Sunday, July 26, 2020

Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Lil Hazy Ale


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac Lil Hazy Ale.

This year, Saranac introduced a special summer can pack called the Weekend Warrior variety pack. Its kind of ironic considering that there is less to do on the weekend this year, but I digress.

The Weekend Warrior pack includes the Lil Hazy Ale, along with another new beer - Saranac Juicy Ale and old friend Saranac Session Ale (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/07/sunday-night-suds-saranac-session-ale.html).

I used this beer as my havdallah beer this week and it filled its role perfectly. Its crisp, but not too biting to be consumed in a series of large sips in order to drink the shiur for Havdallah. Since this is Saranac there was ample carbonation and decent lacing on the tulip glass which I used in place of a Kiddush cup (you can't put beer in a silver cup, unless its the Stanley Cup).. 

I have not seen this beer sold in anything but the Weekend Warrior Box and I am unaware of this beer being sold in six or twelve packs, so if you want this beer you need to pick up the mix box.

The Lil Hazy Ale 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 on https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/485233/ to see the reviews. 

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, July 23, 2020

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Devarim/Shabbos Chazon

Since there are no Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha until Elul, I would like to substitute a vort from other Rabbanim each week, rather than leaving the blog without a vort for shabbos. This week, I am attempting to repeat a vort heard from R' Shraga Kallus as recorded on torahanytime.com (https://www.torahanytime.com/#/lectures?v=119082). Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to the maggid shiur.

Rabbi Kallus quoted from the Haftorah where the Navi writes that the ox knows its owner and the donkey knows its feeding trough, but the Jews don't know Me. The simple explanation is that we are not as intelligent as the ox which recognizes its owner, or even the donkey which knows its food is coming in its trough and won't destroy it, but the Jews are not recognizing that things come from Hashem.

Rabbi Kallus explained that the message of the Navi is that the nature of a Jew is to be introspective and realize instinctively (like the nature of the ox or donkey) that everything comes from Hashem. R' Kallus quoted R' Shach who cited the Gemara in Nedarim which asked why the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed and they offered various answers. So the question then would be - if no one knew what they were doing wrong, why was the Beis HaMikdash destroyed? R Shach answered, the people of that generation knew what they were doing wrong. Hundreds of years later the amoraim in the Gemara may have debated it, but the people at the time knew what they were doing incorrectly.

R' Kallus said that the goal of the three weeks is to recognize Hashem and to feel closer to him. He said that everyone is going to get a spoonful of salt at a time. You can't eat the spoonful of salt. If you add it to a cup of water, its still going to be hard to swallow. But if you add it to a lake full of water, the water will still be delicious. In life, some people are a spoon, some people are a cup and some people are a lake. If you are a lake and there is a spoonful of salt, it wont impact on your outlook, because the salt does not alter that water's taste. If one views himself as a cup, the salt will sour the cup. And if a person views himself as a spoon - it will be very hard to swallow. It all depends on whether views the spoonful of salt in the context of all the great things that Hashem gives him, or just the moment in time when the event occurs.

Many people are dealing with troubles related to the coronavirus or other problems that are besetting the world. R' Kallus mentioned that his son put on tefillin for the first time, although he was in quarantine. They thought about putting it off so that the hanachas tefillin would be more public. But then they decided that they would view things from the perspective of the lake and the moment of being alone would not dampen their spirits.

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

Sunday, July 19, 2020

Sunday Night Suds - New Belgium Mural Agua Fresca Berry Guava + Bonus Nine Days Havdallah Guide


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium/Mural's Agua Fresca Cerveza - Berry Guava and and also provides the annual Nine Days Havdallah Guide.

Last year New Belgium began a partnership with Mexico’s premier craft brewery, Cervecería Primus and produced an Agua Fresca Cerveza in the style of Watermelon-Lime (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/06/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-mural.html). Although the 2019 version was introduced as a full sized (16 oz) beer as part of the Folly Pack, the 2020 version was repackaged as a lower calorie beer in slim 12 oz cans as part of a special mix pack of Mural beers. Also included in this mix pack are the Mexican Orange (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/07/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-mural.html) and the Berry Guava.

