Dec 3, 2008 -- Rabbis from major Orthodox organizations will address the role that ethics plays in Jewish dietary laws at “The Kosher Quandary: Ethics and Kashrut” at Yeshiva University on Dec. 9. The discussion is a timely response to the controversy surrounding Agriprocessors, one of the largest kosher meatpacking companies in the U.S., which recently filed for bankruptcy after facing criminal charges and fines for labor violations.

The Orthodox community was beset with questions about the relationship of kashrut and ethics after news reports that the Jewish-owned Agriprocessors was raided for employing illegal immigrants, many of whom claimed to be under-age and working in abusive conditions.

Panelists at the student-sponsored event include Rabbi Avi Shafran, director of public affairs at Agudath Israel of America; Rabbi Menachem Genack, rabbinic administrator and CEO of the Orthox Union’s Kashrut Division and a rosh yeshiva [professor of Talmud] at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary; Rabbi Basil Herring, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America; and Shmuly Yanklowitz, co-founder and director of Uri L’Tzedek, an Orthodox social justice organization.

The program serves as the launch event for TEIQU, which stands for A Torah Exploration of Ideas, Questions and Understanding, a student-run organization devoted to nurturing intellectual dialogue on campus surrounding Jewish matters of import. The event is sponsored by the student-run Torah Activities Council, Stern College for Women Student Council, Student Organization of Yeshiva and the Yeshiva College Student Council.

“We want to frame a frank conversation about the relationship between ethics and kashrut to provide the students of Yeshiva University and the broader community with the opportunity to confront these complexities head on,” said Stern College for Women senior Gilah Kletenik, who will moderate the discussion with TEIQU co-founder and director Simcha Gross, a sophomore at Yeshiva College.

“The Kosher Quandary: Ethics and Kashrut” takes place on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. in Weissberg Commons on the Wilf Campus.