LETTERS

To the Editor,

I read the article about kosher laws and ethics with great interest (“Making way for kosher with conscience,” April 7, 2009). Niraj Warikoo writes that “to many Jews, keeping kosher has been simply about rituals commanded by God.” I would add that observing the bible’s kosher laws also involves trust.

An observer of these ancient laws must decide if the kitchen where the food was prepared meets the correct standards, if the owner of the kosher establishment is trustworthy, and also if the rabbi who certifies the food as kosher is knowledgeable and can be trusted. How can we trust a kosher meat industry where ritual compliance is the only priority? As a local kosher supervisor and rabbi, I believe that the letter of the law in Judaism has little meaning without ethics.

The Hekhsher Tzedek is a new dimension of accountability in regulating dietary laws and gives meaning to many who might otherwise not pay attention to holy eating. Hopefully putting new emphasis on ethics will bring more Jewish people to kosher observance.

Rabbi Jason Miller
Farmington Hills