Monday, December 30, 2013

Monday's Musings on Sports - Rex Survives Black Monday- Right Place, Right Time?

As the Jets season drew to a close, there was rampant speculation about whether Rex Ryan would keep his job as Head Coach of the New York Jets. In truth, the controversy did not apply solely to Rex, as many coaches whose teams did not make the playoffs were faced with the spectre of being fired on "Black Monday."

In what lately has become a trend, the Monday after the end of the regular NFL season has become a day when coaches and occasionally GMs are terminated by dissatisfied owners. This year, one team (the Cleveland Browns) did not even wait until Monday as they released first year Head Coach Rob Chudzinksi on Sunday evening. As today wore on, four other teams terminated their head coaches - the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions. And the day is not over yet...

Any time that a team has a losing season and particularly when the team has multiple losing seasons in a row, the head coach's job is in jeopardy. In Rex's case, the Jets had winning seasons and advanced to the AFC Championship game in each of his first two years. Then in 2011, Mark Sanchez drove the team into the ground in his final three games, throwing for a combined 5 TDs and 500 yds, but also losing two fumbles and throwing seven INTs.

The following year, Sanchez was a turnover machine, throwing for 13 TDs, but also giving the ball to the other team twenty six teams (18 INTs and 8 fumbles). Granted, he had less talent around him, but his epic failures and the creation of a new word in the lexicon after he collided with Brandon Moore's posterior, doomed the team.

This year, the Jets had the least collective offensive talent of Rex's career. However, with a stout defense and a new Offensive Coordinator, the Jets were 5-4 and looking at a possible playoff spot after nine games. But the Jets played poorly in getting blown out in their first three games after the bye week and rookie starting QB Geno Smith was benched in the second half of two of the games.

But a funny thing happened after Geno was removed in the team's first game against the Miami Dolphins- Geno's play started to improve. Although the Jets did not make the playoffs, Geno started making better decisions with the football and severely curtailed his turnovers. During this stretch, the Jets went 3-1 and their one loss was by ten points to the #2 seed in the NFC - the Carolina Panthers.

When NY Jets owner Woody Johnson announced in the Jets locker room after yesterday's win in Miami that Rex would be returning, the players cheered loudly. This was not a forced reaction -- the players really do like playing for him and would run through a wall if he asked them to. Now, a coach should not be retained solely because his players like him, no more then a CEO should be kept on at a company which is hemorrhaging money simply because  the staff adores him. But I wonder to myself, was Rex kept on because of the job he did with an admittedly poor talent base, or because the Jets braintrust knew that there was no one better on the market who could fill his position?

I can't imagine that the Jets will ever publicly answer my question, but the query can be asked in many forms. Take for example the King of Nineveh in the Book of Jonah. When Jonah finally arrives at Nineveh, he tells the King that Hashem has decreed that the city will be destroyed if they do not repent. While most rulers would dismiss this as the rantings of a lunatic, the King of Nineveh took Jonah seriously, and he and the people of Nineveh repented. Why did the King of Nineveh listen to Jonah and change his ways and those of his whole land? 

The answer lies in the Medrash which teaches that the King of Nineveh had a previously job - he was Pharaoh who fled Egypt after the Egyptian army was drowned at Yam Suf. When faced with the real possibility/probability of swift and real punishment, the King listened to Jonah and the land was saved. 

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Sunday, December 29, 2013

Sunday Night Suds - Leinenkugel's Snowdrift Vanilla Porter


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Leinenkugel's Snowdrift Vanilla Porter.

Leinenkugel first introduced this take on a porter last winter, but I did not see it in the NY area until I found it at Beverage Barn in Garden City Park earlier this month. This is another of the new Leinenkugel varieties that has an OU on the label.

The Snowdrift Vanilla Porter is a lighter version of the style. The beer poured a dark brown with a small amount of tan foam. I did not taste much in the way of malt and there was almost no hop bite. There was some coffee/chocolate notes, but they were masked by the vanilla which was infused into the brew.

Although the Snowdrift Vanilla Porter is on the high end of the alcohol scale for a Leine (6.0% abv), the beer does not have a heavy alcohol taste. The beer is actually quite drinkable and would be a good accompaniment to a dessert course, or to be consumed on its own. However, this is not the kind of beer you would drink with a heavy main course.

