Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vaera

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 6:6 the Torah gives the first three of the Leshonos Shel Geulah stating - לָכֵ֞ן אֱמֹ֥ר לִבְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֘ אֲנִ֣י יְהֹוָה֒ וְהֽוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֨חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵֽעֲבֹֽדָתָ֑ם וְגָֽאַלְתִּ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ בִּזְר֣וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבִשְׁפָטִ֖ים גְּדֹלִֽים  . R' Frand observed that the first two Leshonos - "וְהֽוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֨חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם" and "וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵֽעֲבֹֽדָתָ֑ם" seem to be very similar.

To explain the difference in the Leshonos, R' Frand quoted the Sfas Emes who writes that the word Sivlos should be construed like the word Savlanus - they tolerated the slavery that they were in. The first step to break out of slavery is to say - "I don't want to take this anymore."

R' Frand quoted R' Gedalya Shore who quoted Chazal which state that not a single slave ever escaped from Egypt. But how is this possible? People break out of prison and the slaves in this country utilized the "Underground Railroad." So why were there no slaves who ran away from Egypt? Because the slaves had a psychological mindset that they were in a good position and did not need to leave. 

This is the difference between the first two Leshonos - the first was to break out of the mentality of accepting being a slave. The second was that Hashem saved us from the physical slavery itself.

R' Frand then said a second vort related to Moshe showing HaKaras HaTov for the water as he did not strike the water for the plagues of Blood and Frogs. Similarly, Moshe was not sent to strike the sand because it had covered the Mitzri after Moshe killed him.

R' Frand noted that the water and the sand as inanimate objects cannot feel they are appreciated, so why is it that Moshe did show his HaKaras HaTov for them? He answered that HaKaras HaTov is meant to have an impact on the person showing gratitude so that he will be more aware and appreciative of what others do for him.

R' Frand quoted the Sefer Yechi Reuven in which the author discussed the famous picture of R' Elya Lopian ZTL giving milk to a cat [the picture was taken by my FiL!]. The author came to Kfar Chassidim years later and asked whether R' Elya was a cat lover. He was then told the back story. 

The boys in the yeshiva used to take their meals in a hut and there was a terrible mouse problem. So they got a cat to kill the mice. But once all the mice were gone, the boys wanted to get rid of the cat. R' Elya refused, telling them that since the cat got rid of the mice they need to show their appreciation for the cat. And in order to do so, he gave the cat its meal.

The cat of course did not know that it was being fed by a Gadol, but it was important for him to show his appreciation for the cat.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Shemos

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 began the parsha portion of tonight's shiur by quoting the Alter M'Kelem who observed that we have very little knowledge of Moshe before he became the leader of Klal Yisrael. He cited to four instances where the Torah gives into Moshe. The first two are in Shemos 2:11 where the Torah states וַיְהִ֣י | בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֗ם וַיִּגְדַּ֤ל משֶׁה֙ וַיֵּצֵ֣א אֶל־אֶחָ֔יו וַיַּ֖רְא בְּסִבְלֹתָ֑ם - that Moshe saw the Jews' burdens. Later in the same pasuk the Torah states וַיַּרְא֙ אִ֣ישׁ מִצְרִ֔י מַכֶּ֥ה אִֽישׁ־עִבְרִ֖י מֵֽאֶחָֽיו - Moshe saw the Egyptian striking a Jew from his brethren. 

A few pesukim later Moshe is again seen where he intervenes when Dasan and Aviram are fighting and he says in 2:13 - וַיֹּ֨אמֶר֙ לָֽרָשָׁ֔ע לָ֥מָּה תַכֶּ֖ה רֵעֶֽךָ. Finally, the fourth reference is in 2:17 where Moshe comes to the well and saves the daughters of Yisro.

All four instances have one thing in common - Moshe saw that people were suffering and intervened on their behalf.

R' Frand then quoted the Ramban who noted that we see Moshe leaving Egypt at 12 and the next we see of him is when he shows up in Midyan 40 years later. The Medrash tells a great story about how Moshe became the king of Cush [I often read that from the Me'am Loez on Shabbos Shemos] - but that story does not make it into the Torah. Why? The Alter explains that the Torah is not a history book and the reason that these facts are known about Moshe is to show his empathy for others.

R' Frand then told a story about R' Wolbe who had gone with a group of talmidei chachamim to visit the grave of R' Yisrael Salanter. While he was there, R' Wolbe had an imaginary conversation with R' Yisrael who asked him - why are you here? R' Yisrael explained that he was content in the kever, but R' Wolbe should be looking out for the Jews who lived nearby and who had abandoned their Jewish identities due in part to the horrors of the war - help them! R' Yisrael further "said" to him - do you know why I am buried here and not in Lithuania? Because I travelled here due to the needs of the Jews of Germany.

R' Frand observed that although Dasan and Aviram were Moshe's nemesis, they also had the quality of looking out for their fellow Jews. R' Frand quoted the vort from the Maharal Diskin in connection with the exodus from Egypt in Parshas Beshalach. In Shemos 14:3, the Torah states that Pharaoh told the Jews that they are confused and the desert has locked them in. The obvious question is - who did Pharaoh tell this to? The Jews had already left Egypt with Moshe! 

The pashut pshat as said by many meforshim (including Rashi) is that Pharaoh said this about the Jews and not to them. But the Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel explains that Pharaoh said this to Dasan and Aviram, who had not left yet.

R' Frand asked - if Dasan and Aviram were such evil people that they did not leave with Moshe, how were they still around? These were Moshe's historical antagonists, yet we read about them later in the Torah so they obviously got out. Why did they merit to get out of Egypt, when 80% of the Jews did not make it out of Egypt (and died in Choshech) because of their evil nature?

The Maharal Diskin explains that Dasan and Aviram's merit was that they were among the nogsim - the taskmaster/enforcers who were in charge of the Jews in Egypt. But these were not like the Kapos in the concentration camps. In Egypt, these people were beaten by the Egyptians when the Jews did not meet their quotas. In that zechus and because of their empathy for their fellow Jews because they got hit to prevent people from being beaten, they merited getting out of Egypt.

R' Frand closed the vort with a story about R' Huttner who flew to Los Angeles in the 1950s for the vort of one his prized talmidim. At the vort he approached the father of the girl and told him - you will need to support this special boy in his learning. The father said - of course! R' Huttner then said - you will need to provide $350,000. The father said - I can't come up with that much money and shortly therafter the engagement was broken.

R' Frand said that he is sure that people had questions about why R' Huttner said this, but the whole story came out after R' Huttner passed away. What people were unaware of was that the parents of both sides had not met prior to the vort, the chassan being from NY and the kallah from LA. When the mother of the chosson saw the mother of the kallah, she realized that the woman had been her kapo in the camps. She would not be able to live with seeing her son marry the daughter of the woman who used to beat her, so she cried to R' Huttner to intervene. And because he was nosei b'ol chavero, he did.

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Sunday Night Suds - New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Future Hop IPA

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

Devotees of the fine craft brews originating from New Belgium are aware that they keep pumping out new varieties in the Voodoo Ranger series. This brew was included in a six pack can box which $11.99 in the better priced stores, but I was able to purchase a single. By my count, this is the fourteenth Voodoo Ranger that New Belgium has released. Previously reviewed Voodoo Ranger brews include:

V2K IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2021/10/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-v2k-ipa.html);

Captain Dynamite IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2021/04/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html);

Higher Plane IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/12/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html);

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).

The newest addition to the Voodoo Ranger series has an interesting set of hops (Lotus, Strata, and Nelson Sauvin). Like all the other Voodoo Ranger IPAs there is some fruitiness, but this seemed more subdued than what I have come to expect from a Voodoo Ranger.

