Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Bechukosai

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 Vayikra 26:42 the Torah writes "וְזָֽכַרְתִּ֖י אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֣י יַֽעֲק֑וֹב וְאַף֩ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֨י יִצְחָ֜ק וְאַ֨ף אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶזְכֹּ֖ר וְהָאָ֥רֶץ אֶזְכֹּֽר." R' Frand noted that this language is usually read by the Ba'al Koreh with full voice as opposed to the rest of the Tochacha which is read low. Additionally, the location of the pasuk within the Tochacha is curious as the pasuk which seems positive on its face in that Hashem states that He will remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob does not appear at the end of the Tochacha. Instead, the Tochacha continues for two more pesukim before finally there is a promise of salvation. So is this a positive statement or a continuation of the recitation of the curses?

R' Frand first answered by quoting the Shelah who takes the position that the pasuk is part of the curses within the Tochacha. He notes that there is a difference between a rasha who is the son of a tzaddik and one who is the son of a rasha. While a person may sin because he does not know better and was raised in an environment bereft of morals, there is no similar excuse for someone who commits crimes but comes from an environment where he was taught how to act. 

This is why the pasuk is a continuation of the Tochacha - Hashem is saying, even though you came from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who I had covenants with, you did not lean from your environment.

R' Frand then added that perhaps this is the reason that the pasuk ends with the statement that "the land will remember." You (the Jews) were living in Israel, a land where you had everything and positive reinforcement, yet you sinned.

R' Frand also quoted R' Bukspan from Miami who cited a Medrash which states that at the Akeidah, Avraham davened to Hashem that the Jews should have a period of Aseres Yimei Teshuva to achieve forgiveness. Why was this prayer/request made then? R' Bukspan answered that Akeidas Yitzchak is a great merit for the Jews and it could provoke the question - with this kind of background, how could you have sinned? Therefore, Avraham asked at the Akeidah - please give the Jews an annual period of teshuva.

R' Frand also added that some machzorim for Rosh Hashanah have the words "Brachamim Tizkor" in the mussaf liturgy of Zichronos. Why? Because we want Hashem to remember the Akeidah with mercy and not ask why we sinned despite our background.

Lastly, R' Frand quoted his son R' Yitzchakm who explained that there are two forms of mussar - one that informs the person that he is horrible and has done something terrible and another derech where the individual giving mussar says "you are normally a good person, what caused you to do this wrong act?" The second form of mussar is the sentence from the Tochacha which recalls our forefathers - you came from a good family, why did you sin?

R' Frand also said a vort on the pasuk in Vayikra 26:3 "אִם־בְּחֻקֹּתַ֖י תֵּלֵ֑כוּ וְאֶת־מִצְו‍ֹתַ֣י תִּשְׁמְר֔וּ וַֽעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָֽם". He noted that the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh had 42 explanations for why this was written in present tense, but he quoted the Shelah who writes that we learn from here that if a person intended to do a mitzva, but was prevented from doing so, he gets the reward as if he did ot.

R' Frand connected this to a story about a mohel who lived in Israel called R' Chussin. At an advanced age he was asked to do a Shabbos Bris which required him to walk a great distance on Shabbos. He agreed to do so and brought along a companion for the long walk. Upon arriving at the Bris, the father of the baby boy seemed to be stalling and eventually said to R' Chussin - I have a problem as I asked you to come, but would like to give this kibbud to a different mohel. R' Chussin agreed with a smile on his face.

Yet, the bris still did not go forward. Again, the father seemed to be stalling until he approached R' Chussin and asked to borrow his implements as the new mohel did not have them with him. Again, R Chussin agreed with a smile on his face.

On the walk back to his home, R' Chussin's assistant asked - you were shown disrespect, why are you smiling? He responded - this is the best bris I ever performed! He explained that generally a mohel is shown respect and kavod and this has some impact on his psyche. Here, I was prevented from doing the mitzva, but am credited with having performed the milah, and without any kavod to tarnish the act!

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Behar

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 Vayikra 25:17, the Torah writes "וְלֹ֤א תוֹנוּ֙ אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־עֲמִית֔וֹ וְיָרֵ֖אתָ מֵֽאֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶֽם". 

The Mefarshim ask - why is it that for this specific mitzva of not committing ona'ah (translated for our purposes as fraud) that the Torah instructs that one who does so should fear Hashem? There are many negative commandments which don't have such a warning!

R' Frand answered this question by quoting the Milo Ha'Omer who writes that a person's money is pre-ordained by Hashem before Rosh Hashanah of the year. If a person steals from another, he is attempting to change what was decreed by Hashem and Hashem sees and does not allow that profit to stay with the person.

