Tag Archive for kashrut

Faith, money and the kosher food industry

March 31, 2016 Uncategorized No comments
This article was constructed with the help of either writings, lectures or shiurim of  Rabbi’s, Baruch Dopelt, Yossi Bilus,
Rabbi Noach Isaac Oelbaum, Asher Hurzberg,  Tanya chapters 7-8

I remember when M&M’s, Snickers and Milky Ways received their kosher OU certification. Those were the classic candy bars we ate as kids. Our teachers and parents informed us soon after that those beloved chocolates were not kosher. I must say we were deeply disappointed; for a child that was my biggest test.  I remember saying “G-d All Mighty, what’s a kid supposed to eat? Hard candy?” Many years later, when I was in my 30’s it was announced that those candy/chocolate bars got an “OU dairy”. I felt liberated. That day,  I remember buying, proudly, a pack of M&M’s  and marching down the station to catch the F train to go home from work and to my pleasant surprise seeing another Jew with a Yarmulke holding an M&M pack grinning at me.  Without hesitating twice, my response was the famous M&M’S commercial slogan: “It melts in your mouth, not your hands.”
Kosher stand at Citi Fields New York Mets Baseball team

Kashrut is a Biggy in Judaism. A very big deal. As my father once said to me, and he had no idea that I would end up becoming a Rabbi, “Don’t ever go into kashrut, it’s a dirty business.” Where did this come from? My grandfather was a Shochet – ritual slaughterer. He had a colleague who, like himself, was a Shochet and was in fact threatened with his life by the store owner to give a certification for a non-kosher animal. This took place in the early 1900 in Samarkand.  My friends were not surprised, when I retold this story for they too heard something similar that occurred in their own community’s historic past.