Leinenkugel Snowdrift Vanilla Porter is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, and as mentioned above, it has an OU on the label. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Leinenkugel Snowdrift Vanilla Porter, please follow this link beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/710/86776

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!

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Va'era

The following is a brief summary of some of the 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 pasuk of this week's parsha (Shemos 6:2) states that Hashem came to Moshe and told him that He was Hashem. This comes immediately after the end of Parshas Shemos (5:22-6:1) where Hashem tells Moshe (in response to Moshe's questioning) that now Moshe will see what Hashem will do to Pharaoh. 

The mefarshim ask why is this necessary as it appears on the surface to be redundant. The mainstream answer is that the difference between the two pesukim is that in this week's parsha, Hashem speaks to Moshe sternly by saying it with the middah of din. 

R' Frand then stated that beyond the simple pshat, we can learn from the parsha that there are things in life which occur which are extremely painful and may provoke a reaction or feeling that Hashem has abandoned the person. However, Hashem has not abandoned the person and (however difficult) the person must use his emunah and bitachon to understand that Hashem has a master plan and that everything will work out for the best.

Hashem's message to Moshe in Va'era is that you may think that I am being harsh, but everything comes from the same source and it all comes from the middas harachamim. 

The twin concepts are seen in the Shema which R' Frand remarked that a Jew says almost like a pledge of allegiance. The language of Shema has a middas hadin and a middas harachamim component, but we must know that Hashem is one.

Similarly, the Jews who went through the crucible of Egypt were being given a message that although there are times that one would question, it is all for the good.

R' Frand quoted the Sanzer Rebbi who cited to the gemara in Berachos where we learn from Rebbi that one should cover the eyes when saying Shema. Why do we do this? The Sanzer Rebbi explained that the lesson is that Hashem is both middas harachamim and din and they all come from the same source. We can't see now that it is all for the good, so we cover our eyes. When going through troubles, we can't see that it is all for the best. Thus we cover our eyes to demonstrate our acceptance that it is all for the best.

R' Frand quoted the introduction to the Sefer Kol Aryeh which discusses how Ya'akov was afraid to go down to Egypt because he foresaw the slavery of Egypt. Hashem had to convince Ya'akov to go down to Egypt and that in the end, it will be the salvation of the Jews. The Torah explains in Bereishis 46:4, that Hashem convinced Ya'akov by making reference to Yosef covering Ya'akov's eyes. The symbolism was - just as the story of Yosef seemed like a terrible thing, in the end it all worked out for the best. So too you, Ya'akov, although you see that there will be travails in Egypt, "Yosef" will cover your eyes and when the Jews leave Egypt they will be better off because of the experience.

R' Frand next said a different vort where he noted that the four languages of geula are in the parsha (Shemos 6:6-7) - v'hotseisei, v'hitsalti, v'ga'alti, v'lacachti. The Rashbam in Pesachim teaches that the four cups at the Seder corresponds to these four languages of geula.

R' Asher Weiss notes that a person can eat and drink between the first and second and between the second and third cups, but no one can drink between cups three and four. Why? Because the first three languages of geula are all about freedom from enslavement, things that everyone approves of. But the fourth language requires the Jews to submit to Hashem being their king. The message of eating/drinking between any of the first three cups is that there is no problem with drinking or otherwise separating between the cups because they are all the same. But once the freedom has been completed, there cannot be any separation between the freedom and accepting Hashem. Why? Because there cannot be freedom on its own as that would be anarchy. The freedom of Egypt must include an acceptance of the will of Hashem.

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Sunday, December 22, 2013

Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Decoction Concoction Lager


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac's Decoction Concoction Lager (DCL).

The DCL is the last new beer I have tried from Saranac's 2013-2014 Beers of Winter Box. The mix box also includes Saranac's flagship Pale Ale (reviewed here - kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/03/sunday-night-suds-saranac-pale-ale.html); two relatively new beers, the 4059 Porter (reviewed here -kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/11/sunday-night-suds-saranac-4059-porter.html) and the Belgian Pale Ale (reviewed here - kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/12/belated-sunday-night-suds-saranac.html) and three new beers - the DCL, the Moonshadow Black IPA (reviewed here - kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/11/sunday-night-suds-saranac-moonshadow.html) and Rudy's Spiced Christmas Ale (reviewed here - http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/12/sunday-night-suds-saranac-rudys-spiced.html);.

