Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayechi

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. 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 in the middle of the parsha, specifically in the midst of Ya'akov giving the brachos to Ephraim & Menashe, Ya'akov gives a discourse on his history, including the fact that Ya'akov buried Rochel in Bet Lechem, rather than in Hebron. Rashi on Bereishis 48:7, explains that Ya'akov mentions this to Yosef within the context of Ya'akov's request to be buried in Hebron, even though I buried Rochel in Bet Lechem. 

R' Frand quoted R' Bentzion Kook who asked - why is this mentioned here? Ya'akov had already mentioned to Yosef earlier in Bereishis 47:28-29 that he did not want to be buried in Egypt and in fact asked Yosef to bury him in Ma'aras HaMachpela. So why not mention the burial of Rochel within the same discussion?

R' Frand then underscored his point by quoting a later Rashi in Bereishis 48:7, which provides a dialogue between Ya'akov and  Yosef, where Ya'akov says - I know that you have qualms with me that I did not bury Rochel in Ma'aras HaMachpela, but know that I did not do this because it was because of the weather conditions as the weather was fine, I buried her there because Hashem commanded me to do so and so that in the future when the Jews are exiled from Israel, she will pray for them as they leave.

R' Frand then asked another question on this dialogue - why did Ya'akov need to say that he did not bury her there because of the rains?

R' Frand answered this second question by quoting R' Chaim Shmulevitz who cited a gemara in Gittin wherein Ilish was sitting in prison, along with another man with the unique talent to understand birds. Ilish asked him what the raven was saying and the man told him - it is saying Ilish run away, now is the time to flee. To this Ilish responded - we don't trust ravens, they are liars. But then he heard a dove and again asked the man - what did it say. The man again responded - Ilish run away, now is the time to flee. Ilish accepted this, saying that the Jews are compared to doves.

R' Akiva Eiger asks on this gemara - but it was known that Ilish himself spoke bird language - so why did he need to ask for a translation? 

R' Chaim answer R' Akiva Eiger's question - because when a person is too close to the situation, he is liable to be influenced by his personal feelings and interpret things based on his own rationale. Similarly, Ya'akov needed to tell Yosef - I did not bury her there for any personal reason - it was not the rain or the distance. I buried her there because Hashem commanded me to do so.

However the initial question still remains - why is this mentioned later in the parsha and not when Yosef was sworn to bury his father in Hebron?

R' Frand quoted R' Kook who explained that it relates to the brachos which were being given. At this point, Ya'akov tells Yosef - you will receive double, as your sons will both be tribes. But this is a blessing (the double portion) which should go to the first born?

R' Kook explains that after the blessings of Ephraim & Menashe, Ya'akov then blesses Reuven and notes that although he is the first born, he acted with water like impetuousness by switching the beds.

R' Kook quotes Rashi on Bereishis 49:4 which again provides more to the dialogue, explaining that Reuven was told - you should have been the bechor and you should have had the kehuna. But you were upset about my bed being in Bilha's tent instead of Leah's and you acted impetuously in moving the beds. 

In contrast, Yosef had a real reason to have a claim against his father, as he did not bury Rochel where all of the other patriarchs and matriarchs were buried. Yet Yosef held his tongue and for this, he was rewarded.

This is why the discussion of not burying Rochel appears in the blessing of Ephraim & Menashe - as Yosef's acceptance of his father's actions (in contrast to Reuven's) was the reason that he received a double blessing.

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Sunday Night Suds -Saranac Permafrost IPA

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac's Permafrost IPA.

COVID notwithstanding, the good folks at Saranac (aka the FX Matt Brewery) continue to roll out new beers. This year's 12 Beers of Winter mix box includes new beers - Joy to Ale, Winter Warmer and the Permafrost IPA, along with one of my all time Saranac favorites - the Big Moose Ale (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/11/sunday-night-suds-saranac-big-moose-ale.html).

The Permafrost IPA is an unfiltered IPA which poured a cloudy orange with decent foam which lasted throughout my drink. Since this is a Saranac the carbonation was spot on and the scent was all fruit when I brought the glass to my face. The beer is brewed with Mosaic, Citra, and Galaxy hops and the mix provides a complex combination of flavors with the IPA bitters as there was some tangerine and even some pineapple notes in every sip. Mrs KB and I enjoyed this well after dinner and it was a refreshing drink all by itself. 

At 6% abv the Permafrost has average alcohol content for an IPA, but there was no overt alcohol taste.

The Permafrost 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, click you can search on  https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/307269/. 

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!

Motzei Shabbos Special Parsha Vort - Part II of Rabbi Mansour on Vayigash

The following is the second half of a summary of a fascinating shiur that R' Mansour said Thursday Night (the first half which I blogged on Friday can be found here - https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/12/fridays-bonus-parsha-vort-parshas.html) Same ground rules as always apply. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Mansour.

After revealing his identity, Yosef asks them to come close, and he tells them that they are right - he was a shaliach mitzva and was not nizok, as his being sold down to Egypt preserved life - וְעַתָּ֣ה | אַל־תֵּעָ֣צְב֗וּ וְאַל־יִ֨חַר֙ בְּעֵ֣ינֵיכֶ֔ם כִּֽי־מְכַרְתֶּ֥ם אֹתִ֖י הֵ֑נָּה כִּ֣י לְמִחְיָ֔ה שְׁלָחַ֥נִי אֱלֹהִ֖ים לִפְנֵיכֶֽם  (Bereishis 45:5).

Then he tells them - you did not send me down here as the Torah states in 45:7 וְעַתָּ֗ה לֹֽא־אַתֶּ֞ם שְׁלַחְתֶּ֤ם אֹתִי֙ הֵ֔נָּה כִּ֖י הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיְשִׂימֵ֨נִי לְאָ֜ב לְפַרְעֹ֗ה וּלְאָדוֹן֙ לְכָל־בֵּית֔וֹ וּמשֵׁ֖ל בְּכָל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם .

R' Mansour then quoted the Meshech Chachma which casts a shadow over this reassurance to Yehuda. The Torah writes that Yosef could not hold back - וְלֹֽא־יָכֹ֨ל יוֹסֵ֜ף לְהִתְאַפֵּ֗ק (Bereishis 45:2) - but he really wanted to hold back, because he knew that his dreams were prophecies and if his dreams would come true in their entirety, he needed the dreams to be fulfilled. The first dream did come true (the sheaves) as the brothers did all bow to him. But the second dream - with the sun and moon (personified by Ya'akov and Bilha) bowing to him, did not happen and the tikkun for their sin could not be complete. Throwing Shimon in the pit was a partial act, as was making Yehuda and the brothers bow, but had he not had mercy (like they did not have mercy when he cried out from the pit) then the tikkun could have been complete.

The Rambam notes that when the brothers were begging for mercy, Yosef's advisors came to Yosef and told him he should forgive Binyamin. This is why Yosef told all the others to leave, because he did not want to break. R' Mansour quoted the Sfas Emes who writes that if Yosef had held back the Beis HaMikdash would not have been destroyed as the sin would have been fixed. This is why Yosef's voice filled with crying and all of Egypt could hear. But why did Yosef cry? He knew who they were and what this was about.

R' Mansour quoted the Ben Ish Chai who tied this crying to the crying of Moshe as a baby in the basket on the water - it was the crying of all the Jewish people who were suffering. Here, Yosef was crying not only for himself - but also because there would be an Asarah Harugei Malchus which the Arizal states were gilgulim of the brothers. Yosef saw the terrible troubles that would befall the Jewish people and the crying of the Harugei Malchus were crying through him.

This also explains why only now Yosef cried when he embraced Binyamin in 45:14. Rashi explains he cried because of the future destruction of the Beis Hamikdash I & II which were in Binyamin's land. But this would not have happened if Yosef had been strong enough to prevent himself from giving in.

