Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Re'eh

Since there are no Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha until next week, I am continuing to substitute a vort from other Rabbanim each week, rather than leaving the blog without a vort for shabbos.  This week, I am again attempting to repeat a vort heard from a young maggid shiur in my community - R' Jeff Thurm who gives a great 40 minute parsha shiur at the BTU shul on Thursday nights. Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the 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.

This week's parsha begins with Moshe telling the Jews in Devarim 11:26 - "רְאֵ֗ה אָֽנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם בְּרָכָ֖ה וּקְלָלָֽה" - See I present before you today a blessing and a curse. However in Parshas Netzavim, Moshe tells the Jews in Devarim 30:15 - "רְאֵ֨ה נָתַ֤תִּי לְפָנֶ֨יךָ֙ הַיּ֔וֹם אֶת־הַֽחַיִּ֖ים וְאֶת־הַטּ֑וֹב וְאֶת־הַמָּ֖וֶת וְאֶת־הָרָֽע" - See I have placed before you today the life and the good and the death and the bad.

The obvious question is - what changed that the statement in Netazim is so much more ominous then the lighter reference in this week's parsha? 

R' Jeff answered by quoting the Meshech Chachma, who explains that in the interim there was an introduction of the concept of teshuva and that "raised the stakes." Before the possibility of repentance there was the possibility of making the wrong choice, but once Elul comes and with it the power of teshuva, there is now a life and death possibility as we race towards Rosh Hashana and the Yimei HaDin. Whereas the light choices during the summer merely carried the possibility of blessing/curse, when the Days of Awe are approaching and we have the possibility to do teshuva, the results can swing more violently in either direction.

R' Jeff also said a vort about the Chasida - the stork, which is classified as a non-kosher bird, albeit with a pleasant sounding name. Rashi quotes the gemara in Chullin which states that it is called the Chasida because it gives of its food to its stork brethren. But if the bird is a generous and kind creature, why is it not kosher? The Ramban teaches that each non-kosher bird had a character flaw of some kind and that is why we are forbidden to consume it!

R' Jeff answered by quoting the Chidushei HaRim who explains that the stork is a giving creature - but only to other storks and not to other types of birds. This should be a lesson to us that we should not just be kind and giving to our friends, without regard or conciousness of other outside of our inner circle, because only giving to one who is close to us does not make you generous. Instead, a person should reach out to the new family or single person in town and invite them into his home for a meal or a shabbos.

In Devarim 12:23 - the  Torah tells us to be strong and not eat blood. Two pesukim later the Torah states that at 12:25 there is a reward for not consuming blood as refraining from eating blood will be good for you and your children afterwards. R' Jeff noted the juxtaposition of this commandment to the law of Ir HaNidachas - the city where the majority of its residents worship idols and we are told in Devarim 13:15 to wipe out that city and not benefit from any of its possessions. If the city is wiped out, we are promised in Devarim 13:18, that Hashem will show mercy to you and cause you to be fruitful and multiply.

R' Jeff quoted the Kli Yakar who explains that each rule shows the positive results of keeping mitzvos. A person is told not to eat the blood because consuming blood will have  a negative impact on a person. And while a person might be concerned that following through on wiping out the rebellious city will have a negative impact on him, the Torah promises that Hashem will show him mercy and insure not only that he will not be impacted by this act, but that he will grow and his family will be fruitful and multiply.

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

Sunday Night Suds - Shiner Cerveza

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Shiner Cerveza De Verano.

I picked this up over the summer in a Price Chopper mix a six. It was of interest to me because although I have had kosher certified Cerveza before, I never had a beer with agave.

The Cerveza De Verano is 4.5% abv and poured bright yellow. As I brought the beer to my face it had a faint smell of corn or other adjunct that made me thing EuroLager, but when I sipped it, the beer had some other flavor which was tart and I can only guess was the agave. I had tried tequila in the past and was not fond of it, but this beer did not make me think of tequila either.

The beer was somewhat bready, but standard for this kind of lager style beer. It was crisp much like one comes to expect from a Shiner and would go well with light spicy dishes. Not sure that this would stand up to chili, but I could see this going well with fajitas.

The Shiner Cerveza De Verano 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/143/421359.