Similarly, although the alcohol content is 8% abv (which is high on the Voodoo Ranger scale) there is no significant alcohol flavor.

This beer was a passable accompaniment with leftover night, but it does not have the hop bite of many of the better beers in the Voodoo Ranger series.

The New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Future Hop 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 Future Hop IPA, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/566568.

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 Vayechi

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 when Ya'akov instructs that he be buried in Maaras HaMachpela he seems to give far too much repetitive detail. In Bereishis 49:29 he asks to be buried in the cave which is in the field of Ephron. In the next pasuk he repeats that he wants to be buried in the cave in the field of Machpela which Avraham bought from Ephron. 

But even after identifying the field twice, he again gives information about the cave (as if his sons would not know which cave he was speaking of) as the Torah states in Bereishis 49:31 that Ya'akov told his sons שָׁ֣מָּה קָֽבְר֞וּ אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֗ם וְאֵת֙ שָׂרָ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ שָׁ֚מָּה קָֽבְר֣וּ אֶת־יִצְחָ֔ק וְאֵ֖ת רִבְקָ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וְשָׁ֥מָּה קָבַ֖רְתִּי אֶת־לֵאָֽה.

Why does Ya'akov need to identify the field twice and then enumerate who was buried there?

As an introduction to the answer, R' Frand quoted the gemara in Kiddushin which teaches the concept that a wife can be nikneh with money which is learned from the story of buying Maaras HaMachpela in which the gemara uses the language Kicha Kicha M'Sdeh Ephron.

R' Frand asked - why do we need to learn the laws of Kiddushin from the purchase of Maaras HaMachpela? He gave two answers - the first of which was lighter than the second.

The first answer R' Frand gave was that the purchase of Maaras HaMachpela is much like a marriage - each one thinks they are getting the better deal. When Ephron sold the cave, he said to himself - I got 400 shekel for a field which cannot even be planted, its got a cave in the middle of it!

Meanwhile, Avraham said to himself - I got the cave where Adam & Chava were buried and I and my progeny will use it for many important burials, and I only paid 400 shekel! I got the better end of the deal.

But then R' Frand said a second answer which was much deeper. He quoted the sheva brochos in which we say Sameach Tisamach Reim HaAhuvim. He noted that the word Reim comes from Teruah which is the broken sound of the shofar. He cited the ma'amar chazal that 40 days before an embryo is formed a bas kol announces who will marry whom. At that point, the two neshamos are together in Gan Eden and then they become separated. It is for this reason that the gemara says that it is the way of a man to return for his wife - because he is looking for what was lost from his soul at the time he was born. This is Reim HaAhuvim - what was once together had been broken and was now reunited.

When one of the spouses predeceases the other, there is a separation again and only in death are they reunited. This was Ya'akov's message in Bereishis 49:31 by spelling out each husband and wife who were buried in Maaras HaMachpela - being buried together is the reunification after having been separated by death.

This is why we learn the concept of the kinyan kesef of marriage from Ephron - just like the marriage is a reunification of what had been separated souls, so too when they are buried together, the souls are reunited.

As a post script to the vort, R' Frand mentioned that the Lithuanian Government is planning a sports complex to be constructed on an old and famous Jewish cemetery and he encouraged his viewers to write to the Lithuanian Government and ask them not to desecrate the cemetery. He mentioned a website which is campaigning against this planned sports project where people can learn more about the cemetery and how they can pressure the Lithuanian not to destroy it - www.savevilna.org.

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 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 began the vort by quoting the Sfas Emes who writes that Parshas Vayigash is a lesson in not giving up hope. It would have been very easy for him to give up, but he tried again, even though he had no new information to try to convince Yosef. 

The Sfas Emes quoted the Gemara in Berachos 10a which discussed the conversation between Yishayah and Chizkiyahu when Chizkiyahu was very sick. The navi told Chizkiyahu that he was going to die in this world and have no life in the world to come, because he did not have children. The gemara then recites the dialogue between the two on this issue, culminating with Yishayahu telling Chizkiyahu - there is nothing that can be done. Chizkiyahu responds - stop your prophesying, I have a kaballah from my grandfather that even if there is a sharp sword on the neck, don't give up that Hashem can help.

The Sfas Emes says - who is the grandfather? It was Yehuda who did not give up and still attempted to convince Yosef to spare Binyamin and that they were not spies.

R' Frand closed the vort by quoting the Ishbitzur Rebbi who discussed the concept of Yiush. A person who loses an object and is Miyaish - anyone else can claim and keep the object. How does this work? If a person does not lose hope he still has a connection to the object, even if it is not with him. As a result, no one else can claim the object. 

So too if a person is ill. If that person still has hope, he has a connection to the refuah, even if the medicine is not yet there or not yet available. But if the person gives up hope, he loses the connection to the cure.

R' Frand said a second vort based on Yosef's revelation to his brothers and his sending ten donkeys loaded with provisions to his father. 

He quoted the Orach Chaim who explains that he told the brothers when he exposed his identity that I am Yosef and I will not take retribution against you, he was saying to them - don't worry about all that happened, I am Ok with it. But with all that Yosef suffered, how could he have had this mindset?

He answered by quoting the Maharal on the pasuk in Bereishis 45:23 וּלְאָבִ֞יו שָׁלַ֤ח כְּזֹאת֙ עֲשָׂרָ֣ה חֲמֹרִ֔ים נֹֽשְׂאִ֖ים מִטּ֣וּב מִצְרָ֑יִם. The Maharal explains that the ten donkeys were a message from Yosef to his father to not be upset at his brothers because they were acting just like donkeys. When you put something on a donkey, he does not know what he is carrying or why it is carrying it. The donkey just carries what was put on its back until it gets to the destination and is unloaded.

In so doing, Yosef was saying to his father - the brothers were just like the donkeys. They were following a script which set forth how you and your sons were supposed to come down to Egypt.

This is how Yosef could say that he had no qualms with his brothers - he recognized that it was all from Hashem.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Mikeitz

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 Bereishis 42:18, Yosef tells his brothers וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֤ם יוֹסֵף֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֔י זֹ֥את עֲשׂ֖וּ וִֽחְי֑וּ אֶת־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים אֲנִ֥י יָרֵֽא.

Rabbi Frand quoted a Medrash Rabbah which states that everyone should try be a Yirei Hashem. The Medrash identifies certain people who were G-d fearing and in so doing mentions Yosef. 

Rabbi Frand then asked, but where do we see that Yosef was actually G-d fearing?

In answering the question, Rabbi Frand introduced the Yalkut Shemoni on Yechezkel which tells of how when Chananyah, Mishael & Azarya left the fiery furnace unscathed, Nebuchadnezzar wanted to say praises to Hashem and would have written his own, but an angel came and smacked him on the mouth and in so doing stopped him from praising Hashem. The Yalkut further writes that had Nebuchadnezzar written his praises of Hashem, they would have dwarfed Dovid's.

R' Frand next quoted R' Shabsai Yudelvitz who asked - why did the angel need to stop Nebuchadnezzar? He answered that it is easy to praise Hashem when things are good. It is much harder to do so when life is difficult. Nebuchadnezzar lived in the lap of luxury, so he was tested to see if he would still be willing to praise Hashem if his plans went awry.

Dovid HaMelech on the other hand had a much more difficult life. He was detested by his brothers and King Saul sought to kill him many times. And then after becoming king, his own son Abshalom rebelled against him and drove him out of Jerusalem.

And nonetheless, Dovid praised Hashem, even from the depths.