R' Frand then told a story from R' Weissmandl who lost his family in the Holocaust and fled to the United States where he ultimately restarted the Nitra Yeshiva. R' Frand prefaced this by stating that he does not feel comfortable making statements about why things occurred, but since R' Weissmandl lived this, R' Frand can quote his words. 

R' Weissmandl wrote in his sefer that although the Holocaust started in Germany, the German Jews fared much better than the Jews from other countries such as Poland or Lithuania. The Jews of Germany (proportionately) did not lose their financial resources and the percentage of Jews from Germany who survived is greater than other countries. He offered an explanation for this phenomenon - the Jews of Germany were very honest in business, more than their counterparts in other countries. This could be due to the fact that they were in a better financial situation, but they were more honest in business. For this reason, when the Holocaust came, they suffered less than their brethren.

R' Frand said a second vort on the pasuk in Vayikra 26:2 which states "אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֣י תִּשְׁמֹ֔רוּ וּמִקְדָּשִׁ֖י תִּירָ֑אוּ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָֽה."

Rashi writes on the pasuk - Hashem says I am Hashem and am believed to give reward.

R' Frand quoted the Toras Kohanim which asks why this pasuk needs to be written if the same was previously written? He answers that this is directed to a Jew who due to financial circumstances is forced to sell himself into slavery to a non-Jew. He may feel that since his master can work on Shabbos, he can too, but the Torah is instructing that even though he lives in his master's house and sees what occurs, he will not lose out for keeping Shabbos.

R' Frand also quoted the Chofetz Chaim who writes that no matter how difficult the situation is to keep Shabbos, Hashem promises that he will pay him back for how difficult it was for him to keep Shabbos.

R' Frand then told a story from Otzros Peninei HaTorah about a Jew who was travelling to Jerusalem by car. When he left his house the gas gauge showed full. He traveled about 15 minutes and the gauge still showed full. He soon realized that the gauge was broken and he shortly thereafter ran out of gas.

The man went to the trunk and took out jerry cans and began walking down the road in the blistering heat. After walking for a while he saw a gas station, but the station had a sign which said "Open 24/7."  The man said to himself, this sign angers Hashem - the station advertises that it is open on Shabbos and I wont buy from them. The man continued to walk down the road in search of another station. Soon, a man in an expensive car pulled up and asked if he needed help. When the man said that he was trying to find a gas station, the driver said - you are in luck, there is a station a short way behind you. No, the man replied, I wont buy from them because they have a sign that says that they are open 24/7 and this angers Hashem. Fine, the driver replied, we will find you a station that is closed on Shabbos and after you get gas there I will drive you back to your car.

The men struck a friendship during this drive and stayed in touch with calls before the holidays. 

A number of years later, the man received a call from the driver of the expensive car. He said - you know that I am a lawyer? Yes. And you know that I am a trusts and estates lawyer? Yes. Well, a man died in Mexico City and I am preparing the distributions as executor. He asked that I give money to an honest and upstanding Jew and when I thought about you and how you refused to buy gas from the station which was open on Shabbos and how you walked up the road in the broiling heat in search of another station, I knew that you were the person who fit the decedent's wishes. So under the will you will be receiving $107,000.

R' Frand remarked - this is what the Chofetz Chaim meant by saying that Hashem is believed to pay a greater reward for the more sacrifice a person does to keep Shabbos.

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Sunday Night Suds - Shmaltz Brewing Chanukah Pass the Beer

This week's Sunday Night Suds takes a holiday turn and looks at Shmaltz Brewing Co's Chanukah Pass the Beer Stout.

Yes, I know its not Hanukah, nor July or even Prime Day, but since its Pesach Sheni I figured it was as good a time as any to break out this beer that I picked up the 2018-2019 version of this beer at the Total in Westbury's end of winter  season beer sale a few months back.

The firs thing I noticed about this beer was the foam. And while every not past its date beer has foam, this beer had copious amounts of foam. It did not matter how I poured it, the cup or glass that I poured into, or how much I poured, every time I poured 2 oz of beer, I got 8 oz of foam rising up. It made pouring and drinking a slow process, but the foam was deeply velvet chocolaty and enjoyable.

Once the foam actually settled about 15 minutes later (no joke) the beer was dark brown-black and reminiscent of a sweetened Guinness. It was not undrinkable sweet or even soda like, but the cocoa and vanilla influences were prominent and made this into a grownup egg cream.