How low can people get to sell their soul for money? How can you be the cause of making others eat non-kosher?  The only reason we can give is that it happens to be a lot of money and when there is money at stake people lose themselves.  Don’t be mistaken, I know there are many very honest and hardworking people in the Kashrut industry.   I must commend every Rabbi, every mashgiach, and every kashrut organization for its near impossible task. The kashrut business is tough and carries a very big responsibility. The temptation is great and the sin is also great. Even if one only eats non-kosher because he thinks it is kosher there are still great repercussions. Why?
In life there is luxury and necessity. Food, it’s a necessity. Ever notice that when one is feeling down and out and the whole world seems like it’s caving in, that if one were to consume even a slight portion of food, within minutes they are like a new person. The confidence is back; the strength is re-captured, and the color is back on the face
Food can be your best friend or your worst enemy.  Everything has to be measured; we have to be careful not to skip meals, ignore body cues, and especially not eat when we’re full, because it’s there, it’s so good, or because it’s left on their child’s plate. Oops! Down the hatch it goes. We have to be mindful, and mindful eating comes with an awareness of tastes, textures, smells.
After a certain age we have to be careful; we have to be additionally mindful how much goes in to the tank. There is Blood Type Diet, Fit for Life, The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet, vegetarian, vegan etc. How many of us have been on and off carbs, on and off proteins? How many have gorged on fruits and vegetables?
Food can also be a delicacy. When it comes to the consumption of food we Jews have some of the best kitchens. We like to eat. Some of us are obsessed with Shabbat Kiddushs; they are obsessed with getting the right caterers for their happy occasions. Meissner’s meatballs, Mealmart’s pastrami in mustard sauce, Romania’s Deli in Chicago; I can go on and on. Bottom line, the Jewish food industry is thriving and its big business a very big business.
It could have been even bigger business, except one little obstruction stands in the way. Kashrut.
The laws of kosher food are introduced to the Jewish people in this week’s Parsha. All the commandments must be performed if for no other reason than because God has commanded us. However, the Torah concludes its presentation of dietary laws with a strict warning of another reason not to partake of “taref.” “Do not contaminate yourselves through them lest you become contaminated through them” [Ch. 11, verse 43]
Messilat Yesharim explains: “Forbidden food brings impurity into the heart and soul of a person–literally–until God distances Himself from the one who ate them… Forbidden foods are worse than other sins because they actually enter a person’s body and become a part of his flesh.”
In more contemporary terms: “You are what you eat!” When Moshe was rescued from the Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter, he would not nurse from the Egyptian women. Rashi explains that the mother’s milk has in it the elements of the food’s she has consumed, therefore Moshe, who was to converse with God, could not partake of such impurity. Mother’s milk, which is merely a byproduct of what she has eaten, has in it the potential “dull the heart and instill a bad nature in the infant.”[Rama/Yoreh Deah 81:7]
Now we understand the problem with eating non-kosher food, even if you’re under a false impression. But how does it dull the soul?
First let’s examine why food is spiritually important.  Whether it be holidays, Shabbat or for that matter, every time we eat we have a chance to elevate our souls to a higher realm. Let’s take an example.
One famous time of the year where certain foods shine is Rosh Hashana, for it protects us for the entire year. On Rosh Hashanah, a traditional practice is to eat simanim, or symbolic foods, in order to symbolize good things for the future.  How does it work? Can it really benefit us?
The origin of eating simanim can be found in the Talmudic discussion of omens (Horayot 12a; Keritot 6a). Abayei comments that since “simana milta” that is, “omens are of significance,” a person should make it a practice to “see” [other texts state to “eat”] five specific symbolic foods at the Rosh Hashanah table.
Interestingly, on Tu b’Shevat we have a tradition to eat fruit. The fruits repairs one’s eating for the entire year, so much so, that our eating can become like that of Adam and Eve before their spiritual fall (Pri Tzadik, Parashat Beshalach). Since their spiritual fall and contraction came about through impulsively eating from a tree, we can create a spiritual elevation and expansion by eating fruits in mindfulness and holiness.
We are capable of expanding holiness into the realm of pleasure because the source of our souls is located in the lofty ‘Ta’anug/ Divine pleasure’. (Noam Elimelech, Parashat Shemot) The Shabbat Aravit prayer calls us an ‘am medushnei oneg”  or a “people saturated with delight.” Each of us is capable of this ecstatic delight, even amid our worldly needs and concerns. Thus, it’s important to enjoy what you eat.
Another food which has tremendous spiritual benefit is Matzah. Matzot are baked quickly, in an effort to overcome the influences and limitations of time. We bake flat, crisp matzah in order to reenact the Exodus, when the Children of Israel fled Egypt in a hurry, as the Torah says: “You shall eat matzot during seven days…bread of suffering, for you departed Egypt in great haste.” This mitzvah teaches that God’s control of nature and history is above and beyond the constraints and limitations of time. God does not require cause and effect. He does not need time in order to accomplish His goals. On Passover, we too must emulate God and become creative spiritually by hurrying time, by acting with zeal and speed, by living life beyond time, in partnership with God who is above time and is timeless. We respond to God’s Will by acting in defiance of nature, by breaking the limits imposed by time and nature.
