Letters to the Editor 10-10-08

Issue of Oct. 10, 2008

A rav on ‘rabbinical malpractice’

To the Editor:

I read with great interest, and with much agreement with the sentiments expressed within, the insightful critique of our rabbinic leadership by Howard Kopel (Rabbinical malpractice: evaluating the actions of our leaders; Sept. 26, 2008).

There is at times the perception that far too much emphasis is placed today on the fulfillment of the minutiae of Halacha, with much of the spirit that should animate that observance sorely missing. It is an old, in fact, ancient problem. The Nevi’im railed against it. Rabbi Bachya ibn Pakudah composed the Chovos Halevavos over 1000 years ago in response to the problem in his time and place. In the much more recent past, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter founded a Mussar movement to address the issue.

I would strongly take issue with Mr. Kopel’s criticism of the agunah problem. Anyone who is acquainted with the voluminous Teshuvos written over the centuries, including the 20th, to free the classic Agunah (tied to a missing husband) knows the sensitivity and deep sympathy with which the poskim dealt with the plight of these women. Those who claim that, “Where there is a rabbinic will, there is a halachic way,” are callously insensitive both to the sensitivity of our great poskim and, frankly, ignorant of Halacha.

Mr. Kopel is right. Sadly, there are midgets in long frocks, but please be careful about impugning the likes of Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l, and other giants of Halacha and its spirit. Perhaps it is an intractable problem.

There is an addendum to Mr. Kopel’s comments that needs to be made. It can fairly be said that the baalei batim are not really interested in too much more than what the rabbis are delivering. In my 25 years of living and working in  this area, I have seen a great deal of what I would call “religious posturing,” but not a great deal of authentic Yiras Shamayim. After all, it’s easy to keep kosher and, frankly, it’s fun to debate the merits of this or that hashgacha or establishment. Sheitlach are “in,” with the time, effort and expense involved in their maintenance. We can shlug kapores with chickens, fly to Uman and entertain this visiting rebbe or that one. But the superficiality of American materialistic values has sadly become the bedrock of much of our value system.

Many decades ago Rabbi Steven Riskin used the phrase “inverted Marranos” to describe a large segment of American Orthodoxy - no matter how Modern, Chassidish, Heimish or Yeshivish the outer trappings. What has really become of the call of the Navi to “walk humbly with your G-d?” It is comparatively easy to reduce tznius to the length of a skirt or the height of the collar, as essential as that is. It is far more difficult to do so in the realm of the cars we drive, the homes that we re-construct to awe the neighbors, or the weddings for which no expense is spared. The rabbis dare not address those issues with forthright passion - no one is going to listen. I fear that we criticize this “era of the chumrah” but, secretly, we’re quite happy with the way things are.

Rabbi David M. Friedman

Oceanside

Usurping our true mesorah

To the Editor:

Tizku l’mitzvot on publishing a very essential and timely piece by Howard Kopel (Rabbinical malpractice: evaluating the actions of our leaders; Sept. 26, 2008). While, thankfully, it seems voices like his are beginning to be heard, the views expressed are far too few and, from my perspective, do not seem to be part and parcel of a consistent campaign and strategy to implement the ideas he so eloquently and passionately put forth.

I, too, share his concern that our true mesorah is being usurped, if not hijacked, by those who simply yell louder then we do, or avail themselves to conduct that we (rightfully) choose not to emulate. By way of example, in his article he mentioned the caustic and insensitive remark made by the Rosh Yeshiva in the context of the agunah discussion but yet, I have since learned, no retort was forthcoming.

There seemingly exist a few groups that share his (our) vision, but their objectives seem to be rather disparate and distinct. More needs to be done to ensure that the ideas expressed are unified, thereby allowing them to become a reality. All of us need to do our part. We cannot continue to wallow in silence while our holy and glorious Torah becomes the sole province of those who would have us check our brains at the door and confine our inquiries and concerns to the sacrificial order without regard to chesed, tzedakah u’mishpat.

Nativ Winiarsky

Belle Harbor

A case for the Heksher Tzedek

To the editor:

Your article on the kosher ethics provisions proposed by the RCA (Kosher ethics guide proposed; Oct. 3, 2008) was unbalanced and ill-informed. It appears that you sought no comment from the Conservative movement at all, despite the fact that you offer criticism of their initiatives by the OU, the RCA and Agudath Israel. You also fail to note that without their initiative, neither the OU or the RCA would have been compelled to act.

The RCA’s action is utterly inadequate. It’s a weak, toothless response from an organization that is one of many Orthodox organizations to react slowly to the AgriProcessors debacle. It is no accomplishment to specify that companies adhere to American law. Indeed, the assertion of such a provision in a kashrut contract is a deeply embarrassing tacit admission that ritual has long been emphasized over ethics by some of our leading kosher authorities. Now, with their monopoly on kosher certification threatened by their dereliction of duty, these same authorities propose telling the slaughterhouses to follow the law, the same law they rely on federal authorities to enforce.

The Conservative movement’s Heksher Tzedek resolution is available at www.uscj.org/Heksher_Tzedek7477.html. I urge all who care about the Jewish community to read it. It does not, as your article claims, seek to enforce federal minimum wage laws, which frankly, do not go far enough in ensuring workers are paid a living wage. Indeed, it merely lays out some basic principles, principles we should all be able to agree on. These principles, in a nutshell, are that workers should be treated fairly and that business practices should be transparent and honest. There is no call for unionization of workers, though under the law workers have the right to unionize if they vote to do so. There is no call for enforcement of minimum wage laws, though the Torah mandates that workers be treated fairly.

Ultimately, the Heksher Tzedek is a challenge to food companies to enhance the mitzvah of kashrut with the mitzvot of treating workers fairly and running a business honestly. It need not replace a traditional hechsher; it may augment it. Then the Jewish community can have the choice of buying the products of companies that act ethically as well as comply with the traditional rules of kashrut. Why anyone would oppose giving kosher consumers this choice is beyond me.

Michael Brenner

Woodmere

Thanks for telling a survivor’s tale

To The Editor:

Thank you for sharing the survival story of Mrs. Esther Bauman with your readers (A survivor’s tale; Sept. 26, 2008). To see her, one would never guess the horrors and the losses that she experienced as a young woman.

She is a beautiful woman with smooth skin and a peaches and cream complexion. When I approach her, she always responds to me with a warm greeting and a wide smile. Her attire is always immaculate, with a coordinating tichel or hat; her lipstick and eye makeup is always perfectly intact.

She enjoys attending activities here at Woodmere Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, especially if Yiddish songs are involved. She seems comfortable here and knows that she is well cared for. But when her daughter, Florence, visits (which is very often) her eyes light up and her day is truly complete.

I see a woman who had everything taken away from her, yet chose to reclaim life and dignity. She did so with great success and accomplishment. I wish her “ad meah v’esrim,” in good health and with the continued opportunity to enjoy her wonderful children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Leba Sonneberg

Woodmere Rehabilitation and Health Care Center