Sunday, December 29, 2019

Sunday Night Suds - New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Hop Avenger IPA


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Hop Avenger IPA.

This "beer" was released during the summer as part of the Voodoo Ranger series. As is typical for the Voodoo Ranger series, the beer is brimming with hops and packs a significant alcohol punch.

The Hop Avenger IPA is made with Nugget, Mosaic Incognito, Ekuanot Incognito, Jester, Chinook, Citra and Mandarina Bavaria hops. Like most Voodoo Ranger offerings of late, it is tasty and fruity, although this is more pineapple like than citrusy. The beer pours a cloudy rich orange and has lacing which stays on the glass for some time and very fragrant foam. It has a high abv for a standard IPA (7.7% abv) and there is a slight alcohol flavor.

Although not as outstanding as the prior Voodoo Ranger offering (Juicifer - reviewed here -http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/11/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-juicifer.html) it is quite delicious in its own right. This beer goes well with most spicy fare and would also pair equally well with mixed meat salads.

I have only seen this beer in six packs of cans and they are usually sold at a premium price. Still, if you can find this beer you should grab it as it quite good.

The New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Hop Avenger IPA is under kosher supervision by the Scroll-K/Va'ad of Denver, and their symbol is on the bottom of the six pack can box. However, not every brew produced by New Belgium is under kosher supervision, so look for the Scroll K on the six pack holder or box when considering purchasing any NBB product. Many of the "sours" such as the Peach Kick which was released over the summer cannot be certified kosher.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about New Belgium Hop Avenger IPA, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/441586/.

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, 2019

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Mikeitz

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 42:1, the Torah states "וַיַּ֣רְא יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב כִּ֥י יֶשׁ־שֶׁ֖בֶר בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יַֽעֲקֹב֙ לְבָנָ֔יו לָ֖מָּה תִּתְרָאֽוּ" - Ya'akov saw that there was food in Egypt and Ya'akov told his sons, why do you appear satiated?

Rashi explains that in so doing, Ya'akov was saying to his sons - don't stand out and give the appearance that you have enough while everyone else does not have what to eat.

R' Frand linked this to a story involving R' Elyashiv. A man came to ask the Gadol HaDor a question - his friends were complaining about his old hat and he wanted to know whether he should get a new one as he did not feel that it looked so beat up. R' Elyashiv responded that he was a young boy he was brought to get a beracha from the Chafetz Chaim and your hat is nowhere as beat up as his was!

But having said that, he still advised the man to get a new hat. He explained that it is common to not want to be talked about, and that usually that relates to new, expensive or fancy items. However, being the talk of the town for something which is old and beat up is also not something that a person should wish for. Better to just get the new hat and people will stop talking about you altogether.

R' Frand said a second vort about the discussion between Ya'akov and Reuven in Bereishis 42:36-38 wherein Ya'akov rejects sending down Binyamin and Reuven makes the offer that Ya'akov could kill his two sons if Binyamin does not come back. To this Ya'akov answers "my son will not go down."

Rashi explains that in saying this, Ya'akov rejected Reuven's offer and thought his son was an idiot for even suggesting it, for aren't Reuven's sons his as well?

There is a Medrash which tells of how when people came to R' Tarfon to tell a vort, if he liked it he praised it as Kaftor V'Ferach. If he disliked it, he said - my son will not go down with you, quoting Ya'akov's words in Bereishis 42:38.

R' Frand quoted R' Bukspan who explains that Ya'akov did not verbally his thoughts that his son was an idiot, as it is not proper to ever call someone an idiot. 

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, 2019

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayeshev

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.

R' Frand noted that within the story of the brothers' sale of Yosef, the Torah inserts the story of Yehuda and Tamar, before again continuing with the Yosef saga. Rashi on Bereishis 39:1 explains that this return to the Yosef story, links the story of Tamar with Potiphera. He further explains that both women acted in their respective manners because they believed that they were acting L'shem Shamayim. Tamar knew that she needed to undergo Yibum and so she went with Yehudah. In the same vein, Potiphera saw through astrology that Yosef was destined to have a child through her lineage, however she failed to realize that the mother of the child would be her daughter.

But if they both acted for higher purposes, why is Tamar mentioned positively and Potiphera is looked at with disgust?

R' Frand answered by quoting the sefer L'Lamedcha which tells a story of R' Schwadron. He was present in a shul for Parshas Zachor and when the Ba'al Koreh was about to read the Maftir, a man pushed the Ba'al Koreh away and read from the Torah himself. He loudly explained that only an older man with a beard should read Zachor.

R' Schwadron was unhappy about this event and he left the minyan and went to hear Zachor elsewhere. He later tracked down the pushy man and said to him - the minhag to have an older man read Zachor is a minhag, but to not embarrass someone is a biblical prohibition.

R' Schwadron said to the man - you could have politely taken the young Ba'al Koreh aside and asked to read, rather than publicly pushing him away and denigrating him for his age. Similarly, Tamar saw that she needed to act, but she did so without embarrassing Yehuda or herself. R' Frand quoted R' Berel Wein who said a person needs to ask, would Hashem want the act to be done this way? Potiphera should have considered that Hashem would not want her to commit adultery in order for Yosef to have children through her lineage.

R' Frand said a second vort again from the sefer L'Lamedcha, in relation to the use of a pesik note after the shalshles on Vayima'en in Bereishis 39:8. A pesik is a stop and in this pasuk, the pesik comes after Yosef resisted Potiphera and before he gave his verbal explanations why they should not be together. But why the pesik?

The sefer quoted a story involving R' Bunim M'Pashischa - he was in Danzig and staying in an inn which was also being patronized by Jews who were there for a buying opportunity. The men were sitting at a table drinking coffee, when they saw him sitting by himself, learning from a sefer. They did not know his identity, but they could tell he was Jewish, so they invited him to join them.

R' Bunim politely declined, but they pressed and asked why. He responded that they were drinking coffee with milk and the milk was not Cholov Yisrael. They responded to him - that is a chumra born out of a concern of camel milk being substituted for cow's milk. There are no camels within thousands of miles of Danzig, so why be concerned? But he stayed away.

Soon thereafter, the innkeeper's wife came over to their table and asked how they liked their coffee. The responded that it was delicious. She told them that it was extra special, because she had found a merchant at the wharf who was selling camel's milk and she added it to their coffee.

R' Frand summed up - at the end of the day, what is prohibited is prohibited and the reason is not as important as following the rule. So too with Yosef, he needed to resist and say no! Only after resisting her would he need to give an explanation, rather than attempting to fend her off with logical arguments.

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 16, 2019

Belated Parsha Thoughts for Parshas Vayishlach and a Preview Vort for Parshas Vayeshev

Due to our attendance at a wonderful family simcha (which coincidentally took place about a mile from the shiur) as well as our not so wonderful requirement to be back at work the next day, I was unable to view the Thursday Night shiur live and did not get a chance to hear it in its entirety until Sunday. Still, the vort was a tremendous vort on both Vayishlach and Vayeshev and for that reason I am belatedly summarizing it here. As always, I have I 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 R' Frand.

Rabbi Frand began the vort by quoting the pesukim in Bereishis 33:6-7, in which the wives of Ya'akov and their children approached Esav. The Torah indicates that each of the wives approached Esav with their children behind them, except Rachel, who was preceded by Yosef. Rashi explains that Yosef did this in order to prevent (mi'akev) Esav from seeing his mother.

However the obvious question is - what could Yosef have accomplished? As he was no more than six years old, he could not have shielded his mother from Esav's gaze. At most he could have just impeded Esav for a short time!

R' Frand quoted the Tolner Rebbi who explained that this was exactly what Yosef was doing and that this was the essence of Yosef - that he was going to try whatever he could to delay Esav. Because sometimes just making any effort is better than no effort at all.

