Schulem Rubin

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Schulem Rubin (June 26, 1926 – June 21, 2001) was a long-time public official and rabbi in New York. For more than two decades, he served as Director of the Kosher Law Enforcement Division of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, under three governors. In this role he often represented the state in court to defend New York’s kosher laws. He also led the rabbis of Young Israel of Pelham Parkway, one of the Bronx’s largest Orthodox synagogues, and served there as a rabbi for about 50 years.

In 1972 Rubin tried to visit American Jewish soldiers held in North Vietnam. The request was declined, though a Hanoi spokesperson later said the request had not been rejected.

The Kosher Law Enforcement Division operates a consumer-focused online database and enforces state rules on kosher products. By the mid-1980s there were 12 inspectors, and they regularly checked about 4,000 businesses selling kosher meat each year. In 1986 they found clear cases of improper soaking and salting of meat sold as kosher, leading to investigations and actions against offending stores. Rubin faced challenging moments in his testimony, and not every case ended in a win.

Rubin’s work also drew public commentary. In an interview with the Washington Post he noted that the price of kosher chicken tends to rise, especially just before holidays.

He was born in Poland and studied at Yeshiva Chaim Berlin, where he was ordained as a rabbi. He and his first wife, Chana Bunim Rubin Ausubel, had four children between 1950 and 1971. He married Helena Blumenfrucht in 1972.