Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Chukas

The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort 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 Bamidbar 21:4-10, the Torah recounts the story of the Jews' complaint about the manna and the Jews punishment for speaking out. The Torah states that the Jews complained that there was no food or water and their souls were disgusted by the "lechem haklokel" - the insubstantial food. As a result of their complaints, Hashem sent the snakes which bit the people and many Jews died. When the Jews ran to Moshe to save them, Hashem told Moshe to make a copper snake and put it on a high pole and that anyone who looks at it will live.

R' Frand asked a series of question about the above story. His first question was - why did the Jews complain about the manna? The manna tasted like whatever the consumer wished it to taste. If he wanted meat it would be meat and if he wished for dairy it would taste like dairy. The medrash explains that the manna's miracle also included that it would not become waste in a person's body. So why did the Jews complain about the manna?

R' Frand's next question was --why did Hashem punish the Jews with snakes? Why not have them struck by lightning or drop dead immediately?

R' Frand's final question on this point had to with the treatment for the plague. Why were the Jews saved by looking up at a snake atop a pole?

R' Frand answered the questions by citing to his son Ya'akov who said in the name of R' Bukspan that the answer lies in a gemara in Yevamos. The gemara asked - why is is that the manna fell daily and not once a year? The gemara answered by way of a mashal about a King who needed to provide for his son. The king would give his son an allowance once a year. Not coincidentally, this was also the only time that the king would see his son. The king changed his habit and began to give his son his needs on a daily basis. As a result, he would see his son much more often.

R' Frand then connected the mashal to the Jews in the desert. Since the manna fell daily and would spoil if kept an extra day, the Jews needed to go out and gather manna every day. Thus a man with a family would worry on a daily basis as to whether there would be manna the following day. The Jews complained about the manna because they did not want to be beholden to Hashem and need to seek him out for sustenance on a daily basis.

R' Frand then cited to the Sfas Emes who observed that the snake in Bereishis received a curious punishment. Hashem tells the snake that he will crawl on his stomach and eat dirt. On the surface, this appears to be a blessing as the snake will never want for food. However, on a deeper level it is apparent that it was truly a punishment. Hashem in effect said to the snake - I don't want to see you ever again. You can eat eat all the dirt you want, just don't come back to me.

R' Frand explained that it was for this reason that the snake was chosen as the method of punishment. Hashem was saying to the Jews - you don't want to depend on Me on a daily basis for food? Well, if you want to be like the snake, then I will send the snakes after you.

R' Frand concluded the vort by stating that the cure for the plague of snakes was more than just looking at a copper snake. It was looking at a snake which was raised up on a pole. Hashem was thus hinting to the Jews - if you look up and recognize that it all comes from Me, then you will be saved.

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

Postscript - I have been contacted by Rabbi Bukspan and he has graciously allowed me to post his vort which Rabbi Frand quoted. The link to the complete vort is here https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=1k3KVOHH1DPR5x4xZSG1yFXgkMxpFE-HJ1XNkcWO3vlCrxFU-2IBp_dezuNlP&hl=en_US

Belated Sunday Night Suds - Milwaukee's Best Ice

This week's (belated) Sunday Night Suds looks at Milwaukee's Best Ice.

[Ed note - apologies for the late posting sans photo. As discussed below, we only arrived at Camp M after 11 on Sunday Night and I accidentally tossed the only can of the beer reviewed without thinking about taking a picture].

As yesterday was move up day for staff at Camp M, I engaged in my usual move up day activity of taking my younger children on a day trip so that Mrs Kosher B and my oldest could unpack at camp without needing to supervise the other three.

This year our trek took up to Dorney Park in Allentown, PA. The park is much smaller than Great Adventure, but it was the perfect size for us and offered enough diversity to satisfy my six, nine and eleven year old.

When we finished our day at Dorney, the next stop was Dougie's BBQ in Woodbourne, NY. After a few false starts (things being on the menu but not available for order and then things being ordered but not packed in our bag) we left Woodbourne for the trek up to Camp M. With a dinner bag filled with burgers, spicy fries, fire poppers and chili, I knew that I needed to make a stop to pick up cold beer for Mrs Kosher B and me. Since my usual beer haunts were closed at 11 PM on a Sunday, I went into the local gas station on Rte 8 in Sidney, NY to see what they had in the cooler. I decided to for quantity over quality and picked up a 24 oz can of Milwaukee's Best Ice and a 24 oz can of Milwaukee's Best Premium (on sale at 2 for $2).