R' Frand illustrated this with a story that Tolner Rebbi told about himself. After his wife gave birth to a son, he wanted to name the boy after his father in law. The problem was that both he and his father in law had Yitzchak as one of their names. Thus he could not use his father in law's exact name as he could not use his own name in naming the boy. Further complicating matters, his father in law was known to have professed the opinion that not using the complete name when naming after the deceased was "gornished."

The Tolner Rebbi wrote to the Gerrer Rebbi to ask what to do. He received the response that sometimes nothing is better than a greater nothing [if I correctly understood the Yiddish expression R' Frand used]. Even if his father in law had stated that not using the full name was "nothing" it was still better to use part of the name than not to use the name at all.

R' Frand linked this to the concept of a doctor who is performing surgery. Doctors told, just perform a good procedure, don't try to make it "perfect." He explained that the longer the body is open, the greater danger of infections, so doctors are told - do a good job and close the patient up. Don't leave the patient open for an unnecessarily long period of time while you try to do the perfect job.

R' Frand also linked this to shidduchim as he sometimes sees boys who look too hard for "Ms Perfect." He then tells the boy - "don't look too hard for perfection as I have news for you - you're not perfect yourself."

R' Frand also tied this concept to Yosef in this week's parsha. In Parshas Vayeshev we see that the wife of Potiphar tried day after day to seduce Yosef and he resisted. R' Frand quoted the Tzror HaMor who cited a Medrash that the wife of Potiphar said to Yosef - you know this is going to happen one day, so why not be with me now. Yosef responded - yes, its inevitable that will happen someday, but its not going to happen today.

This is the essence of Yosef, to focus your efforts and do what you can now.

R' Frand linked the vort to a Gemara in Yoma which discusses three people who will be asked at the end of their lives why they did not learn Torah - the rich man, the poor man and the evil man. The rich man will respond - I had no time because I was too tied up with my business. To this he will be asked - are you richer than R' Yosi Ben Charsma - he found time!

The poor will similarly respond that he was too busy trying to find food and support for his family. To this he will be asked - but were you more indigent than Hillel -and he found time to learn.

Lastly the Rasha will be asked why he did not learn. He will respond that he was too tempted by his evil inclination, to which he will be asked - did you have greater temptation than Yosef HaTzaddik?

R' Frand then asked - but can't the Rasha respond - there are precious few people who are called "HaTzaddik" - I'm not Yosef!

However with this understanding of Yosef's mindset, there is nothing for the Rasha to say. You may not be Yosef HaTzaddik, but couldn't you have held out for one day?

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 15, 2019

Sunday Night Suds - Jailbreak Brewing Poor Righteous IPA


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Jailbreak Brewing's Poor Righteous IPA.

What, a kosher beer with a pig on the label? Yes, not only a pig but a Star-K as well! This is one of the older styles from the good folks at Jailbreak Brewing in Laurel, Maryland. I had a chance to visit the brewery and its tap room and came away very impressed (see post here for my thoughts on my visit back in 2015 - https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2015/01/sunday-night-suds-jailbreak-brewing-big.html).

If you read the LOC on the Star-K website you will see that there are many interesting varieties of Jailbreak beers, including some that are Star-D such as the Carrot Cake Conspiracy and Chocolate Coconut Porter. Unfortunately, most of the interesting brews are only available on site or by specialty keg order and even their mainstream canned brews cannot be found outside of the Beltway area.

The Poor Righteous poured a ark orange with quite a bit of foam and lacing. The beer has spicy hop bite which mixes nicely with the citrus. At 6.5% abv it is about average for an IPA and there is not an overwhelming alcohol flavor. Although I had this beer after dinner tonight, I suspect that it would go well with charred meat dishes such as burgers and steaks.

Jailbreak Brewing Poor Righteous is certified kosher by the Star-K. To see the LOC for Jailbreak - click here https://express.star-k.org/viewer/LOCViewer.aspx?id=SEEDVZ8M&target=inline (this will open in a new tab). For the experts take on this beer, please click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34426/228921.

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

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

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

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Sunday Night Suds - Blue Moon Ice Coffee Blonde


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Blue Moon's Ice Coffee Blonde.

I found this beer in the Beverage Barn in Garden City Park where they were nice enough to break up twelve packs into six packs without a significant upcharge (15.99 for 12 packs - 9.99 for 6 packs). This is one of the reasons that this little beer store has been one of my favorite stores for as long as I am living in West Hempstead. 

This beer is one of those rare beers which Mrs KB gave the thumbs up to (as did one of my daughters) but I was not so crazy about. The beer is a blonde ale which means that it is light on hops and the blonde base together with the infused coffee produced a drink which was not quite beer and not iced coffee. Although certain stouts have an inherent dark coffee flavor and other dark ales have infused coffee flavor, they are already starting with a deep dark base. This beer does not have the strong backbone, so the flavor does not meld that well for me. Still, its worth a shot if you like iced coffee and have others that you can split the pack with if you are unhappy with your purchase.

Blue Moon Pacific Iced Coffee Blonde is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, as is every other current variety of beer produced by Blue Moon. For the experts take on this beer, please click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/306/366057.

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).

Lastly, 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, 2019

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayeitzei

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 30:1-2, the Torah provides the discussion between Rachel and Ya'akov as to Rachel's ability to bear children. In the first pasuk Rachel says to Ya'akov - הָֽבָה־לִּ֣י בָנִ֔ים וְאִם־אַ֖יִן מֵתָ֥ה אָנֹֽכִי - "give me children and if not, I am dead." In response to this heartfelt request, Ya'akov gets angry at Rachel and then says וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הֲתַ֤חַת אֱלֹהִים֙ אָנֹ֔כִי אֲשֶׁר־מָנַ֥ע מִמֵּ֖ךְ פְּרִי־בָֽטֶן - "Am I in place of Hashem Who has withheld fruit from your womb?"

How can it be that Ya'akov could speak this way to his wife? The Medrash states that Ya'akov was punished for speaking this way, in that in the future his children will stand subservient to Rachel's son Yosef.

R' Frand mentioned that he had received an explanation of the Medrash via a source that he did not identify which had been sent to him from R' Bukspan from Miami. The source explained that the Medrash was specifically referring to the pasuk from Parshas Vayechi where the brothers plead with Yosef after Ya'akov dies and he responds וַיֹּ֧אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֛ם יוֹסֵ֖ף אַל־תִּירָ֑אוּ כִּ֛י הֲתַ֥חַת אֱלֹהִ֖ים אָֽנִי - don't be afraid, am I in the place of Hashem?

He further explained that this demonstrates that there is a right time and a wrong time to say something. When Rachel was in pain, it was not the right time for Ya'akov to remind her that he was not Hashem. On the other hand, when the brothers came to Yosef and begged him not to take revenge, it was the right time for him to say - I am not Hashem - only He can decide if you should be punished for your actions.

R' Frand quoted a thought from R' Hutner that there is a time for everything, even to be an atheist. When a person comes to you and tells you that he needs help because he is destitute, it is not the time to send him away with reassurance that "Hashem will provide." Instead, this is the time for the potential donor to act to take care of the requesting person. On the other hand, if someone wrongs you, it is the right time to say "Hashem will provide justice" and leave it to Hashem to punish the person for wronging you.

R' Frand also quoted a Gemara in Bava Basra which tells the story of R' Yosef who was very ill and fell into unconsciousness, to the point that he ascended to Gan Eden. When he returned, his father asked him what he saw, and he responded - I saw an upside down world - what was on the top here was on the bottom there and vice versa. To this, his father said - no, you saw clearly.

