Friday's Bonus Parsha Vort - Parshas Beha'aloscha

In yesterday's post, I presented a summary of some of the thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha on Thursday evening. As I was unable to complete the summary last evening, I have attempted to reproduce it in this post. As usual, any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

As an introduction to the Tollner Rebbe's addition to the vort, R' Frand made two observations. The first observation was that Moshe's message was that these people should be praised because they had been selected. Why is this something to be praised for?

Additionally, Rabbi Frand noted that the Rashi on these pesukim (Bamidbar 11:16-17) states that the people were praised because they had been chosen in the past as parnasim for the people. However, Rashi on an earlier pasuk in the Parsha uses a different tense to describe those who are selected to serve.

In Bamidbar 8:6, Moshe was told to take the Levi'im to serve. Rashi on this pasuk states that Moshe was told take the Lev'im with words - cajole them that they have been chosen to serve the community. R' Frand noted that the words in the selection of the Levi'im showed that they had been selected to serve in the future. This is in contrast to the Sanhedrin where it states that they were chosen in the past. 

R' Frand answered these questions by observing that these people were called parnasim of the tzibur. The gemara in Berachos 28 recites a conversation between two Rabbis where R' Gamliel sees that the walls of R' Yehoshua's house were black and says - you must be a blacksmith. R' Yehoshua responds to R' Gamliel - woe to our generation that you are the parnas for our people because you are oblivious to the people. You don't see the walls are black because the talmidei chachamim are destitute.

R' Yehoshua uses this word because a parnas is supposed to take care of the people and help them and be aware of their needs. R' Frand observed that this is the reason that the Sanhedrin were praised for being the parnasim of the people in Egypt. You understood the Jews and their troubles and helped them and were beaten for assisting them. You have been well prepared for the role of Sandhedrin, because you have the capacity to understand the people and take care of them. You are not just one who gives speeches, you are aware of the people and their needs and you will provide for them.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Beha'aloscha

The following is a brief summary 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.

This week's parsha contains Hashem's command to Moshe to assemble the Sanhedrin. In these pesukim (Bamidbar 11:16-17), Hashem tells Moshe "Asfah Li" (take for me) these seventy men. Rashi explains that Hashem told Moshe that he will recognize these seventy men as they were previously chosen to be the policemen in Egypt. These men were set in charge of the Jews by the Egyptians and were tasked with assuring that the Jews met their quota. However, (unlike the kapos in the Holocaust) Rashi explains that these policemen were merciful to their fellow Jew and the policemen were made to absorb punishment when the Jews did not make their quota of bricks. Now, these men would receive their reward for being in pain when they were in Egypt.

Rabbi Frand asked - why is that these men received this form of reward? After all, a Judge is supposed to be more than just a supremely nice guy. No doubt, these men were merciful and brave, but how does that qualify them to be Judges in the Sanhedrin, the highest mortal court?

Rabbi Frand answered by quoting R' Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, who explained that we see from here that a person who takes on troubles for another, or who cries with and tries to understand another person's troubles, is rewarded with great wisdom and the ability to understand far more than the average person.

Rabbi Frand then tied this vort into a shiur said in the name of the Tolner Rebbi that R' Frand received via e-mail this afternoon. I will b'n try to summarize that vort in a post tomorrow, but I would like to add my own twist to R' Frand's answer.

Years ago, we had some family medical issues involving two different members of our family. At the time, I asked my shul Rav whether I should see a mikubal. My Rav told me - "don't go to a mikubal, go to a Rebbe. A Rebbe will sit with you and listen to you and cry with you and offer you advice and a beracha." 

I then went for the first time to New Square and met with the Rebbe. It was an unforgettable experience as the Rebbe had feet in both worlds and knew the questions to ask and made certain suggestions. I returned a few times later over the following years to speak with him about other matters and every time he had good advice and brachos. I was struck each time by how this saintly man had knowledge of the medical, professional, legal and business worlds as well as the world of Torah.

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Monday's Musings on Sports - Do Eddie LeBec, Matt Harvey & Yosef HaTzadik Have Anything In Common?

