Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Terumah

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

R' Frand noted that the Keruvim are mentioned in both Parshas Terumah and in Parshas Vayakhel. In Terumah (25:18) the Torah refers to them as "שְׁנַ֥יִם כְּרֻבִ֖ים זָהָ֑ב". In Vayakhel (37:7) the Torah writes "וַיַּ֛עַשׂ שְׁנֵ֥י כְרֻבִ֖ים זָהָ֑ב". Although each time they are referred to as two in number, R' Frand explained that there is a difference between the specific word used. The word שְׁנֵ֥י means two things which are the same, however the word שְׁנַ֥יִם means two things which are different. The Keruvim were both angelic, but they were different genders.

R' Frand quoted the sefer Anfei Erez who quoted the Netziv which discussed the use of שְׁנַ֥יִם by witnesses. When the Torah discusses the witnesses needed to testify in a capital punishment matter, the Torah uses the term שְׁנַ֥יִם because the testimony must have some differences. Indeed, the Yerushalmi states that if two witnesses testify exactly the same, to the word, they must be lying and coordinated their testimony to achieve this result.

The Anfei Erez further explained that much like the Keruvim, the husband and wife in a household need to have different derachim in order to have a successful marriage. They also have different roles in the household and in the workforce. When each approaches an issue from a different perspective and in a different way, they can succeed - they should not be completely identical.

R' Frand remarked that Judaism is a role oriented religion. There are Kohanim and Leviim and Yisraelim and they all had different roles when there was a Beis HaMikdash. Similarly, there are the Yissachars and Zevuluns - some who learn and some who support them. 

We can each work together towards a common goal, but following our own paths.

R' Frand also discussed the Menorah, which Moshe was unable to comprehend. The Medrash states that Hashem told Moshe to do it, but he was unable to build it. Then Hashem showed him an image, but still Moshe could not fashion the Menorah. Finally, Hashem told Moshe - throw a piece of gold in the furnace and then the Menorah emerged from the fire.

R' Frand then asked - since Hashem knew that Moshe was not understanding, why not go straight to throwing the gold in the furnace? R' Frand answered by quoting the Sfas Emes who explains that the story of the Menorah is a lesson that even if a person cannot do something on his own, he needs to dream about it and strive for it. When a person truly wants to achieve something and works at it and then prays for help, Hashem may make a miracle for that person. But the miracle does not come on its own - the person needs to want and try for the result.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Mishpatim

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

In Shemos 22:30, the Torah states "וְאַנְשֵׁי־קֹ֖דֶשׁ תִּֽהְי֣וּן לִ֑י וּבָשָׂ֨ר בַּשָּׂדֶ֤ה טְרֵפָה֙ לֹ֣א תֹאכֵ֔לוּ לַכֶּ֖לֶב תַּשְׁלִכ֥וּן אֹתֽוֹ" - the Jews are instructed to be holy to Hashem and that meat of a tereifah should not be eaten and should be thrown to the dogs instead.

R' Frand remarked as an aside that although people call everything not kosher "tereif", the actual term refers to an animal which has been torn and that there is a mitzva to give that to the dog to eat.

R' Frand next quoted a Pesikta which states that the dog receiving the carcass of the animal is a reward to the dog for not barking when the Jews left Egypt. The Pesikta further states that if the dog which is an animal receives a reward for doing Hashem's command, how much more so a person will be rewarded.

R' Frand then asked - why is the dog rewarded when other creatures who were involved in miracles are not? We dont treat frogs differently because they harassed the Egyptians, nor do we view lice or locusts with any special attention due to their role. 

R' Frand answered by quoting the Tolner Rebbi who states that the dog receives the reward for going against its nature. The frogs hopped (as did the grasshopper) and the other kinds of animals followed their nature. Only the dog resisted its natural urge to bark and for that it is rewarded.

R' Frand also quoted the Da'as Zekeinim M'Ba'alei HaTosafos that because the dog went against its nature, it should be rewarded when it follows its instinct. People use dogs to watch their other animals (sheep was the specific example) and the dogs do a good job of protecting the flock from predators such as wolves. In order to not be a kafoi tov, we reward the dog by throwing it the carcass.

R' Frand then asked - but wait - the dog did not do its job properly as this torn animal was not protected by the dog. So why do we reward the dog with the carcass?

R' Frand then quoted a GM commercial from many years ago which had the slogan - "it is uniquely American to ask - what have you done for me lately." He also quoted Pete Rose who remarked - "you are only as good as your last at bat."

R' Frand said that these are not Torah values, because although the dog may have missed out on protecting this sheep, we are not kafoi tov for all the good that he did previously.

R' Frand then tied this in to the Gemara in Berachos which contrasts the two statements by Shlomo HaMelech about women where it states Matza Isha Matza Tov but also states in Koheles - Motzi Ani Es HaIsha Mar M'Maves. These seemingly contradictory remarks about women are synthesized by the Gemara (as explained by R' Pa'am) who states that the positive statement is in past tense - look back at your wife and see all the good you have found, but if you only focus on the present act if she made a mistake, you will just find bitterness.

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Sunday Night Suds - Season's Best Amber Beer

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac Season's Best Amber Beer..