As the adage goes, quality is better than quantity. Although the 24 oz can provided us with enough beer to go with our Dougie's dinner, the beer would have been better off staying in the gas station cooler. The Milwaukee's Best Ice (talk about deceptive advertising) was completely devoid of taste and only resembled beer based on its smell. This was particularly surprising given the fact that it claims to b 5.9% abv. However, the beer did not have any kick or bite and any flavor seemed to have been washed out in the ice brew process. The beer did not clash with the full flavored Dougie's bbq fare, but it no more blended with it than water.

Milwaukee's Best Ice is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, although like many of the Miller family of beers, there is no kosher certification on the label. If you would like to see the OU's letter of certification, please e-mail me at your convenience.

For the experts take on Milwaukee's Best Ice, please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/105/1484.

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 http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Korach

The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort 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.

Rabbi Frand characterized Parshas Korach as having one of the most troubling incidents in the Torah -- when Korach challenges Moshe. After Moshe attempts unsuccessfully to appease Korach, Moshe tells the Jews at Bamidbar 16:30 that there will be a test. If the earth opens up and swallows up Korach and his cohorts, then you will know that Hashem chose Moshe to be the leader.

Rashi on the pasuk states that the opening of the earth will be a form of death that has never happened before and will never happen again. Rabbi Frand asked on this Rashi, why is it that the form of death had to be that the earth would open up? Couldn't the death have been a lightning strike or snake bite? Why did it have to be a form of death which never happened before or after?

R' Frand quoted the Margolies Hayam on Gemara Sanhedrin 109b who states in the name of the Belzer Rav (1913) who himself stated in the name of his father that this form of death was a way to show mercy to these people. Since the death was not instantaneous, the people had an opportunity to do teshuva before the earth closed over them. The gemara states in Bava Basra that people who have walked by this place heard people saying Moshe Emes V'Soraso Emes and this only came because the people had an opportunity and did do teshuva before they died.

R' Frand then quoted the Tolner Rebbi who stated that the way that Korach got people to buy into his argument was by selling the concept of equality - everyone is holy, everyone is the same. Korach had his own special form of communism - "Korachism" - everyone is equal and why should Moshe be the leader or Aharon the Kohain Gadol?

The Zohar states Korach took his concept of equality to the extreme and had a problem with the concept of shabbos. Korach said that all days are the same, so why do we act differently on shabbos?

Hashem's response to Korach is that there are differences in the world including differences between people, between shabbos and the weekday and holy and impure. Hashem shows these differences through the earth. The earth gives forth different fruits and vegetables - they are not all the same. The earth supports different animals - they are not all shaped nor fed the same way. The earth shows that Hashem wants symphony - different things that work together well. This is the concept of people - we are all different but can work togther to a common goal. Hashem then says to Korach - this is My earth and you can walk on it as long as you subscribe to My theory that there are differences. But if you argue with My theory and say that things all should be the same - you can't walk on My earth anymore.

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

Sunday Night Suds - Laker Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Laker Ale.

As the summer draws closer the beers turn lighter and lighter. We had a family over for lunch this past shabbos and as usually happens after the gefilte fish course, the topic turned to beer. (Of course the reason for this is that at this point I usually start to serve the beer). My friend Dan S asked me for a recommendation of a summer ale to bring to a father's day barbecue that he would be attending today. I asked whether his host had given him any guidance as to the kind of beer that he liked and Dan mentioned that his host like wheat beer. Well, this made my job relatively easy since one of my favorite summer beers is a wheat beer - Blue Moon's Honey Moon (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2008/05/sunday-night-suds-blue-moon-honey-moon.html).

But what if you want an ale with some hop bite but without a heavy alcohol content? I would recommend Laker Ale, a Canadian beer which has more than mild hop flavor, but is still easy enough to drink on a hot summer day.