ONE SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE FOOD ON HIS TABLE
Rabbi Yesa opened and said the following about the verse (Exodus 25:23), “You shall make a Table of acacia wood…”. This table stands inside the Tabernacle and a supernal blessing dwells upon it. From it emerges food for the whole world, and this table should not be empty even for one moment. There should be food on it, because the blessing is not present in an empty place. Therefore, bread must constantly be on it, in order that the supernal blessing shall always be present in it. And from that table, blessing and food come out to all the other tables of the world, for they are blessed due to it.
The table of every person has to be before him at the time that he blesses G-d in order that the blessing from above should dwell upon it and should not appear empty. For the blessings from above do not dwell in an empty place, as it is written: “Tell me, what have you in the house?” (II Kings 4:2)
THE SPIRITUAL ABC OF FOOD
When a person has a craving, a hunger for bread, this is but a reflection of his soul’s craving for the Divine utterance that is the “soul” of the bread, which the human being “redeems” by utilizing the energy he or she derives from the food towards a G-dly purpose.
There is a deep meaning of the verse (Psalms 107:5): “The hungry and thirsty, in them does their soul envelope itself.” A person desiring food may sense only his body’s hunger. In truth, however, “enveloped within” his physical hunger and thirst is his soul’s hunger for the “soul” of the food — the “sparks of holiness” within it which it is his mission to redeem.
The great Kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria (the “Ari”, 1534-1572) taught that every created thing possesses a “spark” of divine energy that constitutes its essence and soul. When a person utilizes something toward a G-dly end, he brings to light this divine spark displaying it and realizing the purpose for which it was created. In all physical substances, a material “husk” (kelipah) encases and conceals the divine spark at its core, causing great effort on the part of man to access the spark. But accessing the spark is crucial for the one eating the food and for the world. The world gains a spiritual force.
No existence is free from a divine spark — certainly, nothing can exist without the spark of G-dliness that infuses it with being and purpose. But not every spark can be actualized. There are certain “solid” elements whose sparks are inaccessible to us. The fact that something is forbidden by the Torah means that its husk cannot be penetrated, so that its spark remains locked within it and cannot be elevated.
Thus, one who eats a piece of kosher meat and then uses the energy gained from it to perform a mitzvah, thereby elevates the spark of divinity that is the essence of the meat, freeing it of its mundane embodiment and raising it to a state of fulfilled spirituality. However, if one would do the same with a piece of non-kosher meat, no such “elevation” would take place. Even if he applied the energy to positive and G-dly ends, this would not constitute a realization of the divine purpose in the meat’s creation, since the consumption of the meat was an express violation of the divine will.
This is the deeper significance of the Hebrew terms assur and mutar used by Torah law for the forbidden and the permissible. Assur, commonly translated as “forbidden,” literally means “bound”, implying that these are things whose sparks the Torah has deemed bound and imprisoned in a shell of negativity and constrained. Mutar (“permitted”), which literally means “unbound,” is the term for those sparks which the Torah has empowered us to disengage from their mundane embodiment and actively involve in our positive undertaking.
The “bound” elements of creation also have a role in the realization of the divine purpose outlined by the Torah. But their role is a “negative” role – they exist so that we should achieve a conquest of self by resisting them. “I will not eat” – this is a commandment to not do something. There is no Torah-authorized way in which they can actively be involved in our development of creation, no way in which they may themselves become part of the “dwelling for G-d” that we is charged to make of our world. Of these elements it is said, “Their breaking is their rectification.”  Whether it be McDonalds, Burger King, they exist to be rejected and defeated, and it is in their defeat and exclusion from our lives that their purpose is realized.
But by eating kosher one enhances spirituality in himself. He makes use of the spark that is incorporated in the food therefore releasing the food from its mundane status and it too is spiritually elevated. So we see this is one of the sources of spirituality, “food”‘.
We learn a valuable lesson about priorities from non-other than Avraham Avinu, our forefather. Avraham was a very rich man. It says G-d blessed Avraham “BA’KOL”, with everything. One should always have loyal people working for you. Avraham had his faithful servant Eliezer by his side. The verse states about Eliezer “HAMOSHEL” – he was in charge of all of Avraham’s possessions. Avraham, as the pasuk seemingly implies, trusted Eliezer wholeheartedly. However, peculiarly and, for the most part, very out of character when it came to finding a mate for his son Yitzchak Avraham made Eliezer swear that he will go down and find him a girl as he specifically instructed. What happened to the loyalty? What happened to the trusted servant that you rely on and have faith with all your possessions?
The answer is simple. Granted Avraham had complete trust in Eliezer when it came to financial matters. However when it came to matchmaking, finding a wife, the spiritual essence of the future of Israel, that’s different!!! That is separate from the money. That is faith and there, one has to raise the stakes.
Kashrut is separate then money, it’s the spiritual essence of the Jewish people. We have to have reliable certificates on the food we eat. We have to trust the people in charge to take all the precautions that will enable them not to tempted by greed, the mighty dollar.

