Thursday, January 30, 2014

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Terumah

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 Parsha states at Shemos 25:8 - you shall make for Me a Mikdash and I will dwell there.

R' Frand quoted Rashi who explains that the pasuk means that Hashem wants a person to build for Him a house of holiness. 

R' Frand then mentioned an email that he received two years ago during the week of Parshas Terumah which had a story about the Tscherbiner (sp?) Rav. (R' Frand said that he had heard from his youth that the Tscherbiner Rav was the gadol hador). The email contained the observations of a R' Booksbaum (sp?) who saw that R' Aryeh Levin was crying outside the house of the Tscherbiner Rav. R' Booksbaum asked him - why are you crying? R' Levin responded that one of his children was sick and he wanted to go to a holy place to pray, but (since this was pre-1967) he could not go to the Kotel easily, so he went to another holy place - the house of the Tscherbiner Rav.

R Frand said that R' Booksbaum once repeated what he had seen to R' Shlomo Zalman Oyerbach who was also a resident of the Shaarei Chessed neighborhood where the Tscherbiner Rav resided. R' Shlomo Zalman said - this is certainly a holy place and I too look up and pray when I walk by it.

R' Frand closed the vort by saying, this is the meaning of the pasuk - a person can make for himself a holy place.

Along similar lines, R' Frand quoted the pasuk at Shemos 25:11 which states that the aron was covered on the inside and outside with gold. R' Frand observed that the aron which held the luchos is compared to a talmid chacham and that just as as the aron was gold inside and outside, the talmid chacham must be the same on the inside and the outside - tocho k'baro.

R' Frand had a few illustrations as to this point, but the one that caught my attention was the famous story in the gemara about how R' Gamliel used to exclude men who wanted to learn from the beis medrash if they were not similar on the inside and outside. 

The gemara explains that after R' Gamliel was removed from office for a particular reason, the numbers of students who learned increased tremendously and R' Gamliel became upset. R' Frand quoted the Chidushei Harim, who explains that the reason R' Gamliel was upset was that he saw that these new students were succeeding and that they now were similar on the inside and outside. Upon seeing this, R' Gamliel realized the error of his ways as he saw that the power of the Torah can transform someone and make him good on the inside and the outside.

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Sunday, January 26, 2014

Sunday Night Suds - Redd's Strawberry Ale


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Redd's Strawberry Ale.

In late 2012, Miller/Coors began test marketing Redd's Apple Ale, a beer which was not quite a hard apple cider and not exactly an ale. When I finally got a chance to try the Apple Ale last winter, I found that it was refreshing and crisp. (To see my review of the beer click here - kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/02/sunday-night-suds-redds-apple-ale.html).

Then last summer, I received word that the Miller/Coors people had begun to sell a strawberry ale. This seemed a little more questionable to me, but when it finally became available in the Northeast, I had to at least try it.

Mrs KB and I enjoyed this beer while on a family trip last week. (Stay tuned for more blog posts on the trip and the great variety of kosher beers that I found in the Buffalo area...). Since we were away from home, there were not many options for dinner, so the Strawberry Ale was consumed with deli that we had brought on the trip. As the deli meat was not super-strong flavored, there was no possibility that it would overcome the beer, nor that the beer would mesh well with the sandwiches. 

With this kind of introduction, I can honestly say that the Redd's Strawberry Ale was...just kind of there. There was a little ale in the background, but the overwhelming flavor was artificial strawberry. The taste and aroma lingered like the scent of my 9 year old daughter's strawberry lip gloss. This is not to say that the flavor was awful... it just was not beer. 

If you are looking for an ale with a little different flavor, this beer probably will not fit the bill. But if you are in the mood for an alcopop type beverage - (something sweet with a little bit of a kick) then this is the product for you.

Redd's Strawberry Ale is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union like nearly every beer produced by MillerCoors and there is an OU on the bottle. For the experts' take on the Redd's Strawberry Ale, please click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/105/98283

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!

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Sunday Night Suds - Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout



This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout.

For fans of big beers with big flavor, the Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout is true to its name. Big Eddy is the Leinenkugel premium line and a Russian Imperial Stout is a beer with big taste. The experts at BA have defined the style as:

Inspired by brewers back in the 1800's to win over the Russian Czar, this is the king of stouts, boasting high alcohol by volumes and plenty of malt character. Low to moderate levels of carbonation with huge roasted, chocolate and burnt malt flavours. Often dry. Suggestions of dark fruit and flavors of higher alcohols are quite evident. Hop character can vary from none, to balanced to aggressive.

The Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout has the high level of alcohol which is characteristic of the style as it is 9.5% abv. The beer is not heavily carbonated and there is a significant amount of roasted chocolate malt. But this is not a one note beer. There are deep fruit flavors such as blackberry which issue from the back of each sip and there is a surprising amount of sweetness. 