Tosafos quotes R' Chananel who said in the name of the Gaonim through a direct oral transmission that he saw R' Yehudah as the Rebbi and Shmuel as the student, whereas in this world it was the reverse. Why was this inverted? Because when Shmuel was the Av Beis Din, a desperate woman came to him and since he was unable to help her, he paid her no heed. R' Yehudah said to him that he should listen to her, even if he could not help. By ignoring her, their roles became reversed.

R' Frand told a story about the Kotzker Rav whose sister came to him crying about her situation and he turned and closed the door. She cried aloud outside about how desperate she was and that Hashem should help her as even her brother would not help. The Rav then immediately opened the door and said - that was what I wanted to hear. You need to ask Hashem to help you as He is the only One who can.

But if this was Ya'akov's intention, why was he punished? R' Frand answered that it was because Ya'akov was too harsh in this respect and he was on a much higher level than the Kotzker Rav. At the end, one must always be ready to listen, even if you can't help.

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, 2019

Sunday Night Suds - Boulevard Space Camper Cosmic IPA


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Boulevard's Space Camper Cosmic IPA.

First things first, I can't tell you anything about why they named this beer "Space Camper" or even what a "Cosmic IPA" is. In fact, I can't find any evidence that the style "Cosmic IPA" actually exists as a style of beer.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, we can talk about a fruity, hoppy beer which is bursting with citrus and pine. The beer is 5.9% IPA and while there is some bitterness, this IPA is anything but bitter. Instead, the beer pops with fruit which comes from the hop additions at the end of the boil, and during fermentation, which the Boulevard website indicates "minimize upfront bitterness and create a juicy IPA bursting with tropical fruit flavors and aromas of nectar and citrus."

I liked this beer very much and its fruitiness was not one note, but had multiple levels of citrus. The beer also was a bit thinner than I was expecting, but none of these traits were unpleasant and it went well with the savory meat dish we had it with.

Boulevard Brewery Space Camper Cosmic IPA is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Kansas City, but the can I purchased did not have the certification mark on the label. The beer is listed on the Star-K approved list as certified by the Va'ad of KC and at times there is an LOC available on the Va'ad of KC website, but I could not find one today. I have only seen the beer in closed six packs of cans, but if you are curious you may be able to find singles at Total Wine & Liquor in their craft singles section.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/360684.

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).

Lastly, 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, November 28, 2019

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Toldos

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.

R' Frand started the vort by quoting the Gemara in Makkos which interprets a pasuk in Tehillim as discussing Ya'akov who said in Bereishis 27:12 "אוּלַ֤י יְמֻשֵּׁ֨נִי֙ אָבִ֔י וְהָיִ֥יתִי בְעֵינָ֖יו כִּמְתַעְתֵּ֑עַ". As explained by Rashi, Ya'akov did not want to participate in the act, but was convinced by his mother to do so.

The Maharitz Chayos explains that we can see Ya'akov's unwillingness from the choice of the word Ulai instead of Pen. Although both words mean the same thing, the word Ulai implies that the person wants the event to take place, such as when Eliezer says that Ulai the girl (Rivka) will not want to return with him to Avraham. This is because Eliezer wanted her to to say no, so that he could have his own daughter marry Yitzchak. On the other hand, Pen is a word where the person indicates  that he does not want the event to occur. Here where Ya'akov says Ulai, he is showing that he hopes that his father will identify him because he does not want to participate in this.

R' Frand then quoted Emes L'Ya'akov wherein R' Kaminetsky asked - why did the berachos have to come through this scenario? He explained that each of the Avos had to endure a test by which they went against their nature. For Avraham whose middah was chessed, it involved leaving his father behind, send away Hagar and sacrifice Yitzchak. For Ya'akov who was emes, it involved participating in tricking his father. He passed this test in following what he was commanded to, but without it impacting him as he was honest when he worked for Lavan.

R' Frand then quoted the Gra who said that most people are gilgulim who are sent back to earth to repeat their lives in order to fix something which tripped them up in a prior existence. He further explains that the issue which is a major stumbling block for someone is probably what they needed to fix because they were nichshol it in their prior life.

R' Frand closed the vort by quoting the sefer Chikrei Lev who recited the Medrash which - notes that Rivka's father was a thief, her brother was a thief and she came from a city of thieves, yet she was a Tzadekes - like a rose among the thorns. So why should Yitzchak marry someone who came from this source? He answered that Hashem wanted the berachos to come to Ya'akov through this means, with Yitzchak believing that Esav was a Tzaddik and deserving of the berachos and Rivka seeing through the facade. Because Rivka grew up among thieves she was able to see through Esav, she was able to create the mechanism to bring the berachos to Ya'akov.

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, November 24, 2019

Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Hopskeller


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac Hopskeller.

The Saranac Hopskeller is one of two new beers in the Saranac German Roots mix box  for 2019. The box also includes Hop Harvest Haze IPA (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/10/sunday-night-suds-saranac-hop-harvest.html) as well as old friends Black Forest (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2010/01/sunday-night-suds-saranac-black-forest.html) and Octoberfest (reviewed here
https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/10/sunday-night-suds-saranac-octoberfest.html).

I had never heard of Hopskeller, so I checked out the style on BA which listed the beer as a  German Kellerbier / Zwickelbier. BA explained that this is:

A rather old, rare, and unique German beer style, Kellerbiers are unfiltered and unpasteurized lagers that date back to at least the Middle Ages. The beer is matured, unbunged (beer is exposed), in deep vaults. The final product is a smooth, naturally cloudy beer that's rich in vitamins from the yeast. Hop bitterness can be high and alcohol will vary. Zwickelbier is similar to a Keller, but not as pronounced.

The Hopskeller poured a dark orange with some carbonation, but not the trademark level of a typical Saranac brew. The beer is a bit bready and not very hoppy, notwithstanding the name. Although the beer is 5.5% abv, it does not have alcohol flavor. This is not to say that the beer is bland as there was some spice and floral notes, but this is not a sharp, bitter brew.

The Hopskeller 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 brews some varieties off site, so check the cans/bottles for kosher certification from the Va'ad of Detroit.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the brew, please follow this link https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/435305.

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).

Lastly, 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, November 21, 2019

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Chaye Sarah

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.

R' Frand made reference to the first pasuk of the parsha in that the last words of the pasuk appear to be redundant as the Torah uses the words חַיֵּ֥י שָׂרָֽה in both the beginning and the end of the pasuk.

R' Frand addressed by quoting R' Mordechai Freindlich in the Sefer V'Lamedcha which tells a story of the Kotsker Rebbi who visited Minsk. There was a wealthy Jew who made a large fancy meal for the Rebbi. In the middle of the meal, a person brought the host a telegram which informed him that his warehouse which held all of his possessions had burned to the ground. The man fainted on the spot. They revived him and he looked at the telegram again and then fainted again. This happened 2-3x and when we was revived again, the Kotsker Rebbi whispered in his ear - "you are fine, its not your warehouse, this is a mistake." The Rebbi told him to send a telegram back to his workers in the warehouse to check on it. He followed through and sent the telegram and received a telegram in response which said there was a fire in the area, but not in your warehouse.

The people were amazed and asked the Rebbi if he had Ruach HaKodesh. The Rebbi denied that he had Ruach HaKodesh (although R' Frand opined that he probably did have it). The Rebbi explained that we have a principle that Hashem does not give a person a test that he cannot pass. The Rebbi said that this man could not handle the thought that he had lost everything that he owned, so I concluded that this could not be his warehouse.

So what does this have to do with Chaye Sarah? Rashi explains that Avraham was given a test of Akeidas Yitzchak and he passed it. People are of the belief that Sarah was tested too in that she heard about the Akeidah and that she must have failed it since she died, but R' Frand said that can't be true. If Sarah was given this test she would have been capable of handling it. So why did she die? Because she was supposed to die. And this is why the pasuk uses Chaye Sarah on the front and back end of the pasuk. Hashem had decided that this would be the time that she would die.