R' Mansour then tied this into the fast of Asarah B'Teves that took place on Friday, which the Abudraham writes if it had fallen on on Shabbos we would have fasted on Shabbos too. This is the only fast that occurs on a Friday, where others fasts which fall on Shabbos would be pushed off. Why?

According to the Chasam Sofer, on Asarah B'Teves the year that the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, the Beis Din Shel Ma'alah sat and decided that it would be destroyed. And every year thereafter, the Beis Din sits on the 10th of Teves and judges whether it will be rebuilt. So unlike all other fasts which commemorate a past event, this fast is addressing a current crisis. Much like a person who fasts for Ta'anis Chalom does so even on a Shabbos, we fast on Asarah B'Teves because there is a judgment ongoing - will we merit a rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash?

And all of this is because the tikkun of the sin was not made. Following this parsha we see the Jews start their galus in Egypt which spawns all of the other galuyos. 

IYH we should see an end to Sinas Chinam and with it an end to the troubles and crises which we are all dealing with and then see a rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash speedily in our days.

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!

Friday's Bonus Parsha Vort - Parshas Vayigash (PT I)

The following is a summary of a fascinating shiur that R' Mansour said last night which I wanted to briefly summarize in a pre-Shabbos post. Same ground rules as always apply. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Mansour.

Rabbi Mansour began with a discussion of events from the end of Parshas Mikeitz, where Yosef ordered his son Menashe to put the silver cup in Binyamin's sack. Why would he do this as it already looked like he had made peace with them as they sat and ate together?

Rabbi Mansour quoted the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh who says that this was done as an atonement for their sin - they would be embarrassed by being accused of being thieves and this would atone for their selling him. This also relates to Yosef throwing Shimon into a pit when he was required to stay behind - this atoned for Shimon throwing Yosef into the pit before he was sold.

The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh also says a second answer - this was to set them up in the same situation they were in before. Will they abandon Binyamin or will they stand up for him?

The third answer was the most intriguing - he wanted to let them know that he knew what they did.

R' Mansour developed this thought by continuing the discussion from last week's parsha. After they left Egypt with the sacks full of food and a sack with the cup, he sent Menashe to ask them - why are you being ingrates  לָ֛מָּה שִׁלַּמְתֶּ֥ם רָעָ֖ה תַּ֥חַת טוֹבָֽה (Bereishis 44:7). However afterwards he goes one step further and states in Bereishis 44:8 - הֲרֵֽעֹתֶ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר עֲשִׂיתֶֽם - you have done evil in the way you acted. Why did he add this as well?

R' Mansour noted that the brothers then said back to him - we are honest! When we returned we gave you the money that you sent back with us in our sacks on our first. The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh said that Menashe anticipated this. Sometimes people make a gesture of honesty to set themselves up for the big score. This is why he said הֲרֵֽעֹתֶ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר עֲשִׂיתֶֽם - you did evil by returning the money becuase this was a way to set yourselves up to steal the cup.

At the end of last week's parsha, the brothers come to Yosef and admit their guilt and say that they we will be slaves. Yosef then says, only the one who sinned should stay and the rest should go home. And then the parsha ends.

But this week's parsha then begins with Yehuda asking to speak with Yosef and he wants to speak privately. But what is the new information? This was already all known! And all of the information is a recounting of the story from their first meeting until Binyamin comes down.

The Alshich explains that the brothers had started to believe that this was all occurring as a punishment for the sale of Yosef. But when Binyamin was singled out they realized that it could not be - since Binyamin was not involved in the sale!

R' Mansour also quoted an unnamed sefer which said that the brothers knew of prophecy at Bris Ben HaBisarim and they said - we are becoming slaves because that was the prophecy. But not just Binyamin!

The Ramban states that Yehuda was rehashing the story to try to strike a chord of mercy and if he chose the right words he could succeed by hitting Yosef's sensitivity as he said that he was G-d fearing.

The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh explains that the reason that the parsha says וַיִּגַּ֨שׁ אֵלָ֜יו יְהוּדָ֗ה is because the rules of etiquette did not allow commoners to speak face to face with the king. And Yehuda uses the words בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִי֒ יְדַבֶּר־נָ֨א עַבְדְּךָ֤ דָבָר֙ בְּאָזְנֵ֣י אֲדֹנִ֔י וְאַל־יִ֥חַר אַפְּךָ֖ בְּעַבְדֶּ֑ךָ - is because he is going to whisper this and that will show the king is wrong. In the king's court, one who proves the king wrong is killed - so Yehuda is asking nicely to speak privately.

What was he going to say? R' Mansour's first answer was that the language shows that he recounted the story, but Yehuda says - you accused us of being spies, but spies never offer personal information. And you know our story, even though our father got mad at us for telling you that we had another brother. So how can you call us spies?

The second answer was based on the medrash that the cup was used by Yosef in a magic trick to show who the oldest to youngest were. Now Yehuda is defiant - why did you ask us about our father and our brother? You should have used the cup to learn all this information!

Rabbi Mansour told a story in the name of Rabbi Rosenblum (I dont know which one) that there was a king who had a Jewish advisor who was accused of stealing from the king. The advisor was approached and denied it, and said that I can prove who the thief is. The king agreed. The advisor took a chicken and dyed it black and brought it to the king. He told the king - this is a lie detector - each person should tap the chicken on the head and if the chicken makes noise, we know he is the thief. Each person went in and tapped the chicken - from the treasurer to the Jewish advisor to the galach. The chicken did not make any noise and the king said - this did not work. Then the advisor said - look at everyone's hands. They were all black, except the galach - he did not touch it because he did not want it to scream.

Yehuda said - this cup has no power, so you are looking to throw us in jail for stealing this?

R' Mansour then quoted "chazal" who said that Yehuda was giving Yosef a history of the family. We had a father who was a big tzaddik and worked for his father in law for many years and had many children. And when he left his father in law's house, his favorite wife, the mother of Binyamin, died. And he had to raise him Binyamin all by himself. And our father is afraid of sending anyone on the road as his son Yosef was sent on the road and he was lost. And with all this, Binyamin who knew that his mother and brother died on the road, still came down to Egypt. Do you think he would steal? Not only that, my brother Reuven offered to give up two of his sons as a guaranty to our father and he would not take it. It was not until I offered my eternity that our father said OK. 

And with all that, Binyamin went down because this was a mitzva and we have a rule that a shaliach mitzva does not have issues.

To this, Yosef could not control himself. Why? He needed to reveal to them - I am Yosef, is my father still alive? He sent me and I followed his directive and then you threw me in the it and then sold me. I was a shaliach mitzva and doing my father's wishes just like Binyamin. What happened to me?

There was more to the shiur which I will IYH summarize in a moztei shabbos post.

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 Vayigash

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. 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 44:28, the Torah states וַיֵּצֵ֤א הָֽאֶחָד֙ מֵֽאִתִּ֔י וָֽאֹמַ֕ר אַ֖ךְ טָרֹ֣ף טֹרָ֑ף וְלֹ֥א רְאִיתִ֖יו עַד־הֵֽנָּה. Translated literally, the pasuk is a recounting by the brothers of what Ya'akov said to them - that "One of them went from me and I said he was surely torn to pieces and I have not seen him since." However, R' Frand quoted the Chasam Sofer who gave a more derush approach, explaining that the achudus - the cohesiveness of our family left and now that there was machlokes in the family, we are in a famine. Previously we had more than enough food, but as a result of the fighting, the teref has left. R' Frand noted that Rashi states that this was a "yeridah" for us as we used to have enough food to provide for others, but now there is not enough for us.

R' Frand next quoted from Tehillim 147:14 which states - הַשָּׂ֣ם גְּבוּלֵ֥ךְ שָׁל֑וֹם חֵ֥לֶב חִ֜טִּ֗ים יַשְׂבִּיעֵֽךְ. Again, this can be translated literally as "Within your borders He makes peace, with the best of the wheat He will satisfy you." Again, R' Frand quoted the Chasam Sofer who stated that a person sets borders that he will not pass. If the person's border is peace - meaning that he will not get into an argument and will allow someone else to take what he wants, then he will have the best of the wheat. 