Due to the roasted chocolate malt flavors, I tried to pair this with chocolate babka, but the combination was not successful. It is a solid beer for drinking slowly after dinner, but I cannot recommend any pairing at this time.

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, and has an OU on the label. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this beer, please follow this link http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/710/39334

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, January 16, 2014

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Yisro

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.

R' Frand introduced his vort on the parsha tonight by saying that it may sound like a halachic shiur, but it has a hashkafah/parsha component. Iy'h this will become apparent below.

R' Frand quoted the Rama on Shulchan Orech 296 who states that a person making havdalah should pour out some of the wine on the floor before making the boreh pri hagafen. Why? So that the cup will not be a tainted cup (kos pagum). He continues that any house where they don't pour water like wine will not have a sign of blessing. It concludes that the wine is poured out at this point so that it will be a good sign for the week.

R' Frand polled the audience as to whether anyone pours wine on the floor. There were no positive responses from the audience.

R' Frand followed with a reference to the Taz who says that he does not understand the Rama. What does pouring on the floor have to do with kos pagum? And how can something that we make a blessing on be poured on the floor? Isn't it wasting in violation of ba'al tashchis? 

The Taz countered that the minhag is that wine is poured into the cup and the cup is overfilled and a bit spills out on the plate under the cup. (R' Frand said that he did not need to poll the audience, as he is sure that everyone does this minhag).

The Taz continues that the the language of the Rama is retroactive - (b'dieved) if something negative happens, like wine spilling, and the father/master of the house does not get upset, it is a sign of blessing for the house. A person generally will get mad if an expensive bottle of wine spills or something breaks. If this occurs and there is no anger, it is a sign of beracha for the house.

The Taz tied the thought into a gemara in Sotah (3b), where R' Chisda says that anger in the house is like worms for sesame seeds. Much like the worms destroy the seeds, anger destroys the house and causes poverty. If the act is accepted as unfortunate, but no anger occurs, it is a sign of blessing for the house.

R' Frand quoted the sefer B'Zos Yavo Aharon who explains that if there is anger on a loss, it is a sign that the person lacks faith in Hashem. If the person believes in Hashem, then he knows that it is all from Hashem and meant to be this way.

R' Frand closed the vort by saying that we see this concept in the Aseres Hadibros. The first of the commandments is to recognize and know Hashem. The last commandment is not to be jealous of a neighbor. It is easier to accept on one's self that Hashem took the Jews out of Egypt. But if you want to see faith in practice, one must look at how the person deals with adversity. If the person knows and accepts that it all comes from Hashem, he will not be jealous that someone else has a nicer...(you can fill in the blank).

This is the message of the wine spilling over that it is b'dieved - if a person sees that something does not go his way and does not cry over spilled milk, it will be a sign of beracha for him for the week.

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Sunday, January 12, 2014

Sunday Night Suds - Boulevard Brewery Zon


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Boulevard Brewery's Zon.

Yes, I admit it. I like to occasionally drink beers out of season. I am not talking about drinking beer that is past its freshness date. I think everybody will occasionally do that until they learn which brewery's freshness dates should be taken seriously and which beers can be cellared.

What I mean by drinking beers out of season is drinking summer beers during the winter. There are certain beer styles that are meant to be enjoyed during the summer months: after a long day at work, or at a barbecue, or just when the weather demands a lighter beer. But just because a beer, is meant for the summer does not mean that it has to be consumed exclusively during the summer.

The Boulevard Brewery Zon is clearly a summer beer. It is witbier and a lighter version of a witbier at that. When poured into the glass, the beer is a deep yellow. The bottle label recommends that you swirl the last inch or so in the bottle before you pour it into the glass. This is done to allow the yeast to mix with the brew. Doing so adds a little more complexity to the brew and some cloudiness to the glass.

The first sip of this beer is sweetness, but not like a soda or juice drink. The sweetness comes from the wheat in this witbier, tempered by the coriander and orange peel. Although these are clearly additives to the beer, they don't turn this into a shandy or other mockery of a beer. Instead it is a great light (not lite) spiced beer.

Boulevard Zon 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/423/3278.

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, January 9, 2014

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Beshalach

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 Shemos 14:3, the Torah states that Pharaoh told the Jews that they are imprisoned in the land and the desert has locked them in. The obvious question is - who did Pharaoh tell this to? The Jews had already left Egypt with Moshe! 

The pashut pshat as said by many meforshim is that Pharaoh said this about the Jews and not to them. But the Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel explains that Pharaoh said this to Dasan and Aviram, who had not left yet.

R' Frand asked - if Dasan and Aviram were such evil people that they did not leave with Moshe, how were they still around? These were Moshe's historical antagonists, yet we read about them later in the Torah so they obviously got out. But how did they merit to get out of Egypt?