R' Frand tied the vort together by quoting the Ksav Sofer who writes that this was the reason why Yosef was able to say that he was a Yirei Hashem. Even when life was hard, he was able to recognize and praise Hashem.

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 - Samuel Adams Jack-O Pumpkin Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Samuel Adams Jack-O Pumpkin Ale.

Since Thanksgiving means turkey and pumpkin pie, its only fitting that the post Thanksgiving post include a new pumpkin beer.

This beer was included in the Samuel Adams "Sweater Weather" fall mixed box. The pack includes three bottles of each style, including the Boston Lager (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/04/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-boston.html); Octoberfest (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2018/10/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams.html); Festbier (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2021/10/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-festbier.html) and the Jack-O Pumpkin Ale. It is also sold in twelve packs cans, but I would not recommend buying a twelve pack of this beer.

This is not my first Samuel Adams pumpkin beer as I have previously tried the Pumpkin Batch (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2015/11/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-pumpkin.html) and 20 Pounds of Pumpkin (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/12/sunday-night-suds-20-pounds-of-pumpkin.html). 

Sad to say, this pumpkin beer does not stack up well with the prior iterations of Samuel Adams pumpkin beer. The flavor is quite weak and there is more spice (cinnamon & nutmeg) than pumpkin flavor. But besides lacking pumpkin flavor, the beer does not have any form of ale backbone and it seems to be more of a lager with spice than an ale. Not surprisingly the beer is only 4.4% abv.

The Jack-O Pumpkin Ale is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K and has a Star-K certification mark on the label. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link - https://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/499195.

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 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 began tonight's vort by quoting the Gemara in Sotah which discusses Aishes Potiphar's attempts to seduce Yosef. The Gemara mentions a dispute between Rav and Shmuel on the pasuk in Bereishis 39:11 in which the Torah states וַיָּבֹ֥א הַבַּ֖יְתָה לַֽעֲשׂ֣וֹת מְלַאכְתּ֑וֹ. One opinion is that Yosef arrived to do his work, while the other opinion is that he went to attend to his needs. The Gemara then continues that at this juncture, the image of Ya'akov appeared before Yosef and he said to him - all the tribes will be on the breastplate of the Kohain Gadol, but not you if you engage in relations with her.

R' Frand then asked his first question - how is it that Yosef came to the house with the intention of being with Aishes Potiphar? And if this was his intent, the Torah would have written it explicitly!

R' Frand next quoted the Maharal Bach who expanded on the question. He noted the famous concept that Hashem does not judge us for thinking about a sin if we don't come to act upon our thoughts. So why is the Gemara publicly revealing what Yosef's intention was?

R' Frand followed this up with a question which he said has been bothering him for years. Why do we call him Yosef HaTzaddik based on his refraining from being with her? He had the image of his father in front of him and he was speaking to Yosef!

R' Frand quoted the Gra who in turn cited the Gemara in Sukkah 52 which states that every day, a person Yetzer Hara rises up against him and wants to bring him down. The Gemara quotes a pasuk to support this, and the pasuk ends with the statement that if Hashem does not help us, we would not be able to beat the Yetzer Hara. This statement is echoed in the Gemara, but why is it mentioned again? The Gra explains that the assistance comes when a person tries his hardest to beat the Yezter Hara but is about to fail...at that point Hashem steps in to help him.

This is why the Gemara records that Yosef went to attend to his needs. He had fought her day after day after day and she tried to seduce him so many times. When he finally could not fight anymore, that was when the image of his father appeared, because Hashem saw that he could not fight anymore.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayishlach

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 Bereishis 32:11, the Torah recounts Ya'akov stating קָטֹ֜נְתִּי מִכֹּ֤ל הַֽחֲסָדִים֙ וּמִכָּל־הָ֣אֱמֶ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִׂ֖יתָ אֶת־עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ.

R' Frand quoted a Sefer by R' Hadar Margolin which states that קָטֹ֜נְתִּי is found in some Chumashim with a "Revi'i'" as the note instead of the more prevalent "Azla Geresh." 

R' Frand remarked that he had looked in a number of Chumashim and could not find one with a Revi'i, so he called a friend who is an expert Ba'al Koreh. His friend (whose name I did not catch) said that the Aleppo Codex which is rumored to have been written by Ezra HaSofer and at one point was utilized by the Rambam, has a Revi'i as the note.

But what is the difference between the two notes? R' Frand quoted R' Margolin's sefer which described a fundamental difference which can be tracked through many sources.

Rashi states that Ya'akov's expression of קָטֹ֜נְתִּי meant that he at one time had many zechuyos, but they had been "spent" and now he did not feel that he enough to warrant being saved.

The Ramban takes issue with Rashi's explanation and instead explains that Ya'akov was saying that he was unworthy of all the good things which had occurred. In so doing, the Ramban quoted Bereishis Rabbah in which R' Abba said that Ya'akov had said "Eini K'Dai" - I am not worthy.

R' Frand noted that even though the Ramban quoted R' Abba, there was another opinion in the Medrash - R' Levi - who explained that Ya'akov was stating - I used to be worthy, but I have since lost my zechuyos.

R' Frand then tracked the same machlokes to a Gemara in Sotah 5b which records a dispute as to whether a Talmid Chocham should have ga'ava. One opinion states that he should have ga'ava - specifically one eighth of one eighth. R' Frand quoted the famous opinion of the Gra that this calculation comes from the קָטֹ֜נְתִּי which is the beginning of the eight pasuk of the eight parsha. 

However, there is another opinion in the Gemara that a Talmid Chocham should never display ga'ava.

R' Frand remarked that this tracks on the same overall machlokes - either a person should say Eini Kidai - I am not worthy, or he can have a small amount of ga'ava.

R' Frand said the actual notes show both schools of thought. The Azla Geresh is a note which goes upward, showing some level of ga'ava. Meanwhile the Revi'i sinks lower, as if to say Eini Kidai - I was never worthy.

R' Frand closed the vort by quoting his Rosh Yeshiva who gave a "mashal" that a person has two pockets in his suit - one is for the side of B'shvili Nivra HaOlam - the world was created for me. But the other side is for Anochi Afar V'Efer - I am nothing. A person needs to have his hands in both pockets.

R' Frand then told a story from the sefer about a grandfather who gave a speech at his grandson's Siyum HaShas. The grandfather said that he was born in Russia and that on the day of his bris, ten men got together to drink vodka and play cards. When they were sure that the KGB was not around, they stopped playing cards and had the bris. Then they went back to drinking vodka and playing cards.

The grandfather said - do you think when they said that I should grow "L'Torah U'Lchuppah U'L'Maasim Tovim" - did they really think that was possible? Back in Russia they were just hoping that I would marry a Jew. And now I have a grandson who finished Shas - Eini Kidai!

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayeitzei

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 began the vort by quoting Rashi on the pasuk in Bereishis 29:25 - וַיְהִ֣י בַבֹּ֔קֶר וְהִנֵּה־הִ֖וא לֵאָ֑ה in which Rashi quotes the Medrash that Rochel gave the signs to Leah so that Leah would not be embarrassed when Ya'akov realized that he had married Leah instead of Rochel.

R' Frand then quoted the Gemara in Megillah 13b in which the Gemara states that as a reward for the Tznius of Rochel, she was zoche to have Shaul HaMelech as a descendant.

