The innovative idea for kashrut certification called Hekhsher Tzedek is now making inroads in the Jewish world and gaining the attention of the secular press as well. In a nutshell, Hekhsher Tzedek calls for a supplemental certification of a food company beyond compliance with the laws of kashrut to include certification that it conducts its business ethically.
On a purely conceptual level, integrating the ethical with the ritual is a praiseworthy endeavor rooted in Torah values. Many authoritative hashkafic sources support this notion. Take for instance the powerful imagery Mechilta provides us with respect to the two tablets that contained the Ten Commandments. Etched in the right-hand column were the five precepts relating to our duties to God while the left-hand column presented the precepts relating to our duties vis-a-vis our fellow man.
We of course read these columns vertically. Mechilta broadens our spiritual horizon by urging us to think horizontally by pairing each commandment in the right column with the corresponding commandment in the left column. Thus, for example, when we pair the first Commandment with the sixth Commandment, we learn that if we really believe in God we should see the Divine image in our fellow to the extent that we will never come to deface that image by attacking him.
A further argument for expanding the purview of kashrut certification to the ethical realm is that kashrut organizations are already involved in making judgments about the fitness of a food company beyond the kashrut of its food. Consider that major kashrut organizations routinely refuse to certify the kashrut of hotels and restaurants if the entertainment these establishments provide fails to meet halachic standards.
If the ritual ambiance must be kosher, the ethical domain should not be ignored. The notion that our role in the ethical realm is merely to lobby the government to more vigorously enforce the prohibited conduct it has in place for the firm vis-a vis its stakeholders should therefore be rejected. Instead, we should take an active role in ensuring that these regulations are understood and taken seriously.
In expanding its scope to the ethical realm, the kashrut certifier must be careful not to promise more than it can deliver. It must reject the role of making judgments on whether the conduct of the firm vis-a-vis its various stakeholders meets the standard of tzedek (justice). This is so because an assessment of tzedek will always involve three parties: the firm, the particular stakeholder, and third parties. Rabbis have expertise in kashrut but no professional training in recognizing violations of ethical standards in the workplace, especially if these norms are embodied in government regulations.
And because rabbis have no subpoena power, they cannot adequately investigate complaints and apparent violations. In the hands of a kashrut certifier or a non-professional volunteer group, the judgment of tzedek in the workplace is perforce precarious and will often be an intractable and elusive enterprise. Accordingly, in taking on the ethical realm, the direct role for the kashrut supervisor should be very limited. It should consist only of a duty to report to management suspicious conduct that happens to come to his attention.
In addition, the rabbi should be required to follow up with management as to how it is addressing the problem. Stonewalling on the part of the company will require the certifying agency to turn the matter over to the appropriate government agency for investigation.
The challenge in combining the ethical with the ritual is therefore to achieve integration in a format that is consistent with halacha and at the same time is workable and cost-effective. Hekhsher Tzedek, in the format proposed by its originator, Rabbi Morris Allen, falls short of this criterion. Basically, it takes on a judicial role. And its formulation, as I argued in a previous Jewish Press op-ed article (“Hekhsher Tzedek: Theory And Practice,” Aug. 29), can generate many unintended negative side-effects that are exacerbated because the formulation overreaches by calling for duties beyond what secular law and halacha, strictly speaking, mandate and, in certain aspects, beyond what halacha would recommend even on a supererogatory level.
With the aim of integrating ethical and ritual norms among food producers, consider the following:
Let kashrut organizations incorporate in their contracts with food companies a clause that requires the company to be fully compliant with the dina d’malchuta (government laws and regulations) that apply to their company. These laws cover such matters as minimum wage, prohibition of child labor, illegal immigrants, safety rules, animal welfare and anti-pollution laws.