 

Dealing with life and death

April 17, 2015 Uncategorized No comments
This article was constructed with the help of either writings, lectures or shiurim of  Rabbi’s,Yisschar Frand, Baruch Dopelt, Aharon Tendler Dr. Abba Goldman

 

Sassoon children

In this week’s parsha we read about the sudden tragic and untimely death of Aharon’s two sons Nadav and Avihu, the air apparent to Moshe and Aharon, the leaders of Israel. There have been many reasons given of why they died, however, perhaps it might be interesting to explore and possibly learn a lesson on to reconcile with passing of a loved one or prepare for our departure after a hundred and twenty years.

Most people are afraid of death and dying, and almost none of them ask themselves, “Why?” “Why are we afraid of death and dying?” It seems that something that must happen to everyone should have gained a degree of acceptance that mitigates the fear. Yet, we are afraid.
Some will explain that the fear of death is the fear of pain. Granted, that is true for those who unfortunately die in pain; however, there are many who peacefully pass away in their sleep, seemingly in painless journey to the next stage of their existence. Yet, we are afraid.
There are those who will explain the fear of death as the fear of the unknown. In general we fear change and we fear the untried or untested; yet, there are many who thrive on adventure and exploration, and it seems that the after-life is the greatest adventure possible. This adventure is ingrained in us as a result of being exposed to popular science fiction storylines involve exploring “to boldly go where no man has gone before”, the afterlife.
Others will explain the fear of death as the fear of not living. Life is filled with opportunities for accomplishment and love. Who wouldn’t wish to be present at their grandchild or hopefully great-grandchild’s wedding and beyond? Who wouldn’t wish the added time to learn one more page of Talmud, do one more Chessed (kindness), hear one more symphony or nigun (tune), read one more classic, or admire one more majestic display of G-d’s natural grandeur?
Perhaps, one is afraid of dying because he missed an opportunity. Being sensitive enough to grasp the subtle message that G-d is trying to convey throughout our lifetime might not be so easy. Perhaps, that’s our task in this world. So it seems like before we continue with dealing with death one must know how to live!!!  
The Talmud relates a story of Rebbi Eliezer ben Dordia who was a womanizer to say the least. He was under the impression that every woman was permissible to him. One of his conquests made a chance remark one time, with a snickering expression, alluding to the fact that his actions in his lifetime will never enable any repentance to be accepted and he’ll never see the gates in heaven. In one’s lifetime there are few, very few times, where words pierce the heart. Her words had such a powerful effect on him that he sat down on a mountain and cried until he died. A heavenly voice proclaimed, “R Eliezer did repentance and has entered the World to Come”.
What is mind boggling is what  the Talmud conveys next. The Talmud continues describing how Rebbi cried after hearing the story. Everybody in the study hall wondered why was he crying? He should have been joyous towards R’ Eliezer. R’ Eliezer ben Dordia had raised himself from the degrading cesspool in life, to a place in heaven in an instant, wow!! R’ Eliezer ben Dordia was able to capitalize on the feeling in which he was so overwhelmed by the words of his companion in sin.
So why was Rebbi crying when he heard the story of R’ Eliezer? Rebbi didn’t cry for R’ Eliezer’s sake, but rather for all of humanity. Each one of us experiences a moment of awakening that is capable of impacting one’s entire life. Yet only one in a thousand, in fact, utilizes the moment. Most of us miss a chance; that is the very reason why we were put on this earth. This is why Rebbi cried.
 Perhaps, this is what we should be afraid of when our time is up. There will be nothing more embarrassing than to face the Creator and be seen one’s potential that was not taken.
In order to better understand the concept of death one should be aware of an interesting topic in our Torah.
 “Tell the Israelites to procure for you a red heifer that is free from every blemish and defect and on which no yoke has ever been laid…” (Bamidbar. 19:2ff).
One of the biblical conditions for the rebuilding of the Third Temple in Jerusalem may have perhaps been met recently when a red heifer was discovered in the United States.