R' Frand said that this Gemara has bothered him for a long time. We see that what Rochel did was an act of chessed as she saved her sister from humiliation. In fact, there is a famous Medrash on Eicha which underscores the act of chessed. In this oft quoted Medrash, the patriarchs individually prayed that Hashem would end the galus. This began with Avraham praying and saying that in the z'chus of his sacrificing Yitzchak, Hashem should end the galus and Hashem said, no. Yitzchak then prayed and said that the galus should end in the z'chus that he did not challenge his father over the akeidah and Hashem said, no. Ya'akov too prayed and asked for the end of galus in the z'chus of his actions in the house of Lavan and Hashem said, no. Even Moshe prayed and asked that the galus end in the z'chus that he led the Jews in the desert for 40 years and Hashem said, no. Until Rochel prayed and said that the galus should end in the z'chus that she gave her sister the signs and helped her trick Ya'akov so that Leah would not be embarrassed, and for this Hashem agreed that there would be an end.

So while its clear that Rochel showed kindness to her sister, where is the Tzinius component?

Before answering the question, R' Frand quoted one more pasuk in the parsha. After Rochel asked Leah for the dudaim that Reuven found, Leah says to Rochel in 30:15 - וַתֹּ֣אמֶר לָ֗הּ הַֽמְעַט֙ קַחְתֵּ֣ךְ אֶת־אִישִׁ֔י וְלָקַ֕חַת גַּ֥ם אֶת־דּֽוּדָאֵ֖י בְּנִ֑י. R' Frand was bothered by this pasuk as how can Leah have the temerity to say to Rochel that she had taken Leah's husband. Didn't Leah know that Ya'akov was originally supposed to marry Rochel?

R' Frand quoted the sefer Ohr Reuven which offers an incredible insight into what happened before the first wedding night. It is a well known Medrash that the signs were actually halachos - Ya'akov taught Rochel the halachos of Niddah, Challah and Hadlakas HaNer. The Ohr Reuven writes that when Ya'akov taught these halachos to Rochel it was not meant to be a sign to avoid Lavan's trickery. Rather, Yaa'kov said to Rochel - these are important halachos that a Jewish woman must know. On the night we are to marry, I will test you on these halachos. If you pass, we will go forward with the wedding.

Following this event, Rochel taught the halachos to Leah and told her - one day you will get married and it is important that you know these halachos. She did not tell Leah that Ya'akov had said that he would test her on them. All that Leah knew was that these were important halachos to learn. And on the wedding night, she aced the test, albeit without knowing that these halachos were meant to be Rochel's quiz. This was the tznius of Rochel, she passed the information on to Leah without Leah even knowing that this was meant for Rochel.

This is also why Leah was able to say with a straight face that Rochel had taken her husband. Leah never knew that Rochel was to be the first wife. All she knew was that her father told her that she was marrying Ya'akov and that she passed the quiz.

R' Frand closed the vort by reiterating a thought from Kelem that he had said in his Teshuva Derasha - there is no comparison between a mitzva done in public and the same mitzva done privately that no one knows about.

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Sunday Night Suds - Blue Moon Moon Haze

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Blue Moon's Moon Haze Pale Ale.

This is the second new beer introduced by Blue Moon this year (the other being the Honey Daze, reviewed here - https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2021/06/sunday-night-suds-blue-moon-honey-daze.html).

This beer represents an interesting move for Blue Moon as all of their beers that I can recall trying are variations on a wheat beer and this is a Pale Ale. That's not to say that there is no similarity in the flavor to the flagship Blue Moon Wheat Beer as the addition of the dried oranges to the brew process evokes some thoughts of the original Blue Moon.

Having said that, this beer is not just a Pale Ale with orange flavoring. There is some bitterness and pine which gives the beer a nice bite. There is also good carbonation and foam which smells sweet, but has the right amount of bitter in it as well. Although the beer is 5.7% abv, the alcohol flavor is not very prominent and overall the beer is well balanced.

This beer is available in six and twelve packs (cans only) and has not yet been included in any Blue Moon variety pack. If you like fruit, hazy pale ales, I would recommend picking up a six or twelve pack of this brew.

Blue Moon Moon Haze is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, as is every other current variety of beer produced by Blue Moon. For the experts take on this beer, please click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/306/567036.

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 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.

Within the dialogue between Yitzchak and Ya'akov prior to the giving of the beracha, there is an interesting pasuk (Bereishis 27:20) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יִצְחָק֙ אֶל־בְּנ֔וֹ מַה־זֶּ֛ה מִהַ֥רְתָּ לִמְצֹ֖א בְּנִ֑י וַיֹּ֕אמֶר כִּ֥י הִקְרָ֛ה יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ לְפָנָֽי. In this pasuk, Yitzchak asks Ya'akov, "how is it that you brought me food so quickly " and Ya'akov responds "because Hashem your G-d has made it ready for me." 

R' Frand quoted the Zera Shimshon which asked - why did Ya'akov say to Yitzchak and say that Hashem was responsible for him finding food so quickly?  He did not find the food, he got it from his mother's kitchen!

The Zera Shimshon answered that Ya'akov was accurate in his response - the finding of the food was with the help of Hashem, as it was Yad Hashem that he was able to obtain the food from Rivka's kitchen while Esav was out hunting in the fields.

R' Frand said that this is a lesson to us about how we approach things. A person can be running late for a meeting and then get all the green lights and show up early. He can say "I made all the lights" ... or he can say "B'Ezras Hashem, all the lights turned green for me." 

R' Frand quoted a story from R' Meilech Biederman about a man who made a speech at the Sheva Berachos after the marriage of his fifth and final son. The man said "I have married off five sons and Hashem has not helped me one iota." 

The man's children were aghast...surely their father was drunk, or otherwise confused.

The man responded to their quizzical looks - "I meant what I said. Hashem did not help me, He did it all himself!" Its not Siyata D'Shmaya if it is all from him.

R' Frand closed the vort by telling a story from the Chofetz Chaim. A wagon driver once came to him and cried about how his horse had died and now he had no way to make a living. The Chofetz Chaim said to him - you should cry if you think that the horse gave you a way to make a living! Your parnasah comes from Hashem, not from the horse. And Hashem can give you another horse or another way to make a parnasah.

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Sunday Night Suds - Jailbreak Brewing SLF Hazy IPA

 

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Jailbreak Brewing's Special Lady Friend Hazy IPA.

On a recent trip to Maryland I stopped off at a Total Wine & Liquor to pick up some brews from the good folks at Jailbreak Brewing in Laurel, Maryland. I had a chance to visit the brewery and its tap room and came away very impressed (see post here for my thoughts on my visit back in 2015 - https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2015/01/sunday-night-suds-jailbreak-brewing-big.html).

If you read the LOC on the Star-K website you will see that there are many interesting varieties of Jailbreak beers, including some that are Star-D such as the Carrot Cake Conspiracy and Chocolate Coconut Porter. Unfortunately, most of the interesting brews are only available on site or by specialty keg order and even their mainstream canned brews cannot be found outside of the Beltway area.

The Special Lady Friend is bursting with juice and is reminiscent of pomelo. The beer gets its flavor from the Mosaic hops, but also has interesting spice notes which come from the "experimentation with various yeasts." (I don't get to see much of the Jailbreak in NY, so I don't know much about the experimental beers that the Jailbreak website is referring to). Still the 7% abv is not very present and there is not an overwhelming alcohol flavor. Although I had this beer after dinner tonight, I suspect that it would go well with spicy meat and poultry dishes.

Jailbreak Brewing Special Lady Friend IPA is certified kosher by the Star-K. To see the LOC for Jailbreak - click here https://api.star-k.org/api/Loc/LoadLoc/SEEDVZ8M (this will open in a new tab). For the experts take on this beer, please click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34426/383975/.

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).

Finally, 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 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.