R' Frand also quoted a Rashi on the first pasuk which states that at 20 she was as beautiful as 7 and at 127 she was as pure as 20 and all her years were good. But this is hard to understand - Sarah seemingly had a tough life - she was captured over and over and mocked by Hagar. How was this a good life?

R' Frand answered by quoting R' Weinberger in Shemen HaTov. He said that there is a positive to being young because they have enthusiasm and feel that they can conquer the world. When a person gets older they lose ambition and are jaded. But the wisdom of the older person and the patience not to jump the gun is also positive. What Chazal is telling us about all for the good is that even at 127, she had the youthful enthusiasm, But at the same time she was old and thus had the best of both worlds. He said that we see this with gedolim where they have youthful enthusiasm but with great wisdom.

R' Frand quoted R' Wolbe on the pasuk in Tehilim - Od Yenuvun b'Sevah - one can be fruitful in old age and they will be fresh and excited. R' Frand said that he once went to hear R Elyashiv give a shiur that was a daf shiur. Not an intense Shiur Kllali, but a good daf shiur. R' Frand read a story about an American Psychologist who had visited the shiur and said that some people get crotchety when they get older and dont want to deal with questions, because they lose their patience. But R' Elyashiv sat there patiently and did not get flustered, even though he was well into his 90s. This is the meaning of the pasuk in Tehillim and this is what they pasuk means that Sarah had the youthful exuberance of a young person and the wisdom of an older person.

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Sunday, November 17, 2019

Sunday Night Suds - New Belgium Juicifer IPA


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium Juicifer IPA.

This "beer" was released during the summer as part of the Voodoo Ranger series. As is typical for the Voodoo Ranger series, the beer is brimming with hops and packs a significant alcohol punch.

The Juicifer IPA is made with Citra and Galaxy hops, and while it tasty incredibly citrusy, there actually is no added fruit juice. The beer pours a cloudy rich orange and has a flavor which crosses tangerine and grapefruit. It has a high abv for a standard IPA (7.7% abv), but there is no appreciable alcohol flavor.

I would have to say without exaggeration, this is one of the finest beers I have tried in years. This beer goes well with most spicy fare and would also pair equally well with mixed meat salads.

I have only seen this beer in six packs of cans and they are usually sold at a premium price. Still, if you can find this beer you should grab it as this is truly an exceptional brew.

The New Belgium Juicifer IPA is under kosher supervision by the Scroll-K/Va'ad of Denver, and their symbol is on the bottom of the six pack can box. However, not every brew produced by New Belgium is under kosher supervision, so look for the Scroll K on the six pack holder or box when considering purchasing any NBB product.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about New Belgium Juicifer IPA, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/380214/.

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, November 14, 2019

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayera

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.

R' Frand began the vort by quoting R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach in the halacha sefer Halichos Shlomo. He prefaced the vort by restating the known story of Avraham giving the angels food, including the delicacy of tongue and mustard. But he also noted that the Torah writes later in Bereishis 21:33, וַיִּטַּ֥ע אֵ֖שֶׁל בִּבְאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע - Avraham planted an Eishel in Be'er Sheva. The mefarshim write that Eshel stands for Achilah, Shetiya and Levaya - food drink and accompanied his guests who stayed in his hotel.

R' Shlomo Zalman asked - which act had a greater impact on the world? It must be the Eshel, since it continued for tens of years. Additionally, the gemara teaches that Avraham used the hotel as a way to spread monotheism. People would want to bless Avraham after they ate. He would respond to them - you want to bless me? Bless Hashem who is the creator of the world and provided the food. The tent was his vehicle to put Hashem's name in their mouth. Yet even though this was a long standing practice and the  angels did not even eat, has a greater impact!

Indeed, the gemara in Bava Metzia teaches that all the gifts that the Jews had in the desert came as a reward for Avraham providing the angels with the food and drink (which they did not even consume).

Why is this first short interaction with the angels rewarded so richly?

R' Frand said that R; Shlomo uses this to teach that the harder something is, the greater the reward and the greater the recognition from Hashem. This is the 3rd day after millah, without anesthesia, on a 99 year old man. And yet he went out of his way on a hot day to find the guests. Hashem rewarded him for his tzaar and his mesiras nefesh.

R' Frand said a second vort along the same lines in the name of R' Horvitz from Romeima. We see that Avraham had mesiras nefesh in the beginning and the end of the parsha. The angels did not eat the food, even though he knocked himself out to provide for them. Similarly, at the end of the parsha, Avraham was willing to sacrifice his son at the Akeidah, but was unsuccessful. And yet we pray to Hashem on Rosh Hashana to remember Avraham's unsuccessful yet selfless act.

Why are these stressed and rewarded by Hashem? Because Hashem just wants a person to try. Judaism does not value results, it values efforts and Hashem wants to see that we have attempted to do what he asks us to do. This is the vort often said at a siyum. During the siyum we say that we work and get a reward and they work and don't get a reward. What does that mean? Of course there is a reward - but their reward is only if they accomplish. If the tailor does not sew the suit or the shoemaker does not fix the shoe, he gets no reward. But Hashem rewards us for trying, even if we don't accomplish.

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Thursday, November 7, 2019

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.

R' Frand said two vorts on the parsha tonight, both in the name of R' Moshe Freundlich. Both also tied into interesting stories and would be perfect for the Shabbos table.

The first vort was in relation to the first pasuk in the parsha, wherein Hashem said to Avram, לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵֽאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ. The meforshim take issue with the order of departure, in that Avram is told to leave his land, where he was born and the house of his father, when usually a person would first leave his father's house and as he continued to travel would eventually leave the country.

R' Frand offered a novel approach based on a story of R' Moshe Turkichinsky who was born in Israel and traveled to learn in Slobodka for the summer z'man. Before Shavuous, the Rosh Yeshiva, R Isaac Sherer asked him whether he would be keeping two days of Yom Tov as he was now in galus. R' Moshe did not answer and this was more of a statement than a question, but still he was confused. The halacha is that someone who intends to return to Israel does not do work on day 2, but also davens as if it is Chol. 

R' Moshe went and asked the Rav of the city what he should do and was told that he should be davening the Chol davening. When asked again by the Rosh Yeshiva about keeping two days he decided that he would daven in his dorm with tefillin first and then go to the Yeshiva when they davened and no one one would know that he had previously prayed. But then as the Yeshiva was going to daven Maariv to begin the second day, the Rosh Yeshiva approached him and asked him to be the Shaliach Tzibbur. Now he was stuck, how could he lead the Yom Tov prayers?

R' Moshe decided that the only solution was to take upon himself not to return to Israel and become a ben Chutz L'Aretz. He then went up and led davening and recited all of the Yom Tov prayers. When he was done, R' Sherer said to him - I know the halacha that you should only keep one day, but I also saw that your head and heart were not in the yeshiva. You may have been physically in Slobodka, but you were thinking about your birthplace and I needed you to commit to being a bochur here.

R' Frand closed the vort by saying that this was the meaning of the order, based on the Malbim - a person may physically leave his home first when he travels, but it is much easier to depart from one's country than to emotionally depart from the customs of one's home.

The second vort was based on the pasuk in Bereishis 12:3 where Hashem says to Avram "וַֽאֲבָֽרְכָה֙ מְבָ֣רֲכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר" - I will bless those who bless you and those who curse you, I will curse. The statements are not parallel as the blessing by Hashem comes before the blessing of Avram and the cursing by others precedes the cursing by Hashem.