The Berry Guava was very fruity, but not in a traditional citurs-hop brew. This was more like a strawberry-cranberry cocktail with a little alcohol backbone. Mrs KB found this incredibly refreshing and I can see her finishing the rest of the cans from this mix pack. I was more partial to the original watermelon-lime version, but this was offensive, but not beer either. At 110 calories and 4% abv, this beer is light in more than one way and not too light.

This beer is only sold in the twelve pack mix box (three of each kind) which was first marketed in March 2020. I was luck enough to find one at the end of the season at the Target in Elmont. I have actually only seen it at Target as I saw it in May at a different Target but was unwilling to plunk down $17 for it when I first saw it.

All of the New Belgium Mural Agua Fresca Cerveza beers are under kosher supervision by the Scroll-K/Va'ad of Denver, and their symbol is on the bottom of the 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.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about New Belgium Mural Agua Fresca Cerveza, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/478866/.

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).
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Bonus section - Nine Days Havdallah Guide.

In years past, I would receive numerous email and cell phone messages prior to Shabbos Chazon (the Saturday within the summer nine days mourning period) with questions as to what would be a good choice to make havdalah on. As the Shabbos of the Nine Days falls at the beginning of the period, I have presented the annual Nine Days Havdallah guide in this post to allow people to a look at alternatives to wine.

By way of introduction, on Saturday nights after the evening prayer is said, Jews have a special set of blessings that are said by which we separate between the holy shabbos and the rest of the week. There is a custom to say this prayer on a cup of wine, however this custom needs modification when the Saturday falls during the nine days of mourning.

As noted by the Orthodox Union on their website:

Meat and wine are prohibited during the Nine Days, except on Shabbat. Meat and wine are associated both with joy AND with Temple service. Both reasons combine to explain this prohibition. Even though havdala is officially after Shabbat, one is permitted to drink wine. It is preferable to give the wine to a child who is old enough to understand brachot but not yet old enough to understand the concept of "mourning for Jerusalem". Alternately, some authorities recommend the use of a substitute beverage for havdala such as fruit juice, beer, etc. Other authorities insist on wine as usual.

Should your local Rabbi direct you to utilize non-wine in your havdalah, there are multiple options to use to fulfill the havdalah requirement. Indeed, my father in law will use diet soda (or as he says "diet pop"). I recall as a child seeing my father on one occasion use hard alcohol for havdalah (and then burn the decorative plate my sibling made when he tried to put out the candle).

To me, the simplest answer to the havdalah dilemma (and one that is widely recommended by rabbinic authorities) is to use beer, which in the time of the talmud was called chamra d'medina - the wine of the masses. This brings us to the reason I get more summer phone calls and email around this time every year - which beer would I recommend?

The number one problem with the question is that most people who ask me about it don't generally drink beer. It then becomes difficult to make a recommendation of a beer that they can use for havdalah that won't have them making faces in their attempt to drink the halachic minimum level for the blessing. A second problem is that since the havdalah cup is imbibed on its own (i.e. without the benefit of food) people who might be inclined to have a beer with a meal will still have problems finishing their cup when the beer is consumed on its own.

The easiest solution is not to have beer, but instead to make havdalah on what is commonly called alcopop. These are malt beverage drinks with some similarities to beer and a beer-like 5% alcohol content by volume, but do not have the beer taste. Some examples are the Boston Beer Company (aka Sam Adams) Twisted Teas or the Smirnoff Twisted V/Twisted Ice line. Please be aware that not every flavor of Smirnoff is certified Kosher. There are also a limited number of kosher "hard sodas" such as Henry's Hard Soda (a MillerCoors brand under the OU) and Coney Island (a Samuel Adams brand under the Star-K).

Another alternative is hard apple cider. Frequent readers of this blog may recall that for a time the Angry Orchard Hard Apple Cider was not certified kosher by the Star-K, but they have again been certified kosher. For a current list of Angry Orchard ciders as well as the Coney Island Hard Sodas under hashgacha, please click here https://express.star-k.org/viewer/LOCViewer.aspx?PEFQZ4N3 (this will open a link which allows for a download of the July 2020 LOC). Additionally, there has been an explosion of other kosher hard apple ciders, including Strongbow out of the UK, JK Scrumpy, Smith & Forge, Henry Hotspurs Hard Cider (a Trader Joe's brand) and Appleation.