Shmaltz Chanukah Pass the Beer is under the Kosher Supervision of the KSA, as are many, if not all of the Shmaltz products.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the brew, please follow this link www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/262/145097 - keep in mind there is a different version every year, so the older reviews wont be about this beer.

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's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Emor

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 Vayikra 22:29 the Torah discusses the bringing of a Karban Todah (sacrifice of thanksgiving) --  and states  וְכִֽי־תִזְבְּח֥וּ זֶֽבַח־תּוֹדָ֖ה לַֽיהֹוָ֑ה לִרְצֹֽנְכֶ֖ם תִּזְבָּֽחוּ  - when a person brings this sacrifice, he should do so willingly. 

But these sacrifices are for a person who was healed from an illness or survived an accident. These are sacrifices that people want to bring. Why does the Torah need to instruct us that we should bring them willingly?

Rashi gives an answer that the pasuk is talking about not bringing the sacrifice with an improper intent such as piggul or to eat it in the wrong location. R' Frand also quoted the Ksav Sofer who writes that when a person is sick and gets better he can have the attitude - he would rather not have had the illness and then would not need to be healed. But the point of the karban Todah being offered willingly is to teach that the person should also thank Hashem for the trouble. Because a person who went through this illness and by being healed has developed a closeness with Hashem. The karban Todah is a way of saying thank you to Hashem both for the illness and for being healed. Furthermore, by recognizing the yesurin for what they are, a person also gives thanks that he will not have to deal with a more severe punishment in the World to Come.

R' Frand also quoted R' Bukspan who states that a person may find himself dealing with a problem such as an illness and when he has recovered or the problem has been dealt with, he will recognize that he has grown from the experience.

R' Frand also quoted R' Yonasan Shteif (sp?) who explains that the Gemara which discusses the people who are obligated to bring a Karban Todah defines them with their problem and their escape - someone who went down to the sea and came back, someone who went to prison and was released, someone who was ill and was healed. But why not just state - someone who was healed from an illness? Because must thank Hashem for the experience and the salvation.

R' Frand told a story of R' Boruch Sorotskin who was a Rosh Yeshiva in Telshe and went through cancer and had a remission and then it came back. He reportedly said that if you asked him before he was ill if he would raise $1 million dollars to avoid being sick he would have said yes. But after going through the illness and being healed he said that he would not give away the experience even for $1 million dollars because he learned so much from the experience. This is someone who has learned the lesson of the Karban Todah.

R' Frand closed the vort by mentioning an article which ran in a Jewish paper which was a first person experience of a young mother who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and thanked Hashem for the experience and survival. I don't have the paper or more on the story and if you read this and can provided it, please post it in the comments below.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Kedoshim

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 Vayikra 19:16, the Torah states ".לֹֽא־תֵלֵ֤ךְ רָכִיל֙ בְּעַמֶּ֔יךָ לֹ֥א תַֽעֲמֹ֖ד עַל־דַּ֣ם רֵעֶ֑ךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֹֽה"

R' Frand asked - why is that the Torah juxtaposes these two thoughts - that a person should not speak loshon hora לֹֽא־תֵלֵ֤ךְ רָכִיל֙ בְּעַמֶּ֔יך and that a person should not stand idly by and allow someone else to be killed - לֹ֥א תַֽעֲמֹ֖ד עַל־דַּ֣ם רֵעֶ֑ךָ?

R' Frand answered by quoting from the sefer Halichos Shlomo which is a discussion of R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach's minhagim. Within the sefer it is written that R' Shlomo Zalman would say kaddish for the yahrtzeits of his family members who had no one to say kaddish for them, including his grandparents. He would also say kaddish on the 24th day of Nissan, although this was not the yahrtzeit of any member of his family. Instead, it was the yahrtzeit of Sasha Mindel Bas Chaim Yehudah who was the granddaughter of R' Shlomo Kluger.

R' Frand stated that R' Kluger said the eulogy when his granddaughter and asked that his sefer be learned in her memory on her yahrtzeit and that if a person is saying kaddish and it is not beneath him, he should say kaddish for his granddaughter on that day - and if not, he should pay a poor person to do so. 

R' Frand then read from the introduction to R' Kluger's sefer Nidrei Zerizin where he talks about how his granddaughter was set up with a man named R' Ya'akov Hertzberg and that people who made the shidduch were evil and he was upset at himself for not checking the family properly as they were evil as well. Shortly after the marriage they began to expert pressure on the granddaughter to follow their evil ways and may have physically or verbally abused her. She was afflicted with a diseased lung within a few months of the marriage and went in for treatment, but the Kluger family was not told. By the time R' Shlomo found out and took her to a proper doctor it was too late and she died shortly thereafter. He writes that Hashem should avenge her blood against those who knew the character of this family and did not warn them not to allow their granddaughter not to marry into the family. And even though R' Shlomo Kluger lived from 1783-1869, R' Shlomo Zalman, who was not even born until 1910, felt it important to say kaddish for this woman who must have passed away more than forty years before he was born.