R' Frand also quoted the Alshich who stated - better to have a house full of stale bread then to have a house full of strife but also full of food, because ultimately the house full of strife will lose its food as well.

R' Frand then linked this to the Sim Shalom prayer in Shemoneh Esreh - there are many things that we ask for in this prayer, but it has to begin with peace, as we know from the last mishna is Shas that Hashem has not found a vessel better to hold beracha for the Jews that peace.

We are sitting at the beginning of Asarah B'Teves which is a fast day commemorating the siege of Jerusalem - the beginning of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. The Chasam Sofer states that on the tenth of Teves in the year that the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, the Beis Din Shel Ma'alah decided that the churban would occur. And every year after the Beis Din reconvenes on Asarah B'Teves to decide whether it will be rebuilt.

R' Frand stated that the world is in a time of din right now and not rachamim. When there is machlokes, it is an invitation to be judged, so we need to work on Asarah B'Teves to avoid machlokes.

R' Frand closed the vort by quoting the Arizal on the pasuk in Devarim 17:8 כִּ֣י יִפָּלֵא֩ מִמְּךָ֨ דָבָ֜ר לַמִּשְׁפָּ֗ט בֵּֽין־דָּ֨ם | לְדָ֜ם בֵּֽין־דִּ֣ין לְדִ֗ין וּבֵ֥ין נֶ֨גַע֙ לָנֶ֔גַע דִּבְרֵ֥י רִיבֹ֖ת בִּשְׁעָרֶ֑יךָ - if it seems a peleh - a wonder to you that all this blood is being spilled, despite the fact that the Torah shows concern for covering the blood of a bird. And if it seems a wonder to you that a mother animal and its child cannot be slaughtered on the same day, but this occurs in the human world - its because there are ribos - quarrels- in your gates. 

IYH we should see the end of the quarreling and machlokes and quick end to the mageifah.

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 Mikeitz

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. 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 parsha takes a dramatic turn towards the end of the sedra when Yosef and Binyamin meet. In Bereishis 43:30, the Torah states - וַיְמַהֵ֣ר יוֹסֵ֗ף כִּֽי־נִכְמְר֤וּ רַֽחֲמָיו֙ אֶל־אָחִ֔יו וַיְבַקֵּ֖שׁ לִבְכּ֑וֹת וַיָּבֹ֥א הַחַ֖דְרָה וַיֵּ֥בְךְּ שָֽׁמָּה - Yosef went quickly because his mercy was arisen by seeing his brother and he went into another room to cry.

Rashi relates the dialogue between Yosef and Binyamin when they met, as Yosef asked Binyamin whether he had any brothers from his mother and Binyamin said "yes." Thereafter Binyamin told him of his ten sons and that each had been named for aspects of Yosef's life. Some of these names were descriptive such as Becher as Yosef was the first born and Na'aman because he was pleasant. Other names related to the troubles that befell Yosef such as Bela, since Yosef was swallowed up by the other nations.

R' Frand quoted the Tolner Rebbi who asks - why is it that Na'aman was the name of Binyamin's fifth child? After all, the quality that Yosef was pleasant was not minor, this should have been first or second!

R' Frand then digressed to discus what it means to be pleasant. He quoted a Gemara in Sanhedrin in which R' Oshaya said that he had two staffs - one he called Naim and one he called Chovlin (damager). The Naim were the talmidei chachamim who lived in Israel and pleasantly discussed the Torah together. Chovlin on the other hand were those who lived in Bavel and who were combative and spirited in their discussion of Torah.

R' Frand then told a story of R' Menachem Zumba (sp?) who had spoken at the Third Knessia (R' Frand compared it to an Agudah convention) prior to WWII. R' Zumba was not one of the first speakers and many of the speakers who came before him spoke critically of certain issues. When R' Zumba spoke he began by stating וַיִּשְׁמַ֞ע יִתְר֨וֹ and quoting Rashi who asks why was he called Yisro when he had all these other names? Because due to Yisro there was another parsha added to the Torah - the parsha of וְאַתָּ֣ה תֶֽחֱזֶ֣ה. But why did Rashi call it by that name when Yisro also said לֹא־טוֹב֙ הַדָּבָ֔ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתָּ֖ה עֹשֶֽׂה four pesukim earlier? He answered that everyone is capable of complaining and criticizing, but the person who has the solution and positive guidance is to be lauded.

Yosef had the quality of being pleasant, but he also was forced to endure trouble after trouble - being hated by his brothers, being thrown into a pit, sold down to Egypt, thrown in jail. These are things that could cause a person to lose his pleasant disposition. Yet, even after all of these events, when he sees Pharaoh's two servants thrown in jail he says to them in a pleasant way (Bereishis 40:7) - מַדּ֛וּעַ פְּנֵיכֶ֥ם רָעִ֖ים הַיּֽוֹם - why are your faces sad today? Because even after all his troubles, he was pleasant to others. And this is why the name pleasant came fifth, after the description of being first born and three of his troubles.

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 Night Suds - Saranac 1888 Octoberfest

 

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac 1888 Octobefest Lager.

As mentioned in a prior SNS, this fall, Saranac continued to roll out new beers, with their 2020 German Roots mix box. This includes long time standard Black Forest (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2010/01/sunday-night-suds-saranac-black-forest.html);  two new beers for 2020, the Hoptoberfest IPA (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/10/sunday-night-suds-saranac-hoptoberfest.html) and the Festival Pils (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/11/sunday-night-suds-saranac-festival-pils.html and the 1888 Octoberfest Lager, which has been around for many years, but apparently I never reviewed previously.

The 1888 Octoberfest Lager is an average Marzen-Octoberfest with caramel and malt and a bit of bitterness on the back end. The beer poured a warm amber which is a bit lighter than one would expect. There was the traditional Saranac feisty carbonation and a bit of spice which appealed to the young Rabbinical scholar/future KB who joined our Shabbos table. 

At 5.4% abv the beer is slightly high for an Octoberfest, but there was no overt alcohol taste.

The 1888 Octoberfest Lager 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, click you can search on  https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/300275/. 

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 Vayeshev

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. 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 tonight's parsha vort by first quoting from the tefillah said quietly by the tzibbur during the final chanting of the Kohanim during Birkas Kohanim. It includes a phrase which I have never thought about before, in which we ask to be given to Chen and Chessed the way that Yosef was when his father dressed him in the Kesones Passim. R' Frand asked the obvious question - when did Yosef engender Chen and Chessed after being given the Kesones Passim? The Torah states immediately after Yosef receives the Kesones Passim  וַיִּרְא֣וּ אֶחָ֗יו כִּֽי־אֹת֞וֹ אָהַ֤ב אֲבִיהֶם֙ מִכָּל־אֶחָ֔יו וַיִּשְׂנְא֖וּ אֹת֑וֹ וְלֹ֥א יָֽכְל֖וּ דַּבְּר֥וֹ לְשָׁלֹֽם !

R' Frand also noted that the order of the pesukim seems to be out of order. After first reciting that Yaakov lived in Canaan, the Torah states that the brothers hated Yosef and that Yaakov loved him. The order should have been reversed. Furthermore the word love by Ya'akov to Yosef is written in past tense.

R' Frand quoted the sefer B'Tzel Ha'Eshel written by his former roommate R' Shmuel Irons who is Rosh Kollel for the Lakewood Kollel in Detroit, which answers these questions.

He began by setting a scenario - a parent loves all his children and sees all their talents. But if he has a child with exceptional talents and brilliance, the father may give him special attention. And this in circumstance, Yosef demonstrated such brilliance as all of what Ya'akov learned from age 60-77 in the Yeshiva of Shem & Ever, Yosef understood at the tender age of 17. 

The brothers looked at Yosef and said - he is an exceptional child if he can understand all this. They saw him as a young Rabbinical scholar. Ya'akov then gave him semicha and the Kesones Passim was a cloak of the Rabbinate which he deserved to wear.

