More Approval Orthodox groups to offer ethical seals for businesses. Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency N San Francisco of to be outdone by their Conservative colleagues, Orthodox groups on both coasts will soon be vetting the ethical standards of businesses serving the Jewish commu- nities. In New York, Uri L'Tzedek, a social jus- tice group founded last year by rabbinical students at the liberal Orthodox Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, is set to launch its Tav HaYosher, or ethical seal. The seal will be awarded to kosher restaurants in New York City that treat their workers fairly. Yosher is a Hebrew word meaning hon- esty or straightness. On the other side of the country, in Los Angeles, three Orthodox rabbis are putting the final touches on Peulat Sachir, or the Ethical Labor Initiative. The term comes from a verse in Leviticus 19 demanding that workers be paid the same day they complete their work. Like the Tav HaYosher, the Los Angeles program involves a seal certifying that an establishment is treating its workers fairly and humanely. Unlike the New York initia- tive, the West Coast operation will offer its seal not just to kosher restaurants but any local business serving the Jewish com- munity, including synagogues, bookstores, even attorneys' and physicians' offices. Both initiatives emerged in response to mounting scandals at Agriprocessors, formerly the nation's largest kosher meat- packing plant that has virtually closed down under a slew of financial difficulties and alleged labor law violations. Strict Commitment Founders of the initiatives declare that as Orthodox Jews, they feel compelled to respond to a situation that cast aspersions on their communal values. "As Orthodox Jews, we have a very strict commitment to the laws of kashrut," said Chovevei Torah student Shmuly Yanklowitz, the co-direc- tor of Uri L'Tzedek. "We see them as sepa- rate from but equally as important as how much you pay somebody" The New York and Los Angeles efforts are modeled closely after the Tav Chevrati, or social seal, a similar initiative run by the four-year-old Israeli nonprofit Bema'aglei Tzedek, or Circles of Justice. The Bema'aglei Tzedek seal is granted free to restaurants that are seen as respect- ing workers' rights and being accessible to those with disabilities. More than 300 restaurants in Israel, including 130 in Jerusalem, display the seal in their win- dows. The Agriprocessors scandals engen- dered widespread public discussion this summer and fall within the American Jewish community about the ethics of kosher food production. The latest was a Dec. 9 forum at Yeshiva University on the ethics of kashrut, where for the first time the heads of three major Orthodox groups debated the role of ethics in kosher certi- fication. Some in the wider community argue that social justice and kashrut are impor- tant but separate concerns. Others hold that they are inextricably entwined, that kosher food produced in an unethical manner is not "fit to eat; one translation of the Hebrew word "kosher." The Conservative movement's response to the issue was the Hekhsher Tzedek, or Social Justice Seal, based on the opinion that the two spheres cannot be separated. The seal, which has been endorsed by the Reform move- ment, will be awarded to kosher food manufactur- ers that meet a broad range of ethical standards regarding treat- ment of workers, environmental concerns, health and safety, and financial transparency. The details of the seal are still being worked out, with a launch date expected next year. It will be awarded only to food products already certified as kosher. While much of the Orthodox commu- nity has criticized the Hekhsher Tzedek as unwieldy at best and, at worst, an attack on the Orthodox-controlled kosher certifi- cation system, the founders of the two new Orthodox seals believe that as Orthodox Jews, they bear a special responsibility for the actions of businesses that cater to their community. The May 12 immigration raid at the Uri L'Tzedek leaders Ari Hart, Shmuly Yanklowitz and Ari Weiss. Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, moved them to take concrete action, first by calling for a boycott of Agriprocessors products, then by developing the Tav HaYosher. The Tav HaYosher seal will be given free to kosher restau- rants in New York City that guar- antee three basic rights to their workers: fair pay; regular time off and a safe and healthy work environment. Restaurants that opt into the system will be vetted by a team of volunteers and then display a certificate showing their adher- ence to these standards. Uri L'Tzedek held its first volunteer training in early December and has qui- etly collected a handful of Manhattan restaurants interested in the project. The group expects to award its first seals in late January. The Los Angeles intiative is not as far along as Uri L'Tzedek's project. Rabbi Daniel Korobkin, the spiritual leader of Kehillat Yavneh in the city's Hancock Park neighborhood, says he and the two others The heads of three major Orthodox groups debated the role of ethics in kosher certification. behind the Peulat Sachir — Rabbi Elazar Muskin of Young Israel of Century City and Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky of B'nai David- Judea Congregation — conceive of it as a covenant that a business owner will sign, pledging to treat his or her workers fairly. The group is still working out the details with its attorneys, but Korobkin says the standards will be commensurate with California labor law: minimum wage, overtime, rest and meal breaks, workers compensation, fair leave policies and anti- discrimination protection. "If a synagogue has a janitorial staff, for instance, we want to make sure that staff is being treated weir he said. Like the New York Orthodox initiative, the L.A. seal is not meant to be punitive. "We want it to be educational, to empower the employer and employee who might not know their rights and obligations:' Korobkin said. But it also goes beyond the volun- tary ethical guidelines proposed by the Rabbinical Council of America for Jewish businesses, he says. Businesses carrying the seal in their window will be reviewed periodically, and owners will be expected to attend regular training sessions. Korobkin says the first Peulat Sachir seals should go up in a couple of months. ❑ December 25 • 2008 B31