could a people who were supposedly steeped in culture do this and commit
> the innumerable atrocities that they committed during WW II? What does this
> say about Western culture?"
With regard to the first question, there is a very fine historical book,
published around 20-25 years ago, called "Hitler's Willing Executioners" by
Daniel Goldhagen, which I am sure is available widely, which is the best attempt
I have seen to answer this question.
Irwin Weiss
Baltimore, MD
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From: Stuart Wise <stuart.wise@...>
Date: Mon, Nov 15,2021 at 03:17 PM
Subject: Shidduch Problems Past and Present
Prof. L. Levine wrote (MJ 65#12):
> We are all aware of today's Shidduch crisis. Many fine, religious, young women
> often find it difficult to find a suitable Shidduch. On the other hand, most
> young, observant yeshiva men are often inundated with prospects. Today, when
> it comes to Shidduchim , it is definitely a man's world. (Let me note that as
> far as I know this not the case in certain Chassidic circles.)
>
> However, there was a time when it was yeshiva boys who had trouble finding a
> suitable Shidduch. This was the case during the first decades of the 20th
> century.
>
> The following is from page 222 of the book To Rise Above, A Journey of
> Greatness Against All Odds, The Amazing Life of HaRav Dov Cohen, zt'l.
>
> "Finding suitable shidduchim was extremely difficult for a yeshivah bachur. In
> those days, kollelim were non-existent - in Eretz Yisrael or in the Diaspora.
> What, then, would a yeshivah bachur do after he got married? In Eastern
> Europe, many newlyweds became rabbis of small towns, as these were positions
> that allowed them to continue learning Torah. However, this option did not e
> xist in Eretz Yisrael.
>
> "I remember how difficult it was even for Yitzchak Hutner, one of the best
> bachurim in the (Chevron) yeshivah, to find a shidduch. He decided to go to
> Lithuania, make his rounds among all the rabbanim there and talk to them in
> learning - maybe he would find his shidduch that way. When he returned, he
> told me stories about his trip."
>
> Rav Hutner was born in 1906. In 1933, Rav Hutner married Masha Lipshitz in
> Kobryn. She was born in Slutsk and raised in the United States.
This is an interesting perspective on shidduchim, but from my experience as
a shadchan for older singles, I have just as hard a time getting a yes from
a woman as from a man. Some of the reasons for their saying no lead me to
wonder whether these people are really serious about getting married. When
I was dating in the 70s and 80s, it used to be if it sounded OK you gave it
a try; nowadays, they don't even want to invest in a single date. So I
don't think there is a shortage of "suitable" matches for men or women,
it's just the peripherals that cloud their judgment, and from my experience
those peripherals are not always articulated; only the people in question
know why they reject a prospective shidduch, and sorry to say, it might be
because of the resume picture.
Maybe it's a "man's world," as you say, for the younger ones, but as they
get older, I sense it's difficult for both men and women.
Yisroel Wise
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From: Martin Stern <md.stern@...>
Date: Mon, Nov 15,2021 at 04:17 PM
Subject: Shidduch Problems Past and Present
Prof. L. Levine wrote (MJ 65#12):
> However, there was a time when it was yeshiva boys who had trouble finding a
> suitable Shidduch. This was the case during the first decades of the 20th
> century.
The main reason for this was the unwillingness of more 'modern' girls to
accept the lower standard of living that arrying a yeshiva bochur entailed,
partly as a consequence of compulsory state education which presented a
materialist outlook on life. This was one of the primary reasons that the Bais
Yaakov innovation of formal Jewish education for girls was widely accepted even
in many strictly observant circles, despite being a considerable innovation,
since it made possible an alternative, more 'spiritual', approach to life.
Martin Stern
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From: Chaim Casper <info@...>
Date: Tue, Nov 16,2021 at 07:17 AM
Subject: Shidduch Problems Past and Present
In response to Prof. L. Levine (MJ 65#12):
I have trouble understanding what is the "shidduch crisis, so I looked up a
website devoted to this issue:
http://www.shidduchcrisis.com/faq-full.html
This article wants to say that 14% of all Bais Yaakov graduates are still single
years after graduation. They do say this is not an issue in the chasidish
community and in the European Litvish community. It is only a problem in the
Israeli and the US Yeshivish communities. No mention is made if this is an issue
in the Modern Orthodox community or in the non-Orthodox community. But I can say
that I know of men and women in the MO and the non-frum communities who are
single years after finishing high school and college.