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 Eikev

Since there are no Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha until Elul, I generally substitute a vort from other Rabbanim each week, rather than leaving the blog without a vort for shabbos.  This week, I am attempting to repeat a vort heard from a young maggid shiur in my community - R' Jeff Thurm who gives a great 40 minute parsha shiur at the BTU shul on Thursday nights. Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the 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.

In Devarim 8:10, the Torah states "וְאָֽכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַטֹּבָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לָֽךְ" which is the commandment that one should bentch - make a blessing after eating. R' Jeff noted that this is one of two Torah commandments to say a blessing, the other being the mitzvah to say a bracha before learning Torah. But why are they in a different order that one makes the blessing before learning Torah, but after eating?

R' Jeff answered by quoting the Meshech Chachma who teaches that it is meant to emphasize that one blesses Hashem for these things because of a command and not based on personal feelings. When it comes to food and a person sits down to eat, it would be normal to say "thank you" for the food when it is given to him before he eats. On the other hand, after a person has filled his belly he feels less of a sense of thanks and just wants to lie down. It is at that time that we are commanded to recognize Hashem and thank him for all that we just consumed.

Its the opposite with a great Torah thought. A person can learn something which resonates with him and at that point would want to bless Hashem for giving the Torah. But we don't thank Hashem after the fact for the Torah we just learned. Instead, we bless Hashem for what we are about to learn, even though we have not yet received any benefit from it.

R' Jeff also said a vort on Devarim 10:12, in which the Torah states וְעַתָּה֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מָ֚ה יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ שֹׁאֵ֖ל מֵֽעִמָּ֑ךְ כִּ֣י אִם־לְ֠יִרְאָ֠ה אֶת־יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ לָלֶ֤כֶת בְּכָל־דְּרָכָיו֙ וּלְאַֽהֲבָ֣ה אֹת֔וֹ וְלַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּכָל־לְבָֽבְךָ֖ וּבְכָל־נַפְשֶֽׁך

This is one of the more difficult pesukim to comprehend as Moshe says to the Jewish people - what does Hashem ask from you - just to fear Him and walk in His ways... But this is no small task!

R' Jeff quoted the Noam Elimelech who explains the use of the word שֹׁאֵ֖ל in the classic gemara sense, meaning a borrower. He explains that if we have a sense of fear of Hashem and inculcate that in our ways, then Hashem will ask that we do things for him.

R' Jeff also quoted the Torah Temimah who explains that the words כִּ֣י אִם־לְ֠יִרְאָ֠ה אֶת־יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ לָלֶ֤כֶת בְּכָל־דְּרָכָיו֙  should be understood as that if a person does fear Hashem, then he will be able to walk in His ways.

R' Jeff also quoted the Shemen HaTov who quotes the Gemara in Berachos which teaches that for Moshe this was different than for everyone else as for Moshe this was not a difficult task. But what about everyone else? The Shemen HaTov answers that based on a different gemara which discusses how in the end of days the Tzaddikim and Risha'im will each look at the Yetzer Hara and weep as the Tzaddikim will say - how big this was, yet BH we were able to overcome it. Meanwhile the Risha'im will say - how small it was, yet we could not beat it. To a person who has achieved the level of worship through Yirah and then acheived Ahava, the Yirah is not a large task to acheive. 

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

Sunday Night Suds - Shiner Day Quencher Session Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Shiner Day Quencher Session Ale.

I picked this up in Beverage Barn on Jericho Turnpike in Garden City Park. Its one of my favorite beer stores and has been for more than a dozen years. As I have written in the past, one of the nicest things about the Beverage Barn is that they allow you to buy singles from any box that is not sealed and they will often open up twelve packs and make a six pack for you without upcharging.

The Day Quencher is 4.6% abv is which is about average for a session beer. It poured a darker gold than I was expecting, but with little lacing and almost no scent when I brought the glass to my face. The taste is light and crisp and a little bready, but without any noticeable pine, citrus or hops of any kind.

The beer would be a good choice for a session beer and I feel like even having more than one would not create much of a buzz. This would not stand up to anything heavier than a pizza, but if you want to have one on a motzei Shabbos with some pizza it would not be a bad option.

The Shiner Day Quencher Session Ale 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/143/363282.