R' Frand again linked this to the story of the son of Chafetz Chaim who went with his mother to get a suit for his wedding. The tailor measured the boy and said to come back in a few weeks. When they returned the boy tried on the suit and the mother put the money down to pay for it and then the tailor gave the boy a bracha that he should have a life of wealth and honor. The mother was taken aback - this is the blessing you gave my son? My husband shuns wealth and honor and this is what you give as a bracha? You should be blessing him to be a Yarei Shamayim or Ben Torah!

This is the meaning of Hashem's words to Avram - I will bless those who bless you in order to elevate them and bring their blessings to a higher spiritual level, thus their blessing to you will be from a higher spiritual plain and not just wishes for wealth and honor. In contrast, those who curse you, will be cursed and they will continue to sink as a result of their bad wishes.

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Thursday, October 31, 2019

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 7:23 the Torah states "וַיִּשָּׁ֧אֶר אַךְ־נֹ֛חַ" - which literally translated means that only Noach (and his family) survived. Rashi offers multiple interpretations of this statement, including that Noach was bitten by a lion because he was late bringing its food.

R' Frand then asked - what is the purpose of this statement? Was it a lesson that if you are late feeding the lion it will get angry?

R' Frand answered by quoting a vort from the Ostrovser Rebbi [Ed note - I am probably off on that name, if you have the correct spelling, please post it in the comments below]. He first cited a Gemara in Yoma which states that the smoke of the burning wood of the Ma'aracha in the first Beis Hamikdash went up in the image of a lion and the second Beis Hamikdash like a dog. 

The Ari explains that the smoke was a protectant for the Jewish people and dissuaded them from sinning. In the days of the first Beis Hamikdash the protector was a lion and the second was a dog. There is a difference between being guarded by a lion and a dog, as a lion will attack an intruder, while a dog is more of a burglar alarm which alerts you that an intruder is present.

This was the difference between the two Batei Mikdash- in the first, the lion was strong and protected from sin, whereas the dog was nowhere near as strong of a protection. When the lion was present, there was no potential thought of sin. The dog could not offer such protection, it just barked to try to dissuade from sin.

The Ostrover Rebbi tied this into Noach. He was not interested in going out to convince others not to sin and just worked on his ark. Yes, when people came and asked him, he told them that the flood was coming, but he was not actively trying to prevent people from sinning. Thus he was bitten by a lion as a mussar to him that he should have been more actively involved in preventing sin.

R' Frand then connected this to the sign of the rainbow which was a promise  that there would not be another flood. Why did Hashem choose this sign? He quoted R' Yosher Ber Soloviechik who explained that the rainbow is a sign that even though there are clouds and darkness, there is light behind it. The message to Noach was, there is no generation without hope as there is always a possibility that they can be brought back. 

R' Frand then linked this to a Gemara in Berachos which provides the history of the admissions to the yeshiva as R' Gamliel only permitted those who who were the same on the inside and out, whereas R' Yehoshua allowed everyone to come and learn. The Gemara states that when R' Gamliel saw all the extra benches which were added after R' Yehoshua's open door policy began, he wept. To this he was shown an earthenware vessel filled with ash. He had solace as it appeared to him that the new students were empty on the inside. But the Gemara teaches that was not the case.

R' Soloviechik explained that the ash was not without potential as smoldering ash can reignite if there is oxygen blown back in. Similarly, the people who appeared empty and burned out on the inside could be motivated and their true souls reignited by Torah.

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Sunday, October 27, 2019

Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Hop Harvest Haze IPA


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac Brewery's Hop Harvest Haze IPA.

The Saranac Hop Harvest Haze IPA is one of two new beers in the Saranac German Roots mix box  for 2019. The box also includes new entry Hopskeller, as well as old standards Black Forest (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2010/01/sunday-night-suds-saranac-black-forest.html ) and Octoberfest (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/10/sunday-night-suds-saranac-octoberfest.html ) which is to be expected in a fall box calling itself "German Roots." 

This the second consecutive mix box from Saranac featuring a "Haze", the prior box for Summer containing the Summer Haze IPA (reviewed here   https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/08/sunday-night-suds-saranac-summer-haze.html). Much like the Summer Haze IPA, this beer is somewhat cloudy and is a very dark gold in color. But this beer also stands on its own as the hops make you swear that there is grapefruit juice. Yet all of the flavor comes from the mix of Citra, Mosaic, and Galaxy hops.

The beer runs 6% abv and packs a little bit of a punch. If you are looking for a medium bitter brew with a kick, this would be a good choice.

The Hop Harvest Haze IPA 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 brews some varieties off site, so check the cans/bottles for kosher certification from the Va'ad of Detroit.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the brew, please follow this link https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/435306.

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).

Lastly, 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, October 24, 2019

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Bereishis

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 3:12, the Torah provides Adam's response to Hashem when asked about eating from the Etz HaDa'as wherein Adam states - וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הָֽאָדָ֑ם הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָתַ֣תָּה עִמָּדִ֔י הִ֛וא נָֽתְנָה־לִּ֥י מִן־הָעֵ֖ץ וָֽאֹכֵֽל. The basic translation of the pasuk is that Adam said that the woman that You gave with me provided me from the tree and I will eat.

R' Frand noted the use of the future tense ("will eat") and quoted Rashi's explanation that Adam was stating that he had eaten and will continue to eat. Yet it is hard to understand how Adam could have the chutzpah so say to Hashem that he will continue to eat in the future (my father asked me the same question over Simchas Torah).

R' Frand answered the question by quoting from the Sefer Imrei Da'as who explains that Adam was not saying that he will eat. Rather this was an observation about human nature. If a person makes a mistake (even on a purpose) and when confronted with the error, owns up to his actions, he will be unlikely to continue  that course of conduct in the future. However, is a person blames some external force (like Adam blaming his wife or even Hashem for giving him Chava), then he will continue to sin. In Adam's case, that would be continuing to eat.

R' Frand linked this to Kayin being confronted later in the parsha about the murder of his brother and the punishment meted out to the ground. The Torah states in Bereishis 4:11 that the ground will be punished, but the reason for the punishment is not immediately apparent. R' Frand tied this to the 70's Watergate incident. The crime was the burglary, but the bigger problem was the failure to admit the act and the attempted cover up. Had Kayin admitted that the murder was an act of passion, an action taken out of intense momentary anger, then perhaps the result could have been different. However, Kayin engaged in a cover up and for this reason the earth is punished for covering up the crime.

R' Frand also said a vort on man's punishment for eating from the tree in that man must work by the sweat of his brow to earn a living. R' Frand asked - why is the punishment characterized as sweat of the brow? This is an external manifestation, but in reality the work is done with the hands. Would it have been more accurate to say that the produce of the work of the hands (Y'giah Kapecha)?

R' Frand answered by quoting the sefer V'Lamedcha (not sure that is correct name) who writes that the sweat of the brow is not what results in a paycheck. This is only what a person needs to do in order to allow Hashem to work behind the scenes and provide a parnasah for a person. When a person works to earn a living, Hashem will provide, but not necessarily in the manner that the person expects as there is not always a direct correlation.

R' Frand told a story he had hear from R' CY Goldvicht (the KBY Rosh Yeshiva when I attended back in the late 80's). There was a man who owned a small five and dime in Israel when the British Mandate was in place. One day, a young girl stopped in and wanted to buy a notebook, The store owner had to climb a ladder to reach a high shelf where he moved things around until he found the 5 cent notebook. Immediately thereafter a British soldier entered and wanted to buy an expensive Parker pen. The store owner knew where the Parker pen was, because he had seen it when he was up on the ladder, rearranging the shelf to get the notebook. And by making the sale of the pen, he had covered his expenses for the store for the entire day.

The notebook was the sweat of the brow, and the pen was the resultant parnasah. Not the way that it was drawn up or intended by the store owner, but it often never is...

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Thursday, October 10, 2019

Thursday's Thoughts for the Sukkah

R' Frand did not give the shiur this evening as it was given by R' Azriel Hauptman in his stead. The following is a brief summary of the drush portion of the shiur. 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 the maggid shiur.