But the brothers had an issue when after this Yosef was acting like a Na'ar with the sons of the Shefachos. He was combing his hair in the mirror and then he told Lashon Hara to his father about them. Is this the way a Rabbi should act?

And despite the actions which were below his stature, Ya'akov's view of Yosef did not change - it was still the same love. And the brothers saw this and it bothered them even more.

Thus the Chen and Chessed which the tefillah discusses by Yosef and Ya'akov was real at the time that the Kesones Passim was given, because the brother were not jealous of his role when he was acting the part of the young Rabbinical scholar. But when he acted below his stature and Ya'akov did not change, that was what angered him.

R' Frand said a second vort related to the episode where Yosef was looking for his brothers and came across the angel who told him his brothers were in Dosan. The Ramban explains that when Yosef was looking for his brothers and could not find them, he had the ability to come back to his father and say - I legitimately can't find them. In fact, this is what should have happened - its a big country and I can't locate them.

But that's not what happened - because the gezeira was true and the plans are false. Hashem wanted this to happen and all the "if only" statements that we make should not change anything, because the gezeira is what it is.

R' Frand told two stories, one which was in a prior Teshuva Derasha and another which is new (to me). There was a story told about R' Mottel and another Jew who were deep in discussion in Torah on a train and missed their stop. When they got off at the next stop, the other Jew said - we are lost. R' Mottel said - we are not lost, because this is where Hashem wanted us to be.

As they were crossing the tracks to wait for the train back to their destination, they were approached by another Jew who asked - are either of you a Mohel? The Mohel who was supposed to come to do the bris today could not make it and this is the day. The other Jew with R' Mottel happened to be a Mohel and did the bris. And R' Mottel said to him - you see, we are not lost. We are here because Hashem wanted us to be here.

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 Night Suds - New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Higher Plane IPA

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Higher Plane IPA.

You have to give New Belgium credit as they keep pumping out new varieties in the Voodoo Ranger series. This particular brew was included as part of a mix box and is also available in a six pack can box, although I have not seen that pack here. By my count, this is the eleventh Voodoo Ranger that New Belgium has released. Previously reviewed Voodoo Ranger brews include:

1985 IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/11/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html);

Xperimental IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/08/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); 

Starship IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/05/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); 

American Haze IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/03/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); 

Hop Avenger IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/12/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); 

Juicifer IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/11/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-juicifer.html); 

Juicy Haze IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2018/02/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); 

Imperial IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/10/sunday-nigh-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); 

Atomic Pumpkin IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/10/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); and 

the first - the Voodoo Ranger IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/02/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html).

This is a pumped up Voodoo Ranger IPA as the alcohol content is on the high end at 8.5% abv. This is typical of an Imperial IPA, but I can't remember a Voodoo Ranger that was this high. It has mango and a bit of citrus, but the alcohol flavor is also prominent. There is some bitter and bite, but the beer is a complex sip and quite enjoyable. 

The New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Higher Plane IPA is under kosher supervision by the Scroll-K/Va'ad of Denver, and their symbol is on the bottom of the mix twelve 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 Voodoo Ranger Higher Plane IPA, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/507406.

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 Vayishlach

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. 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.

Rabbi Frand began his vort by quoting the pasuk in Bereishis 34:1 which states וַתֵּצֵ֤א דִינָה֙ בַּת־לֵאָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָֽלְדָ֖ה לְיַֽעֲקֹ֑ב לִרְא֖וֹת בִּבְנ֥וֹת הָאָֽרֶץ

R' Frand first quoted Rashi who links Dina to her mother as it also states in Parshas Toldos that Leah went out to greet Ya'akov and this showed that Dina and Leah both had a character of straying from the home.

However, R' Frand then quoted a deeper statement from the Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer which contradicts Rashi. It quotes a pasuk in Amos which states that He came to the house and placed his hand on the wall and was bitten by a snake. It explains that this is an allegorical reference to Ya'akov in that he went to his house (meaning the land of Israel) when he left the house of Lavan and he was bitten by a snake - Shechem Ben Chamor who bit him by raping his daughter Dina.

The Radal further develops the Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer who explains that when Ya'akov came to his home, his inheritance, he did not want to live in Shechem, because it was an evil city with promiscuous people. Rather than buying there, he bought property adjacent to Shechem, but was still close to the snake (HaChivi - snake in Aramaic) and even so, when he put his hand on the wall, he was still too close and he was bitten.

The Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer continues by quoting a Medrash which states that Dina was a tzenuah, she was modest and stayed in the house. But since Shechem wanted her, he arranged to have women outside the home and they were playing musical instruments. So Dina went out to see the women playing music and was grabbed by Shechem and raped and gave birth to Osnas. This version of events shows that Dina was not free spirited, she was modest and stayed at home and only went out to see the other girls.

What happened to Dina? The Ramban writes that she stayed home and lived with her brother Shimon, because she was shunned by society as she had become tamei in their eyes. She went down to Egypt with everyone else and when she died, Shimon took her up to the land of Israel and buried her there. It explains that she was buried in the city of Arbal, next to Nitai Ha'Arbeli.

R' Frand then quoted R' Ya'akov Slatus who notes that Nitai Ha'Arbeli is quoted one time in Shas - in Pirkei Avos. His statement is stay far from a bad neighbor and don't be friends with an evil person and do not give up hope when you have troubles. Why is she buried next to Nitai? Because his statement is that you need to stay away from bad neighbors and Dina was unfortunately proof of what happens if you don't stay away.

R' Frand then added to the vort by quoting his son, R' Ya'akov Frand who cites more of the story from the Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer, who notes that Ya'akov made an amulet for Osnas which had the name of Hashem and discussed her provenance. Thereafter the angel Micha'el took Osnas down to Egypt and dropped her in the home of Potiphar who had no children. And when Yosef came down to Egypt he encountered Osnas (there is a great Medrash which was not quoted in the shiur about how they met) and he married her. As a result of this marriage, there were two additional tribes - Ephraim & Menashe.

R' Frand said - this is also why Dina was buried next to Nitai - because his final statement in Pikei Avos was - don't give up because of the troubles. Although Dina had a hard life, the end result for her was that she was the grandmother of two more tribes, as her daughter was destined to marry Yosef.

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 Night Suds - Unita Yard Sale Winter Lager

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Uinta's Yard Sale Winter Lager.

Although this is beer has been around for nearly ten years, I had never seen it available in stores on the East Coast. So when I noticed this at Beverage Barn in Garden City last week I grabbed a single and added it to the other products in my shopping cart (gotta love a good beer store that lets you buy singles!).

The beer poured a dark gold, almost brown color and had great spice notes when I brought the cup to my face. At 5% abv, you would not expect a heavy alcohol flavor, but I was pleasantly surprised at how the beer reminded me of a light "double."

I tried this beer with cholent on Shabbos and shared it with a young Rabbinical scholar who graced our table this past weekend. Although he is a big fan of the Belgian style beers (and specifically Blue Moon), he very much appreciated the spice notes in the beer. I found that the beer paired quite well with the thick cholent and would want to pair this again on a cold Shabbos day.

The Yard Sale Winter Lager is under the Orthodox Union, although there is no OU on the bottle. However, I did confirm with the OU that the brewery is still under hashgacha, despite the fact that the OU is no longer on the label of the bottles and cans.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the brew, click you can search on  https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1416/77762. 

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!

Friday's Special Parsha Vort - Anochi & Knowing One's Mission

While doing a late afternoon bike ride on Thanksgiving I  heard a fascinating shiur from R' Mansour. This post is only a summary of some of the thoughts which I wanted to briefly summarize in a pre-Shabbos post. If you would like to watch or listen to the shiur, it is entitled Anochi/My Mission and can be downloaded or heard on itorah.com. Same ground rules as always apply. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Mansour.

