Spirituality

Hekhsher Tzedek

Say Yes!

Conservatives' kosher initiative
launches holiday drive.

Just Say Know' to build
knowledge of Judaism.

Sue Fishkoff
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

San Francisco

L

eaders of the Conservative
movement's ethical kashrut
certification program are tak-
ing their campaign to the next level.
They are inviting Conservative rab-
bis to sign onto the Hekhsher Tzedek
initiative, meeting with at least one
Orthodox kosher certification agency
and making initial overtures to select-
ed kosher food producers that might
seek the new certification.
"We are moving this forward in
the American Jewish community in a
very powerful yet sensitive fashion:'
said Rabbi Morris Allen of Beth Jacob
Congregation in Mendota Heights,
Minn., Hekhsher Tzedek's project
director.
"Doors have opened:' he said, since
the Hekhsher Tzedek guidelines were
released July 31, outlining five areas of
ethical and environmental standards
against which kosher food producers
are to be measured. "People want to
talk to us more'
E-mails were sent the week of
Aug. 25 to the 1,600 members of the
Rabbinical Assembly, the profes-
sional association of Conservative
rabbis, inviting them to partner with
Hekhsher Tzedek in a High Holidays
drive.
The e-mail asked rabbis to address
Hekhsher Tzedek in their High
Holidays sermons and includes a
model sermon and teaching materials.
It also commits those who sign on to
buy products carrying the Hekhsher
Tzedek seal once it is applied, a
process that could begin as early as
January, according to project co-chair
Rabbi Michael Siegel of Anshe Emet
Synagogue in Chicago.
"There's been a very positive
response Siegel said. "Rabbis have
been looking for a way to get more
involver
The materials are being made avail-
able to rabbis from other denomina-
tions, although the e-mail was sent
only to Conservative rabbis.
Rabbi Barry Starr of Temple
Israel in Sharon, Mass., received the
appeal Aug. 29. Noting that he has
already done "a lot of outreach" about

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September 4 • 2008

JN

Hekhsher Tzedek within his congrega-
tion, Starr said he would "mention" it
during the holidays; but it "will not be
the sole theme of my sermon:'
"Many of my people are already not
buying products from Agriprocessors,"
he said, referring to the kosher meat
company whose plant in Postville,
Iowa, was the target of a massive
immigration raid in May.
Rabbi David Glickman of
Congregation Shearith Israel in
Dallas told JTA that while he supports
Hekhsher Tzedek's focus on the ethical
dimensions of kosher food production,
he does not know what his 1,200-
member congregation will decide to
do about the partnership invitation.
"We've come out publicly in support
of the concept and for the need for eth-
ical treatment of workers in factories:'
he said. But, he added, "It's important
not to rush to judgment when accusing
any particular company'

Two Year Effort
The Hekhsher Tzedek guidelines
are the result of two years of work by
a Conservative-sponsored commis-
sion that came together after a 2006
investigation of workers' complaints at
Agriprocessors.
Since the guidelines were made
public, Allen said project leaders and
colleagues from Jewish Community
Action, a social justice group based in
St. Paul, Minn., have been talking to
"people inside the kosher industry"
including rabbis from Orthodox cer-
tification agencies and kosher food
companies that might be the first can-
didates for the Hekhsher Tzedek seal.
The commission is testing the met-
rics developed by KLD Research and
Analytics, Inc., an independent invest-
ment research firm, to measure how
companies behave in five categories:
wages and benefits, employee health
and safety, product development and
animal welfare, corporate transpar-
ency and environmental impact. They
are test-marketing the standards with
one kosher food producer.
An unintended result of the
Agriprocessors raid, Allen said, was
that it opened a national dialogue
about what kosher means and brought
the politics and ethics of Jewish
dietary laws to the front pages of secu-
lar newspapers across the country. ❑

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W

hen challenged to convey
all of Judaism "while
standing on one foot:' the
great sage Hillel cited the mitzvah of
"Love your neighbor as yourself"
This mitzvah encompasses
Judaism's guidelines for becoming
a better person, enhancing relation-
ships, and making the world a better
place. The Just Say "Know" to Judaism
lunch and learn series explores the
texts in Judaism pertinent to this
mitzvah. The weekly sessions are pre-
sented in an entertaining, inspiring,
informative manner.
The first session for the fall begins
on Wednesday, Sept. 10. Topics for this
fall revolve around the role of honesty
between people. It includes the mitz-
vahs of: genuine friendship, keeping
a commitment, inappropriate flattery,
fitting advice and speaking truth. Each
session is designed to stand alone. The
sessions are led by Rabbi Tzvi Muller.
Muller accepted an invitation from
the Yeshiva Beth Yehudah-based Weiss
Family Partners In Torah to move to
Metro Detroit and join the Southfield
organization's faculty.
He serves as educational director
at the Weiss Family Partners In Torah
of Metropolitan Detroit and Senior
Research Fellow for The Center for
Jewish Values in Jerusalem.
Muller is best known for the
humorous, stimulating, and enlight-
ening manner in which he teaches.
"The rabbi is very entertaining. He
uses excellent source material, which
is presented in a user friendly way.
His anecdotes relate very well to real
life situations;' says Rabbi Dorit Edut,

Temple Israel of Bay City.
Muller is developing a comprehen-
sive curriculum for lay people across
North America in an unprecedented
attempt to make the understanding of
interpersonal mitzvahs accessible to
all Jews.
"We are studying core Jewish values
— the ingredients for a life full of
meaning and this brings out some of
Detroit's finest people says Muller.
Muller works in tandem with Judy
Loebl, Federation's Alliance for Jewish
Education associate director, and
Heidi Budaj, director of Jewish life and
learning, Jewish Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit.
Just Say "Know" to Judaism is a
Partners program that is cosponsored
by Federation's Alliance for Jewish
Education and the JCC.
"This program is a great gift to our
community. A person who goes to
even one class comes out a better per-
son," Budaj said.
More than 100 people have attended
so far.
Phillip Litt, a regular attendee of
the program said, "The topics are very
applicable because they deal with how
we treat others. They are about the
basic principles of how to live'
Just Say "Know" to Judaism meets
on Wednesdays, Sept. 10-May 27,
noon-1 p.m. (The program breaks
around the holidays. Please call for
exact schedule.) Cost is $18 per
four-class series or $7 per class.
Lunch is included in the cost. To
register, or for information, call
(248)-JUDAISM (583-2476) or visit
JustSayKnowToJudaism.com.

Spirituality Classes Offered
Two new classes on Jewish spirituality
will start in September at the Baldwin
Public Library in Birmingham.
A class on spiritual self-discovery
will be held Monday nights, Sept.
8,15, 22, at 7:30 p.m., and a class on
spirituality in the workplace will be
held Tuesdays, Sept. 9, 16, 23, at 12:30
p.m.
Both classes are being taught
by Rabbi Boruch Cohen of the
Birmingham-Bloomfield Chai Center.
"Discovering the Spiritual Self' the
Monday night class, will look at the
spiritual quests and discoveries of the

patriarch Abraham
and use them as a
guide to individual
self-knowledge.
The Tuesday lunch-
time class is called
"Spirituality at
Work:' an explora-
tion of spiritual
Rabbi Cohen
values and vision in
the material world,
in particular the workplace.
Registration is required to take a
class. Call the Chai Center at (248)
203-6721 or e-mail chai-rabbi@sbc-
global.net.

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