As mentioned in two early January Sunday Night Suds column, the Saranac Beers of Winter mix box  for 2019-2020 contains new offerings Citrus Freeze (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/01/sunday-night-suds-saranac-citrus-freeze.html);  Saranac Holidaze IPA (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/01/sunday-night-suds-saranac-holidaze-haze.html); old friend Black Forest Cake (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2010/01/sunday-night-suds-saranac-black-forest.html) and Season's Best, which after careful consideration I believe is not just a recast of the Nut Brown Ale.

The Season's Best Amber Beer is a malty beer with some spiciness, but not from external spices. The beer poured a rich amber (shocking!) with Saranac's trademark over carbonation, something which I personally enjoy. There was rich foam which lasted throughout the drink in all the bottles that I tested over the last two weeks. This beer does not seem light on the alcohol, but the exact abv was not on the bottle. 

The Seasons Best Amber Beer 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/99/49752.

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 Beshalach

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

In Shemos 13:19, the Torah states וַיִּקַּ֥ח משֶׁ֛ה אֶת־עַצְמ֥וֹת יוֹסֵ֖ף עִמּ֑וֹ כִּי֩ הַשְׁבֵּ֨עַ הִשְׁבִּ֜יעַ אֶת־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר פָּקֹ֨ד יִפְקֹ֤ד אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶתְכֶ֔ם וְהַֽעֲלִיתֶ֧ם אֶת־עַצְמֹתַ֛י מִזֶּ֖ה אִתְּכֶֽם

Rabbi Frand quoted a Medrash which states that Moshe wanted to bring Yosef's bones out of Egypt, but did not know where he had been buried, so Moshe went to Serach Bas Asher and asked her where Yosef was buried.

An additional Medrash comments about Moshe that a Chacham Lev takes Mitzvos -- that Moshe was a Chacham because while the rest of the Jews were gathering gold and silver from the Egyptians, Moshe was involved with reclaiming Yosef's body.

R' Frand quoted a Sefer from a Rav Doan (sp?) which asked three questions about this story. The first question was why does the pasuk use the double term הַשְׁבֵּ֨עַ הִשְׁבִּ֜יעַ when Yosef in Parshas Vayechi only uses the term once? 

The second question asked was why is Moshe called a Chacham? He could be called a Tzaddik as this was a righteous act. or even a Chassid as this was a pious act. But why is he called Chacham?

The last question was based on the pasuk in Vayechi 50:24, where Yosef tells his brothers וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יוֹסֵף֙ אֶל־אֶחָ֔יו אָֽנֹכִ֖י מֵ֑ת - why does Yosef say this he is "dead" instead of he is going to die?

R' Frand answered these questions by first referring to a Gemara in Shabbos 152b which tells an interesting story about some farmers who were plowing R' Nachman's field when they happened across the grave of R' Achai and when they unearthed it, he cried out. They came and asked R' Nachman about it and he investigated and observed that R' Achai's bones had not decomposed. He then asked R' Achai - your soul has gone to heaven and why is your body here? R' Achai responded that someone who is jealous has his bones rot. Since R' Achaie was never jealous, his bones did not decompose. 

The Maharal offers insight on this difficult story. He explains that a person who is jealous sees something that someone else has and feels that he is lacking that object, trait or quality. A person is not jealous of someone else if he already has the same item. Thus the jealous person has a feeling that he is lacking which eats away at him and causes his bones to rot while he is still alive and this continues after he dies.

R' Frand then quoted R' Doan's answers to the questions based on this concept. He first quoted a Medrash which states that the double lashon of הַשְׁבֵּ֨עַ הִשְׁבִּ֜יעַ was because there were two oaths - Yosef swore that he had no animosity towards his brothers and they swore that they did not have towards him.

That the brothers did not feel anything against Yosef is understandable, but why did Yosef not have claims? R' Frand quoted R' Akiva Eiger who writes that a person can have jealousy, but if he is aware of his own mortality and thinks of himself as dead,  he will not have jealousy. He tied this to the Gemara in Berachos which states that if a person is feeling that his Yetzer Hara is getting the best of him, he should think of the day of his death.

Thus Yosef was thinking that about his already being dead and wanted to have rest in his grave without his bones decomposing, so he verbalized this by saying he "is dead."

Similarly, Moshe was a Chacham because he was not fixated on gold and silver and would not become jealous of the possessions of others. His giving up the chance to pursue riches was not an act of piety or tzidkus, it was an understanding of the true priorities and how to avoid becoming jealous.

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 - Shiner S'more Chocolate & Marshmallow Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Shiner S'more Chocolate & Marshmallow Ale.

Let's get this out of the way first - yes I did drink this while watching the Super Bowl, and no, this is not a beer that you can have with any kind of chili, wings, sliders or other fleishig fare.

Having said that, although the Shiner S'More is not meant to accompany BBQ (or any kind of dinner for that matter) it is definitely worth buying if you are looking to enjoy something sweet after dinner as it is plain and simply a dessert beer...and it is delicious.

Think about taking a fudge bar, liquifying it, adding a bit of alcohol and carbonation and then bottling and selling it in six pack form. This is not a thin Yoohoo type drink with alcohol mixed  in. Instead it is a rich deep flavor which supposedly comes from "Texas Chocolate" being added to the brew process. 

I would recommend sharing this with your spouse after dinner on a Friday Night and away from the kids who will want to try it. It is 5% abv, but keep this as a treat for you and your AC (aishes chayil). Needless to say, Mrs KB liked this very much.

The Shiner S'more Chocolate & Marshmallow 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/143/371501.

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!