I was confused by the title of this tasty, but oddly named brew. I went to the Saranac website for some insight on the choice of name and learned very little. The website stated that the beer is dry hopped and that its flavor comes from "boiling mash being added back into the brew." This of course is what happens when a beer undergoes the the process of decoction (which is defined by the www.homebrewtalk.com website) as "Water is added to the grist to reach the initial mash temperature. Once the first temperature rest is complete, a portion of the grain and water is scooped or shoveled out of the mash tun and into the kettle or another heated vessel, where it is brought to a boil. The portion removed, which can often be as much as a third of the grist, is called the decoction."

However, I was still left with the question - is this the only beer that Saranac makes which undergoes decoction? I don't have an answer to the question, but I do know that the Saranac DCL is tasty for a lager with some floral pine, a bit of nuttiness and some malt.

Saranac's DCL is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit as is every other beer produced at the Matt Brewery plant in Utica, NY. Keep in mind, Saranac has begun to brew some of its High Peaks series off site and these bottles do not have kosher certification from the Va'ad of Detroit.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the DCL, please follow this link www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/101803.

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!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Shemos

The following is a brief summary of some of the 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 pasuk of this week's parsha states that "These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt..." The pesukim which follow (1:2-4) contain a list of all of the sons of Yaakov who came down to Egypt.

Rashi comments that even though the sons of Israel and their offspring were specifically counted in Sefer Bereishis when they were still alive, they were counted again after their death, to show how dear they were to Hashem, much like the stars. Hashem named all the stars to show how dear they are to Hashem, so too the Jews are dear to Him.

R' Frand quoted R' Leib Baks (sp?) who asked - why are the stars dear to Hashem? He answered by quoting a Rashi in Bereishis which mentioned a medrash that the sun and moon were originally the same size and had the same luminescence. The moon then came to Hashem and said - how can two wear the same crown? Hashem responded to the moon - you are right, go and diminish yourself. However, Hashem did not want the moon to feel bad, so Hashem created the stars to assist the moon in lighting the night sky.

R' Frand stated in the name of R' Baks that we see that the stars were dear to Hashem because they assisted someone or something which felt bad. Hashem loves people who are sensitive to others and make them feel better. The Jews are compared to stars because they too help to make others feel better.

R' Frand closed this vort by mentioning the Rama who writes that there is a minhag that people should get married outside under the stars so that they should have children as multiple as the stars. R' Frand said that he once heard a vort that the children should be like the stars - they should be zoche to have the sensitivity for others like the stars had for the moon.

The second vort that R' Frand said related to Amram's taking Yocheved back as a wife. The gemara in Sotah 12 states that after Pharaoh made his decree that all the male children should be thrown into the Nile, Amram divorced his wife Yocheved. His reasoning was that if no more children were born, they would not be subject to death.

Amram is now approached by Miriam who says to her father - you are worse than Pharaoh - since Pharaoh only decreed against the boys and you have decreed against all children. Pharaoh only decreed death in this world and you are causing death in the world to come. Rashi explains this by saying that a person who is not born, cannot get to Olam Haba, but once a person is born, even if the person lives for a few moments, he can earn Olam Haba.

R' Frand further explained the second half of Miriam's statement by making reference to a gemara in Sanhedrin which recites a dispute as to when a person is zoche to Olam Haba. R' Chiya says that a person can earn Olam Haba from birth. But Ravina says that it is from the moment of conception. R' Frand quoted a teshuva from R' Moshe Feinstein wherein he states that we paskin like Ravina. Thus if a woman (c'vs) has a miscarriage, the embryo can still go to Olam Haba and her pregnancy and pains were not for nothing.

R' Frand closed the vort by quoting a story about the Vilna Gaon. The Gaon had a student who tried for many years with his wife to have a child and after much time, they finally had a child, but the child died as an infant. When the Gaon came to console his student and his wife he said - your child was the gilgal of a certain Polish Nobleman named the Graf Potutski (sp?) who converted to Judaism and abandoned the privileges of his noble birth. The Polish rulers were unhappy and said - renounce your conversion or die. The Graf refused and was burned at the stake in Vilna's public square. The Gaon said to his student - your child was the gilgal of this man and the few moments that he was alive completed his neshoma.