In January 2014 a red heifer, or Parah Adumah, was born to a cow herding family in an undisclosed location in the US, who wish to see the animal used for the purity service during the preparations for the rebuilding of the Third Temple.
The family has reportedly not marred or maimed the animal in any way, nor will they be using the animal for work or feeding it any growth hormones. All this to comply with Jewish law of keeping the animal as nature created it. It should be under strict watch until it reaches 3 years old.
The red heifer is a cow whose coat has no more than one single hair of any color other than red, and whose skin, hoofs, and eyelids are all also reddish. The Red Heifer is an extremely rare creature. The uniqueness of the red heifer, aside from its irregularity in nature – there has not been a red heifer born in Israel in over 2,000 years.
Strict rules also apply to its color. Two single hairs of a color other than red automatically disqualify it from becoming a Red Heifer. A Red Heifer candidate that was discovered in 2000 was disqualified after two black hairs were found on it.
Likewise, a cow that meets all other criteria, but is older than four is disqualified. The present calf has a long way until, if at all, it will become a real Red Heifer.
The discovery of a red calf that could potentially become a Red Heifer-Parah Adumah excites many Jews who believe that Moshe prepared the first Red Heifer and Mashiach will prepare the last one.
Parah Adumah is the classic example of a Torah law which seems to have –at least for us — no rationale. When a person comes into contact with a dead body he becomes ‘tameh’, “spiritually impure”, and the only way for him to regain his state of purity is to be sprinkled with the water which was mixed with the ashes of the Parah Adumah, the Red Heifer, which make him ‘tahor’ -“spiritually clean” once again. The topic of the red cow is very confusing: although it can purify the impure, the people who are involved in the process of preparing and administering the ashes of the Red Heifer become impure. Therefore, it remains the quintessential ‘chok’ – “a law without an apparent reason”.
Or Hachaim Hakadosh says, that Parah Adumah is the mainspring of performing commandments without rationale and therefore its labeled “the Chok of the Torah” [Bamidbar 19:2] . This Commandment embodies the very essence of Torah. Why? Because Torah –no matter how much we delve into its laws and no matter how much we try to understand it — ultimately presents a religion which one must practice even though he does not understand the why and the wherefore. The basis of accepting Torah is “We will do and we will listen” [Shmot 24:7]. One has to be prepared to accept even without fully understanding. That is why the verse emphasizes “This is the Chok of the Torah”. This law personifies Torah. This law teaches what Torah is all about: we must do it even if we don’t understand.
Our next question is: why is this particular law used to teach us this principle?
Forbidden mixtures (sha’tnez) are a chok; Milk and Meat is a chok; there are dozens of ‘chukim.’ Yet this is THE law that represents the fulfillment of Torah even when we do not understand. Why Parah Adumah?
Rabbi Yissachar Frand saw an interesting interpretation in the Shemen HaTov. Our Sages tell us that this world received a terrible punishment called ‘Death’ as a result of the incident with the Tree of Knowledge. Up until Adam and Chava ate from that tree, there was not supposed to be anything in this world called ‘Death’. Once they violated the prohibition to consume the fruit of that tree, Death descended into the world.
What was the key behind the sin of the Tree of Knowledge? It was so that “You may be like Elokim — knowing Good and Evil” [Bereishis 3:5]. The motivating factor behind that original sin was because people wanted to know ‘Why’. The snake fueled Chava’s curiosity.
Man does not want to be a robot. He has curiosity. He has a desire (ta’avah) to know ‘Why’. That passion led to the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. As a result of that we received an appropriate punishment — death. How does one deal with death? When one has confronted death, he needs to subsequently confront the Parah Adumah, the Red Heifer. The Parah Adumah represents our inability to know why.