The Maharal Diskin explains that Dasan and Aviram's merit was that they were among the shotrim - the police who were in charge of the Jews in Egypt. But these were not like the Kapos in the concentration camps. In Egypt, the shotrim were beaten by the Egyptians when the Jews did not meet their quotas. But the shotrim did not turn around and take it out on the Jews in Egypt, nor did they turn them in to the Egyptians. The shotrim suffered in silence, even when their wounds did not heal and their bodies smelled.

R' Frand concluded the vort by noting that Hashem loves the people who protect their fellow Jews and willingly take on the punishment meant for others. Although Dasan and Aviram were wicked and provoked Moshe many a time, Hashem had mercy on them because they had given up their bodies to protect their fellow Jews.

The second vort that R' Frand said over dealt with the manna. When the Jews complained to Moshe that they missed the food in Egypt and that they were all going to starve and die, Hashem responded to Moshe in Shemos 16:4, I will give them the manna from the heavens. Every single day, the Jews would go out and collect their daily needs.

R' Frand said that we may be jaded with all the miracles from Egypt, but this was a true miracle. Imagine going every morning to your mailbox and getting a check, without having to work.

But later Moshe responds to the Jews' complaints in Shemos 16:7-8, if you have a problem, don't bring it to me - bring it to Hashem.

This does not seem like Moshe, how does the loyal servant Moshe tells the Jews - this is not my problem - go ask Hashem!

The gemara remarks that Moshe shows great modesty here by saying I am nothing, its all from Hashem. But isn't this misplaced modesty? Shouldn't Moshe have been firmer in his response?

R' Frand answered by quoting the Tollner Rebbi who explains the R' B'Chaye on the parsha. The R' B'Chaye states that the manna comes because the Jews said in Shemos 15:2, "Zeh Keili V'Anvehu." What is the connection? 

R' Frand answered that when the Jews crossed the Yam Suf they had a great cognizance of Hashem and saw great miracles. Thus when the Jews said "Zeh Keili V'Anvehu" they put on emphasis on the Keili - this is my God, He is my father. And because the Jews had this closeness with Hashem, they were zoche to the manna. A parent takes care of his children because this is what a father does. Hashem heard the Jews and said, if you feel like this about Me, then I will give you the manna.

When the Jews complain to Moshe and ask "what did you do to us, why did you take us out of Egypt", Moshe needed to make sure the relationship would not be broken, so he responded to them - go to Hashem because He is your father. This was not Moshe passing the buck, it was Moshe telling them - go to your father because He will take care of you - its not from me.

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Monday, January 6, 2014

Monday's Musings on Sports - And Now For Something Entirely Different

After a weekend of truly wild wildcard games where the road team won three of four games and the one home winner (Indianapolis) may have been the most unlikely victor of them all, I was all set to write about NFL Football. And then Yahoo Sports posted a story and I knew that I had to write about something entirely different.

At some point last year, I became aware of Aaron Liberman, a college freshman who was trying to walk-on at Northwestern University. For those lacking a background in college athletics, here's a brief introduction to walk-on. Most players on Division I college sports teams are scholarship players who were recruited out of high school and are given a free education in exchange for their playing for the team. Schools will also have open tryouts where any student can try to make the team. Players who are successful in tryouts may practice with the team and the rare few may even get some playing time. (Yes, I did see Rudy, but that was a Hollywood dramatization).

The article that I saw talked about how Liberman had successfully made the Northwestern University basketball team as a "freshman" (he actually spent a year in yeshiva in Israel), but would not be playing in games until the following year. I can't remember if this was the actual article, but the NY Times has a great piece from last January which discusses Liberman's background, the choices that he made and the accommodation that Northwestern made for him. (To see the article, please click here  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/sports/ncaabasketball/northwesterns-aaron-liberman-studies-xs-os-and-torah.html?_r=0. Another article which was featured on the PostGame blog can be found here http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/style-points/201212/college-player-bringing-religious-garb-back-court ).

Of course, after reading about him last year, I did a little YouTube research and saw some amateurish video of Liberman playing for Valley Torah Academy in California. (If you found my blog, you can do your own research on YouTube to find some of Liberman's HS highlights ).

So this year, Liberman is no longer just practicing with the team, he has actually played in some games. The article on the front page of Yahoo is incorrect in asserting that the recent game against Michigan was the first appearance for Liberman as the same Yahoo site has statistics for him in four games, but the picture of a frum athlete playing for Northwestern was inspiring for me and I am sure for many young aspiring frum ball players. The article can be found here - http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/aaron-liberman-makes-big-ten-history-wearing-yarmulke-050602763--ncaab.html. Liberman's statistics so far this season can be found here - http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/players/117758/gamelog.