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Sunday, December 15, 2013

Sunday Night Suds - Boulevard Bully! Porter

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Boulevard's Bully! Porter - the beer with a bulldog on the label.

When fall turns to winter and the Friday Nights get longer, I often turn to beers that can be sipped after a meal. For nights like these, you really can't beat a porter.

As explained by the good folks at BA:

Porter is said to have been popular with transportation workers of Central London, hence the name. Most traditional British brewing documentation from the 1700’s state that Porter was a blend of three different styles: an old ale (stale or soured), a new ale (brown or pale ale) and a weak one (mild ale), with various combinations of blending and staleness. The end result was also commonly known as "Entire Butt" or "Three Threads" and had a pleasing taste of neither new nor old. It was the first truly engineered beer, catering to the public's taste, playing a critical role in quenching the thirst of the UK’s Industrial Revolution and lending an arm in building the mega-breweries of today. 

Porter saw a comeback during the homebrewing and micro-brewery revolution of the late 1970’s and early 80’s, in the US. Modern-day Porters are typically brewed using a pale malt base with the addition of black malt, crystal, chocolate or smoked brown malt. The addition of roasted malt is uncommon, but used occasionally. Some brewers will also age their beers after inoculation with live bacteria to create an authentic taste. Hop bitterness is moderate on the whole and color ranges from brown to black. Overall they remain very complex and interesting beers.

The Bully! Porter was out of a mix box that I bought in Chicago and had a best by date of August, but that had no impact on this beer. The beer had the initial coffee notes of a Guinness, but some additional complexities, with a hint of vanilla and some other earthy tones. I have one more left from the mix box and I intend to let it cellar for a few more months.

Boulevard Bully! Porter is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Kansas City, but the bottle I purchased did not have the certification mark on the label. If you would like the LOC from the Va'ad, please let me know and I will email it to you.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link -http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/1262.

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!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayechi

The following is a brief summary of some of the 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 this week's parsha is the famous story of the blessings that Yaakov gives to Yosef's sons, wherein Yaakov switches his hands and put his right hand on Ephraim's head and gave him the better blessing, even though Menashe was the older son.

The Chizkuni asks - why is it that Yaakov switches his hands, why did he not just ask the boys to switch sides?

R' Frand mentioned four answers to this question. The first answer was the Chizkuni's answer to his own question (also mentioned by the Maharshal) which was that Yaakov did not want Menashe to feel bad. Yaakov knew that Ephraim was more deserving of the better blessing, but he did not want Menashe to suffer the public indignity of being moved around. As a result, he only switches his hands in order to minimize the possibility of hurting Menashe's feeling.

R' Frand noted that the words of the pasuk support this answer, as the Torah in Bereishis 48:14 uses the words "Sikeil es Yadav Ki Menashe Habechor." Although the word Sikeil is usually translated as switch, R' Frand explained that Yaakov used Sechel (wisdom) because Menashe was the first born and he should get the better brocha, but Yaakov did not want him to feel any additional pain.

The second answer given by R' Frand came from the Ksav Sofer, who explains that the way that Yaakov did this, Menashe did not realize that there was any problem. R' Frand surmised that the boys had their heads down when the brochos were given. As a result, Yaakov's wisdom in moving his hands rather than moving the boys, prevented Menashe from even realizing that he was not getting the better brocha. 

The third answer was given in the name of the Ma'adanei Asher. R' Frand noted that the gemara in Taanis states in the name of R' Yosi that a place does not give honor to the person, the person gives honor to the place. Whether a lesser man sits in a good seat, or a greater man sits in the back - it makes no difference. This was the message to Menashe - its not where you sit, its what you do with the seat.

The fourth answer was mentioned in the name of the Imrei Emes, who says that this the most important lesson in chinuch - teach the child based on where he is. Yaakov did not move the children around - he moved himself because the teacher must go to the child and teach him based on his own way, and not to pigeon hole based on the teacher's own thoughts.

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!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Rudy's Spiced Christmas Ale


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac Brewery's Rudy's Spiced Christmas Ale (or RSCA for short).

