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OU’s Longtime RFR’s — Kashrut Supervision Legends in Their Own Time
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By: Bayla Sheva Brenner
Rabbi Shalom Lifchetz – Consummate Mashgiach and Mentch
How many of us consider our work holy? Perhaps even more rare – how many can say they are never bored with their job, ever? Rabbi Shalom Lifchetz, the OU Kashrut Department’s dedicated RFR since 1975, holds these sentiments close to his heart as strongly today as he did three decades years ago. “Every Jew who eats kosher helps to fulfill his purpose in this world,” says Rabbi Lifchetz.“If I am a vehicle to help Jews eat kosher, I feel I am also helping the entire Jewish people.” He says he looks forward to each new day on the job, meeting new people, responsibilities, questions, and new challenges to solve. “I would like to continue to 120 years!” And the OU responds with a resounding “Amen!”
Rabbi Lifchetz’s passion for kashrut work blossomed back in the 1970’s under the warm Miami sun. As Beth Israel Synagogue’s youth director, he developed a close relationship with Rabbi Berel Wein, the synagogue’s then spiritual leader and the OU’s representative, who set up the RFR’s at a number of Miami Beach hotels. Rabbi Lifchetz had moved on to teaching fulltime at the Hebrew Academy when Rabbi Wein thought he might be interested in doing some kashrut supervision on the side. He gladly accepted the offer and not long afterward welcomed the opportunity to join Rabbi Wein (who had assumed the Rabbinical Administrator position at the New York OU office) as a fulltime RFR.
Rabbi Lifchetz’s career at the OU began with visits to New York area plants, in all the five boroughs. The OU realized that it had a diligent professional on its hands and took full advantage of the blessing. His duties expanded to include the entire state of New York, most of New Jersey, and various locations in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. During his first five years, Rabbi Lifchetz’s work involved the inspections of plants and special productions for Passover, as well as the complete kosherizing of non-kosher facilities. “I remember going on a particular special production involving kosherizing a huge plant in Delaware that made emulsifiers,” he says. “It took two-and-ahalf days, around the clock. I would stay in a motel about a block away and they would call me every two hours to come back to take care of the next step of the process.” He did this four to six times a year for a ten-day production, for ten straight years.
Two more conscientious decades later and Rabbi Lifchetz continues to enjoy a superlative reputation among his colleagues and plant managers throughout the New York Tri-State beat, for his scrupulous work.“He is someone you can trust; his word is his word,” says Rabbi Luban, the Executive Rabbinic Coordinator. “We currently have 6,000 certified plants.With each one,we inspect the facility, construct the contract, and recommend certain changes. Afterwards, the office sends an RFR to see that the company maintains the requirements. Then we assign a top RFR to go to the plant to conduct a thorough review, making certain that everything is operating properly. Rabbi Lifchetz is one of those selected few.”
In 1998, when Rabbi Eliyahu Safran, Senior Rabbinic Coordinator and Vice President for Communications and Marketing, created the “Review Division,” comprised of three senior RFR’s, he valued his closer working relationship with Rabbi Lifchetz. “He’s my first phone call of the day,” says Rabbi Safran. “Our morning conversations have become increasingly global, covering the prospective new companies and the crucial reviews he has done in an effort to upgrade standards. I’ve learned an enormous amount from him, not only about the technical aspects of kosher, but the attitude towards kosher; he’s a man of exceptional loyalty who never cuts corners.”
Showing Meticulous Care – Both Human And Technical
Rabbi Lifchetz’s painstaking devotion to his job flows from his depth of character and genuine love for people – clearly demonstrated through the lives he has affected over the years. A New Jersey plant owner confided in Rabbi Lifchetz about his disturbing estrangement from his son. “He told me how painful it was for him,” recalls Rabbi Lifchetz.“He didn’t know what to do about it.” Rabbi Lifchetz felt compelled to speak with the man’s son.“I told him that he won’t have a father forever. And by the time he comes to his senses, his father may be gone and then it will be too late. You have a chance to do this now, so do it now.” The father and son reconciled.
Rabbi Lifchetz believes that an essential aspect of an RFR’s work is how he interacts with others. “He should speak respectfully to the workers, owners and staff of a plant, as well as conduct his work professionally and efficiently,” says the rabbi. “He must always present himself in the proper way.”
