Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayeira

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

In this week's parsha we read about Avraham Avinu's act of Hachnasas Orchim in bringing the angels in and providing for them. Although this is the character trait that Avraham was known for, this story is the only time in the Torah that we see Avraham do chesed. R' Frand remarked that it is ironic that this is the chesed story, since it was wholly unnecessary, given that the angels did not need the chesed.

R' Frand next mentioned the Gemara in Bava Metzia which recounts how that day Hashem made the sun very strong so that no one would be wandering in and bothering Avraham. Of course, this was upsetting to Avraham and he sent Eliezer put to look for guests. Eliezer returns and tells Avraham - there is no one around. Avraham then responds - I don't believe you. Again, R' Frand observed that it was very odd that Avraham said that he did not believe Eliezer, since Avraham trusted Eliezer to be the steward of his house and he even sent Eliezer out to find a bride for Yitzchak.

R' Frand answered in the name of the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mesivta of Long Beach that there are two kinds of chesed. One kind of chesed is taking care of people who need help, where in so doing you fulfill someone's obvious needs. But there is a second kind of chesed - which is done because the person doing the chesed needs to do chesed. Hashem created the world because He needed to do chesed.

R' Frand connected this with the line in Shemoneh Esreh which states that Hashem gave us Ahavas Chesed - He gave us the trait of loving and needing to do chesed, even if no one needs it.

This trait of needing to do chesed is unique to Jews and it was for this reason that Avraham did not trust Eliezer. Avraham figured that Eliezer went out to look for guests and came back with none, but that he did not look very hard because he did not have a real need to do chesed. Avraham trusted him about everything else, but he needed to do chesed and could not just rely on Eliezer.

This is also why this story serves as an illustration of Avraham's act of chesed. The angels did not need the chesed, Avraham needed to do the chesed.

[Earlier in the shiur, R' Frand also told an incredible story about Hachnasas Orchim which I will iyh blog in the next few days].

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Sunday's Substitute for Suds

Yes, one of the main functions of this blog is to report on beer under kosher supervision, since it is the perfect pairing for so many things...but not when you have a stomach flu as I unfortunately am experiencing. So while this week's Sunday Night Suds will be deferred to Monday (iyh), I would like to spend a few moments on some thoughts which occurred to me about Parshas Lech Lecha.

In Bereishis chapter 16, the Torah discusses the interplay between Sarah and Hagar, wherein Sarah gives Hagar to Avraham so that he could have children. The Torah writes that after Sarah gave Hagar to Avraham, Hagar immediately became pregnant and at the same time changed her attitude towards Sarah as Sarah was lowered in Hagar's eyes (16:4).

Rashi fills in some color to the story and explains that Hagar had said that Sarah is not righteous and must not be the same on the inside as she appears to be on the outside. She based this opinion on the fact that Sarah was never able to become pregnant and she (Hagar) had become pregnant soon after she was given to Avraham.

Reading this Rashi made me think about the current situation in Israel. During the period of 1948 to 1967, the Old City of Jerusalem was controlled by Jordan, which destroyed all the synagogues in the Old City and barred all Jews from even entering East Jerusalem. I can recall my parents telling me about visiting the Western part of Jerusalem in the early 1960s and being told not to point to the Old City, as the Jordanian snipers might think that the hand was a rifle and they would then open fire.

After Israel conquered the Old City from Jordan, the Israelis did not do unto the Arabs what had been done unto the Jews. Rather than close the mosque complex, Israel allowed Jordan and the Waqf to control the Temple Mount area. Jews were limited to certain points of entry if they wanted to visit the Temple Mount and they were even restricted as to times of visit. Most important to the Arabs, the Jews were also prohibited from praying on Har Habayis - even though there is no holier site for a Jew (and the word Jerusalem does not even appear in the Quran).

But notwithstanding Israel's ceding of control to Jordan and allowing the Arabs access despite Jordan's prior restrictions on Jews, the Arabs have repaid this kindness with venom, hatred and bold faced lies as to the "status quo" of the area. 

For the last few weeks, the news has been filled with stories of "lone wolf" attacks wherein people who were not known to have prior terror ties would use cars to run down pedestrians or knives to attack random Jews. Why? Because the Arab leaders had lied to them and told them that Israel was looking to close the Temple Mount to Arabs and/or was going to allow Jews to pray there.

Thus what was old is now new once again. Much like Sarah took the audacious step of giving her heart away by endorsing the union of her maidservant Hagar with Avraham, the Jews had allowed the Jordanian Waqf to control the Jews' most important and holiest place on Earth. And much like Sarah, what have the Jews received in response from Hagar's descendants? Pain, ridicule and scorn in which the current occupants of the Temple Mount make the Jews appear evil when this could not be further from the truth.