R' Hauptman began the shiur with the famous question - why is Sukkos celebrated on the 15th of Tishrei? He quoted the answer of the Gra who explains that when the Jews sinned with Egel they lost the Ananaei HaKavod (loosely translated as heavenly clouds) which only returned on the 15th of Tishrei. This was the end of a period of kapparah for the Jewish people which began on the 1st of Elul when Moshe went back up to Har Sinai to receive the 2nd set of Luchos which he then brought back down on the 10th of Tishei (Yom Kippur).

R' Hauptman then diagrammed the next four days of Tishrei:

On the 11th, Moshe announced to the Jewish people that they were collecting to build the Mishkan.
On the 12th and 13th - the collection of goods and materials was held.
On the 14th, Moshe announced that everything which was needed had been collected.
On the 15th, the Annanei HaKavod returned.

R' Hauptman then digressed to discuss the Seir L'Azazael (loosely translated as the scapegoat). This sacrifice seems a bit surreal, as the service was performed outside of the holy, was performed without ritual slaughter and as a result of the service, the Jews were forgiven for their sins. It seems a bit hard to understand.

R' Hauptman tied this together by quoting R' Moshe Shapiro who explains that the word Kippur means Kinuach which is a cleansing which wipes away the external stain. When the Jews ask for forgiveness on Yom Kippur, they are saying - Hashem we want to do Your way, but the external force of the Yetzer Hara/Se'or SheBa'isa/Akum are pressing on us and causing the external stain. So please, take one goat which will be offered in the Holy of Holies, while this other goat is used outside to wipe away our external sins - because those sins are not us.

R' Hauptman then noted that the concept of Yom Kippur did not exist before the Egel. Prior to the Egel we had the first set of commandments which we heard and we were perfect. But perfection was not a state that we could maintain, thus the need for the second set of luchos, because we are not perfect. And Hashem sees that we have flaws, but they are external.

When the Jews enter the sukkah it is like entering a marriage, complete with a Chuppah (wedding canopy).  It is well established that a marriage is stronger after the couple rebuilds from their first fight then when they first get married. The strength is based on the couple's will to look past the imperfection which caused the fight, as the issue is external to their marriage.

After the first luchos we were not perfect anymore as we had sinned with the Egel and we asked for forgiveness. By giving us the second luchos, Hashem showed that he had forgiven us. Only then did the Ananei HaKavod come back and this is the end of the wedding ceremony.

R' Hauptman then asked - why is Sukkos called Zman Simchaseinu as opposed to any other holiday? Because we are happy that Hashem accepted us back, despite our external flaws.

R' Hauptman next quoted the Meshech Chachma who notes that before the Egel, the holiday we know as Sukkos was only called Chag Ha'asif - the holiday of gathering. The term Sukkos does not actually appear in the Torah until after we received the second Luchos in Sefer Devarim. This is because the clouds did not return until after we received the second Luchos and that is what triggered our need to remember the way we were housed in the desert.

R' Hauptman  closed the vort by quoting the Avodas HaGershuni who was the Gra's nephew. He in turn quoted his uncle who stated that on the 15th the Jews began to build the Mishkan and the Shechinah returned. For this reason we celebrate Sukkos as this was the day that we were zoche to sit under the wings of the Shechinah. He links it to the avodah on Yom Kippur where it states in Vayikra 16:16 "וְכִפֶּ֣ר עַל־הַקֹּ֗דֶשׁ מִטֻּמְאֹת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וּמִפִּשְׁעֵיהֶ֖ם לְכָל־חַטֹּאתָ֑ם וְכֵ֤ן יַֽעֲשֶׂה֙ לְאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד הַשֹּׁכֵ֣ן אִתָּ֔ם בְּת֖וֹךְ טֻמְאֹתָֽם" that the Kohain Gadol effects atonement in the Ohel Moed which dwells with the Jews in their state of Tumah. The first Yom Kippur established that even though we are tamei, Hashem will still dwell among us.

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Sunday, October 6, 2019

Sunday's Second Section of the R' Frand Teshuva Derasha 5780

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand in his annual Teshuva Derasha which was broadcast live from Baltimore on the TCN network this evening. I summarized the first part of the shiur in a post from Thursday evening (http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/10/thursdays-thoughts-on-teshuva-rabbi.html) and am attempting to summarize the rest of the derasha in this post. This was a very powerful derasha and my attempt to summarize should not be viewed as an exact transcript as it is based on my notes. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

The next section of the derasha began with a story involving R' Yossi Heber, the brother of R' Dovid Heber from Baltimore. He had been working in marketing and landed a big account - Kraft Jello. Now because Jello is not kosher, he could sample the product he was marketing. Yet he worked diligently on finding a way to market it albeit, without ever tasting it. He had a co-worker "Nancy" who told him how impressed she was with the way that he stayed with the account and that if she had that will power she would have lost 30 lbs. This is a lesson on living life about CD (cognitive dissonance - see first post).

R' Frand then noted that in the description of non kosher animals in Parshas Shemini there are four animals who have only one kosher sign, including the pig. In describing the pig's signs the Torah states "וְאֶת־הַֽ֠חֲזִ֠יר כִּֽי־מַפְרִ֨יס פַּרְסָ֜ה ה֗וּא וְשֹׁסַ֥ע שֶׁ֨סַע֙ פַּרְסָ֔ה וְה֖וּא גֵּרָ֣ה לֹֽא־יִגָּ֑ר טָמֵ֥א ה֖וּא לָכֶֽם". But why does the Torah tell us that it has a kosher sign (and even mention it first) if the bottom line is that without two kosher signs its not kosher? R' Frand quoted the Klei Yakar who explained that if the animal has only one sign it is more disgusting from no signs. Similarly, remarked R' Frand people will assume that with one kosher attribute they are OK and will not want to try and will have a more difficult time doing teshuva.

R' Frand gave suggestions to avoid CD. He first discussed being a diligent worker and noted that Ya'akov was mentioned eight times by the Rambam in the Yad Chazakah, but only one time was he called Ya'akov HaTzadik. This occurred in the discussion of how Ya'akov worked diligently for Lavan, even though Lavan was stealing from him. Regardless of how your employer treats you, you as the employee must give an honest days work.

R' Frand mentioned a statistic that the average American worker spends more than an hour a day on internet sites unrelated to work. And this is in addition to time lost from work for personal calls, texting, phone apps and the like.

R' Frand told a story about his father in law R' Ya'akov Blumenkrantz ztl who would ride the bus to raise money for the yeshiva. One day a man offered him a ride back to the yeshiva so that he would not need to take the bus. The next day he walked into the yeshiva office and put the bus fare that he had been advanced by the yeshiva on the desk, as he had not taken the bus and did not want to improperly keep the nickel.

R' Frand stated that the Al Cheit for Massa U'Matan means treating customers, competitors, employees and workers with honesty.

R' Frand also mentioned that people pay lip service to the concept that a person's financials are set by Hashem on Rosh Hashanah, but if we really believed that, we would not attempt to cut corners. He told a story about a Rav who sold his airline miles and was prepared to redeem $3,000 of airline miles, but did not go forward  with the transaction because he was informed that the airlines said that the practice was illegal. He did not attempt to verify whether the airlines were correct that it was illegal, but accepted that they believed that it was illegal and did not proceed with the transaction.

He also talked about being careful with relationship boundaries in the workplace and told a story about a salesman who gave his file for his biggest client to his manager and told him that he could not service the account anymore. The salesman explained that he was too attracted to the buyer to continue doing business with that account. This is living without CD.