There are also a number of fruit flavored beers which bridge the gap between alcopop and true beer. These include the Miller/Coors line of Redd's products, including Apple Ale, Blueberry Ale, Strawberry Ale, Cranberry Ale, Mango Ale and perhaps other (just look for the OU on the label). There are also quite a few mainstream mango beers like the Samuel Adams Rebel Juiced IPA (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/07/sunday-night-suds-rebel-juiced-ipa.html) and the Blue Moon Mango Wheat (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/07/sunday-night-suds-blue-moon-mango-wheat.html). Also, Saranac has reintroduced their delicious Blueberry Blonde Ale after a few years hiatus (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/04/sunday-night-suds-saranac-blueberry.html) and as discussed above, the new Mural/New Belgium can mix pack has three other options for fruit infused beer for Havdallah.

If you do like unflavored beer, or would like to drink something that is more manly than alcopop, the next step up would be an American wheat beer or some of the better Summer Ales. Many of these beers have been reviewed on the pages of this blog and you can search through prior Sunday Night Suds reviews to find one that might appeal to you. If you are a beer aficionado, you obviously won't need this post to tell you which ale or lager you should crack open for havdallah.

Again, I would stress that you consult your halachic authority before selecting a havdallah alternative. My Rav advises me that beer would be the first choice, followed by malt beverages. I did not ask about how the non alcohol options fit into the list.

May the world have a tikkun from our three weeks/nine days observances and may tisha b'av soon be transformed to the holiday that the gemara tells it will be in the times of moshiach bimheira biyamenu.

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

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshios Matos - Masei

Since there are no Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha until Elul, I would like to substitute a vort from other Rabbanim each week, rather than leaving the blog without a vort for shabbos. This week, I am attempting to repeat a vort heard from R' Shraga Kallus as recorded on torahanytime.com (https://www.torahanytime.com/#/lectures?v=118375). Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to the maggid shiur.

Rabbi Kallus began by quoting a Yalkut Shimoni (786) who discussed how Reuven, Gad and Menashe wanted to take their portion of the land of Israel on the Eastern bank of the Yarden. The Yalkut states that there are three presents in the world which don't come from Hashem and as a result they don't last - wealth, strength and wisdom. It brings a proof from Korach and Haman who both lost their wealth. It also states that these tribes loved their wealth as the Torah states in this parsha that the tribes loved their sheep and that was why they wanted this portion. However, these tribes also were the first to lose their wealth as they were the first to go into Galus.

Rabbi Kallus then asked - what does it mean that these don't come from Hashem? Of course wealth comes from Hashem, as does wisdom and strength!

Rabbi Kallus asked another question - why is the fact that they loved their wealth a reason that they should lose their money?

Rabbi Kallus answered by quoting the Medrash which states that these are the three things that are most at risk for a person to think that these are because of himself and not because of Hashem. A person will think that he is strong or wise or made his money, because of his own acumen, and not because Hashem gave it to him.

Rabbi Kallus gave the example of a person who works for a bank. He knows the money belongs to the bank and not to him. He does not love the bank's money, he knows its the bank's. And the minute that he loves the bank's money, its no longer the bank's and he thinks that its his. A person needs to constantly recognize that these items come from Hashem and the moment that he thinks that its his, it comes to an end. But for as long as a person knows that he is just keeping Hashem's money and realizes that its all from Hashem, it will not go away.

Rabbi Kallus noted that some people now are saying that perhaps because money will be tight if Covid picks up (G-d forbid) they should cut back on tzedakah. Rabbi Kallus said  - what does it mean that the Bnei Gad and Reuven loved their sheep? That they started making decisions based on their sheep, instead of recognizing that the sheep were a tool given to them by Hashem. When a person starts making decisions based on a love of money and wanting to keep it, its a failure to understand that the money comes from Hashem. To this Hashem says - OK you want to go on your own, fine.

But of course a person recognizes that his money comes from Hashem and parnasah comes from Hashem. So how does he fall down this rabbit hole? When he thinks that the money is his and he wants to keep it safe by him, instead of spending it on Tzedakah and mitzvos.

Rabbi Kallus told a story about a Jew in Monsey who was involved in a business transaction with China and lost money, including money from his investors. He repaid all his investors, but was now broke and could not afford to buy more merchandise. He knew a guy in shul and asked him to privately borrow money so that he could buy. How much? $85,000. The person he asked knew that he had the $85,000, but he had been saving it for his daughter's wedding. But maybe that's the yetzer hara? He told him that he had money in the house and would lend him the money. He invited the businessman to his house and then he went down to the basement (where he had been hiding the money in a box). 