R' Mansour prefaced the vort by stating that he had seen these concepts in a sefer by R' Chaim Sabato.[I did not catch the name of the sefer, but if the rest of the vorts are like this one, I would want to buy it!]

The central theme of the vort is that each of the four Imahos utilize the term "Anochi" in a manner that defines or attempts to define who they are. 

In Hebrew there are two different ways to say "I", it can be said as Ani or Anochi. R' Mansour posited that Ani is stating I, like I am here. However Anochi is a definition - who I am and what my mission is.

R' Mansour then told a personal story about visiting the Chabad dinner where the Shlichim came from all over the world to a convention in New York. At the dinner one of the Shlichim from California spoke about how the Rebbi spoke to people when he sent them out. He would tell them, this is why you came into the world and your reason for being on this earth is to go to the specific location and build it up. At the dinner they read a number of letters which had been written to the Rebbi by people who said that they wanted to leave their posts. In response to each letter, the Rebbi began - "this is a ridiculous request, why would you want to leave your post?"

However there was one particular letter wherein the Shaliach wrote that he was ill and weak and could no longer perform as Rav and wanted to leave his Shlichus. In response to him the Rebbi answered "Why do you ask to be resolved from your purpose, ask to be resolved from your sickness?" The person's mission remains their mission.

R' Mansour then stated that each of the Imahos was loyal and committed to their mission. He first made reference to Rivka in Parshas Toldos and her concern over the fetuses, where there was kicking when she went past a Beis Medrash and similar kicking when she passed less savory places. To this she stated in Bereishis 25:22 - וַיִּתְרֹֽצֲצ֤וּ הַבָּנִים֙ בְּקִרְבָּ֔הּ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אִם־כֵּ֔ן לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה אָנֹ֑כִי וַתֵּ֖לֶךְ לִדְר֥שׁ אֶת־יְהֹוָֽה. R' Mansour explained that Rivka was asking - what is my purpose if I am delivering a child that kicks similarly at positive and negative sites?

This also explains why she went to a Beis Medrash (Yeshivas Shem V'Ever) to ask about her pregnancy. She did not go to a doctor, she went to ask a Rebbi - what is my purpose if this is happening? They told her, you have twins and one is going to be a Tzaddik and one will be a Rasha. And then they told her that the younger one will be served by the greater numerical one. This is your Anochi and it must come through you.

R' Mansour said that this explained to him why she was so confident in her plan to have Ya'akov dress up as Esav to get the blessing and why she did not tell Yitzchak about what she was told at the yeshiva. She realized that the prophecy went to her because Hashem wanted her to cause this to occur - this was her Anochi.

This comes to fruition when Ya'akov comes to his father and responds to Yitzchak when asked who he is by stating אָֽנֹכִי֙ עֵשָׂ֣ו בְּכֹרֶ֔ךָ (Bereishis 27:19). Why does he use that word instead of Ani? Because he is fulfilling his mother's destiny and her Anochi, by receiving this beracha instead of Esav.

Sarah also had a very important purpose and an Anochi. She believed that this role was to bring children to Avraham. But she was unsuccessful at first, so she gave Hagar to Avraham. In so doing she said, I will fulfill my mission through the birth of a child through Hagar. But after Hagar got pregnant she became arrogant and looked down at Sarah. To this Sarah said אָֽנֹכִ֗י נָתַ֤תִּי שִׁפְחָתִי֙ בְּחֵיקֶ֔ךָ  (Bereishis 16:5) - I thought I did this as my mission, but she looks down at me!

Years later both Sarah and Hagar are mothers and she sees that Yishmael is being a bad influence to Yitzchak. So she tells Avraham to send away Hagar and Yishmael, even though she gave Hagar to Avraham. Hashem then tells Avraham - everything she told you was right, she was right in telling you to take Hagar and she was right in saying, send her away.

This brings us to Rachel and Leah. Rachel could not have children and she said to Ya'akov in Bereishis 30:1 - הָֽבָה־לִּ֣י בָנִ֔ים וְאִם־אַ֖יִן מֵתָ֥ה אָנֹֽכִי. This is an odd way to speak - if she has no children she wants to kill herself? Even so, it should have said Ani, not Anochi! But based on our understanding, she was saying, if I dont provide children and become one of the Imahos, my Anochi is dead, it is unfulfilled.

To this, Ya'akov appears callus, as he says in the next pasuk -  הֲתַ֤חַת אֱלֹהִים֙ אָנֹ֔כִי? Ya'akov says to her in effect, do I decide people's destiny? That is Hashem's role. I was guaranteed children and I had them through Leah. My father prayed because he had no choice, but I have childen already.

To this, Rachel follows Sarah's method and gives Bilha to Ya'akov and this time it is a success. After Bilha has the child, Rachel names the child and further says in Bereishis 30:6 וַיִּתֶּן־לִ֖י בֵּ֑ן - Hashem has given me a son.

But still she persisted and later she has children - Yosef & Binyamin. Why did she persist? Because she knew that the reason for her existence was to give birth to children.

The final example is Leah. She uses the term Anochi in connection with the birth of Shimon, stating in Bereishis 29:33 -  כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֤ע יְהֹוָה֙ כִּֽי־שְׂנוּאָ֣ה אָנֹ֔כִי . Leah knew that her role was to endure the circumstance of being not as loved as Rachel. This was her Anochi and she accepted it without question.

R' Mansour closed the vort by noting that when Hashem introduced himself to the Jews and spoke to them en masse at Sinai he used the term Anochi, thus saying that Hashem is the one that decides each and every person's purpose - He gives everyone their mission.

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 Vayeitzei

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. 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.

Rabbi Frand began by remarking that the Rashi on Bereishis 29:35 in which Leah gives birth to Yehuda and gives thanks (וַתַּ֨הַר ע֜וֹד וַתֵּ֣לֶד בֵּ֗ן וַתֹּ֨אמֶר֙ הַפַּ֨עַם֙ אוֹדֶ֣ה אֶת־יְהֹוָ֔ה עַל־כֵּ֛ן קָֽרְאָ֥ה שְׁמ֖וֹ יְהוּדָ֑ה וַתַּֽעֲמֹ֖ד מִלֶּֽדֶת ). Rashi there states that Leah remarks that she has received more than her share and therefore thanks Hashem for her fourth child.

This would imply that if she only received her share she would not need to give thanks?

Furthermore the Gemara in Berachos states that until Leah said thanks here, no one had said thanks to Hashem before. R' Frand was troubled by this as Noach brought sacrifices as thanks and Eliezer when he found Rivka bowed down and said thanks.

R' Frand gave an answer from R' Benzion Kook to each question. He stated that each of the Imahos knew that there would be 12 sons and that they would all bear children. But they thought that each would have 3 sons and now Leah saw that was not set in stone. She saw that she had 4, which meant that another would have less than three and possibly only two. Seeing this, Leah had a reason to give thanks on what took place previously, because even having three was not a given and I had taken it for granted. Now that I took more than my share, I see that it was not even predestined that I would have three and I give thanks for what I have.

He then answered the second question, noting that the other thanks were for exceptional events. Noach gave thanks for being saved when the world was being destroyed. Eliezer gave thanks for being able to find Rivka when he did not know who he was looking for. But a natural event like having children - no one said thanks for that until now.

R' Kook then tied this into the end of the pasuk which says that after Leah had Yehuda she stopped having children. Why? Because the Gemara states that even when giving thanks for the past, one must cry for the future. And Leah had no prayers for the future, thus she temporarily stopped having children.

He closed the vort by saying that the only beracha in Shemoneh Esreh which gives thanks is Modim in which we both thank Hashem for the past and add "Me'Olam Kivinu Lach" - and I am hoping for the future as well.