The staff at BA have labelled this beer an American Blonde Ale, but I feel that the beer has more character to it than a mere American Blonde (I hate to say it but this category has some elements of k'shmo ken hu, which is why I feel that it is unfair to label the Laker Ale as an American Blonde).

The Laker Ale pours a dark gold - akin to apple cider. The beer has a fair amount of carbonation without being too overly effervescent. There is some hop bite in the first sip with fruitiness also in the taste. It goes well with shabbos summer lunch fare, but will never be confused with an IPA or the like.

Laker Ale is certified kosher by the COR (aka Kashruth Council of Canada). For the experts' take on Laker Ale click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/416/51570.

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 http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Shelach

The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort 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 parsha portion of tonight's shiur focused on the story of the meraglim - the spies.

Chazal tell us that the meraglim were tzaddikim when they were chosen. Furthermore, R' Frand explained that the fact that the meraglim chose to be spies shows that they were tzaddikim. Indeed, the job of spy was a dangerous job and still the men accepted the mission.

R' Frand quoted the Zohar which states that the reason that the spies came back with a bad report on the land of Israel, was because they knew that they would lose their job as leaders when the Jews emigrated to Israel. However, even though they knew that they would be fired, they still accepted the mission.

R' Frand then posited - if you knew the mission was dangerous and that you would be fired at the completion of the job - why would you accept the mission?

R' Frand answered that the reason they took the mission was because they thought that they could overcome the issues. Moshe Rabeinu had his doubts that the meraglim would come back all right. We see that Moshe gave Yehoshua a beracha to save him and the Kalev went and prayed by the graves of tzaddikim. However, the meraglim believed that they would be able to look past the potential problems. Unfortunately, the meraglim were unable to separate from their agenda and their report was colored by their understanding that when the Jews would come to Israel, the meraglim would lose their position of power.

R' Frand then further explored the meraglim's speech. He noted that the beginning of the report was all true - the people are very mighty there. Kalev then attempted to quiet the spies by telling them that they were wrong - Hashem will help us overcome.

At this juncture, the meraglim began to give editorial comments and they started to speak ill about the land and to make up facts. Why? Because the desire to win and be right is an incredibly strong yetzer hara. When Kalev told them they were wrong, their immediate reaction was to want to show Kalev they were right and to "win" the argument. So they began to lie in order to "win."

R' Frand then quoted a Chidushei Harim who notes that the haftorah of Shelach also involves spies - the ones sent by Yehoshua. The haftorah refers to the spies as pottery (cheres) which we learn meant that they went around as "pottery salesman."

Why did the spies chose the cover of pottery saleman? We know that pottery differs from metal in that pottery can only become tamei if the tumah enters the object. However, metal vessels can become tamei just by contact with the outside of the object.

The Chidushei Harim ties the two points together by explaining that pottery has no intrinsic value other than its ability to retain what is stored in the pottery. On the other hand, metal has a value in and of itself. By choosing a cover of pottery salesman, the meraglim were reminding themselves that their mission was the only thing of importance and that their personal sense of self worth could not be allowed to infere. As such, it should not be surprising that these spies were successful.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://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 - Lebron Haters, a Torah Perspective

As regular readers of this blog are aware, the Monday post was usually devoted to sports with highlights and analysis of the Max Kellerman show which formerly aired on 1050 ESPN Radio. Although Max resigned from 1050 more than a year ago (he has recently resurfaced on ESPN Radio in Los Angeles), I have tried to continue the tradition of linking sports to Torah which I believe was an undercurrent of the Max Kellerman show.

Last night, the Dallas Mavericks completed an unlikely run to win their first NBA championship. In so doing, the Mavericks swept the defending champion LA Lakers in four games, before going five games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and then taking down the heavily favored Miami Heat in six games.

An interesting side note to the series was the nation's strong and perhaps unhealthy rooting interest against the Miami Heat. Prior to the current NBA season, the Miami Heat were not a "hated" sports team as they had no strong rivalry with another team and had not done anything controversial in their NBA history.