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, January 5, 2014

Sunday Night Suds - Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest.

Two winters ago, the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company rolled out their premium line which they called "Big Eddy." According to the bottle neck, the brewery is fed by the Big Eddy Creek, hence the name "Big Eddy." Personally, if I was naming the premium line for a brewery, I would have come up with something a little more classy. Big Eddy sounds like an enforcer or thug. Maybe I am biased because I had a bus driver when I was growing up whose name was Big Eddy. He was a big guy, with close cropped grey hair. No one messed with Big Eddy..., but I digress.

The Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest poured a dark orange, with no cloudiness and very little foam. The first taste is malt and they linger on the tongue as some of the hops start to hit. There is a considerable citrus flavor, more orange like then anything else. The sweetness never really goes away and although there is some alcohol flavor, the overwhelming flavor is the malt and orange.

I tried this beer on its own after dinner, so I have no first hand pairing information. I could see drinking this with sweet stuffed cabbage or sweet and sour chicken. I do have one more bottle left of this, so I may save it until Mrs KB makes one of these sweet dishes.

Because the Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest is in the premium line, the price is a little steep. The beer ran $11.99 for a four pack at the Beverage Barn in GC Park. Luckily, the owner let me mix this with another of the Big Eddy varieties (the Russian Imperial Stout) so I did not have to drop $25 to try the first two kinds of Big Eddy to hit the NY area.

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, and has an OU on the label. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this beer, please follow this link http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/710/97186

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, January 2, 2014

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Bo

The following is a brief summary of some of the thoughts said over by R' Mansour on the parsha this evening. Although is post is usually a summary of parsha vorts said by R' Frand, I have substituted the summary of R' Mansour's shiur because we were unable to play the R' Frand shiur tonight. Same rules as usual apply - 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' Mansour.

R' Mansour gave an introduction to his shiur by talking about the name Elokim as one of Hashem's names. We generally view this name as one of judgment, but R' Mansour quoted the Arizal, who explains that the name Elokim has two parts - the first three letters are aleph, lamed, heh and the last two letters are mem and yud. These are two words - aleh (these) and either mi (who) or yam (sea). The Arizal explains that the aleh is chessed, whereas the mi is din. When the aleh comes before the mi, the mercy overcomes the judgment. But if one puts the judgment before the mercy, it is much more serious.

R' Mansour next mentioned two times when the words mi and aleh come together. In Parshas Vayechi (48:8-9), Yaakov says to Yosef, Mi Aleh - who are these children?  To this Yosef responds, no they are from Hashem. Rashi on 48:8, explains that the question Yaakov was asking was - are these children from wicked people and not deserving a blessing? To this Yosef responded these are the children that Elokim gave to me.

The second incident is from Vayishlach where Esav comes to Yaakov (33:5) and says who are all these people (your wives and children). On a basic medrashic level, Esav is asking - since you were only supposed to get olam haba, how are you deserving all of this? The Arizal explains that in so doing, Esav tries to create an ayin hara by reversing the mi and the aleh, by putting the mi first. To this Yaakov responds, these are the children that Hashem has given to me.

R' Mansour next referred to the Chassam Sofer who explains that the world is called an olam which comes from the root of he'elam - hidden. R' Mansour asked - which part of the world is hidden? He answered that Hashem is hidden, while nature is apparent. Therefore it falls to us to recognize Hashem in nature and publicize it to the world.

R' Mansour gave an example of a kidney. The kidney is a few pounds of flesh that filters the blood. Although science has created a dialysis machine, it cannot make a kidney which can be implanted to clean the blood. How can anyone say that a person was created accidentally, while the kidney is such a perfect organ?

R' Mansour gave a similar example of the sun. The sun is in the perfect place in the solar system. If it was closer to earth, the earth would burn up. If the sun was further away, the earth would freeze. Again, how can anyone say that this was an accidental act which created such a perfect existence.

The Chassam Sofer explains - those that think that the world just "happened" are the ones who are saying "mi", because they do not believe in Hashem. However, those who see Hashem in everything say "aleh" - these are things that Hashem created.

When Moshe first came to Pharaoh, Pharaoh said to Moshe in Shemos 5:2 - mi Hashem - who is Hashem? This was Pharaoh publicly saying, I don't believe that there is anyone who created and controlled the world. 


Hashem addresses Pharaoh's lack of belief with the plagues that are found in this week's parsha. The first pasuk of the parsha states that Hashem tells Moshe to go to Pharaoh because Hashem has hardened Pharaoh's heart and those of his servants, so that Hashem can put these (aleh) signs in his heart (bikirbo). Because Pharaoh was lacking the aleh, Hashem needed to harden his heart so that everyone could publicly see the aleh.

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!