R' Frand said a second vort on a Rashi on Bereishis 28:17 which states וַיִּירָא֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר מַה־נּוֹרָ֖א הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה אֵ֣ין זֶ֗ה כִּ֚י אִם־בֵּ֣ית אֱלֹהִ֔ים וְזֶ֖ה שַׁ֥עַר הַשָּׁמָֽיִם. Rashi states that Ya'akov got to Charan and realized that he had not prayed at Har HaMoriah, so he went back there to pray and then has the dream of the ladder. Rashi states that he had "kevitzas haderech" but this was not the kind that Eliezer had. Instead of having a shorter trip, the Har HaMoriah came to him in Bes El. 

The Ramban questions this Rashi and states that this is the standard kevitzas haderech, the trip took shorter than it should, but the land did not move.

R' Frand then quoted a sefer which he did not identify which explains Rashi's view of the miracle. The explanation was based on a story involving a Jew named R' Yankel Tiktiner who was a great student in the Mirrer yeshiva. One day he received a draft notice from the Polish army and when he appeared at the draft board, they selected him as he was very fit. He returned to the yeshiva despondent and he spoke with R' Laizer Yudel Finkel who said that we will do what we can to get you out. But unfortunately he was unsuccessful. At that point he told R' Yankel, you are not leaving the yeshiva. Instead we will make you the first student in the branch of the Mirrer yeshiva in the Polish army. But this was not a joke, as he required him to send a chiddush each month and in exchange, he will send a check. And so it went, every month he sent a chiddush and each month he got a check.

Until one month he sent a chiddush and did not receive a check. He was worried and sent a follow up letter and R' Finkel responded - the chiddush this month was too similar to one that you sent last year, so no check.

At the end of his tour in the army, R' Yankel returned to the yeshiva and had not lost a step and continued with his studies. R' Frand explained that this was because the yeshiva came with him to the army. And this was the reason that the Beis Hamikdash came to Ya'akov, to show him that even when he was going to Charan, the Beis Hamikdash can still come with you.

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 Night Suds - Saranac Festival Pils

 

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac's Festival Pils.

As mentioned in a prior SNS, this fall, Saranac continued to roll out new beers, with their 2020 German Roots mix box. This includes long time standard Black Forest (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2010/01/sunday-night-suds-saranac-black-forest.html); 1888 Octoberfest (which was introduced in 2017, but never reviewed here) and two new beers for 2020, the the Hoptoberfest IPA (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/10/sunday-night-suds-saranac-hoptoberfest.html).

The Festival Pils is a no nonsense pilsner and it poured a rich yellow with decent lacing and Saranac's trademark excellent carbonation. 

I tried this beer with lemon chicken and it worked nicely with the savory poultry and pasta. As you would expect from a non-macro brewed pilsner, there is a decent amount of malt and breadiness and the pairing worked specifically because this was not an overly strong flavored brew like a double or porter.

At 5.2% abv the beer is about average for a pilsner and like most pilsners, there is no alcohol taste.

The Festival Pils 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, click you can search on  https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/500147/. 

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 Toldos

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. 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.

Parshas Toldos begins with the story of Rivka being unable to conceive and Yitzchak praying for her. In Bereishis 25:21 the Torah states וַיֶּעְתַּ֨ר יִצְחָ֤ק לַֽיהֹוָה֙ לְנֹ֣כַח אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ כִּ֥י עֲקָרָ֖ה הִ֑וא וַיֵּעָ֤תֶר לוֹ֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה וַתַּ֖הַר רִבְקָ֥ה אִשְׁתּֽוֹ

The Rabbeinu Bachya notes that this pasuk is constructed seemingly backwards as it first states that Yitzchak prayed and afterwards explains that the prayer was because his wife was barren. But it could have stated, Rivka was barren and therefor Yitzchak prayed for her.

He answers that the reason the prayer is mentioned first is because prayer is the most important aspect. Rivka's infertility was not the reason to pray, instead Hashem wanted a tefillah from Yitzchak and the reason that she was barren was so that he would daven. The gemara states that Sarah, Rivka and Rachel had problems conceiving, because Hashem loved the prayers of the avos.

The lesson from this pasuk is that the world needs tefillah and the problems that we have are so that we daven, whether its for health or parnassah or related to child raising.

He then tied this thought into the pasuk in Bereishis 2:5 in which the Torah states - וְכֹ֣ל | שִׂ֣יחַ הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה טֶ֚רֶם יִֽהְיֶ֣ה בָאָ֔רֶץ וְכָל־עֵ֥שֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה טֶ֣רֶם יִצְמָ֑ח כִּי֩ לֹ֨א הִמְטִ֜יר יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהִים֙ עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאָדָ֣ם אַ֔יִן לַֽעֲבֹ֖ד אֶת־הָֽאֲדָמָֽה . Rashi comments that the reason that there were no trees and no vegetation and that Hashem sent no rain, was because there was no man yet to pray for it. 

R' Frand summed the vort up as - needs are there so that we can daven, as we do not daven as well when we don't need things.

R' Frand quoted a sefer which cited R' Shimshon Pincus who said that women have a tough life - they are worried about getting married and then after they are worried about having children. Then comes the discomfort of pregnancy and childbirth and then the pain of raising children. Men don't have the same concerns. Why? Because Hashem wants women to pray. A man's tachlis is Torah, but women were created to pray and their spiritual essence is prayer, because Hashem wants their prayers. 

R' Frand quoted a pasuk from the end of the parsha where Rivka says to Yitzchak וַתֹּ֤אמֶר רִבְקָה֙ אֶל־יִצְחָ֔ק קַ֣צְתִּי בְחַיַּ֔י מִפְּנֵ֖י בְּנ֣וֹת חֵ֑ת אִם־לֹקֵ֣חַ יַֽ֠עֲקֹ֠ב אִשָּׁ֨ה מִבְּנֽוֹת־חֵ֤ת כָּאֵ֨לֶּה֙ מִבְּנ֣וֹת הָאָ֔רֶץ לָ֥מָּה לִּ֖י חַיִּֽים - Rivka says that she would be disgusted with her life if Yaakov married a girl from the daughters of Cheis, why would I have a life if she married one of them.

The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh asked - why didn't she tell him the real reason that Yaakov had to leave? Because this was lashon hara and she did not want to tell her husband that. She only told Yaakov that Esav wanted to kill him because it would save his life.

R' Frand commented on this that we see from the story that the laws of lashon hara apply to husband and wife. There may be something which occurred which you want to tell your spouse, but the laws apply to these communications as well.

R' Frand quoted a Sefer Om Ani Choma which quoted the Chazon Ish who states that if something horrible happens to you and it really bothers you, this can be the subject of a conversation with your wife or vice versa, because their role is to relieve your stress. 

R' Frand closed the shiur with an incredible story. There was a couple who had a 9 year old son. The boy had a brain tumor and they travelled from Israel to the US for treatment. Then COVID hit. The hospital allowed the parents to stay with the child, but only one parent at a time and that parent could not leave the room the entire shift. Thus each parent stayed for a week at a time and then switched. One week the husband came home and he saw a bag on the door of the house he was staying in. He opened the bag and saw a tefillin bag with his son's name embroidered on it, with tefillin inside. There was a note on it that the tefillin was given so that his son should wear it on his bar mitzvah and the tefillin were written for him. The father said that he had great chizuk from this and even though the boy unfortunately passed away, it gave him hope at the time.

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 Night Suds - New Belgium Voodoo Ranger 1985 IPA

 

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium Voodoo Ranger 1985 IPA.

Back in September I went to Target and saw the six pack of this and a shelf marker that said 9.99, so I tossed it in my cart, but when I went to check out it rang up at 12.99, so I took a pass. When I saw it more recently at Total in the singles section, I bought one can at 2.49, but now I need to keep an eye out for a six pack at a reasonable price as this might be the best yet from the Voodoo Ranger line of beers.

By my count, this is the tenth Voodoo Ranger that New Belgium has released. Previously reviewed Voodoo Ranger brews include:

Xperimental IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/08/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); 

Starship IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/05/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); 

American Haze IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/03/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); 

Hop Avenger IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/12/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); 

Juicifer IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/11/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-juicifer.html); 

Juicy Haze IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2018/02/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); 

Imperial IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/10/sunday-nigh-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); 

Atomic Pumpkin IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/10/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); and 

the first - the Voodoo Ranger IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/02/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html).

