Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayechi

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

In Bereishis 48:24 Ya'akov says to Yosef - וַֽאֲנִ֞י נָתַ֧תִּי לְךָ֛ שְׁכֶ֥ם אַחַ֖ד עַל־אַחֶ֑יךָ אֲשֶׁ֤ר לָקַ֨חְתִּי֙ מִיַּ֣ד הָֽאֱמֹרִ֔י בְּחַרְבִּ֖י וּבְקַשְׁתִּֽי. Rashi explains that this was a recognition of Yosef's act of being involved in the burial of Ya'akov. Since Yosef was arranging for the burial in Israel, Ya'akov gave him an extra portion - land in Shechem where Yosef would one day be buried. 

But in discussing the gift, Ya'akov makes a curious statement that he took the land from the Amorites בְּחַרְבִּ֖י וּבְקַשְׁתִּֽי. This raises many questions, since Ya'akov did not capture Shechem - Shimon and Levi did when they avenged Dina. Ya'akov was not involved and did not even know about it until after the fact!

R' Frand quoted the Gemara in Bava Basra 123 which partially answers the question, as it explains that words בְּחַרְבִּ֖י וּבְקַשְׁתִּֽי as meaning with prayer and request to Hashem. Onkelos makes a similar translation of the words as well.

But while the explanation does somewhat answer the question of how Ya'akov could have said that he conquered the land with his sword and bow when he was not involved in the battle. But it also creates another issue - how could Ya'akov have prayed and requested when he did not even know about the war?

R' Frand quoted the Sefer Arzei HaParsha which explains that Ya'akov was not davening specifically for success in the battle, he was constantly davening for his children. He made reference to question asked to R' Chaim Kanievsky about how to succeed in raising children? R' Chaim answered that 50% is davening for the children. A similarly themed question was asked to R' Wolbe as to why there is no Beracha in Shemoneh Esreh for success of one's children. He answered that we only daven Shemoneh Esreh three times a day. That's fine for requests for Parnassah, but not enough for davening for the success of one's children.

Thus when Ya'akov said that he took the land בְּחַרְבִּ֖י וּבְקַשְׁתִּֽי he was referring to his constant state of davening and requesting success for his children.

R' Frand also mentioned a story involving the mother of the Chofetz Chaim. Someone asked her how she was Zoche to have a son like the Chofetz Chaim? She answered that when she got married, her mother gave her a siddur and told her to use it to daven for her children. And so she did from the moment she got married.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayigash

As Rabbi Frand had a family wedding he did not give a live Parsha shiur. However, R' Frand did post a pre-recorded Parsha vort on OU Torah. This week's vort can be found at https://outorah.org/p/242470, but I have attempted to reproduce the vort to the best of my ability in this post. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to the maggid shiur.

As part of Yosef's great "reveal" to his brothers, he utilized language quoted in Bereishis 45:8 which Rabbi Frand called "beautiful" stating - וְעַתָּ֗ה לֹֽא־אַתֶּ֞ם שְׁלַחְתֶּ֤ם אֹתִי֙ הֵ֔נָּה כִּ֖י הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיְשִׂימֵ֨נִי לְאָ֜ב לְפַרְעֹ֗ה וּלְאָדוֹן֙ לְכָל־בֵּית֔וֹ וּמשֵׁ֖ל בְּכָל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם: - You did not send me here, Hashem has put me here and I am an Av to Pharaoh and am in charge of his house and am ruling all of Egypt.

How could Yosef had said that he was ruling all of Egypt? R' Frand recalled when Ronald Reagan was shot and his VP said at a press conference after "I am in charge here." People recoiled when they heard that!

R' Frand noted that when the brothers came to Ya'akov to tell him about Yosef's role in Egypt, they don't mention any of these titles and simply said in Bereishis 45:26 -  ע֚וֹד יוֹסֵ֣ף חַ֔י וְכִי־ה֥וּא משֵׁ֖ל בְּכָל־אֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם. Ya'akov was unable to accept this and did not believe them, until he saw the wagons that Yosef sent.

R' Frand said that every person who has ever written a sefer on Chumash has written on this pasuk. R' Frand quoted the Chassam Sofer who explains that the reason that Ya'akov was not told of the various titles, because he was not interested in that. He just wanted to know if his son was still Jewish and had not become part of the fabric of Egypt. So the brothers only needed to tell him - Yosef is the Moshel over Egypt and Egypt is not Moshel over him.

R' Frand quoted the Dayan of Manchester who told a Mashal about a family which had one son in England. They sent him to school and he moved to Australia to start a career. The family wanted to know what was happening with him and he would call every Friday and they would ask how he was doing. The family eventually said that they wanted to visit him and he demurred, saying that it was a long trip and they were old, he would come to them.  The parents eventually realized that he was embarrassed about how he lived and he did not want them to see it.

R' Frand said - this is what gave Ya'akov strength and allowed him to accept that all was OK with Yosef. He sent the wagons so that Ya'akov could come and visit him, demonstrating that he had kept his Judaism when he lived in Egypt. 