In last week's USA Today Sports Weekly, the Leading Off feature on the inside cover discussed the topic of jinxes in sports. The main focus of the article was the Matt Harvey "no hit" bid from the week before and the Mets' "history" of no hitters.

I use the term "history" in quotes because any loyal Mets fan would be able to tell you that prior to last year, no Mets pitcher had thrown a no-hitter or perfect game in their forty plus year history. Even last year's no-hitter which was thrown by Johan Santana had some tragedy built in as it required a game saving catch which landed Mike Baxter on the DL for nearly two months. Oh, and it might also have spelled the end of Johan Santana's career.

Back to the story, in the USA Today Sports Weekly, the article discussed how people who are observing a no-hitter will do anything not to jinx it. The archetype taboo act is to talk about the fact that there is a potential no hitter in progress, even though the pitcher can't hear you and certainly will not feel added pressure because the fan at home or even the broadcaster is aware that a no-hitter is in progress.

I can't resist not reproducing one of the best lines in the article wherein Will Leitch observed:

Every sports fan who is not an infant knows nothing he or she does during a sporting event is going to affect the outcome of that event. If you are able to walk across the street without getting lost or able to write your name in the dirt with a stick, you are aware of this. But that does not mean you should act that way.

The article made me think about a Cheers episode from when I was in high school. When Bruins (fictional) goalie Eddie LeBec came into the bar to order a drink before his game, Carla hit on him. LeBec invited Carla to the game and the Bruins won. This was LeBec's fifth win in a row and the fans were high on him. The night before the next game, LeBec came into the bar again and order the exact same drink that he had been having before each of his five wins - club soda with no ice and a lime. But LeBec varied his pregame ritual by spending time with Carla before leaving the bar. LeBec lost that game and the next seven in a row. Carla was inconsolable and she publicly dumped LeBec. LeBec knew that he dumped her because she thought she was a jinx and told her to stop being silly, but she would not take him back.

That night, LeBec won his first game and broke the losing streak. The Cheers episode continued with LeBec coming back to the bar some weeks later and ordering the same drink. When he finished his drink, Carla again publicly dumped him. A bar patron asked - didn't she just do that a few weeks ago? Everyone winked at the bar patron and LeBec left and won another game for the Bruins.

While I can rationalize and understand Leitch's point about how my rooting for a no-hitter or the announcer's omission of mentioning the no hitter will not have an impact on the game being played, there is some truth to the concept of jinx (which we know to be ayin hara). Unless the person being jinxed comes from Yosef HaTzadik. The gemara in Sotah 36b recounts a conversation between Yehoshua and the descendants of Yosef. When Yehoshua told them that they should hide so that they would not be affected by the ayin hara, they said that they are descendants of Yosef and exempt from the influence.

The gemara then recites that based on Bereshis 49: 22, Rabbi Abahu said that the children of Yosef are olei ayin, i.e., higher than and not affected by the ayin hara. Rabbi Yosi chimes in that the source is from here Bereishis 48:16 which states that Yosef's children will multiply like fish in the midst of the land. Just as fish in the sea are covered by water and the eye cannot dominate them, so, too Yosef's children cannot be dominated by the eye."

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Sunday Night Suds - New Belgium Dig Pale Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium's Dig Pale Ale.

Although we have not had much of a spring this year, there is no reason to skip reviewing the beer of the season.

Spring Ales are usually high in their hop content, often with spice or citrus additives. The New Belgium Dig is also strong in its hop flavor, but without any added spice or fruit. Instead, the flavors in the Dig Pale Ale come from an interesting mix of Sorachi Ace, Nelson Sauvin and Cascade hops. The result is a beer with a strong lemon-like aftertaste but a little bit of pepper bite as well.

I would recommend this beer for beer purists who are looking for a Pale Ale with a little extra complexity in the flavor profile. The beer would go well with chinese food or even fish dishes.

New Belgium Dig Pale Ale is under the Kosher Supervision of the Scroll-K of Colorado. Although the beer does not bear the kosher symbol on the label, it can usually be found on the bottom of the six pack holder. Please note that not every brew produced by New Belgium is under kosher supervision. For a list of the New Belgium brews currently under supervision, please click on the link on the left side of my home page for my latest Kosher Beer List.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about New Belgium Dig Pale Ale, please follow this link beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/77480. As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.

