Chodesh Tov/Rabbi Hanoch Teller

A great story told by a master storyteller--better still--it's TRUE!

The Jewish Press has made great and important changes in recent months. Now it’s my column’s turn: “Chodesh Tov” will also undergo some revision. First, it has a new name, and second, a new focus. I am proud to report that the author (yours truly) will remain constant.

The conclusion to Shalom Rubashkin's circuitous route through the US legal system that ultimately led to justice

Another installment in the ongoing injustice perpetrated against Shalom Rubashkin. Chodesh Tov

Another installment in the ongoing Rubashkin saga

Another installment in the Rubashkin saga.

Another installment in the ongoing Rubashkin saga

Another installment in the ongoing Rubashkin saga

The ongoing saga of the incarceration and punitive pursuit of Shalom Rubashkin.

The ongoing saga of the incarceration and punitive pursuit of Shalom Rubashkin.

On April 2, 2008, Shalom Rubashkin invited the the Iowa Department of Labor to enter the plant without a warrant...

Rubashkin was treated like no other defendant ever arrested on illegal immigration violations. The federal prosecutors sent marshals to handcuff and shackle him as they led him past a phalanx of waiting photographers and TV crews

While we rejoice at the recent release of Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin from prison, the series continues this month and beyond.

While we rejoice at the recent release of Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin from prison, the series continues this month and beyond.

Another installment on the ongoing assault against Agriprocessor. This week's article discusses unions taking on the Rubashkins.

The ongoing Rubashkin saga has a new character--the unions.

The desire to build a social justice program with a huge lucrative potential, required an appalling trigger. Agriprocessors and Rubashkin fulfilled that need

These PETA people are not Orthodox Jews. So, why would they so strongly criticize a kosher packing plant for what they believe to be violations of kosher practice? They are using tactics similar to the Nazis.

These PETA people are not Orthodox Jews. So, why would they so strongly criticize a kosher packing plant for what they believe to be violations of kosher practice?

With the opening of Agri in 1987, Postville was beset with what the locals dubbed, “The Jewish Invasion.” The arrival of the Jews caused a local polarization.

Rubashkin’s idea was sound. A kosher slaughterhouse located in Pottsville, Iowa provided many benefits for consumers of kosher meat and the local economy.

The conclusion to the legal saga of whether Dr. Simcha Goldman could wear his yarmulke while serving in the US Air Force. Chodesh Tov!

The ongoing legal saga of whether Dr. Simcha Goldman could wear his yarmulke while serving in the US Air Force

Goldman's case would be the first time the Supreme Court considered a service member’s right of Free Exercise as protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution.

The ongoing legal saga of whether Dr. Simcha Goldman could wear his yarmulke while serving in the US Air Force

Somehow, Simcha Goldman wearing a yarmulke in uniform was perceived as an act of insurrection that could weaken the very foundations of the military. But how?

The ongoing saga of the yarmulke wearing Dr. Simcha Goldman and the US Air Force

The Air Force’s defense was that the Constitution only protected a genuine religious law; not a personal preference. Wearing a yarmulke, they argued, was not the law.

Goldman's fight against the entire military establishment was stressful yet, oddly, exhilarating. He felt the Almighty was tapping him on the shoulder, whispering, “I want you to pull this off for Me”

Law-abiding, mild-mannered, Rabbi Dr. (Psychology) Simcha Goldman was unprepared to obey the direct order of his commander that he could NOT wear his yarmulke outside the hospital. Strike 2 on Goldman