Rabbi Frand began the vort by quoting Bereishis 24:5 wherein the Torah states that Eliezer asked Avraham -  אוּלַי֙ לֹֽא־תֹאבֶ֣ה הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה לָלֶ֥כֶת אַֽחֲרַ֖י אֶל־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את - maybe she won't go with me? However the Torah spells the word אוּלַי֙ without the Vuv. Rashi comments that it is spelled that way because Eliezer had a daughter and he had hoped that Yitzchak would marry her. Avraham put those dreams to rest, telling Eliezer in no uncertain terms that since Eliezer came from Canaan he was cursed and his daughter could not wed Yitzchak who was blessed.

However, despite this gut punch, Eliezer quickly went about his way to find a bride for Yitzchak. 

R' Frand quoted the sefer Arugas HaBosem which ties this story into a Gemara in Chullin which states that each creature was asked whether it accepted its form before it was created. The elephant was asked - would you like to be an elephant and he accepted it. So did the cockroach (for reasons I can't fathom).

Much in the same way, the earth and the heavens accepted their roles when Hashem created them. This can be seen in the word for earth being Eretz - it has the word Ratz (run) as the earth ran to do what Hashem asked it to do.

The Arugas HaBosem writes that Eliezer learned from the earth and quickly ran to perform his assigned task. This tie in can be seen numerous times in the parsha. By example when Eliezer is sworn by Avraham in Bereishis 24:3, wherein it states וְאַשְׁבִּ֣יעֲךָ֔ בַּֽיהֹוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וֵֽאלֹהֵ֖י הָאָ֑רֶץ. Later in the parsha where it states that Eliezer came to the well, Rashi teaches that the Eretz jumped for him.

R' Frand also quoted a pasuk from Tehillim which states that Hashem's eyes are on the Ne'emanei HaAretz. It does not call them the Tzadikim, but those of the land who will honestly do Hashem's work. 

R' Frand remarked that many times a person has a belief of what their tafkid should be - a law student may want to be a Supreme Court Judge, but winds up hearing disability appeals. A student in Beis Medrash may want to be a Rosh Yeshiva, but instead is a 6th grade Rebbi. The message is that Hashem places us where we belong and we need to run to do our mission, even if it is not glamorous, or what we dreamed our job would be.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayera

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 Bereishis 18:12 the Torah states וַתִּצְחַ֥ק שָׂרָ֖ה בְּקִרְבָּ֣הּ לֵאמֹ֑ר אַֽחֲרֵ֤י בְלֹתִי֙ הָֽיְתָה־לִּ֣י עֶדְנָ֔ה וַֽאדֹנִ֖י זָקֵֽן - Sarah laughed inside upon hearing that she would have a child. One of the classic questions about this incident is why did Sarah laugh?

The Seforno explains that Sarah did not know that she was hearing an angel speak. Instead, she thought that she was hearing the blessing of a Navi and she did not think that the blessing of a Navi was enough for her to become pregnant at the age of 90 as such a miracle was akin to Techiyas HaMeisim. Sarah then said to herself - the only way that a person of my age could become pregnant is through prayer - my own prayers. 

(R' Frand then said as an aside that if you were ask the average person, or even if you were to ask him which prayer was more powerful - the prayer or a Navi or the prayer of the person asking, he would say - the prayer of the Navi).

R' Frand then contrasted this with the prayers of Hagar and Yishmael later in the parsha. The Torah states in Bereishis 21:17 וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע אֱלֹהִים֘ אֶת־ק֣וֹל הַנַּ֒עַר֒ וַיִּקְרָא֩ מַלְאַ֨ךְ אֱלֹהִ֤ים | אֶל־הָגָר֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר לָ֖הּ מַה־לָּ֣ךְ הָגָ֑ר אַל־תִּ֣ירְאִ֔י כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֧ע אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶל־ק֥וֹל הַנַּ֖עַר בַּֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר הוּא־שָֽׁם . In this incident, Hashem listened to the prayer of Yishmael and not Hagar and at this time, Hagar was righteous and Yishmael was already a Rasha. Rashi explains that the power of tefillah by a sick person about himself is more powerful than the power of an outsider.

It was for this reason that Sarah laughed - she knew that her own prayers would be more powerful than the blessing of the Navi (of course not knowing that the speaker was an angel relaying Hashem's word and not simply a Navi giving a beracha).

R' Frand then tied this into the minhag that a person should do "Atifas Yishmaelim" when he puts on a Tallis and makes a beracha - this constitutes wrapping the Tallis around the head with only the eyes showing.

But did you ever wonder why its called Atifas Yishmaelim? Why do we mention him of all people?

R' Frand answered by quoting R' Meilech Beiderman who explains that if a person believes that Hashem will not listen to his prayer because he is not a tzaddik, he can draw strength from the fact that Hashem heard Yishmael's prayers ... and he was a Rasha. 

R' Frand next quoted a Gemara in the end of Bava Basra which states that there were not Yamim Tovim for the Jews as festive as Yom Kippur and the 15th of Av. It us understood why Yom Kippur, since the Jews receive forgiveness on that date, but why the 15th of Av? It is because the Jews stopped dying in the desert on the 15th of Av in year 40. 

The Gemara relates that every year on the eve of Tisha B'Av those who were over 20 at the time of the Sin of the Meraglim would dig their own graves and lie in them. Every year, 15,000 people would not get up the next day and the graves would be filled in. But in year 40, they all woke up the next day...but they thought they must have miscalculated the date. So on the night of the 10th they went back into their graves and then again, they woke up the next morning. This continued every night until the 15th when they saw the full moon and realized that they were not going to die in the desert.

R' Frand quoted R' Chatzkel Levenstein who explains that every year before the people entered their graves, they prayed that they would get up the next morning, but the prayers were no 100% sincere. This is because each year they could look at someone else and say - he is more deserving to die than me. But in year 40, only 15,000 remained. They knew that they were the last of the people who had cried at the sin of the Meraglim and so they davened with 100% sincerity. This tefillah of the people for themselves was worthy of being answered.

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Sunday Night Suds - New Belgium V2K IPA

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium V2K IPA.

Devotees of the fine craft brews originating from New Belgium are aware that they keep pumping out new varieties in the Voodoo Ranger series. This brew was included in a six pack can box which $11.99 in the better priced stores, but I was able to purchase a single. By my count, this is the thirteenth Voodoo Ranger that New Belgium has released. Previously reviewed Voodoo Ranger brews include:

Captain Dynamite IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2021/04/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html);

Higher Plane IPA (reviewed at https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/12/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html);

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).

The newest addition to the Voodoo Ranger series is a hop forward, major juicy IPA. The hop bite comes from Cascade, Centennial, Citra and Simcoe. The malts are interesting because in addition to the Pale and Caramel malts, there are also White Wheat and Malted Oats. 

The juiciness of the IPA is a cross between grapefruit and some other citrus that I can't put my finger on. The alcohol content is only 6.8% abv which is low on the Voodoo Ranger scale, but there is a decent alcohol flavor which I presumed that if I had more than one of, I would not be in driving condition.

This beer went well with stir fry, but the flavor profile would be even better with charred steak.

The New Belgium Voodoo Ranger V2K 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 V2K IPA, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/547062.

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 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 Bereishis 12:8 the Torah states וַיַּעְתֵּ֨ק מִשָּׁ֜ם הָהָ֗רָה מִקֶּ֛דֶם לְבֵֽית־אֵ֖ל וַיֵּ֣ט אָֽהֳלֹ֑ה. Rashi explains the Kri-Kesiv (as אָֽהֳלֹ֑ה is actually pronounced as if it ended with a Vuv) by stating that Avraham first pitched his wife tent (which would end in a Heh) before pitching his own tent.

R' Frand quipped that when he travels in the car he has a similar minhag. He always puts his wife suit bag on top of his own, because if his suit gets wrinkled no one will notice, but if his wife's dress gets wrinkled she is going to need an iron.