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 Vaeschanan

Since there are no Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha until Elul, I generally substitute a vort from other Rabbanim each week, rather than leaving the blog without a vort for shabbos.  This week, I am attempting to repeat a vort heard from a young maggid shiur in my community - R' Jeff Thurm who gives a great 40 minute parsha shiur at the BTU shul on Thursday nights. Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the 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' Jeff began by discussing the famous question of why Hashem instructed Moshe to stop praying to be allowed to enter the Land of Israel and why it was told to him now, after 515 prayers. He gave an interesting answer from R' Tzadok HaCohen who states that Moshe had the power to push Hashem's hand based on his prayers and force Hashem to allow him to enter the Land of Israel. This was based on the Gemara which states that Eliyahu HaNavi woke each of the Avos individually, because had they been awake at the same time, they could have successfully lobbied Hashem for the Ge'ula. Similarly the Gemara discussed R' Chiya who davened so powerfully that it was windy and rained when he said Mashiv HaRuach and was stopped before he could say the beracha of Mechaye HaMeisim.

R' Tzadok explains that some people (Moshe being one of them) could have forced Hashem's hand. Therefore Hashem had to say stop davening, before he caused a change. But why stop him? The Medrash recites a conversation between Moshe and Hashem where Moshe says - if you don't allow me in, history will view me as no better than Dor HaMidbar. Hashem then responds to Moshe, if I allow you in and you lead in the children of this generation, it will be a permanent indictment of the generation of the Midbar. So Hashem says, you need to stop, so history does not look badly at them and you and they will enter Israel after Techiyas HaMeisim.

R' Jeff closed this part of the vort by stating that its a lesson to us that although we may sometimes want something very badly, there are times that Hashem says "no" and we need to accept that He does things for the best for us.

R' Jeff also quoted R' Neventzal who addressed why this occurred now, after the 515 prior prayers. He explained that in preparation for the 516th time, Moshe was going to invoke the 13 middos with the word Avor and we know that Moshe was aware that if the Jews use the 13 middos when they daven, Hashem won't say no. Moshe was preparing to use the "trick" he learned at the Egel and said Ebrah Na - I am going to use the Avor option, so Hashem says stop - dont use the 13 middos as I will have to go against the rule that the 13 middos always work and still say no to you.

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

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Devarim

Since there are no Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha until Elul, I generally substitute a vort from other Rabbanim each week, rather than leaving the blog without a vort for shabbos.  This week, I am attempting to repeat a vort heard from a young maggid shiur in my community - R' Jeff Thurm who gives a great 40 minute parsha shiur at the BTU shul on Thursday nights. Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the 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' Jeff began his shiur by discussing the term Mishna Torah which is used to describe Sefer Devarim. The Medrash explains that Devarim teaches us many halachos, so its called Mishna Torah. But R' Jeff had many other reasons for this term.

He first quoted the Ramban who notes that Devarim is basically a reiteration of halachos which were discussed earlier in the Torah and that the mitzvos which appear to be "new" were hinted at earlier in the Torah. But if they were learned earlier as a hint, why not give the details there, rather than in Sefer Devarim? The Ramban answers that since the Jews were about to enter the land of Israel and these laws were relevant to life in Israel they are mentioned in Sefer Devarim. Additionally, some of these mitzvos are less frequent, so they are mentioned at the end.

R' Jeff also brought the Maharal who notes that Sefer Devarim is Moshe's reiteration and personal views on the Torah. By example, the Tochacha in Devarim is said in singular form as Moshe is telling the Jews about it, whereas in Vayikra its said in plural form as Moshe is telling the Jews about it from Hashem's directive. The Maharal further explains that the first four books were Moshe telling the Jews verbatim from Hashem. But Devarim is a prophecy to Moshe which he then told them after. In so doing Hashem was weaning the Jews off a direct reiteration of Hashem's words, towards the words which were said over by a prophet like Yehoshua. Thus Devarim serves as a transition so that the Jews will be accustomed to hearing prophecy from Nevi'im.

R' Jeff said a third explanation from R' Tzadok, who explains that this was a different kind of transition. This is a transition from the Written Law to the Oral Law (Torah SheB'al Peh). As opposed to the first four books which were written law, Sefer Devarim is Moshe's interpretation of the laws which are now being canonized as part of Torah SheB'ctav. In so doing, Hashem is teaching us that the words of the Rabbanim in interpreting Torah are important as well.

The fourth view on Sefer Devarim is based on a Gemara in Avodah Zarah which states that Sefer HaYashar is a reference to Sefer Devarim as mentioned in Shmuel II, based on the words V'Asisa HaYashar V'HaTov B'einei Hashem. But why is one mention in Sefer Devarim of Yashar the link?