The prospective lender walked into his home and asked the businessman to wait. But when he went downstairs, he could not find the box. Instead, the entire basement had been cleaned out. In a panic, he went upstairs and asked his wife what happened in the basement? She told him that she was tired of the mess in the basement and had hired a cleanup crew to take care of the mess. When? She had brought them in on Tuesday and now it was already Wednesday evening...but in Monsey they pick up the trash on Mondays and Thursdays. So the lender went rummaging through ten bags of garbage at the curb, until B'H he found the box with the $85,000. He brought the money to the businessman and said to him - you don't know how you saved me. If you would not have come to ask me for money, it would have been gone! Where is the money safe - with you, because its Hashem's money and I am just keeping it.

R' Kallus told one more story about a neighborhood in Yeurshalaim called Batei Vittenberh. Why is it called Batei Vittenberg? There was a man in Yerushalaim called Vittenberg who was a known miser. People knew that he was wealthy, but he never have any money to Tzedakah. 

One day Rabbi Shmuel Salant needed to raise money for a mikva and he approached Vittenberg. The man said to him, don't you know that I am a notorious miser? Why are you bothering me for money?

R' Salant responded to him, I know that you wont give me money. But one day after 120, you will go to Shamayim and they will ask - why didn't you give money for the mikva? And you will have an answer - they didn't ask me! And I don't want you to have that excuse, so I am asking for money.

Vittenberg turned white and said - just take the money! I don't want to see it, just go and take all the money that you need for the mikva.

R' Salant responded, no - you need to see it as it will help you overcome your miserliness. And so he did. And after that he began to give tzedakah to poor people, until he reached a point where he donated money to build a development in Yerushaalyim for people who could not afford homes... and it is called Batei Vittenberg.

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

Sunday, July 12, 2020

Sunday Night Suds - New Belgium Mural Agua Fresca Cerveza - Mexican Orange


This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium/Mural's Agua Fresca Cerveza - Mexican Orange.

Last year New Belgium began a partnership with Mexico’s premier craft brewery, Cervecería Primus and produced an Agua Fresca Cerveza in the style of Watermelon-Lime (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/06/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-mural.html). Although the 2019 version was introduced as a full sized (16 oz) beer as part of the Folly Pack, the 2020 version was repackaged as a lower calorie beer in slim 12 oz cans as part of a special mix pack of Mural beers. Also included in this mix pack are the Mexican Orange and the Berry Guava.

The Mexican Orange was a little more subdued than the Watermelon Lime version of the Agua Fresca Cerveza. There was some orange and mango, but the taste was not as sweet as I was expecting/dreading. This is not a shandy style beer, its just a beer that has some fruit juice without clashing with a lager base. At 110 calories and 4% abv, this beer is light in more than one way, but it was refreshing and not too light.

This beer is only sold in the twelve pack mix box (three of each kind) which was first marketed in March 2020. I was luck enough to find one at the end of the season at the Target in Elmont. I have actually only seen it at Target as I saw it in May at a different Target but was unwilling to plunk down $17 for it when I first saw it.

All of the New Belgium Mural Agua Fresca Cerveza beers are under kosher supervision by the Scroll-K/Va'ad of Denver, and their symbol is on the bottom of the 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.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about New Belgium Mural Agua Fresca Cerveza, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/478865/.

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!


Friday, July 3, 2020

Pre Shabbos Ruach on Parshios Chukas-Balak

While running some errands on this Erev Shabbos/Fourth of July observed day, 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 Chukat-The Water's Song and can be downloaded or heard/watched 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.

Rabbi Mansour quoted a famous mishna in Pirkei Avos which discusses ten things created on Erev Shabbos Bein HaShemashos - the mouth of Miriam's Well, the mouth of the Earth that swallowed Korach and the mouth of Bilaam's donkey. These three "pi" connect the three parshios - Korach-Chukas-Balak.

R' Mansour said that there is a segulah for having a good davening to say Pi-Pi-Pi before davening. He quoted the Shem M'Shimon who cites a Yerushalmi in Sotah - Akavia Ben M'Hallel said look at three things and a person won't come to sin. This is a reference to the mishna in Pirkei Avos where R' Akiva says - know where you came from, where you are going and before Whom you will have to give reckoning and one won't come to sin. Where you came from - a putrid seed. Where you are going - corpse rot. And that you will have to give testimony about your life before Hashem.