Found this beer in the 2013-2014 Beers of Winter Box, which which also includes Saranac's flagship Pale Ale (reviewed here - kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/03/sunday-night-suds-saranac-pale-ale.html) along with three new beers - the Moonshadow Black IPA (reviewed here - kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/11/sunday-night-suds-saranac-moonshadow.html); Decoction Concoction) and two relatively new beers, the 4059 Porter (reviewed here -kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/11/sunday-night-suds-saranac-4059-porter.html) and the Belgian Pale Ale (reviewed here - kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/12/belated-sunday-night-suds-saranac.html).

The RSCA bills itself as a spiced ale and in the capacity it is true to form. There is a great deal of spice in this brew, albeit somewhat muddled. I had a difficult time isolating any of the spices, notwithstanding the description on the Saranac website that the ingredient list reads like a Christmas cookie. 

However, the larger problem that I had with this beer is that it just does not taste like an ale. There are no hops and the alcohol content is not really present (although BA claims that it is 6% abv). There is a generous serving of malts, but that just does not say ale to me.

Overall, this is an OK beer if you like spiced beer/winter warmers, but I would not rank this among my favorite Saranac products.

Saranac RSCA is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit as is every other beer produced at the Matt Brewery plant in Utica, NY. Keep in mind, Saranac has begun to brew some of its High Peaks series off site and these bottles do not have kosher certification from the Va'ad of Detroit.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the RSCA, please follow this link www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/101533.

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!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayigash

The following is a brief summary of some of the 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.

When Yosef accuses the brothers of stealing his cup at the end of Parshas Mikeitz, Yehuda responds in Bereishis 44:16 with a statement of contrition. However, when the story continues at the beginning of Parshas Vayigash, Yehuda is less apologetic. In fact, Yehuda cautions Yosef in Bereishis 44:18 that Yosef should not get angry at him. Rashi explains that the reason that Yehuda says this to Yosef is because Yehuda spoke harshly to Yosef at this time.

R' Frand then asked the obvious question - what changed from Mikeitz to Vayigash which could explain why Yehuda was now speaking more harshly to Yosef?

R' Frand answered by quoting the Or Hachayim HaKadosh, who explains that until now, the brothers felt that their ordeal was a punishment for how they treated Yosef. As such, they accepted that this was their penance and they did not push back. But after Yosef told them that they can all go and only Binyamin should stay, they realized that this was not from Hashem. They perceived that Yosef was being an achzar and they changed their tune to be more confrontational.

R' Frand next quoted the Vilna Gaon who observed that the trop (the cantellation marks) on the first pasuk of Vayigash is Kadma V'azla Revi'e Zarka Munach Segol. These notes tell the story that Yehuda, who was the fourth son (revi'e) got up and went (kadma v'azla) to Yosef. Why did Yehuda do this? Because he had previously promised Yaakov that if he did not bring back Binyamin, he would forfeit his place in the world to come. This can be translated as zorek (thrown out) from munach (resting with) segol (the Jewish nation).

R' Frand's final vort discussed the story of how Serach, the daughter of Asher, hinted to Yaakov that Yosef was still alive. The Medrash explains that Serach played a musical instrument and sang a melody to Yaakov of "Od Yosef Chai." The Sefer HaYashar explains that the brothers were afraid that if they told Yaakov outright that Yosef was alive, the shock could have killed Yaakov. By having Serach sing this song to Yaakov, when the brothers showed up later to tell him that Yosef was still alive, Yaakov was not as shocked.

R' Frand quoted R' Pa'am who said that we learn from this that a person needs to be careful about how to discuss things with others. He quoted a R' Yaakov Bender, a principal in a local yeshiva, who had a rule for contacting parents. When he called a parent, he always began the conversation, I am Yaakov Bender and your son is fine. This immediately put the parent at ease as a call from a principal can be stressful enough. 

I personally had a moment like this about eight years ago, when I was informed by my secretary that the principal of Penina's school was on the phone and "she had to talk to me." When I picked up the phone, the principal began the conversation by saying,  "I had to call you to tell you something very important." My heart began racing and I had all sorts of thoughts. The principal continued, "your second grade daughter just told the most incredible dvar Torah." My heart calmed down and I was struck by a sense of relief and pride in my daughter and ... a feeling that I wanted to kill the principal.

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, December 2, 2013

Monday's Musings on Sports - Breaking up chemistry or making sacrifices?