The OU requires that new RC’s and RFR’s invest significant time in the field with Rabbi Lifchetz, a seasoned professional who personifies the very essence of “proper.” “I learned everything from him,” says Rabbi Avraham Stone, RFR, who trained with Rabbi Lifchetz. “By watching and observing him, I learned how to inspect a facility, speak with people, problem-solve and analyze a situation in an organized manner, and prioritize. He engenders and commands respect from others, because they recognize his commitment and integrity.” Rabbi Stone was struck by his mentor’s extraordinary precision on the job. “If there is something that necessitates a closer look, a label on an ingredient or something that seems out of place sitting on a rack 18 – 20 ft. high, he’ll get everyone to stop what they’re doing and have it pulled down,” says Rabbi Stone. “There is no stack left unturned, no label unread, no aberration left uninvestigated. When Rabbi Lifchetz comes into a factory, they know to get the forklift ready!”
Companies demonstrate complete trust in Rabbi Lifchetz’s impeccable judgment. “Back sometime in the 1980’s, I encountered a problem in a Delaware plant,” says Rabbi Lifchetz. “While kosherizing the facility, we had to have the equipment we were kosherizing cut off from the non-kosher equipment to prevent contamination. I told them they needed a piece of equipment that would cost them close to $100,000 (a tremendous expense at that time). I assured them that, in the long run, it would save them money.”The company made the purchase without hesitation.
The Best Teacher Keeps On Learning
Rabbi Lifchetz’s meticulousness has kept up with three decades worth of technological advances in the food industry. “Companies today have extremely sophisticated operating systems,” says Rabbi Luban. “There are all kinds of complicated equipment, reactors, spray dryers, homogenizers. Everything is computerized and the RFR’s have to understand exactly how each system works. Rabbi Lifchetz is constantly familiarizing himself with different types of manufacturing facilities and has gleaned a profound understanding of all the kosher issues one has to look out for. He never stops learning. After 30 years, and countless visits to thousands of plants, he maintains the same high level of enthusiasm towards his work.”
Those blessed to know Rabbi Lifchetz, as well as those who have had brief contact with him, are witness to the nobility a human being is capable of achieving. “A few years ago I visited Caravan Products Company (a major baking facility) with Rabbi Lifchetz, to train a new contact,” recounts Rabbi Israel Paretzky, an RC. “The visit occurred during the ‘three weeks’ (Jews observe an annual three-week period of mourning for the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, during which time they refrain from haircuts and shaving.) This is sometimes a bit uncomfortable due to our seemingly unkempt appearance. Rabbi Lifchetz began the meeting by acknowledging that they might have noticed we looked a bit disheveled. He then gave a brief, yet crystal clear, explanation of what had happened in Jewish history and the important customs of mourning. They were noticeably impressed that we were still commemorating the destruction of our Temple, so many years later, in such a tangible way. It was a typical example of Rabbi Lifchetz’s brilliant and characteristically professional approach.”
According to Rabbi Genack, Rabbi Lifchetz’s approaches everything he does with an air of importance, including his active concern for people. “He will call to inform me about someone in a particular company experiencing a happy occasion or, God forbid, tragedy,” says Rabbi Genack.“He tells me,‘You ought to write them a letter.’”
Rabbi Lifchetz’s demonstrates his at the-ready love for people inside and outside the plant walls, among friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. Rabbi Gavriel Finkel, a New Jersey-based RFR with the OU for 15 years, got his start through Rabbi Lifchetz. “He helped me at a time when I needed a job,” says Rabbi Finkel. “And I’m not the only one. There are many others whom he helped over the years. He does it gladly.” Rabbi Finkel found himself substituting for Rabbi Lifchetz while his colleague was recuperating from an accident. He met with the same greeting at every plant he visited. “Without exception, all the workers asked me where Rabbi Lifchetz was. They were all very concerned about his welfare. They said: ‘He’s such a nice fellow, such a professional.’”
So what separates the boys from the men and today’s RFR’s from the OU’s proficient pioneers? Rabbi Lifchetz was attending a bar mitzvah celebration hosted by one of the top administrators in OU Kashrut. Many rabbis from different certifying agencies sat around Rabbi Lifchetz’s table. An elderly gentleman, who owns a kashrut agency, asked the young rabbis at the table what each of them does. One said, “flavors,” another, “spices,” the next, “chemicals,” and the following,“bakeries.” He turned to Rabbi Lifchetz and asked him what he does. “Me?” he answered. “I’m a GP!”
A generation of the OU Kashrut Division’s RFR “GP’s” are indebted to Rabbi Lifchetz’ sterling example.