But there is brightness emanating from the story of Avraham and Sarah which can serve to give us hope, even in the current dark times. The Targum Yerushalmi  relates a conversation between Avraham and Sarah which is also not mentioned explicitly in the pesukim. The Yerushalmi explains that Sarah says to Avraham - I have endured so much - I too left my parents and traveled to here, I was taken captive by Pharaoh and Avimelech and each time pretended to be your sister. Now, Hagar has insulted me and made me appear to be a fraud because I could not have children. But this is the reason why I will have children. Hashem will have to judge us now and because I have silently suffered these indignities and embarrassment, Hashem will have to grant me a child.

We can only hope that our dream of a rebuilt Beis Hamikdash will come more quickly, based on the humiliation being visited upon Israel by those who are currently occupying the Temple Mount.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Lech Lecha

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

In Bereishis 15, Hashem and Avraham have a dialogue wherein Avraham seeks reassurance that he will have children who will inherit the land. In Bereishis 15:5, the Torah recites that Hashem took Avraham outside and told him to attempt to count the stars. Towards the end of the pasuk, the Torah writes "Vayomer Lo, Koh Yihiyeh Zarecha."

R' Frand quoted R' Meir Shapiro who asked why did the Torah need to say "Vayomer Lo" (and He said to him)? It was obvious that Avraham and Hashem were in the middle of a conversation, so why did the Torah need to announce that Hashem spoke to Avraham?

R' Shapiro answered that there was more to the story, as there was actually a gap of time. When Hashem told Avraham to go out and count the stars, Avraham actually went out and started counting, even thought the task would have been impossible to properly complete. When the Torah writes that Hashem said to Avraham like this will be your children, Hashem was telling Avraham - you will have children like this - children who will see tasks and recognize that they are incredibly difficult, but they will not shy away from them.

R' Frand illustrated this point by identifying Rabbanim who came to America post WWII and started yeshivos such as R' Mottel Katz who started Telshe where the initial set of boys came out of public school. Or R' Aharon Kotler who came to Lakewood where the boys did not have much background. He included a story about the beginning of Ner Israel where the Rosh Yeshiva ztl envisioned building a dormitory when there were only eight boys in the school. Similarly the Ponovicher Rav saw where he wanted to build a Yeshiva in Israel and was told that he was dreaming and he responded - I may be dreaming, but I am not sleeping.

This was the power of Avraham - to take on what seemed like daunting tasks and not consider that they were too tough to tackle. Seeing this, Hashem explicitly says to Avraham - your children will have this trait as well.

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Sunday Night Suds - Lakefront Brewery Tom Citra Hopped IPA

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at one of the Lakefront Brewery's My Turn Series - Tom Citra-Hopped IPA.

Picked up this beer while I was in Chicago for the first days of the Sukkos holiday. I could not possibly have reviewed this beer next week when my Jets will play their arch nemesis Patriots, so I picked this beer to review in the week of Erev Brady.

The Citra Hopped IPA is bursting with hops and easily one of the best new IPA's I have tried this year. The beer pours a burnished copper color and is significantly darker than most IPAs. The beer is also a bit cloudy, which is atypical of this style.

At 6%  abv, the beer is about average for an American IPA, but the taste is anything but average. The first sip is grapefruit and the citrus piles on from there. It is not a one note brew and the grapefruit leads to pine and even a little bit vanilla.

I would pair this beer with charred chicken, maybe even with a little bit of grilled fruit (peaches or mangoes). 

Lakefront Tom Citra-Hopped IPA is under the kosher supervision of the Star-K (there is even a Star-K on the label). For the experts' take on the brew, please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/741/167139.

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).

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Noach

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

In Bereishis 7:4, Hashem tells Noach that in seven more days He will send the rains and flood the Earth. In the following pasuk, the Torah writes that Noach did according to what Hashem asked him to do.

R' Frand observed that the obvious interpretation of the pasuk would be that Noach built the ark. However, Rashi explains that it means that Noach came to the ark. This interpretation is troubling and the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh asks - why would we need a pasuk to hint that Noach came to the ark? It is explicitly stated in 7:7 that Noach came to the ark with his family (wife, sons, their wives). The Maharal and Ibn Ezra explain that Rashi means that Noach came up to, but did not enter the ark.

R' Frand then digressed to discuss a point made by the Tollner Rebbi who was quoting the Radumsker Rebbi in the sefer R' Tiferes Shlomo. He noted that the Medrash has two recitations of people asking Shem why he and his family were saved from the flood. In one instance, Shem tells Avraham that he does not know why, but that the entire year they were on the ark they worked night and day to feed the animals. A second recounting involves a conversation between Eliezer and Shem where Shem tells Eliezer that the work was excessively difficult because some animals ate only by day while others were nocturnal.