The Yeushalmi next quoted a pasuk from Koheles - remember your Creator when you are young. The gemara states that you can read Borecha - three ways - Be'arecha, Borcha, Borecha. If read as Be'arecha - your wellspring -the source you came from. Borcha - your pit - where a person will be going after he finishes his days on this Earth. Borecha - your Creator - before Who you will be judged.

The Shem M'Shimon said that this is the connection of the three parshios. Korach is Borcha - where you are going. Chukas is Be'arecha - the well- where you are coming from. Balak is Borecha - your creator, as the mouth of the donkey rebuked Bila'am for not following his creator.

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, July 2, 2020

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshios Chukas-Balak

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

R' Frand said a vort from a former talmid who told him that today is the yahrtzeit of R' Zalman Sorotzkin, who is frequently quoted by R' Frand. R' Frand cited to Bamidbar 20:14-21, wherein Moshe attempts to convince the King of Edom to allow the Jews to travel through his land. Within this discussion, Moshe states in Bamidbar 20:16 - וַנִּצְעַ֤ק אֶל־יְהֹוָה֙ וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע קֹלֵ֔נוּ וַיִּשְׁלַ֣ח מַלְאָ֔ךְ וַיֹּֽצִאֵ֖נוּ מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם. Rashi explains that this angel referred to in the pasuk is Moshe himself, as prophets are called angels.

R' Sorotzkin points out that this is incongruous for Moshe who is known as a humble man. He explains how Moshe did this by telling a story of R' Abale Pestiler (sp?) who was walking on the road and saw a Jew whose wagon was being drawn by a horse and a cow. This is a sin, as the Torah bars the use of this pair to pull. R' Abale said to him - don't you know that this sin has a punishment of lashes? The man ignored him. R' Abale then said to him - "do you know who I am? I am the greatest Rav of Vilna, and when I get back to Vilna, I will put you in Cherem." The wagon driver then paid attention.

The moral of the story is that there is a time for everything, even to appear as a Ba'al Gaiva. When Moshe was speaking to the King of Edom, it was the time to impress him to attempt to convince him that the Jews should travel through his land.

R' Frand then told a story about R' Yosher Ber Soloveitchik and when he called a person on the phone, he would say "this is Soloveitchik." But when he called a widow who had just lost her husband, he said "this is Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik" because he wanted her to feel that she was important and getting a nechama from an important person. This is the time to say that you are a great man.

R' Frand said a second vort from R' Bukspan of Florida in connection with a thought from R' SR Hirsch. After the Jews bypassed Edom, the Jews complained again about the Manna. As a result, Hashem sent venomous snakes to bite the Jews and many died. The Jews then came to Moshe and said they were wrong and they asked Moshe to daven to Hashem to end the plague. Moshe was told to make a statue of a venomous snake, put it on a staff and whomever would look at it would be healed.

R' Hirsch asked - if the problem came from the snake, why would looking at the snake solve the problem? R' Frand noted that the symbol of a doctor (the snake on the pole) comes from this story.

R' Hirsch then cited to the language of the pasuk in Bamidbar 21:6 where in sending the snakes, the Torah says Vayishalach instead of Vayishlach. This is the conjugation "Pe'el," Additionally it states "HaNechashim" - the snakes - definite. R' Hirsch compares it to how Pharaoh sent away the Jewish people and Noach releasing the raven and dove. This is a language of releasing, of setting free. R' Hirsch explained that the snakes were released because they were always there in the desert for 40 years, but Hashem stopped them from attacking the Jews. But now that they complained again, Hashem said I won't protect you anymore. And that which was natural, I am releasing. These snakes have been there for 40 years, but you did not see them because I was protecting you from them. So the remedy is to see the image of the snake and understand that I was protecting you from them for 40 years. Once the Jews understood that they were being protect from the snakes they can have teshuva.

R' Frand said that this is another lesson of Covid-19. This virus has always been in bats for generations. The viruses are always there, but Hashem kept them at bay. For some reason Hashem felt that it was time for the virus to be released, but we need to realize that Hashem protects us from things like this 24/7, just like the Jews in the desert needed to see the snake to realize that the snakes were always there. 

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!