RJ Lashes Out at the “Kosher-Nostra”

Once again, the cycle of brutality repeats. There are ultra-Orthodox abusers, this time Rubashkin,. Again, the Orthodox Union is the enabler, as well as the Jewish community. Instead of the abuser being justified by kiruv, he is being protected and enabled on the grounds of kashrut. And while the mainstream Jewish community is visibly upset, once again, the mainstream non-Orthodox Jewish community seems helpless in crafting a coherent response.

So it is comforting to see the Reform finally taking an aggressive stance.

The Reform have long argued that the Orthodox get so lost in the Talmudic and halachic minutia, that they lose the big picture. The Orthodox will counter that kashrut has nothing to do with treating people or animals with kindness, nor does it have anything to do with honesty. The problem with such an insistence is that we see what it leads to.

As Donald Cohen-Cutler writes on RJ (News and Views of Reform Jews),

While this food is technically kosher, its production violates a thousand other Jewish values, and, in my opinion, far more important values than how we salt our meat. One can trick himself to believe that the business of kosher food production is ethical, however if he takes a look at the track record, he will find that many of the major producers of kosher meat stuffs are not following the rules – rules from on High and from a more local source.

His solution is strange.

These folks enjoy eating this food and feel connected to tradition when they make these choices, they say. I feel as if they are supporting a corrupt monopoly that hides behind faux-piety. How does one enjoy kosher meat and stay true to her liberal Jewish values?

One eats locally.

ddc also points to the Heksher Tzedek movement as an important development.

But a larger question is, and I mean no disrespect, but isn’t this whole debacle proof that the Reform were right–from their perspective–to reject the traditional understanding of kashrut?

ddc allows that with eating locally,

Granted if you believe that glatt kosher meat is a must this won’t work and you may have to trade your values for your brisket.

But isn’t that going to be the case usually? So why not just take a stand against kashrut generally? What is the gain to the Reform of ever eating kosher meat (never mind glatt!), under these circumstances?

Why would the Reform want to support the “kosher-nostra”?