I can only offer my perspective here in Miami - please forgive me for my
bluntness. I see a number of men and women who are what I would call
"non-marriage-able material".
For example: An area Orthodox synagogue that has a large active singles (25-60)
program. Yet the same men and women, year after year, show up. Despite the
community's best efforts, these people will never get married. Is this a
contemporary issue or is it an historical expression of humanity, both Jewish
and non-Jewish? I don't know. All I know is that from where I sit, I don't see
most of these people ever getting married. They just can't "get their act together".
B'virkat Torah,
Chaim Casper
North Miami Beach,
FL
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From: Joseph Kaplan <penkap@...>
Date: Mon, Nov 15,2021 at 05:17 PM
Subject: The Conservative Movement is no more - it has turned Reform
Prof. Levine posted (MJ 65/12) with the intent, I think, to show how Orthodoxy
is, and will continue to be, the wave of the future:
> You may not know that in the 1920s when the Conservative and Reform movements
> were on the ascendent, many were predicting the demise of Orthodox Judaism.
> The situation for Orthodox Judaism was indeed bleak then. However, look what
> has happened. Today Orthodoxy is vibrant and expanding and Conservative and
> Reform are on the decline. While it is sadly true that some Orthodox
> youngsters do go off the derech, many, many more stay within the framework of
> Halacha and some even become more observant than their parents.
Yet the message I take is very much the opposite. While I hope that Orthodoxy
will remain vibrant and expanding, history "indeed, quite recent history"
teaches us not to be so smug and overconfident that today's vibrancy will always
remain and will not turn into decline. What has happened to others can happen to
us, and one way to help prevent that from happening is not to be so sure that it
won't.
Joseph
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From: Michael Rogovin <michael@...>
Date: Tue, Nov 16,2021 at 03:53 PM
Subject: The Conservative Movement is no more - it has turned Reform
Prof. Levine writes that Conservative Judaism is like earlier Reform, Reform is
like Unitarianism, both are in rapid decline, and Orthodoxy is ascending despite
the occasional OTD loss. His post could have been written 10, 20, 30, or 40
years ago; that is, he is saying nothing that has not been said before. In fact,
if one looks beyond sources in the Orthodox media, the picture is far more complex.
Orthodoxy represents a very small percentage of American Jewry. Most Jews are,
and have been for over a century, secular, regardless of affiliation with Reform
or Conservative, but these two movements still make up the vast majority of
affiliated Jews. In many neighborhoods where Jews have migrated away, these
synagogues are closing or merging, but in other parts of the country they are
strong, and often the only Jewish institution. Reform congregations have become
more traditional in rituals and other than becoming egalitarian, conservative
congregations retain a distinct ritual observance that mirrors traditional
practice (even if the membership does not outside the synagogue which was always
the case).
What is growing among young people are unaffiliated minyans, some of which are
very halacha-focused in most respects, although more egalitarian in some areas
than traditional Orthodox. Others are more like renewal and divorced from
tradition. This is true, although different, in Israel as well. And anecdotally,
outside hareidi communities, I see many more than a trickle of Orthodox youth
going their own way that, if not completely OTD, is a shift to the so-called
"social orthodox" which is not a long term prescription for continuity. And even
among those who are committed, their views on women, LGBTQ, and other issues
diverge significantly from prior generations.
In short, the death notice of non-Orthodox Judaism and ascendency of Orthodoxy
have been predicted for decades and yet we are in virtually the same place.
Predictions are hard, especially about the future.
Michael Rogovin
<michael@...> | 201.820.5504 | www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrogovin
Click to book a slot on my calendar
<https://doodle.com/mm/michaelrogovin/pick-a-meeting-time>
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End of Volume 65 Issue 13