R' Frand also referenced a book by Ari Wasserman called Making It All Work - Women Surviving and Thriving in the Workplace. He mentioned anecdotes and examples of how familiarity, even in an atmosphere of frum employees, can cause lines to blur as working together can cause people to feel others in the workplace, even if they did not act on it.

R' Frand also spoke about avoiding CD and sending mixed messages to the family by going places and doing things on vacation that would not be done at home. He talked about a trip to Cypress Gardens (a forerunner to Epcot) where they encountered a Mennonite family who remarked that they come to that park because other theme parks were not the proper environment for their family.

R' Frand talked about we want our children to come to shul to daven, but do we give them the right example? People go to  Kiddush club rather than hear the Haftorah, or stop in at multiple Kiddushes on the way home from shul, causing the family to wait an hour to start lunch, before he then falls asleep midway through the meal from all the scotch at the prior Kiddushes.

R' Frand told a story about Dovy Kurland whose 100 year old father did not learn in school and learned his Judaism from being in shul. He asked his son - why would you need a sign to tell people not to speak in shul? To him it was a given. He also told a story he heard from Shmuel Hyatt who went to the aufruf of the grandson of the Sanzer Rebbi. There were 22 aliyos and not a word spoken between aliyos. Why? Because there was a problem of speaking between aliyos and the Rebbi decided that speaking would be banned. He had to post ushers and even so there were fights and people had to be removed from shul. But it was important to him that the talking stop and the result was that 22 aliyah shabbos with no speaking.

R' Frand gave another example of CD from the story about Eliyahu confronting the prophets of Ba'al and asking for how long will you straddle both sides - worshiping Hashem one day and the Avodah Zarah another. It was not that he wished them to worship Avodah Zarah, but he could deal with them if they did, but not if they tried to do both.

The same symptoms can be seen Rivka. She was concerned about the child in her womb until she found out that the reason that it kicked in seeming contradictory times was that it was two different children and she had a rasha and a tzaddik. But why was she happy when she knew that there was a rasha inside as well? Because at least she knew that it was not one person acting in two different directions. 

R' Frand noted that the final Ashamnu is "Teetanu." This is learned from Ya'akov who protested that he did not want to be C'Mtaateah - a liar or a faker.

R' Frand noted that at the end of Yom Kippur we say the Hashem Hu Ha'Elokim 7 times. This was the response from the Jewish people when Eliyahu confronted the prophets of Ba'al. Why do we say this at the end of Yom Kippur? Because after Elul and Rosh Hashanah and the 10 days of repentance, Eliyahu comes and asks - how long will you straddle both sides? To this we need to respond with full force - Hashem Hu Ha'Elokim - I will make a change and wont live with CD - I will recognize Hashem fully.

May we all iyh have mechil gemura as a result of our teshuva.

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Thursday, October 3, 2019

Thursday's Thoughts on Teshuva - the Rabbi Frand Teshuva Derasha 5780 - Part 1

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand in his annual Teshuva Derasha which was broadcast live from Baltimore on the TCN network this evening. I have attempted to summarize the first part of the derasha in this post and iyh will do an additional post over the weekend. This was a very powerful derasha and my attempt to summarize should not be viewed as an exact transcript as it is based on my notes. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

R' Frand began the derasha by noting that the parshios of Netzavim, Vayelech and Ha'azinu speak to us about how to approach teshuva. He began by noting that in Netzavim (Devarim 30:11), Moshe tells the Jews "כִּ֚י הַמִּצְוָ֣ה הַזֹּ֔את אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָֽנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם לֹֽא־נִפְלֵ֥את הִוא֙ מִמְּךָ֔ וְלֹֽא־רְחֹקָ֖ה הִֽוא" - This Mitzva I am commanding you today (teshuva) is not concealed from you, nor is it far away. Moshe then tells the Jews in the next pesukim - " לֹ֥א בַשָּׁמַ֖יִם הִ֑וא" - its not in the Heavens and "וְלֹֽא־מֵעֵ֥בֶר לַיָּ֖ם הִ֑וא" - its not over the seas. Moshe then states in 30:14 - "כִּֽי־קָר֥וֹב אֵלֶ֛יךָ הַדָּבָ֖ר מְאֹ֑ד בְּפִ֥יךָ וּבִלְבָֽבְךָ֖ לַֽעֲשׂתֽוֹ" - Because this thing (teshuva) is very close to you, its in your mouth and in your heart to do it.

Moshe also tells the Jews in Parshas Netzavim not to worship idols, stating in 29:17 = "פֶּן־יֵ֣שׁ בָּ֠כֶ֠ם אִ֣ישׁ אֽוֹ־אִשָּׁ֞ה א֧וֹ מִשְׁפָּחָ֣ה אוֹ־שֵׁ֗בֶט אֲשֶׁר֩ לְבָב֨וֹ פֹנֶ֤ה הַיּוֹם֙ מֵעִם֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֔ינוּ לָלֶ֣כֶת לַֽעֲבֹ֔ד אֶת־אֱלֹהֵ֖י הַגּוֹיִ֣ם הָהֵ֑ם פֶּן־יֵ֣שׁ בָּכֶ֗ם שֹׁ֛רֶשׁ פֹּרֶ֥ה רֹ֖אשׁ וְלַֽעֲנָֽה:" - which (in summary) warns that there might be a man or woman or family or tribe whose heart will turn from Hashem to worship other gods.  Moshe follows this with a statement "וְהָיָ֡ה בְּשָׁמְעוֹ֩ אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֨י הָֽאָלָ֜ה הַזֹּ֗את וְהִתְבָּרֵ֨ךְ בִּלְבָב֤וֹ לֵאמֹר֙ שָׁל֣וֹם יִֽהְיֶה־לִּ֔י כִּ֛י בִּשְׁרִר֥וּת לִבִּ֖י אֵלֵ֑ך " - And it will be when he hears the words of this oath and he will bless himself and say that peace will be with me and I will follow my heart's desires...

R' Frand then asked, how can a person who has heard Moshe for 40 years in the desert and knows that Moshe is truthful, how can that person ignore Moshe's statements and think that its OK to follow his heart's desire and worship false gods?

R' Frand answered that this person is suffering from cognitive dissonance (CD for short). He defines this as the mental discomfort held by a person who believes two different things at the same time. To relieve this discomfort, a person will try to justify both beliefs or acts in order to feel better about himself.

R' Frand gave an example of CD as a person who is a smoker - people knew that it was unhealthy, but rationalized that it was not so bad because the person was not smoking so much, or because he is an active person and takes care of himself some other way, or even that if he quit smoking he would gain weight and that was more unhealthy. R' Frand even quoted some people from years ago who theorized that the studies on the damage of smoking were not applicable to Sabbath observers since the study group smoked 7 days a week and the frum people had a 25 hour window when they did not smoke. R' Frand said that this is a prime example of the Shalom Yihiyeh Li person.

R' Frand then gave an example from Nach in the persona of Shaul HaMelech. He was told by Shmuel when he went to conquer Amalek that he should not let any person or livestock survive. Yet, Shaul broke both rules as he brought back Aggag as well as livestock. And then, when confronted by Shmuel - he had the temerity to say to him - I have kept Hashem's word. Shmuel then said how? And only after 4x back and forth did he admit that he had not done what he was commanded to do. Why did he do this? Because he thought the Jews wanted to have the livestock for themselves and justified in his own mind (through CD) that he was doing the right thing by letting the animals live. 

R' Frand observed that people don't want to admit that they are wrong - this is the meaning of the Al Cheit of Imutz HaLev - that a person does not want to admit to being mistaken and this is a barrier to Teshuva.