R' Frand quoted R' Eliyahu Mizrachi who explains that this Rashi is unique in that in no other place does Rashi put the Kri before the Kesiv. He explains that Rashi derived this from the Gemara in Kesuvos which teaches that a man is obligated to put his wife's honor ahead of his own. 

R' Frand noted that there is an additional Gemara in Kesuvos which teaches that if a man wants to beome rich, he should honor his wife. R' Frand tied this into the story of Avraham leaving Egypt laden with livestock, silver and gold as discussed in Bereishis 13:1-3. Rashi comments on the words וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ֙ לְמַסָּעָ֔יו in Bereishis 13:3 that when Avraham went down to Egypt he was so poor that he had to borrow money to get there, but on the way back he stopped off at each inn to repay them. Why? Because since he honored his wife, he became wealthy and could now pay them back.

R' Frand said a second vort on the dialogue between Lot and Avraham. The Torah writes in Bereishis 13:7 that there was a  רִ֗יב between Avraham's shepherds and Lot's. But in the following pasuk, Avraham tells Lot אַל־נָ֨א תְהִ֤י מְרִיבָה֙ בֵּינִ֣י וּבֵינֶ֔ךָ וּבֵ֥ין רֹעַ֖י וּבֵ֣ין רֹעֶ֑יךָ. Why did he use a different form of the word?

R' Frand quoted the Shelah who explains that a fight can be just a small quarrel, but if left alone, it can fester and grow to become an all out war. Avraham did not want the quarrelling between his shepherds and Lot's to grow into a war between them, so he offered to go in whatever direction was the opposite that Lot went. In so doing, he even offered to go to the north if Lot wanted to go to South, although this would have meant that he would not have been able to go to Har Habayis.

R' Frand remarked that we see from this that sometimes its better to give up divrei kedusha vs getting into a fight. He invoked the classic scenario where people argue over getting the Amud (or Maftir) when multiple people have yahrtzeit. Better to give up the kibud and honor the niftar, than to cause pain and strife.

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Early Friday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Noach

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha last evening. [Due to the beautiful wedding of the young talmudical scholar's sister last evening and construction on the Throggs Neck Bridge and the Southern State Parkway, we only got home on the wrong side of midnight]. 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 8:11, the Torah states וַתָּבֹ֨א אֵלָ֤יו הַיּוֹנָה֙ לְעֵ֣ת עֶ֔רֶב וְהִנֵּ֥ה עֲלֵה־זַ֖יִת טָרָ֣ף בְּפִ֑יהָ - when the dove returned there was an olive leaf in its mouth. R' Frand quoted the Medrash Tanchuma in Tezaveh which states - just as the dove brought light to the world, so should the Jews bring light to the world by lighting the Menorah with olive oil.

But why does the Medrash describe what the dove did as "bringing light to the world?" It might have been hope, or a sign of life, but why light? 

R' Frand answered by quoting the Maharal Diskin who cites a Gemara in Menachos which writes that the olive leaf has a special quality - it is extraordinarily strong - its leaves don't fall off in wind or rain. Additionally, olive leaves don't sink - they float on the water and don't disintegrate. The Maharal Diskin explains that when the dove brought the leaf back, he was teaching a lesson - Hashem created the olive leaves this way so that when Noach sent the dove out after the flood there would be something for the dove to eat. The leaf was created this way in Bereishis so that the dove would have food. This is the light - Hashem created the olive leaf this way so that the dove could teach Noach that Hashem prepared the world so that it could give every living creature what it needs.

R' Frand quoted R' Melech Biderman who recounted a story about a boy in Williamsburg on a fire escape who was building a sukkah when the ladder started to shake and he grabbed a pole from the fire escape, but it cracked and he fell six stories to the ground. The boy's mother immediately called Hatzalah, but when they came to the yard, the boy got up and walked on his own. It turned out that the building's committee had hired someone to trim the shrubs and trees earlier. They had been adamant that the worker clean up the debris and that they would not pay him until he finished the job.

He never cleared away the debris...and that was what the boy fell on. Hashem prepares what we need, even before we know it!

R' Frand then said another vort based on the word טָרָ֣ף which Rashi translates as the dove grabbed it. R' Frand quoted the Modjitzer Rebbi who asks - why not translate it as food, as טָרָ֣ף also means this? He answers this that although the dove taught Noach a lesson that Hashem prepares in advance, the dove did not get it. Why did she grab bitter olive leaves, instead of looking for something good to eat? She looked around for something to eat and grabbed this, but she could have just eaten something better! 

R' Frand quoted the Kotzsker Rebbi who cites a gemara in Bava Metzia about two people who find an object - one jumps and falls on it and the other picks it up afterwards. We learn that halachically it belongs to the other. The Kotzsker explains the reason why in a drush - if you find something, you should believe that Hashem gave it to you for a purpose and take the time to pick it up. By falling on it, you show that you are worried that you are not going to get it, therefore the person who does pick it up in the normal fashion becomes the owner. 

R' Frand tied this into a set of pesukim in the end of Bereishis wherein it states that Noach lived 500 years before he had children. All the others who came before him had children when they were "young", but Noach who was a tzaddik did not have children for many years. Why? Because if they were born many years before, Noach would not have been able to protect them from becoming like all the other people who died in the flood. Because they were born when Noach was already 500, he was able to prevent that from taking place.

R' Frand closed by saying that Hashem prepares everything for people in advance and even if it may seem bitter at the time, it is what we need.

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 - Samuel Adams Festbier Lager

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Samuel Adams Festbier Lager.

The Festbier Lager is the kid on the block included in the Samuel Adams "Sweater Weather" fall mixed box. The pack includes three bottles of each style, including the Boston Lager (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/04/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-boston.html); Octoberfest (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2018/10/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams.html) and the Jack-O Pumpkin Ale.

Much to my chagrin, the Young Rabbinical Scholar has become partial towards the unflavored beers, but at least he appreciates the finer beers beyond macrolagers. As such it was not a surprise that he liked the Festbier when we served at multiple Shabbos meals. Although the beer is a lager, there are strong malt notes with a bit of spice. There also is a not unwelcomed alcohol flavor, possibly from the 5.8% abv. But even with the higher alcohol content, this beer has the typical lager color and works well with cholent. If you pick up, feel free to post your pairings in the comments below.

The Festbier Lager is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K and has a Star-K certification mark on the label. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link - https://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/562205.

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 Bereishis

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.

The first vort that Rabbi Frand said this evening related to the emergence of the plant growth in the second perek of the parsha. In Bereishis 2:5 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 . From the plain language of the pasuk we see that Hashem did not cause the plants to emerge because there had not yet been rain and there was no man to work the land.

Rashi explains that the reason that the rain had not fallen (triggering plant growth) was because man did not realize that rain was needed for growth and had not prayed to Hashem for the rain to fall.

R' Frand said that there is an important lesson from this Rashi - something may be destined to occur, but Hashem will not bring it about until the person prays for it. Hashem created the world and knew that the plants could not grow without rain, but He waited until man prayed for the rain, because the power of prayer is needed to unlock the rain.

R' Frand tied this into the concept of shidduchim as well. Although 40 days prior to the creation of the embryo there is a Bas Kol which identifies who that person will be marry, the actual shidduch will not come to fruition without prayer.

R' Frand quoted R' Mordechai Druk (sp?) who notes that if a person forgot to say Mashiv HaRuach U'Morid HaGeshem, he must repeat Shemoneh Esreh. However, if a person forgets Ya'aleh V'Yavo in certain prayers he is not required to repeat them. Why not? Because rain is tied to prayer and it will only come if it is prayed for.