As mentioned above, this is the best Voodoo Ranger IPA that I can remember. It is loaded with mango/citrus, but has no additives as the flavor is entirely from the Citra, Simcoe and Cascade hops. There is some bitter and bite and even though the beer is 6.7% abv, there is no strong alcohol taste.

As far as I am aware, this beer is only available in the six pack box of cans. 

The New Belgium Voodoo Ranger 1985 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 Voodoo Ranger 1985, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/481886.

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 Chaye Sarah

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. 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 R' Frand said tonight touched on the famous question of why the Torah needed to spend 67 pesukim on the story of Eliezer looking for a wife for Yitzchak. R' Frand first quoted the famous Rashi which states that better is the discussion of the slaves of the Avos than the Torah taught by their children. But what is the lesson that is learned from this discussion?

In answering this question, R' Frand made reference to the Gemara which explains that when Eliezer is called a Damesek, it does not mean that he comes from Damascus. Rather it is teaching that he was Doleh U'Mashkeh - he would ladle out Avraham's Torah to the masses. And we previously saw how special Eliezer was, in that he was the one man army that Avraham used in the war of the 4-5 kings.

But if Eliezer has all of these incredible qualities, why does the Torah spend 67 pesukim on his going to find a bride for Yitzchak? 

R' Frand answered this by quoting R' Ephraim Wachsman who opined that this story shows exactly how great Eliezer was. He had a daughter of his own, but Avraham told him - I can't let my son marry your daughter as you are from the cursed, since you descend from Cham. While this might have been a reason for Eliezer to disassociate from Avraham, instead Eliezer stayed with him, and was promptly given what could be viewed as a gut punch as after Avraham said that his daughter was an inappropriate match, he was asked to find a different girl for Yitzchak.

[R' Frand said think about this - a boy is set up with a girl and after a few dates she says that its not shiach because he does not learn enough. And then the shadchan in the same conversation says - but your roommate is a lamdan - lets set him up with her!]

Yet Eliezer did his service, and this could be due to his being a Moshel. R' Frand quoted the Medrash Rabbah which says that when Eliezer is identified as הַמּשֵׁ֖ל בְּכָל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֑וֹ - it is not that he ruled over Avraham's possessions, its that Eliezer ruled over his Yetzer. And this is what made him great.

R' Frand then tied this theme into Sarah. The parsha begins by saying שְׁנֵ֖י חַיֵּ֥י שָׂרָֽה - which Rashi explains means that all of the years were good. But how could they have been all good? She was barren for 99 years.

He answered with an introduction to the name Sarah - it means a position of authority. But her life was anything but being "in power" as she was taken captive by Pharaoh and then by Avimelech. Rather the power/authority was that she had control over herself. She was not sad by her lot in life, nor did she give up when these things occurred. 

R' Frand also tied this into a famous Medrash about R' Akiva who was giving a shiur when people began falling asleep. He wanted to wake them up, so he said - why was Esther worthy of being queen over 127 lands? It is because she was the great granddaughter of Sarah.

R' Frand quoted R' Nissim Alpert who said that much like Sarah, Esther did not give up hope. She had been a tzanuah who was taken by the abhorrent Achasveros. But she did not throw in the towel, she stayed strong and resisted him. Why? Because she had strength, much like Sarah.

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 Night Suds - Full Sail Session Lager

 

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at a beer from one of the newest breweries to go kosher - Full Sail Session Lager.

I first read about this beer being certified kosher on the CRC kosher liquor list, but since the certification was by Oregon Kosher, I figured that much like the beers produced by Leikam Brewery, there was no way that I was going to see these on the East Coast...until I stumbled across this beer in teh singles aisle at the local Total Wine in Westbury, NY. So I grabbed it (along with some other singles I had not seen before).

The beer poured the typical dark golden color of a lager and it had decent carbonation. The first taste was all malt and each successive taste was pure, crisp malt. Mrs KB liked this beer and I guess for a lager it was pretty decent, but since I had this on its own while giving daf tonight, I was left wanting more of a developed flavor than this one note lager.

The beer is 5.1% abv, which is about average for a lager, so if you are looking for something that is not excessively bitter, this would be a good choice.

As discussed above, the Full Sail Session Lager is certified kosher by Oregon Kosher, but there is no kashrus symbol on the bottle. Additionally, since I bought this as a loose single, I don't know if there is a certification mark on the case/holder that it came in.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Full Sail Session Lager, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/5316/23713/.

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 Vayera

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. 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 his vort by quoting the first pasuk in the parsha which states וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה בְּאֵֽלֹנֵ֖י מַמְרֵ֑א וְה֛וּא ישֵׁ֥ב פֶּֽתַח־הָאֹ֖הֶל כְּחֹ֥ם הַיּֽוֹם. Rashi comments on the word ישֵׁ֥ב that Avraham wanted to stand and Hashem told him - no, I will stand, much the way that I will stand during judgment by a Beis Din and the judges will be seated.

R' Frand said that this Rashi always bothered him, as he wondered which Beis Din this was referring to?

R' Frand answered the question based on the Nefesh HaRav by R' Soloveitchik. He quoted the Gemara in Yoma about three people who come to be judged in Shamayim after 120, a poor person, a wealthy person and a wicked person. They ask the poor person why he did not spend time learning and he says that he was too poor and needed to earn money. They respond to him - are you more poor than Hillel? He was destitute and he learned. They ask the wealthy person and he says he was too rich they ask - were you more wealthy than R' Elazar Ben Charsom? A rasha then comes to be judged and he responds - I could not because I was so attractive. They then ask - were you more handsome than Yosef. The Gemara learns that Hillel is M'Chayev the poor, R' Elazar is M'Chayev the rich and Yosef is M'Chayev the wicked.

R' Frand said that the Gemara is teaching that if there is a legitimate reason that a mitzva cannot be performed, he will be exempt because he is an Ahnues. 

R' Frand then quoted the Nefesh HaRav who tied the thought into Sodom. When Hashem wanted to destroy Sodom based on its wickedness, the residents could have said - this is not our fault, we are social creatures and its the environment which is influencing us. So how can they be destroyed? The answer is based on Avraham - he lived in an environment where everyone worshipped idols, but he did not act like them, nor did he suffer, he thrived. Avraham stands against Sodom, because he shows that one can overcome the environment.

R' Frand said that Avraham was not a judge, he was the example which allowed for them to be judged, He demonstrated that people can overcome their environment and are responsible for their actions.

R' Frand quoted R' Chatzkel Abromski who asked noted that the pasuk in Bereishis 18:16 states וַיָּקֻ֤מוּ מִשָּׁם֙ הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים וַיַּשְׁקִ֖פוּ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י סְדֹ֑ם וְאַ֨בְרָהָ֔ם הֹלֵ֥ךְ עִמָּ֖ם לְשַׁלְּחָֽם - they got up from there and they looked down on Sodom. Why did they get up from there? Based on the Nefesh HaRav we understand why they got up? Because only after seeing Avraham were they able to go and destroy Sodom. Just like Hillel is M'Chayev the poor, R' Elazar is M'Chayev the rich and Yosef is M'Chayev the wicked, Avraham was M'Chayev Sodom.

R' Frand said a second vort on the pasuk in Bereishis 18:19 - כִּ֣י יְדַעְתִּ֗יו לְמַ֩עַן֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְצַוֶּ֜ה אֶת־בָּנָ֤יו וְאֶת־בֵּיתוֹ֙ אַֽחֲרָ֔יו וְשָֽׁמְרוּ֙ דֶּ֣רֶךְ יְהֹוָ֔ה לַֽעֲשׂ֥וֹת צְדָקָ֖ה וּמִשְׁפָּ֑ט לְמַ֗עַן הָבִ֤יא יְהֹוָה֙ עַל־אַבְרָהָ֔ם אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֖ר עָלָֽיו. R' Frand said that there is a machlokes about what the pasuk means. Rashi says that Hashem is saying I love Avraham because he was committed to give over the mesorah to his children and future generations.

