Spirituality A woman at the hechsher tzedek workshop rises to comment to the group and to Vic Rosenthal of Jewish Community Action of St. Paul, Minn., where the movement began. Hechsher Tzedek Kashrut with an emphasis on ethical standards offers another option. Marcy J. Levinson Jewish Renaissance Media Orlando, Fla. y ou shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fel- low countryman or a stranger" (Deuteronomy 24:14 15) is the basis for hechsher tzedek, a new concept in kosher food that is getting much attention in the Jewish community. The concept was a hot topic at the inter- national biennial of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) in Orlando from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3. A joint effort between the Rabbinical Assembly and United Synagogue, hech- sher tzedek is a social action program, according to the brochure, to "display a seal on already designated kosher foods that reflects production benchmarks consistent with Jewish ethical standards, including how companies treat their employees." Hechsher tzedek would supplement, not replace, other kosher certifications, such as that of the Orthodox Union (OU). The project comes after several years of bad publicity for kosher slaughterhouses, raising doubts about the humane treat- ment of the animals and workers and undermining support outside Orthodox ranks for living a kosher life. In addition to passing a resolution - A24 December 27 • 2007 endorsing the effort, the biennial included a workshop to educate Conservative Jews about the idea. Presenting at the workshop were Rabbi Morris Allen of St. Paul, Minn., who launched the effort and is the project director, and Richard Lederman, who is the director of public policy and social action for the USCJ. Although the hechsher tzedek seal does not yet appear on any kosher items, the committee has established a policy state- ment and working guidelines by which an item can earn the seal. Among the criteria are wages and ben- efits, employee health and safety, employee training, product development, corporate transparency and integrity, and environ- mental impact. According to the draft policy state- ment, "compliance will be assessed, as applicable and wherever possible, at the level of the facility where the product was manufactured, although overall corn- pany performance will also be taken into account." Rabbi Allen said the campaign is mul- tifaceted in that it will allow members of the Jewish community who may not be "connected" or affiliated to get involved in a social justice project and help com- munity members create relationships with businesses. "Getting people connected in organizing work within the synagogue keeps them connected and gets them doing things they'd never done before Rabbi Allen said. He said campaign supporters will reach out to business owners who may consider adhering to the five benchmarks of hechsher tzedek to help maintain ethi- cal Jewish standards and possibly help increase the sales of their products by bearing the seal. We want the average member of a synagogue, regardless of affiliation, to own this campaign:' Rabbi Allen said. Vic Rosenthal, the executive director of Jewish Community Action out of Saint Paul, who is involved in the campaign, said, "We are trying to change the way businesses operate." According to the workshop presenters, Hechsher Tzedek Here is a list of key messages about hechsher tzedek: • It is a seal to be placed on already designated kosher products, reflect- ing production benchmarks consistent with Jewish ethical standards. • The evaluation process is uniform, objective and verifiable. • Hechsher tzedek is not a replace- ment for any kosher designation, but an accompanying seal. • Submitting to the hechsher tzedek process is voluntary. hechsher tzedek is not getting universal support among Jewish denominations. The OU believes in hechsher tzedek but doesn't think we should be doing it," Rabbi Allen said. He said the Chabad- Lubavitch movement has said it will with- draw its hashgachah (certification) from any product with hechsher tzedek. The Lubavitch movement, however, does not have a national or international kashrut commission to give or take away hash- gachah. Rabbi Allen said the Conservative movement is not seeking to change kosher standards, but to include a higher level of social justice. Marcy J. Levinson writess for the JN's sister newspaper, the Atlanta Jewish Times. • Hechsher tzedek will demonstrate that ritual and ethical commandments have an equal place at Jewish tables and that isolating one at the expense of the other does a disservice to Jewish tradition and the meaning of keeping kosher. According to the policy statement, the hechsher tzedek movement "began as a response to reports and accounts of production cycle practic- es in companies that produce kosher food that were found to be contrary to Jewish law and ethics."