If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

Finally, if you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Monday's Musings on Sports - Ruth, Pink Bats and Brophy, a Mother's Day Love Story

When the NHL playoffs are in full swing, I return to my childhood infatuation with hockey. While I am always interested in knowing what my beloved Rangers are doing, its the playoffs that draw my attention to the greater hockey world. This infatuation with hockey manifests itself in my religiously reading the Ranger blogs after the game and listening to NHL radio (XM Channel 92) when I am in the car.

Yesterday, I was driving my son to little league when I heard an interview with former coach John Brophy. Brophy talked about how when his kids were young, Brophy was coaching (I can't remember where) and the radio broadcast of the game mentioned that he had been giving someone a hard time. I don't remember where Brophy said that his wife was, but the story he told was that Brophy's mother had been watching his kids for at least part of the game.

Apparently, Brophy's actions were quite egregious, because when Brophy returned home there was a note left for him on his kitchen table from his mom. The note read "You're a Jerk, Love Mom." Only hockey players/coaches can tell stories like that.

While hockey had a humorous, if not uplifting story on Mother's Day, baseball had yet another public relations black eye. A number of years ago, major league baseball started a tradition of allowing the players to use pink bats on Mother's Day. The bats were tied to donations which were made to the Susan G. Komen - breast cancer foundation.

This year, Baltimore outfielder Nick Markakis and Minnesota third baseman Trevor Plouffe (who are reportedly both sons of breast cancer survivors) received special bats from manufacturer MaxBat. However, major league baseball banned them from using the bats because Louisville Slugger had made a donation to the Komen foundation in exchange for the exclusive rights to distribute pink bats with their logo on Mother's Day.

The actions of MLB in commercializing what should have been a nice gesture of honor and respect is hard to stomach. Major league ballplayers are not restricted to only using Louisville Slugger bats during the regular season. It is only on Mother's Day that players are told that the only pink bats they can use are Louisville Sluggers or those with no logo on them at all.

For a great piece on the controversy click here - http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mlb-whiffs-by-banning-competitors--pink-bats-on-mother-s-day-013725273.html.

During the same week as Mother's Day we will also read about the woman who showed great respect for her Mother (in law) and how she received a great reward. Ruth was the daughter in law of Naomi for a short period of time before her husband died. When Naomi chose to leave Moab, Ruth (who was a princess in her own right) pleaded that she wanted to stay with Naomi, rather than stay in Moab with Orpah, Ruth's other daughter in law. As a result of Ruth's desire to stay with and take care of Naomi, Ruth met with and married Boaz. Many years later, she saw her great grandson David become King of the Jews.

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Sunday Night Suds - Blue Moon Blackberry Tart Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Blue Moon's new limited release - Blackberry Tart Ale.

Continuing their recent trend of bringing new beer straight from R&D to the public, Blue Moon has released three new beers in this season's Brewmasters Sampler Box. Unlike past mix boxes which have contained three or four different beers, the Summer 2013 Brewmasters Sampler Box contains five different beers: Blue Moon Belgian White (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2008/07/sunday-night-suds-blue-moon-belgian.html); Rounder Belgian Style Pale Ale; Short Straw Farmhouse Style Red Ale; Agave Pale Ale (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/05/sunday-night-suds-blue-moon-agave.html) and the Blackberry Tart Ale.

But while Blue Moon gives with one hand it takes away with the other. My absolute favorite Blue Moon product, the Summer Honey Wheat Ale (f/k/a Honey Moon) has been retired. And according to the Blue Moon website there are even odder sounding seasonals and limited editions on the horizon including Raspberry Cream Ale and Peanut Butter Ale.

The Blackberry Tart Ale is mellow in flavor and the added blackberries although tart, do not overwhelm the palate. This is not the Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/08/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams.html) which hits you over the head with fruit and drowns every sip with sweetness. Instead, the Blue Moon Blackberry Tart Ale gives a little fruit at the end of each sip and provides just a little tartness. The result is a beer which can be enjoyed with meals such as rich beef dishes.

Blue Moon Blackberry Tart Ale is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union. For the experts take on the Blackberry Tart Ale, please click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/306/92402.

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.

If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!