The Meshech Chachma notes that in the entire Torah there is no mitzva explicitly to teach your children. The explicit pasuk in the Torah V'Limaditem is about teaching your children Torah. But this is not the mitzva to teach your children. 

R' Frand quoted R' Povarsky who stated that all over the Gemara the concept of Chinuch is a Mitzva D'Rabbanan. So what is the Mitzva on the Torah level? He answered that there are two types of Chinuch - on the D'Rabbanan level one has to teach a child to do certain mitzvos, buying him tzitzis, or a lulav at certain ages. But there is a separate Mitzva to teach a child about being Jewish and enjoying being Jewish. And this applies to women as well, they need to teach their children about being Jewish and how appealing it is.

R' Frand quoted a Sefer about a R' Jacobson who when he was growing up lived in Bayit V'Gan. He lived across the street from Yeshivat Kol Torah and he would watch the students standing around R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and asking him questions. And this little boy would observe this day after day and wonder - when will I be able to ask. Until one day when he was brave enough to step forward and say - I have a question. R' Shlomo Zalman said - what is the question? 

The boy was now on the spot - he always wanted to ask a question, but now that it was his turn, what can I ask? He remembered a question that he asked his Rebbi in class and the teacher was so annoyed with him for asking it. But it was a question, so he asked - it says that Hashem wanted to give us Zchusim so he added so much Torah and Mitzvos. But if Hashem wanted to make it good for us, why did he add so much, it would be easier if there was less?

R' Shlomo Zalman responded - this is  great question, He then asked the child - do you know how to put on your shoes? The child said, first put on the right shoe and then the left shoe and then tie the left and then the right. R' Shlomo Zalman said - correct! And then R' Shlomo Zalman asked him, do non-Jews put on shoes? Yes, the boy responded. But they do not have a system that gives them a reward, correct? The boy answered yes. 

R' Shlomo Zalman said to the boy, do you mean to tell me that every time a Jew puts on his shoes he gets a Mitzva and a non-Jew does not? Yes. This is how Hashem gave us great Zchusim - because every act that we do, gives us reward. We put on shoes and they put on shoes, we tie and they tie. But our tying gives us reward.

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 Night Suds - New Belgium Sparkling Lime Lager

 

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium's Sparkling Lime Lager.

As frequent readers of this blog may recall, I am not a big fan of lime flavored beers, from the Shiner Sea Salt & Lime (reviewed here - https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/05/sunday-night-suds-shiner-sea-salt-lime.html) to the New Belgium Citradelic Exotic Lime Ale (reviewed here - https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/06/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium.html) to the bizarre New Belgium Heavy Watermelon Lime Ale (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2016/06/new-belgium-heavy-melon-watermelon-lime.html) to the granddaddy of the kosher certified lime beers, Miller Lime Chill (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2011/04/sunday-night-suds-miller-lime-chill.html).

So along comes the Sparkling Lime Lager which I acquired in a swap with one of my neighbors over Chol HaMoed. The Lime Lager was part of this past summer's mix box and I never got around to buying it. so this was a win for me since I did not need to plunk down $16 plus tax to get the one new beer in the box.

I tried this by itself after dinner with my daf last night and I have to say it was not offensive. Maybe not a rousing endorsement, but Mrs KB thought that it was "pretty good for a lime beer, even drinkable." In my book, any lime beer which does not remind me of floor cleanser or sucking candies falls into the "not offensive" category, although I still would not want to have finish off three of these (thanks again R' Dovid!).

The Sparkling Lime Lager is a bit low on the alcohol level at 4.4% abv and there is no malt or breadiness that you would expect from a lager, but then again, you can't really taste anything besides the lime anyway.

The New Belgium Sparkling Lime Lager 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 as well as the twelve pack mix 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 cannot be certified kosher.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about New Belgium Sparkling Lime Lager, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/481168/.

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 Lech Lecha

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. 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. 

Rabbi Frand began the shiur by quoting the Gemara in Taanis 21a which discusses Nachum Ish Gam Zu, who was R' Akiva's teacher. He got his name because whenever something happened he said Gam Zu L'Tova - this also will be for good. They once sent him to the Caesar with a present on behalf of the Jews - a chest full of pearls and jewels. He stopped at an inn and overnight the inn keepers took the jewels from the chest and filled it with dirt. When he got to the Caesar he opened the chest and saw that it was full of dirt. His advisors said to him - the Jews are making fun of you! But then Eliyahu HaNavi appeared as a member of the court and said to the Caesar - maybe this is the dirt that Avraham used in battle and it turned to arrows. The Caesar had a particularly troublesome country that he could not conquer, and they used the dirt and it turned to arrows and spears and the country was captured.

The Caesar was so happy that he filled the chest with jewels and precious stones. He stopped in at the same inn on the way back and the inn keeper asked him what happened? He said that I gave the Caesar the chest and he was appreciative. The inn keeper and his family took more of their dirt to the Caesar and told him that it was the same magic dirt. When the dirt turned out to not possess the same powers, the Caesar killed the inn keeper and his family.

R' Frand then quoted R' Bukspan who had sent him a vort from the Ostrovsker Rebbi. He asked, why did Hashem decide that the dirt should become arrows and spears? He answered that this is Middah K'Neged Middah. People naturally attribute their successes to their own powers and talents. It is a test, as people are essentially dirt- its what we are made of and where everyone will go one day. People are constantly tested that they should not think that their successes are their own - when it all comes from Hashem. Since Avraham realized that all successes are because of Hashem and he believed and practiced it, Hashem used dirt to give him the success. He believed in Hashem and Hashem can turn dirt into a weapon. 

The Rebbi said - this is why Nachum Ish Gam Zu got the same reward. A person who constantly says that this also good because its all from Hashem, recognizes that he has no independent powers and that it all comes from Hashem.

R' Frand then connected this with another gemara - Chullin 7b. The gemara says Ein Od Milvado - without Hashem we are powerless, we can't even take a breath. The gemara quoted R' Chanina who says that even Kishafim - black magic, cannot overcome Hashem. The gemara then told a story about a woman who wanted dirt from under his steps so that she could use it for black magic against him. He told her - go ahead! Ein Od Milvado, there is no power beyond Hashem.

The gemara then asked - R' Yochanan says that the reason its called Kishafim is because it has power and makes C'Vyachol the Heavenly Court weak. But the gemara responds, it is powerless against R' Chanina.

R' Frand quoted the Nefesh HaChaim which states that Hashem gave power to Kishafim in earlier times. But that power does not supersede Hashem's. When the gemara says that the Kishafim was powerless against R' Chanina, it was not because he was a great lamdan and knew so much Torah. Its because he fervently believed with all his being that there is no greater power than Hashem.

R' Frand also quoted a gemara in Berachos which discussed a city with a dangerous snake which killed many people. They told R' Chanina about it and he asked he see where the den was. He then went to the entrance to the snake's lair and put his foot over it and when the snake tried to get out and bit R' Chanina, the snake died. Because when a person has such strong belief in Hashem, the snake could not hurt him. (R. Frand then cautioned - don't try this at home!).

R' Frand told a story about the Brisker Rav who was escaping from Europe with his sons and they came to a checkpoint with a Nazi solider who was checking papers. He told his sons - just concentrate on Ein Od Milvado and nothing can happen and they made it through.

R' Frand mentioned a story he heard on the radio about a Yale professor who had written a book on the permanent changes which he believes will result from the COVID times. One observation he made is that people have become more religious, which R' Frand tied to the expression - there are no atheists in a foxhole. Will this be permanent? Probably not, but even if the secular world is increasing their belief in Hashem because of what is going on, we should as well. Because even the doctors don't have answers about COVID and this is Hashem's way of telling us that He is in control.

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