Based on this we can understand the meaning of the pasuk. Although there is a rule not to say loshon hara, you should not stand by when someone is drowning. You need to realize that sometimes in not speaking, you will allow someone to drown. Although its more comfortable to remain silent, this is not what a Jew should do according to the Chofetz Chaim because it could lead to a churban. The statement must be without embellishment, or personal agenda (there are 5 rules in total) but the person who knows must say something.

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Sunday Night Suds - Shiner Sea Salt & Lime Lager

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Shiner Sea Salt & Lime Lager.

As is our custom, when May 5 falls on a Sunday (and sometimes even when it falls on a weeknight) we try to have a Mexican themed dinner. This year it was fajitas and chili with shabbos rice and wraps. While I did not have a Mexican beer to sample this year, I did have this Shiner Sea Salt & Lime Lager that I had picked up in the fall in an end of season remainder bin and I figured it was worth pairing with the Mexican themed dinner.

Although this beer was consumed close to a year after it was brewed, I was not concerned with the impact on flavor as I had been storing it in a dark area with little fluctuation in temperature. Well, the beer did not taste skunky, but it did taste like a Shandy and that is generally not my speed. When I twisted off the lid there was an instant smell of floor cleaner like fake citrus, but also a loud hiss which let me know that the beer had not gone flat. Mrs KB was not a fan of this as she thought it tasted like floor cleaner and I was left wondering why she had ever tasted floor cleaner, but I digress...

This beer reminded me of the other lime lagers which I have tried (such as Miller Lime Chill) and if that is you generally enjoy macrolagers with lime juice, this is the beer for you.

The Shiner Sea Salt & Lime Lager is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit although there is no symbol on the the bottle. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/143/325296.

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 Acharei Mos

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.

The first vort that Rabbi Frand said was based on a Medrash in Tehillim (78:63) on the Pasuk which states that “Fire consumed His young men, and His maidens had no marriage celebration.” The Medrash explains that the fire consumed these men because they chose not to praise the maidens and that as a result many maidens remained unmarried. The sons of Aharon looked and said - our father is in the Kohain Gadol. One of his brothers is the King and the other is the Nasi of the tribe of Levi. We ourselves are each the Sgan (assistant) to the Kohain Gadol - there are no women worthy of us. 

The Da'as Zekeinim M'Ba'alei Tosafos explains that this is why the end of the pasuk which mentions  their death (Vayikra 16:1) mentions their death at the beginning and the end of the pasuk - they died and they left no legacy because they never married and had children.

R' Frand also said a vort about the avodah done by the Kohain Gadol in the Kodesh HaKadashim on Yom Kippur. In Vayikra 16:17 the Torah states that no person should be in the Ohel Mo'ed when the Kohain Gadol did his avodah. The Medrash states that even angels could not be there during the avodah. So why does the pasuk use the word "Adam"? The basic answer is that the faces of angels are like people. But R' Frand said a deeper thought on this as well.

R' Frand quoted a Gemara in Menachos which states that Shimon HaTzadik was the Kohain Gadol for 80 years. In his last year of life, he came out after performing the avodah on Yom Kippur and said that he would not live throughout the year. They asked him why and he explained that every year he saw an old man who wore white and accompanied him into and out of the Kodesh HaKadashim. But this year the man wore black. The Yerushalmi asks - but if no man or angel could accompany the Kohain Gadol, who was the man that Shimon HaTzadik saw? The answer is that he saw Hashem, B'Chvodo U'Vatzmo. 

R' Frand also quoted the Ricanti, who explains that the angels could not come into the Kodesh HaKadashim at that time, because this was the "alone time" (my words) for the Kohain Gadol with Hashem, just like on a lesser level, the time that a chassid has with his Rebbi.

R' Frand closed the vort by quoting R' Bukspan who mentioned that the Yismach Moshe observes that the Beis Hamikdash is called Beis Habechira. In fact the Rambam codifies the laws related to this in Hilchos Beis Habechira. The Yismach Moshe explains that the name derives because this is the place that Hashem chose (Bachar) to dwell on earth. But R' Bukspan went a step further and explained that the Beis Hamikdash is the place where man chooses to become close to Hashem. Thus the angels cannot enter there, as they do not exercise choice.

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