The Maharsha explains that the first four books are the rules - the halachos. But Sefer Devarim is meant to unify all the rules as the sum of its parts - how to live a life that is complete as a Yashar. R' Jeff noted in the name of R' Weinberger that the Gemara in Veyamos states that we generally we are not doresh s'muchim - we don't draw rules based on the juxtaposition / proximity of the pesukim one to another. However in Sefer Devarim we are doresh s'muchim. Why? Because everything  in Devarim is connected under the rubric of Yashrus - that everything has a cohesiveness, we can learn rules based upon the connection of the pesukim.

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

Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Summer Haze IPA

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

The Saranac Summer Haze IPA is one of three new beers in the Saranac 12 Beers of Summer Box for 2019. The box also includes new entries Citrus Squeeze (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/07/sunday-night-suds-saranac-citrus-squeeze.html), IPA 100 (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/07/sunday-night-suds-saranac-100-ipa.html) and the staple Kolsch (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2008/08/sunday-night-suds-saranac-kolsch-ale.html).

Over the last decade or so, the term "Summer" when used in connection with a beer has often come to mean one of two things - the beer is flavored with fruit, or its style has been watered down so that you can drink it on a hot summer day. Neither of those apply to this beer

Unlike many "summer" brews, the Saranac Summer Haze IPA is a full bodied IPA with fruit that does not derive from juice and a bit of pine. The carbonation is the usual spot on that one comes to expect from FX Matt Co and a little bit of spice which I was not expecting.

The beer runs 5.9% abv which is in line with most IPAs but again, not what you would expect from a "summer" beer. If you are looking for a medium bitter brew with a kick, this would be a good choice.

Summer 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/99/406040.

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 - Parshios Matos-Maasei

The following is a brief summary of two thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parshios back in 2010. 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 shiurand should not be attributed to R' Frand.

Parshas Matos begins with Moshe telling the heads of the tribes about nedarim. This is out of the ordinary as a parsha usually begins "and Hashem told Moshe to say [to the Jews]." However in this parsha Moshe speaks directly to the roshei matos without the Torah specifying that the source was from Hashem. The language of roshei hamatos is also unique as the Torah usually describes the people as nesi'im, not as roshei hamatos.

Rabbi Frand quoted R' Alpert who cited the Rashbam in Chukas about the maa'aseh meriva. In this parsha, Moshe is told to pick up the mateh and then later told to talk to the rock. Ultimately, Moshe is punished for using the staff, rather than speaking to the rock. But why is he told to pick up the staff in the first place? The answer Rabbi Frand gave is that Hashem was trying to teach Moshe a lesson about how to interact with the Jewish people. Hashem instructs - there are two ways to interact and influence the Jews, either by speaking to them or by hitting them. This time, the lesson is that the pen (or in this case the spoken word) is mightier than the sword.

When Hashem tells Moshe to take the staff, Hashem is saying take the staff, but then go and talk to the Jews. Hashem attempts to teach Moshe a lesson that every leader and Rebbi or Rov must know - you don't need the stick. You can have as much impact by speaking.

Matos is a parsha about speech - nedarim. A person can have a Rabbinically certified kosher meat sandwich, but if he has sworn that that he will not eat meat, then it is as great a sin to eat the sandwich as if he has eaten not kosher food. This is the power of speech. Therefore the parsha begins with Moshe telling the roshei hamatos, because Moshe has learned the power of speech and he can then instruct the leaders of sticks that they can lead with power or with speech, but leading with speech is much more effective.

A second vort was said over about Parshas Masei. R' Frand again quoted R' Alpert who remarks that the parsha recites the 42 stops which appear to be ancient history and almost irrelevant. So why are the mas'aos mentioned? Indeed, many of the locations mentioned were mile markers where things did not go well for the Jews. Chazal teach that Refidim marked the location where the Jews washed their hands of Torah (rafu yideihem) and therefore they were attacked by Amalek.

Another location was Kivros HaTavah where they complained about the food they were eating.R' Frand asked - how do people look back on their less than stellar past? They usually try to forget it. The Torah however tells us, remember your past that you did not act properly, but you were able to pull yourselves out of it and move on. The Torah then teaches 42 locations to show that there were glorious moments and not so stellar times. The message is that the Jews should be aware of their mistakes, not repeat them and at the same time see how they overcame them.

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!