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayeshev

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

The first vort R' Frand said this evening was related to Yosef following his father's instruction to look for his brothers. The Torah states in Bereishis 17:14 that Yosef left מֵעֵ֣מֶק חֶבְר֔וֹן - which the Mefarshim explain that it was from Hashem's deep plan. 

Yosef then finds "a man" whom Rashi explains is actually an angel. The Torah states in 17:15 -  וַיִּשְׁאָלֵ֧הוּ הָאִ֛ישׁ לֵאמֹ֖ר מַה־תְּבַקֵּֽשׁ. R' Frand quoted the Kotsker who states that the angel was telling Yosef - you are about to an embark on an incredible journey - you will be thrown in a pit by your brothers, sold many times and arrive in Egypt where you will be a slave. There you will be wrongly accused and then thrown in a pit again, but you will eventually emerge as the second in command. Throughout your journey, always keep in mind - מַה־תְּבַקֵּֽשׁ - remember what you are looking for and what you need.

R' Frand also quoted the Ramban who notes that the Torah goes to great lengths to discuss Yosef's quest to find his brothers. Given how hard it was to find them (R' Frand equated it to looking for ranchers in Montana), why didn't he just come back to his father and say - I could not find them? The answer is that he was showing Kavod for his father and continuing to seek out his brothers. This quest to find them and the inability to do so easily was a recognition that Hashem had a plan for how this would happen and all the Hishtadlus would not change that as רַבּ֣וֹת מַחֲשָׁב֣וֹת בְּלֶב־אִ֑ישׁ וַעֲצַ֥ת יְ֜הוָ֗ה הִ֣יא תָקֽוּם.

R' Frand related that the Chazon Ish had said that if he knew that Holocaust was on the horizon, he would have davened for it not to happen. But Hashem hid it and no one knew that Hashem's plan was that six million Jews would be killed.

R' Frand's final vort related to Reuven who was not present when the brothers sold Yosef. When Reuven returned to the pit which he had convinced the brother to throw Yosef in, Yosef was gone and Reuven was beside himself. Rashi explains that Reuven was not there when Yosef was sold - either because it was his turn to assist his father, or because he had been busy with trying to atone for switching the beds.

R' Frand asked - why is it that this was the moment that Reuven was busy trying to do Teshuva? He answered that Reuven had an epiphany when he convinced the brothers not to kill Yosef. He had told them - think about what it would do to Ya'akov is Yosef was killed! And then he realized that his desire to honor his mother by switching the beds had caused his father anguish. This was what caused him to embark on a course of Teshuva.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayishlach

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

R' Frand's first vort related to the pasuk in Bereishis 32:5 wherein Ya'akov instructs his messengers to tell Esav  כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ עַבְדְּךָ֣ יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב עִם־לָבָ֣ן גַּ֔רְתִּי. Rashi famously has two interpretations of Ya'akov's message. The first is that Ya'akov is telling Esav - even though I received the berachos they did not come to fulfilment. The second interpretation was that Ya'akov was telling Esav, even though I lived with Lavan, I kept the Torah and did not learn from Lavan's evil ways.

R' Frand quoted R' Ruderman who asked - isn't Rashi's statement that Ya'akov was telling Esav that he kept the Torah and did not learn from Esav, a redundancy? Of course, if he kept the Torah he did not learn from Lavan's ways? R' Ruderman explained that Ya'akov was saying that I kept the Torah and did not live as a Naval B'Rshus HaTorah. R' Frand remarked that there are people who go to shul three times a day and learn Torah, but they will pursue permissible pleasures to an extreme, spending extravagantly on epicurean adventures and other worldly pleasures.

R' Frand next quoted the Chofetz Chaim who explained that Ya'akov was lamenting to Esav that even though he lived with Lavan, he did not learn from him. Ya'akov observed that Lavan pursued his evil deeds with passion and excitement. Ya'akov lamented that he had not learned from Esav how to become as passionate in doing mitzvos.

R' Frand gave several examples of this, including the people who used to sit outside Target from 9 PM on Thanksgiving, waiting for the store to open at 5 AM so that they could get the limited quantity flat screen TVs. R' Frand remarked that there is nothing that he would wait on line over night with no bathrooms in the middle of November, in order to acquire.

R' Frand also mentioned that he once spoke to his dry cleaner on black Friday and asked him how his Thanksgiving was. The man told him that he had watched every single football game. R' Frand was amazed as the man was a recent immigrant who five years prior probably did not know the shape of a football, but had now spent nine hours watching football on Thanksgiving.

R' Frand connected this with a story involving R' Gifter. He had traveled to Mexico City to collect for the Telshe Yeshiva and had been attempting to collect from a man, but had difficulty finding him at home. After much effort he was able to meet him at work at a very early hour. He asked the man how he found time for his family and the man responded in Yiddish - you have to "live in the business." R' Gifter returned to the yeshiva and told the bochurim in a shmooze that they need to "live in Torah" like he "lived in the business."

