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!