R' Frand also quoted the Maharal in Gur Aryeh, who writes that it is forbidden to do something for someone else if that person will not recognize and thank the do-er. Hashem did not bring the rain before man was created, because until man recognized Hashem and asked for the rain, there was no reason to send it.

R' Frand said a second vort in connection with the grant of clothing to Adam and Chava in Bereishis 3:23 - וַיַּ֩עַשׂ֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים לְאָדָ֧ם וּלְאִשְׁתּ֛וֹ כָּתְנ֥וֹת ע֖וֹר וַיַּלְבִּשֵֽׁם. R' Frand noted that the gift of clothing to Adam and Chava after they (and the snake and the ground) were told their respective curses. But the clothing was not simply material. There are many medrashim about the clothes, including that the word ע֖וֹר actually refers to clothing made of the hidden light, or that the clothes had special properties which allowed Esav to hunt while drawing the animals to him. 

But even beyond the clothing itself, the pasuk notes that Hashem dressed Adam and Chava Himself. While Hashem may have felt a need to give them clothes after they recognized their nakedness, why did He personally dress them?

R' Frand answered that the key is in the pasuk before the clothes are given in which the Torah writes וַיִּקְרָ֧א הָֽאָדָ֛ם שֵׁ֥ם אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ חַוָּ֑ה כִּ֛י הִ֥וא הָֽיְתָ֖ה אֵ֥ם כָּל־חָֽי - Adam called her Chava because she was the mother of life. R' Frand quipped that Adam could have called her death, because prior to her sin there was no death in the world. However, Adam did not get angry at Chava for her mistake (as most men would do if a spouse made a doozy of a mistake like this). 

When Hashem saw that Adam gave his wife Chizuk rather than getting angry at her, Hashem personally bestowed the miraculous clothes on them.

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Erev Yom Kippur's Thoughts on Teshuva aka the Second Installment of R' Frand's Teshuva Derasha 5782

This year unfortunately R' Frand did not give his Teshuva Derasha live from Baltimore and he was hospitalized earlier in the week. Although I did hear that he has been discharged from the hospital, I would ask my readers to have him in mind during their m'sheberach prayers (Yissocher Dov Ben Chaya Bracha). I attepted to summarize the first portion of it in Tuesday's post and am adding a bit more today. As in years past, this is  not a verbatim transcript of an hour plus long shiur, but I have attempted to capture many of the thoughts to the best of my abilities. Any inconsistencies are the results of my transcription and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

R' Frand asked - how can we see Hashem in our daily lives? He answered by making reference to the Bila'am story from Parshas Balak. Bila'am wanted to curse the Jewish people and knew the exact time that Hashem got angry and attempted to capitalize on that in order to curse the Jews. But every time that he tried, he was unable to do so and his curses came out as blessings. He tried again and again and was oblivious to the fact that he could not succeed. Because each time, Hashem exercised His will (however that is to be understood) and did not get angry. 

But there is more to the story, so to speak. The Jews were completely oblivious to the danger. If you were to ask them what happened during this time, they would say - we sat in the camp, ate manna and learned Torah. They had absolutely no idea that Hashem had saved them. R' Frand quoted the Chassam Sofer who teaches that even Moshe did not know about the incident and he only learned about it through nevuah to write it in the Torah.

The Haftorah of Balak (from Micah) contains a rhetorical statement - what did I do for you? I took you out of Egypt and and sent before you three prophets - Moshe, Aharon and Miriam. Remember what Balak wanted and what Bila'am answered so that you should know the Tzidkus of Hashem.

The Gemara in Berachos elaborates on this, stating that the Jews should know Hashem's tzidkus with them. He did not get mad when Bila'am had attempted to curse the Jews and if He had (G-d forbid) there would be no one left.

R' Frand said think about how many bad things don't happen because of Hashem watching over us. He made reference to the fertilizer explosion which blew up half of Beirut a few years back. Who knows if this prevented an attack with what had been stored at the port, an attack which was avoided because of the Hand of Hashem.

R' Frand quoted R' Sampson Refael Hirsch who noted that when the snakes attacked, it says HaNechashim with a Heh serving as a definite article. Why? Because we needed to know that those snakes were always there, but Hashem prevented them from biting until then.

R' Frand said - the fact that we have a vaccine for COVID now is not because of "warp speed." We need to realize that it was a beracha from Hashem that the scientists were given the wisdom and opportunity to develop the COVID vaccine. He said that when he got vaccinated (by a non-Jewish nurse) he publicly stated Hodo L'Hashem Ki Tov, Ki L'Olam Chasdo.

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Tuesday's Thoughts on Teshuva aka the First Installment of R' Frand's Teshuva Derasha 5782

Tonight R' Frand did not give his Teshuva Derasha live from Baltimore and he was hospitalized earlier in the week. Although I did hear that he has been discharged from the hospital, I would ask my readers to have him in mind during their m'sheberach prayers (Yissocher Dov Ben Chaya Bracha). As TCN had been having some issues with transmission over the last few weeks, they provided a previously recorded version of the Derasha which R' Frand gave for Just One Life on Sunday and I have attempted to summarize the first portion of it in this post. As in years past, this is  not a verbatim transcript of an hour plus long shiur, but I have attempted to capture many of the thoughts to the best of my abilities. Any inconsistencies are the results of my transcription and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

R' Frand began the derasha by quoting a statement from the Ran in the 1300's about a plague that his generation was encountering and R' Frand remarked that it could be equally applicable to the COVID pandemic which the world has been dealing with for the last nineteen months. But beyond the pandemic, the last year has featured other wake up calls, such as 45 people being crushed to death in Meron while visiting on the yahrtzeit of R' Shimon Bar Yochai. And that that this took place on Lag B'Omer - the day that the students of R' Akiva stopped dying, makes this even more difficult to comprehend.

R' Frand remarked that in 2006, R Elyashiv ZT'L used to ask for the names of people who had been killed during the Lebanon war so that he could daven for them. When he was told that a woman died in Meron he could not believe it - how was it that the zechus of Rashbi did not protect her?

But while people could attempt to write this off as safety issue due to overcrowding (wince), two weeks later bleachers collapsed at the Stolin Beis Medrash and two more people were killed. 

And again, people could try to rationalize that the bleachers were only temporary and should not have been used the way they were, but then how do you ignore the tragedy of the building collapse in Surfside? This was an apartment building in the United States, not a third world makeshift structure. People went to sleep thinking they were secure in their beds and were crushed by tons of concrete. R' Frand remarked that he saw a Minchas Chinuch being carried out of the rubble - this is a serious sefer for someone who knows how to learn and underscores that the tragedy took place among frum people.

R' Frand then returned to discuss the COVID pandemic that is hitting worldwide and which we hope will be ending soon with the help of Hashem. R' Frand said that he is not a prophet, but he says that this is a message to us that the world (called Olam) is tied to the word hidden (Ne'elam). Hashem is hidden in nature and we don't see or think about Him when times are good. 

But COVID and Meron and Stolin and Surfside show us that Hashem is involved in the world and that if he does not want something to proceed it will fail.

R' Frand told a Chelm story where the elders were asked- what is more important the moon or the sun? They answered - the moon, because at night it is not light and the moon allows us to see. During the day it is light out and we don't need to depend on the sun.

Much like the people of Chelm, we don't recognize Hashem when things are running well. 

R' Frand told a similar "joke" about a Rabi who went to visit someone dying in the hospital, but could not find a parking space. He said - Hashem if you help me find a spot, I will donate $500 to charity and as soon as he said it a spot opened. He then said - forget it - I found one...without realizing that Hashem was behind it.