And then came last summer's "the decision", Lebron James' television special where he revealed that he was signing as a free agent with the Miami Heat. There has been much debate about whether James had ever intended to resign with Cleveland or even consider offers from the New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets or other potential suitors. Regardless of James' motives, much of the rest of the country (other than parts of South Florida) became Lebron "Haters" and by extension, began to root against the Miami Heat.

Fast forward to the NBA championship finals. The Heat had just dispatched the Chicago Bulls in five games, after beating the Boston Celtics in similar fashion. Most prognosticators projected that the Heat would beat the Mavericks in five or six games and take home the title. After winning the first game of the series, the press became louder in their touting of the Heat to win the championship. Dirk Nowitzky was playing with an injured hand and it looked like there was nothing between the Heat and glory. And then the Mavericks changed the way they were playing defense and James began to falter late in games. Suddenly, everyone on talk radio, in the newspapers, online and even people in the street began to express their hope that the Heat would lose. These expressions were not based on a love for the Mavericks or a dislike for the City of Miami (which has not engendered hatred like Boston or New York). It was pure, unadulterated loathing of Lebron James.

[For a great piece on Braylon Edwards, a former native son of Cleveland who was also hated when he left the City, and his efforts to give back to Cleveland, even though he has been gone for years - click here http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Braylon-Edwards-keeps-his-promise-awards-100-sc?urn=nfl-wp2484].

After the Mavericks finished off the Heat, there was a predictable series of interviews with Miami players and specifically Lebron James. One quotable thought from an interview which was picked up by the national media involved the following statement:

"[A]t the end of the day, all the people that were rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day, they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today,” James said. “They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that."

While James was lambasted in the press for making this statement, I can see the logic in his words and indeed there is a Torah perspective which backs his thought. The sifrei mussar speak against the concept of jealousy and explain that when a person is jealous he is rejecting Hashem. The reason behind this concept is simple - if a person is jealous of another, he is not only expressing his displeasure with another person having something that he does not possess. A greater problem with this concept is that the person is actually rejecting Hashem's choice in giving the other person something which that person does not have. Every morning when the unhappy individual wakes up and hates the other person, he is actually saying, I hate you G-d for not giving me what he has. If the person then acts on his hatred, he will require Hashem to rebalance the equities in order to return each party to the level that he belongs on. It is for this reason that we are taught to be happy with our own lot, as it is taught in Pirkei Avos - who is wealthy, one who is happy with his lot.

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

Sunday Night Suds - Sprecher Special Amber Lager

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Sprecher Special Amber Lager.

This past week has been nothing short of a "scorcher" on the East Coast of the United States. Having spent Shavuous in the sauna known as Baltimore followed by a drive North to New York where everyone and their grandmother was on the side of the road selling bottles of cold water, it has been weather which even an outdoorsman would seek the shelter of air conditioner.

Once we returned to New York for shabbos, I knew that whichever beer I would choose to accompany Friday night dinner must be something which could be served ice cold, without losing any of the taste factor. This knocked out many of the macrolagers which whether cold or room temperature still don't taste like much. (I passed a great billboard for Heineken on my way up - it took a shot at Coors and Budweiser's gimmick cans by saying something like - you have ten ways to tell if our beer is cold enough - they are called fingers).

Since the hot weather and hot food combination dictated that I stay away from stouts, porters and heavy ales - I chose the Sprecher Special Amber, a Vienna style lager which had received good reviews on BA.

The beer poured a richer amber than I was expecting with a great deal of foam and lacing. The first sip gave me more hop bite then I would have expected, while still staying true to the malt balance of a lager. I took a few more sips and began to appreciate this brew, even though I am usually not a lager fan. I quickly poured some for Mrs KB and she agreed that the beer was a quality brew. I again lamented that I had only bought one four pack of this solid Midwestern beer. Hey, at least the beer comes in 16 ounce bottles (as opposed the usual 12 ounces).

Sprecher Special Amber is certified kosher by the Wisconsin K. There is a logo on the four pack holder and on the top label on the bottle.

For the experts' take on the Sprecher Special Amber Lager please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/144/97.

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 http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams Rustic Saison

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Samuel Adams' Rustic Saison.