That is why this is the appropriate punishment for the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. Man’s burning desire to know why – led him to death, and death makes man deal with the Parah Adumah, which teaches him that he cannot always know why. That is what life does about — sometimes not know why. That is why specifically this mitzvah represents the essence of what Torah is about: doing, even without necessarily knowing why we are doing.
At times of personal tragedy it is common for the individual to question G-d’s foresight. We feel that pain and loss justify the challenges and excuse the occasional lack of civility. Certainly, we cannot judge those who challenge G-d or society when it is due to personal loss or pain. However, even pain requires a perspective. The story of Nadav and Avihu provides the perspective.
In the aftermath of their deaths, the verse states, “Vayidome Aharon – and Aharon was silent.” What does Vayidome mean? It means acceptance. Aharon’s silence did not indicate a lack of emotion or feeling. It revealed the profundity of his personal devotion and sense of responsibility. As the Kohain Gadol he did not have the luxury of venting his pain. At the time of his inauguration, at the time of the lighting of the Mizbeach, he would not voice feelings that challenged G-d and served his own emotional needs. Instead he was silent.
Aharon was not the only one who was silent. Elazar and Isamar, the brothers of Nadav and Avihu, were also silent. They too had suffered a terrible personal tragedy and they too remained silent. Moshe was their uncle and teacher. He too had suffered a terrible personal loss. He too contained his feelings and remained silent.
In 11:2 Rashi writes, “At that moment, G-d’s directive to teach the Bnai Yisroel the laws of the Kosher and the non-Kosher animals, fish, and fowl was directed to all of them (Moshe, Aharon, Elazar, and Isamar) equally. Why? Because they were all equal in their silence and they had all accepted G-d’s decree with love.” G-d rewarded the family of Aharon with the opportunity of teaching the Bnai Yisroel the laws of Kashrut. Why was this their just reward for their silence in the face of personal tragedy?
Kashrut is one of classic “Chukim – statutes.” Although the Torah tells us that the laws of Kashrut are intended to “Make us holy – to set us apart from the other nations – to be Kadosh – nevertheless, it does not reveal why each individual item was permitted or forbidden. Why beef but not ham? Why Gefilta fish but not lobster quiche? Yet, Kashrus, more so than any other category of Mitzvot, dominates the religious life style of the Jew.
As with all the Mitzvot, personal preference does no enter into the equation. 
Kashrus is all the time. At home, the office, on airlines, in the Far East, and Queens Blvd. Kashrut is the standard of the observant Jew.
Just as the Kohain must serve the nation and not himself, so too, must the Jew be identified by the standards of our nation and not his personal cravings.
Because Aharon, Elazar, and Isamar set aside their personal pain and grief and accepted G-d’s devastating decree in silence and love, they merited joining Moshe in teaching the laws of Kashrut.
There is no doubt that a loved one’s passing will always be missed. When my father passed away, Rabbi Yitzchak Aminoff, who had lost his father when he was a teenager, said to me that he still feels a certain pain even now and he’s a great grandfather. 
Sitting shiva for my father, in Israel, where many of my relatives reside almost twelve years ago, I will never forget an incident.  I dosed off briefly and I saw a tall bald man approach me. He bent over and touched my hand; it was very comforting as I quickly awakened. I looked around and no one was in the vicinity except my mother and uncle, who had also dosed off, sitting shiva  next to me. The moment was a mystery till recently when I realized that as a child I always envisioned G-d as Bald. I kind of sensed that I knew, back then that it was who it is but I was in denial. If one tells you that he had contact with G-d then I equate him with the individual in the fifth avenue station who constantly brags he has conversation with G-d. Regardless if it was HE or just a desperate subconscious leap for comfort, I was in tremendous pain, considering how close I was with my father.
 Many have said to me “death is part of life”. We brought this punishment upon ourselves. But, now we see there is an added punishment that pertains to “tree of knowledge” devastation and that is “why” will never be answered until the future days where all our questions will have an explanation and G-d will lift the terrible sanctions and we will, not only, be death free, but also reunite with our deceased loved ones…..Amen.