Like most sports fans, in all of the sports that I follow, I have a favorite team that I root for and follow. Each of my favorite teams has at least one bitter rival which always brings out the best in my team...or is the seeming cause of my team's downfall. In baseball, I root for the Mets, but they are always done in by the Phillies or Braves. In football, I root for the Jets, but they are frequently bested by the Patriots. In basketball, I root for the Nets, but its not a strong rooting interest and they have no bitter rival as of now. But of all the teams that I follow, its only the NY Rangers that I actively root for bad things to happen to their rivals, the NY Islanders.

Perhaps the cause of my enmity for the Islanders (or Icelanders to quote the Gaon S' Somers) came from growing up on Long Island and watching them win four Stanley Cups in a row in the early 80's. It could also have come from watching players I thought were nasty/dirty who got away with injuring my beloved Ranger players.

Over the last twenty years or so, the Ranger-Islander rivalry has diminished, largely due to the Islanders dismal performance under the management of the team under Mike Milbury and now Garth Snow (five playoff appearances since 1994 and zero playoff series victories). But even though the Islanders have been a weak sister for nearly twenty years, I still relish watching the team flounder.

Earlier this season, the Islanders made a splash in the trade market by trading Matt Moulson (at the time one of their top line players) and two draft picks to Buffalo for Thomas Vanek. If one examined the trade purely from the perspective of trading one player for another, it would appear that the Islanders got the better end of the deal as Vanek is a pure goal scorer and an upgrade over Moulson. But the Islanders also traded two high draft picks and that would seem to tip the scales towards Buffalo. But that is not even the tip of the iceberg.

Besides being a top line scorer, Moulson was also close friends with Islanders' team captain John Tavares. It was reported on NHL Radio that Tavares went to Moulson's house to help him pack and that while it was understood that this was "part of the business of sports", Tavares was upset about the deal. Since making the deal, the Islanders who previously were 6-2-3 have gone 2-13-2 and are living in the basement of the Metropolitan Division. So was the addition of the better player at the sacrifice of team chemistry really worth it?

The discussion of making sacrifices for the sake of achdus can be found in the Torah reading for Chanukah. Each day of Chanukah we read about one of the sacrifices brought by a Nasi. The Torah reading comes from Parshas Nasso where the sacrifices are repeated twelve times, with little to no variation in the verses as each Nasi brought the same sacrifice.

I recently heard a shiur from R' Mansour on www.learntorah.com where he asked why the Torah needed to recite the same sacrifice 12 times? Couldn't the Torah have just said it once and then given an "ibid"?

R' Mansour answered by quoting the Medrash which explained that when the miskhan was dedicated, each nasi was allowed to come up with his own formula for the sacrifice. However, after the first sacrifice was brought, the second Nasi said - we should all do exactly the same sacrifice because that way there will be no one upsmanship games. Surprisingly, all the other Nessiem agreed and they all brought the same sacrifice. This showing of achdus was so impressive to Hashem that he decided that each sacrifice would be written in the Torah, even though they were all repetitive. Indeed, even though at least one nasi offered his sacrifice on Shabbos (when individual sacrifices are not permitted), they were permitted to proceed on Shabbos because of the achdus of the gesture.

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!

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Sunday Night Suds - Boulevard Dark Truth Stout


For weeks prior to Thanksgiving, people were asking me which beer I was going to have with the turkey & latkes. I thought about it for some time, before deciding that the best beer would be the Boulevard Dark Truth Stout. And then I forgot to chill the beer and only realized it as the turkey was being served. 

So here I am days later, trying the Dark Truth Stout and I am struck by two thoughts: (1) this is a great rich stout and (2) it would not have gone well with the turkey (or latkes).

The Dark Truth Stout has loads of coffee and a significant kick from the 9.7% abv in the brew. But this beer is more than just a coffee like stout. There are complexities and flavors within the brew which need to be sipped and enjoyed. The beer poured dark black, but with many inches of foam that looked almost like a chocolate milkshake. The first sips were coffee and then the alcohol flavor kicked in, followed by warm spice and more bitterness.

This is not a beer for those who prefer lagers or lite beers. But if you like stouts with full body, this is worth spending the $3.49 for a bottle.

Boulevard Dark Truth Stout is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Kansas City, but the bottle I purchased did not have the certification mark on the label. If you would like the LOC from the Va'ad, please let me know and I will email it to you.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link -http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/56469.

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!