There was much more to the derasha, but I will close with the following story that he told at this point. R' Bentzion Kook was approached about a shiduch for his daughter. The potential suitor was a top bochur and learned constantly. He was erudite and could deliver his learning with great analysis. But he also used to routinely skip the daily 15 minute mussar seder as well as the shmoozes from the Rebbeim. R' Kook asked R' Elyashiv - should they pursue this boy? He was told - absolutely not - if he does not learn mussar he cannot be introspective and will not admit when he is wrong. This is not a good quality to bring into a marriage.

As I mentioned above, I hope iyh to do a second post later this weekend which will contain the rest of the derasha.

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Thursday, September 26, 2019

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Netzavim

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 Devarim 29:18, the Torah states וְהָיָ֡ה בְּשָׁמְעוֹ֩ אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֨י הָֽאָלָ֜ה הַזֹּ֗את וְהִתְבָּרֵ֨ךְ בִּלְבָב֤וֹ לֵאמֹר֙ שָׁל֣וֹם יִֽהְיֶה־לִּ֔י כִּ֛י בִּשְׁרִר֥וּת לִבִּ֖י אֵלֵ֑ךְ לְמַ֛עַן סְפ֥וֹת הָֽרָוָ֖ה אֶת־הַצְּמֵאָֽה.

R' Frand focused on the end of the pasuk where the brazen person who says that he will do as we wishes has "thereby adding the watered upon the thirsty." R' Frand remarked that the language is difficult to understand (even with that Artscroll translation). 

R' Frand quoted Rashi's explanation that the person had previously sinned out of desire - like one who is thirsty. Now, the person sins because he thinks that he can do whatever he wants, and not because of simply being overcome. The person who does so will have his unintentional sins punished in the same way as his intentional acts. 

R' Frand then quoted the Gemara in Sanhedrin 66 which states that a person who returns the lost object of an Akum is the subject of the end of this pasuk - that there is no mitzvah to return the object and the person will not be forgiven by Hashem (the beginning of Devarim 29:19). If a person returns the object because he wants to be seen as having a good heart (בִּשְׁרִר֥וּת לִבִּ֖י אֵלֵ֑ךְ), it is a sign that he does mitzvos not because he was commanded to, but because it feels good in his heart.

Rashi on the Gemara ties this back into the language of the pasuk, remarking that the one who is not thirsty is the Akum who does not desire mitzvos. The person who is thirsty and wants to be closer to Hashem should do mitzvos out of a desire to draw closer to Hashem.

R' Frand tied this thought into the Rambam on Shofar who explains that the purpose of the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah is to awaken a person who is involved in worldly pleasures (havalim) to do teshuva. For this reason a person does teshuva during the ten days of repentance by doing mitzvos - between man and Hashem and between man and man and does additional learning and gives charity.

R' Frand asked - what is the connection between the havalim and the Shofar and since when does one do teshuva on Rosh Hashanah? There are no Al Cheit which are struck. So why does the Rambam call this a day of teshuva?

R' Frand answered by quoting R' Moshe Shapiro who says that a person does do teshuva on Rosh Hashanah and it is different than the remainder of the ten days. The other days are the days of teshuva for what a person did over the past year. But on Rosh Hashanah we do teshuva by removing the worldly pleasures and think about what we can do to live a life without the physical pleasures - it is this that the Shofar inspires us to do.

R' Frand closed the vort by noting that all year people may eat bread of an Akum baker (of course under supervision) but during the ten days of teshuva a "Ba'al Nefesh" should be stringent. But what is a Ba'al Nefesh? 

R' Frand quoted the Tolner Rebbi, who explains that term means a person who thinks about his nefesh. All year long a person thinks about the body - am I exercising enough? Do I make enough money? But during these days he should think about his nefesh and this is the purpose of the Shofar - to awaken him.

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Thursday, September 19, 2019

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Ki Savo

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha last year (there was a replacement Rav this week and I did not get a chance to hear him). 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 began the vort by noting that the first mitzva in the parsha is the bringing of the bikkurim (first fruits) to the Beis Hamikdash and the recitation of the mikra bikkurim. This recitation is more than just a thanking of Hashem for the bountiful harvest, it actually contains a historical recitation of events which track back to the Jews being saved from Egypt. 

R' Frand further observed that many of the pesukim in this section of the parsha are incorporated in the maggid section of the Hagaddah on Pesach. But why did the Ba'al Hagaddah choose to use these pesukim from Parshas Ki Savo when he had the entire parshios of Shemos, Va'era, Bo and Beshalach to work with? R' Frand answered by quoting R' Finkel who explains that those parshios are historical in nature. Meanwhile, the mikra bikkurim recitation of the events from Egypt is a HaKaras HaTov, a recognition of the good that Hashem has done for us, and mentioning it at the seder is appropriate. This is not to say that there is no discussion or citation from Shemos-Beshalach as there are many references which are punctuated by "K'mo Shenemar" --as it is written. 

R' Frand noted that in Devarim 26:3 the words V'Amarta Eilav (literally - say to him) are explained by Rashi as being purposed to not be a Kafui Tov - rejector of the good that Hashem has done for him. R' Frand then asked - but why not say that it is done to recognize the good that Hashem does? He answered that we cannot possibly sufficiently praise Hashem for all that He does for us, we can only hope not to be a rejector by not praising him. R' Frand linked this to the Ilu Finu pasuk in the Nishmas in which we state on Shabbos and that there is no way to properly praise Hashem for all that He does for us.

R' Frand also remarked that there is no way to properly recognize all the good that our parents have done for us (and he is right, not that he needs my approbation).

R' Frand also quoted the Brisker Rav on the pasuk in Ha'azinu (Devarim 32:6) in which we are described as Naval --translated as vile by Artscroll. What is a Naval? When an animal dies without shechita it is a neveilah - it loses its status as an animal and is just a disgusting piece of meat. Similarly, a person may have a defect such as being quick to anger or miserly, but he is still a person, just with a defect. But if he is a minuval, he loses his status as a person altogether.

R' Frand told two stories about Rabbis being makir tov. One involved R' Yaakov Kaminetsky who when he was told that a boy was being thrown out of the dorm because he consistently missed minyan asked to have the boy brought to him. When the boy came to see his Rosh Yeshiva, he was asked - where will you sleep? The boy had no answer. R' Kamietsky said --you will stay in my house, because when I was a bachur learning in the Kovno Yeshiva, your grandfather supported the yeshiva.

R' Frand told another story about R' Shach. One day R' Shach called his grandson and told him that he needed a cab to take him to a funeral in Haifa. They traveled together and arrived at a funeral of an older lady. There were very few attendees and it was a cold and rainy day. When the funeral ended, R' Shach went to the cemetery with the mourners and stayed outside in the rain and said the graveside Kaddish. When everyone left, he stayed outside in the rain a little longer, before getting back in the car with his grandson.

The grandson had never heard of the woman and after waiting as long as he could, he asked why R' Shach went to the funeral in Haifa. R' Shach answered that when he was in Yeshiva in Lithuania it was based in a shul. The boys lived in the shul and slept there as well, but because they were so poor. the sleeping arrangements were limited and only the older boys slept on benches. As one of the youngest boys, R' Shach slept on the cold floor. And it was really cold.

One day R' Shach got a letter from an uncle who wanted to leave his business to Rav Shach and asked him to come, because he had no children. R' Shach determined that he would leave the next day, but later in the same day a woman came to Yeshiva. She told them that she had just gotten up from Shiva for her husband who owned a blanket factory and she wanted to know if anyone needed blankets. R' Shach took blankets to use a mattress and on top of him and the floor became tolerable.

R' Shach told his grandson that without those blankets he would not have stayed in Yeshiva and become R' Shach. So he kept tabs on the woman and when she passed he went to the levaya.

The grandson asked - but why did you stay outside at the cemetery after all others had left? R' Shach responded, because I wanted to remember what it was like to be cold.

R' Frand closed the vort by stating  --the greater the Tzaddik, the greater his capacity to be makir tov.

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