I first got tipped off to this beer when I was in Costco after Pesach and I got an e-mail from my buddy Dan R who saw me and wanted to know about the two new beers in the Samuel Adams Beers of Summer mix box - Rustic Saison and East West Kolsch. Since the LOC for Samuel Adams posted on the Star-K website at the time was from September 2010, these were obviously not on them. But thanks to a quick set of emails back and forth with the Star-K, a new LOC was posted to their website (http://www.star-k.org/loc/kosher_letter_6635_bostonbeercompany.pdf) which included these two newcomers, along with some other beers which were new to the approved list. With this green light, I went out and bought a 12 pack.

So what is a Rustic Saison? I can honestly tell you that I have no idea. The beer label says that it a "Belgian Style Farmhouse Beer Brewed With Honey." This was also not helpful to me as farmhouse beer sounds like something made in a barn, not a brewery.

I went to the Beer Advocate website which had this to say about the style:

Saisons are sturdy farmhouse ale that was traditionally brewed in the winter, to be consumed throughout the summer months. Not so long ago it was close to being an endangered style, but over recent years there's been a massive revival; especially in the US.

This is a very complex style; many are very fruity in the aroma and flavor. Look for earthy yeast tones, mild to moderate tartness. Lots of spice and with a medium bitterness. They tend to be semi-dry with many only having touch of sweetness.

The Samuel Adams Rustic Saison poured a pale yellow with a good deal of foam and some lacing on the glass. The banana like phenols were prominent and the dominant taste in the brew. If there was honey in this beer it was lost on me as I tasted a lot of spice, but not very much sweetness.

Samuel Adams Rustic Saison is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K. Like many other Samuel Adams brews, this bottle does not have the Star-K certification mark on the label. The kashruth can be confirmed by clicking on the link to the Star-K LOC above.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the Rustic Saison, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/67044.

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 http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Nasso

The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort 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.

Rabbi Frand noted that Parshas Nasso is the longest parsha in the Torah at 176 pesukim. He recalled being happy that Parshas Nasso was not his bar mitzva parsha because of its length. However, R' Frand explained that as he got older, he realized that Parshas Nasso was an easy parsha to prepare and lain because it is very repetitive in its discussion of the sacrifices of the nesi'im.

Rabbi Frand then asked the obvious question (in the name of the Ramban) - why does the Torah need to repeat all twelve sacrifices of the nesi'im? Why couldn't the Torah just recite the first karban and then say that all other were the same?

Rabbi Frand answered the question by making reference to a story. During the time of the Czar in Russia, boys were drafted into the Russian army to serve for a period of twenty-five years. There was an incident where the star pupil of R' Yitzchak Elchonon Spector was drafted into the army. The boy applied for an exemption from the draft, but did not get a quick response. Many of those in the yeshiva were very worried, so they began to daven for the boy.

During this period, R' Yitzchak Elchonon and anoher Rav were involved as dayanim on a very intense case in beis din. Through their efforts, the parties came to an agreement and the dayanim began to iron out the terms of the agreement. Suddenly, one of the boys from the yeshiva burst into the room and told R' Yitzchok Elchanan that the star pupil had received his exemption. R' Yitzchok heaped much praise on the boy for telling them the news about the exemption.

A few moments later, there was a knock on the door and another student entered the room. The student also told R' Yitzchok Elchanan that the star pupil had received his exemption. R' Yitzchok gave identical praise to this student for telling them the news about the exemption.

Tne story repeated itself four more times with different boys from the yeshiva coming in and disrupting the beis din to tell R' Yitzchok Elchonon about the exemption. Each time, R' Yitzchok Elchonon praised the messenger in the identical fashion and did not tell the messenger - enough, I know already.

Why did R' Yitzchok Elchonon give each of the messengers such high praise? Because it was important for each boy to know that he was important and that he had done a great thing by bringing the good news.

R' Frand cited to R' Shach who said that this was the reason that each Nasi's karban was mentioned in detail in Parshas Nasso. Although each letter in the Torah can teach many halachos, the repetition of the nesi'im was important so that each one of them could feel special about their involvement in the process.

R' Frand explained that this was the purpose behind Nasso being the longest parsha in the Torah - to show that if Hashem could go out of His way to make each person feel special, then we should do the same.

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