R' Frand closed his remarks with a story he had received by email from an Aryeh Gross earlier that afternoon. It related to a story in a secular Israeli newspaper. A Kollel member had bought an apartment from a non-religious woman who was selling it on behalf of her deceased brother. The Kollel member had some work done on the apartment, and during the work the contractor located 150,000 NIS in 200 NIS bills, hidden in a wall of the apartment. The Kollel member asked his Posek, a Rav Silman, whether the money could be deemed abandoned under the principal of Yiush, or if he must return the money. He was told to return the money and he did.

When he gave the money to the woman, she cried and asked - why don't we read these kinds of stories about frum people in the newspaper? Meanwhile R' Silman blessed the Kollel member with children who are Bnei Torah and Shomer Mitzvos and success in his life.

R' Frand observed that there is so much that the frum do, between Zaka and Bikur Cholim, yet the press in Israel is like the press in the United States - the right can do nothing correct in the press.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayeitzei

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

In Bereishis 28:14, the Torah states וְהָיָ֤ה זַרְעֲךָ֙ כַּֽעֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ וּפָֽרַצְתָּ֛ יָ֥מָּה וָקֵ֖דְמָה וְצָפֹ֣נָה וָנֶ֑גְבָּה וְנִבְרְכ֥וּ בְךָ֛ כָּל־מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָֽאֲדָמָ֖ה וּבְזַרְעֶֽךָ. R' Frand asked - why is Ya'akov being told that his children will be like dust? Elsewhere there is a promise that they will be like the stars in the sky. And while stars are beautiful, dust is just that. Dust is trampled on and certainly not glamorous.

R' Frand quoted the Rambam in Igeres Teiman who cites this pasuk and explains that while the Jews will be oppressed, the Jews will survive and the oppressors will disappear. He explains that even though today the Jews may be trampled as people step on the dust and dirt, the Jews will win. Because in the end, the dust and dirt covers the person when he is buried.

R' Frand linked this to a Tosfos in Berachos, which links this to the tefillah Elokai Nitzor, which states that our souls should K'Afar L'Kol Tihiyeh. Tosfos explains that dirt lasts forever, so too we want out offspring to be forever like the pasuk in the parsha.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Toldos

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

R' Frand's first vort focused on the question - why do we call Esav "Edom" and his descendants by the same term, simply because he asked for soup which he called "Edom." If Ya'akov had been making pizza and Esav had asked for pizza, would he and his descendants have been called pizza?

R' Frand answered by quoting R' Hutner who explained the difference between Jews and Akum. A Jew will focus on self improvement and understand the totality of the circumstances. But Esav, although aware of the fact that Ya'akov was making this food because their father Yitzchak was in mourning for their grandfather Avraham, was solely thinking about his stomach. He did not care that his father was mourning or that his grandfather died, he just wanted the red stew. And so he became known as Edom.

The second vort related to a Medrash HaGadol which added a post script to the story. The Medrash relates that after Ya'akov traded the Bechorah for the soup, Esav called a town meeting and invited everyone to hear about the trade. He loudly proclaimed that he had obtained Ya'akov's food and drank his wine, in exchange for the Bechorah. He proceeded to laud the transaction and how he had hoodwinked Ya'akov in the deal. In so doing he cemented his rationalization that he had done the right thing.

R' Frand said that this was emblematic of Esav's view of himself as infallible and without fault. He quoted the Ba'al HaTurim who notes that the Gematria of Esav is Shalom - showing that he was always at peace with this actions. Meanwhile, Ya'akov is similar to Akuv (meaning bent or crooked) because he was constantly bent over and examining whether he had done the right thing.

R' Frand's third vort related to the pasuk in Bereishis 27:33 - וַיֶּֽחֱרַ֨ד יִצְחָ֣ק חֲרָדָה֘ גְּדֹלָ֣ה עַד־מְאֹד֒. He quoted the Medrash Tanchuma, which observes that a person does not have חֲרָדָה֘ גְּדֹלָ֣ה unless he had previously had a lower level of fear. The Medrash explains that Yitzchak had a previous fright at the Akeidah when the heavens opened up as his father was about to sacrifice him and he saw the Merkavah.

But why would the realization in this week's parsha cause greater fear?

R' Frand first quoted R' Ya'akov Breish (sp?) who was the Chief Rabbi of Switzerland during and after World War II. When he spoke on Yom Kippur after the war ended, he explained that the two fears are emblematic of two ways that Jews have died off over history. There were Jews who died on the Mizbeach when they gave up their lives Al Kiddush Hashem. But there are also Jews who died because they ate, drank and intermarried with non-Jews. This was the second fear of Yitzchak.

R' Frand gave another explanation, which was his own thought. He said that perhaps Yitzchak was afraid because he suddenly realized that his entire view of Esav was wrong. To this point he had not seen Esav for who he really was, but upon hearing Esav's reaction to the giving of the Berachos to Ya'akov, he saw Esav as the Rasha that he was.

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