Menachem Malinger is the new chaplain of the Maximum Security Ely State Prison, a spokesman from the Department of corrections confirmed this week.
An orthodox rabbi hailing from Los Angeles via Israel Malinger began work at the prison late last month and currently resides in McGill.
With the number of Jews in eastern Nevada perhaps numbering in the low 20’s and the number of orthodox Jews even less Malinger is the first rabbi ever to make a permanent home in the High Desert.
As chaplain of Ely Max Malinger’s job entails he serve the spiritual needs of all the inmates of the facility, a position similar to military chaplains in the United States Armed forces.
While Malinger has been trained to administer to all faiths, being an orthodox Jew carries with it a whole set of unique issues a Christian chaplain would not have to think about. Malinger cannot eat at any of the restaurants in Ely or eat the meat sold in any of the white Pine County food stores.
However thanks to a lawsuit brought by an inmate and settled this year, kosher food is available at the Ely State prison
Orthodox groups praised the court victory of a Jewish convert fighting for kosher food in a Nevada prison, describing it as upholding a law protecting religious rights for the incarcerated. In its Dec. 2 2011 ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court must determine the sincerity of Lawrence Seville Parks’ religious beliefs if the trial is to move forward. Parks has claimed that his constitutional rights were violated because he was initially refused kosher food on the grounds that he couldn’t show a “hereditary connection” to Judaism or deep understanding of the religion. Parks is a black convert.
According to Morrison and Foerster, the legal firm representing Parks, the appellate court said the lower court “erred in issuing a summary judgment against Mr. Parks by failing to apply the strict scrutiny standard required by the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).” Orthodox groups that had lobbied hard for passage of RLUIPA in 2000 praised the ruling. “While we have not yet read the details of the appellate court decision, it is gratifying that RLUIPA is serving – in a general sense — its intended purpose of effectively protecting the religious rights of prisoners,” said Abba Cohen, the Washington director for Agudath Israel of America. “Indeed, in this case the inmate’s right to receive kosher food turned on the very question of RLUIPA’s applicability. The statute fills a gaping hole regarding a vulnerable population. The lower court’s ruling – which emphasized inappropriate criteria (heredity and philosophical understanding) and utilized a deficient standard (rational basis) – shows how little recognition inmate’s rights would otherwise receive.” Echoed Nathan Diament, who directs the Orthodox Union’s Washington office: “This is an important and correct decision by the court. It’s why we worked to get RLUIPA enacted and bodes well for religious freedom in the US.” In September, officials at Ely State Prison in Nevada began providing Parks with kosher food after he reportedly lost about 45 pounds. The appeals court ruling determined that his claim for damages isn’t erased because he is now receiving the food.
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food that may be consumed according to Jewish law is termed kosher in English. Food that is not in accordance with Jewish law is called treif.
Only meat from particular species is permissible. Mammals that both chew their cud and have cloven hooves can be kosher. Animals with one characteristic but not the other (the camel, the hyrax and the hare because they have no cloven hooves, and the pig because it does not ruminate) are specifically excluded.
However mammals and fowl must be slaughtered by a trained individual using a special method of slaughter. Among other features, kosher slaughter severs the jugular vein, carotid artery, esophagus and trachea in a single continuous cutting movement with an unserrated, sharp knife. Failure of any of these criteria renders the meat of the animal unsuitable.