The lesson taught by Shem is that they were saved because they were merachem - showed mercy to the animals. When a person acts in a merciful way, he influences Hashem to be merciful to him. By spending (literally) day and night caring for the animals, the occupants of the ark gave Hashem a reason to be merciful to them.

R' Frand next quoted a famous ma'amar chazal that when Hashem releases the mashchis - the angel of death - the angel does not differentiate between the tzaddik and the rasha. He connected this with a quotation [which I unfortunately did not get the source of] which asked why did the people die in the flood and was answered - because they stole from one and other. But this is contrary to the plain meaning of the pesukim that they were killed because they engaged in immoral relations and even influenced the animals to do the same. So why does it say that the flood came because of the thefts?

R' Frand answered that if the people had only engaged in immoral relations, Hashem might have not destroyed the world in one shot, or even might have punished in a less severe manner. However, because the people did not show respect towards each other and their belongings, Hashem did not need to alter or delay His plan. Since no one was merciful to his neighbor, Hashem had no reason to be merciful either.

R' Frand then tied this back to the Rashi which stated that Noach went up to the ark.. In so doing, Noach indicated that he was separating himself from the people of his generation who were not merciful or considerate of others. Once he began to show mercy towards the animals, he gave a reason to be saved from the mashchis.

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Sunday Night Suds - Blue Moon Chai Spiced Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds returns from an extended Yom Tov break with a review of the Blue Moon Chai Spiced Ale.

This brew was introduced in the Fall 2015 Brewmasters Sampler Box so it was only fitting that we sampled this beer over Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah which fall as the last days of Sukkos.

More than one person who smelled this beer at our YT table commented that the beer "smells like the entrance to a Michael's (arts & crafts store). The website explains that the beer is flavored with "a blend of chai spices like cardamom, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon" so I guess there is something to the comment.

The beer did not taste like a flavored pine cone, but to quote Mrs KB - chai belongs in tea or latte, not beer. Any hops in this ale were swallowed whole by the cinnamon and spice. There was decent carbonation to the beer, but looking past the spices, the beer was watery and lacked body.

Blue Moon Chai Spiced Ale is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, as is every other current variety of beer produced by Blue Moon. For the experts take on the Blue Moon Chai Spiced Ale, please click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/306/183587.

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's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Bereishis

Although I would normally blog on the R' Frand shiur from this evening, there was a problem with the broadcast of the R' Frand shiur this evening on TCN. Rather than leaving the blog without a vort for shabbos, I am attempting to repeat a vort heard from R' Eli Mansour as recorded on www.learntorah.com. Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the 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 the maggid shiur.

R' Mansour quoted Rashi who explains that Bereishis actually joins together two concepts - because of the reishis (first) the world was created - because of the Jews and the Torah, each of which was called reishis - the world was created.

R' Mansour then explained that based on this concept, the creation does not end until 2448 years later when the Torah was given. R' Mansour tied this to the use of the heh hayidiah - the heh which marks the definitive article in the sixth day of creation. Each of the days of creation are referred to as Yom __ with a referral to the day of creation. However by the sixth day it states HaShishi. Rashi explains that this refers to the day the Torah was given - the sixth day of Sivan. Furthermore the use of the letter heh symbolizes 5 - the five books of the Torah.

R' Mansour expanded on this vort and explained that the world can only exist because someone is learning Torah. He quoted the Zohar which states that the reason that there are time zones is to ensure that somewhere at all times a person can learn Torah.

R' Mansour linked this to the Medrash which states that when the Jews accepted the Torah, Hashem had held Mt Sinai over their heads and told them that if they did not accept the Torah, Hashem would drop the mountain on them. He explained based on the Zohar that Hashem was not just threatening the end of them, He was stating that the whole world would be destroyed.

R' Mansour analogizes this to a patient. If the doctor comes to the patient and says that the patient needs oxygen the patient should not really be given the choice of whether or not to take the oxygen. The doctor knows that the patient needs oxygen and its not the patient's choice to accept or refuse it.

But the question needs to be asked - if the world cannot exist without the Torah, how could 2448 years elapsed without the learning of the Torah? R' Mansour answered that the world was running on back up power - Hashem was temporarily powering the world until the Torah was accepted.

However this gives rise to another question - since Torah is so important to the world, why did Hashem wait 2448 years instead of just giving it to Adam at creation? R' Mansour answered that before the Torah could be given there was a need for an infrastructure. The Jews needed the traits learned from Avraham of chessed and kindness, from Yitzchak the concept of sacrifice, from Yaakov the ability to study... Once Hashem had built the nation of Israel and prepared it to receive the Torah, only then could the Torah be given.

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