I will b'n attempt to summarize more of the derasha in upcoming posts, and wish everyone an easy and meaningful fast.

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 - Leinenkugel's Lemon Haze IPA

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Leinenkugel's Lemon Haze IPA.

I must admit that I generally don't like lemonade added to beer and that I find anything in the Shandy/Radler style to be off-putting.  Still, when I saw a single of this new beer in the beer store, I decided to take a chance on it (especially since the price point was pretty low).

Surprisingly, this beer was not overwhelming lemony, even with the addition of the lemonade. It was not exactly an IPA either, but then again I was not expecting big IPA flavor from Leinenkugel. So what was it? It was a citrusy light beer with some lemon flavor, but not like drinking a bottle of lemonheads. It went decently well with cold leftover schnitzel and red potato salad and I could see enjoying this at a summer bbq or picnic because of the mild flavor. 

Leinenkugel Lemon Haze IPA is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, and has an OU on the can. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/710/507340/.

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 Vayelech

Since Rabbi Frand did not give a shiur tonight due to the fast, I would like to substitute a vort from from R' Shraga Kallus as recorded on torahanytime.com (https://www.torahanytime.com/#/lectures?a=92372). Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to the maggid shiur.

In Parshas Vayelech the Torah has a seemingly dark prediction where Hashem tells Moshe in Devarim 31:16 that after Moshe dies, the Jews will worship the gods of other nations and will abandon Hashem. The Torah then states in 31:17 that Hashem will be angry at the Jews and abandon them and hide His face from them and the Jews will say הֲלֹ֗א עַ֣ל כִּי־אֵ֤ין אֱלֹהַי֙ בְּקִרְבִּ֔י מְצָא֖וּנִי הָֽרָע֥וֹת הָאֵֽלֶּה - is it not because Hashem is not in my midst did these bad things occur. The following pasuk then states וְאָֽנֹכִ֗י הַסְתֵּ֨ר אַסְתִּ֤יר פָּנַי֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא - Hashem says that he will hide His face on that day.

R' Kallus gave a slightly more upbeat version of this based on the Sfas Emes. He explains that the Torah is saying that that there are going to be days when Hashem will hide from us and we will say that we don't feel Hashem. This is the worst sin, because if we say that Hashem is not with us, then He will get angry. The worst thing that can happen is if a Jew says that he does not feel Hashem. Because even when we are suffering, Hashem is with us.

R' Kallus explained that the same way that we need to work on relationships with people that we do see, we need to work on our relationship with Hashem and feel His presence, even when it is not readily apparent.

R' Kallus quoted a gemara in Chaggiga where an apikores gestured to R' Shimon Ben Chananya and he gestured back. The Caesar saw the exchange and asked what was going on. R' Shimon said what the apikores saying to you and what did you say? He responded, the apikores said that Hashem had left us and I responded that He is still here. The Caesar asked the apikores and he said the same thing, so Caesar killed the apikores.

R' Kallus noted the minhag that the Ba'al Shacharis says "HaMelech" from his place and then goes up to daven for the amud. Why? Because a person thinks that he is in a particular difficult situation because of something external that he wishes could be corrected. If only he had different parents, or lived in a different town, or had a different job...A person needs to realize that Hashem puts him in the situation for a reason and that HaMelech = Hashem is with him there.

R' Kallus observed that many people have problems davening because they don't like the tune of the Chazan, or the air conditioning, or the guy who is next to him. But Hashem wants him to be there.

Moshe's message to the Jews is -I know that you are going to fall, but Hashem will be with you anyway, so don't give up and find Hashem with you. 

R' Kallus gave a mashal of a Meshullach who comes to the door. The homeowner answers and asks the Meshullach to give him 2 shekels. The Meshullach smiles because he knows that he is getting 4 shekels. The Meshullach knocks on another door and is asked for 10 shekels. He smiles greater because he knows that he is getting 20. He knocks on a third door and is asked for a 100. Now he beams because he knows that he is getting 200. A Martian viewing this would think this is crazy - he is collecting and instead he is asked for money and he is happy?

R' Kallus explained that this person knows that the more that he is being asked for, the more that he will get back. Hashem is putting us in a situation where we need to work, but we need to know that the more work that we do, the more that we will get back.

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

Thursday's Thoughts on Rosh Hashanah

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on Rosh Hashanah 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 began the vort by noting that the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (33b) states that we learn aspects of Rosh Hashanah from the mother of Sisra. The holiday is called "Yom Teruah" but we don't know what that it is. The Targum calls Teruah - Yevava and the Gemara says we learn Yevava from the mother of Sisra. The pasuk in describing the mother says VaT'Yabev from which we learn that she was crying.

R' Frand quoted the Tosafos in Rosh Hashanah which writes that there is a minhag to blow 100 blasts, although from the Torah one only needs to hear 9 blasts and someone who comes late can fulfil their obligation with hearing 30. But because she cried 100 times, we learn the 100 blasts from her.

But why is she the source of the rule? There are many mothers who were answered on Rosh Hashanah, including Sarah and Chana!

R' Frand answered that this was due to Sisra and his history in battle. He always won (before doing battle with the Jews) and his mother always expected to see his chariot carrying him home...until this time. His mother cried out when what she expected did not happen and R' Frand said that this is the lesson to us - that we should not expect to come out on top simply because we had been judged favorably in the past. R' Frand used the loshon - there is no Chazakah in judgment. Merely because a person has health or wealth, it is not a guaranty, as you never know.

R' Frand quoted the selichos which we say every morning. We say that we are knocking on Hashem's doors like poor people. R' Frand quoted R' Pam who said that we don't know what will be in judgment.

R' Frand also quoted the Satmar Rav who observed that the holiday is "Ba'Keseh" - its the only holiday where the moon is hidden. This natural phenomenon reflects the essence of the day - we don't know.

R' Frand said that every year people ask him after Rosh Hashanah how his holiday was. He always answers - ask me again next Erev Rosh Hashanah, because you just don't know. And if there is one lesson that we can say we learned from 5781 - it's that you just don't know. Look what the world has gone through - there is no one who does not know someone who died in the past year.

[On a personal note, we lost our great Rav - Rabbi Kelemer Z'TL. I would have loved for my son-in-law, aka the Young Rabbinical Scholar, to have met him and talked in learning].

R' Frand then quoted a commercial he had seen in the Wall Street Journal for a cruise which National Geographic is sending people to Antarctica. He said that there is a tag line - The Pandemic Taught us that Our Bucket List has to be Our To Do List. That may be the Wall Street Journal - but the pandemic taught us that we can't take anything for granted.

R' Frand quoted R' Dovid who quoted R' Yisrael Salanter who said that there is a segulah to come out ahead in judgment - it is do for others and to live for others. He said that people in the US, people live for themselves. They "choose" not to have children. He remarked that he reads the obituaries and sees that people have "1 grandchild." This is not living for others.

R' Frand said that there was an article in Mishpacha Magazine which discussed a lack of leadership. R' Frand opined that living for others does not mean that you have to start your own organization. Every town has a chessed organization that needs help and getting involved in an organization like this makes a person more vital.

R' Frand said a vort which I heard previously from R' Mansour about the insert in the davening of Yamin Noraim Shemoneh Esreh - Zochreinu L'Chaim. We ask for life L'Ma'ancha - for Your sake Hashem. R' Frand explained that we are saying - Hashem we are living for You, to be selfless and do for others. And the more that a person does for others, makes him worthy of being matzliach in the judgment. This does not require a person to be the Gadol HaDor - even in one's own family. This makes a person more vital and he can say to Hashem - I am asking for life so that I can do for You.

R' Frand said that IYH we should see the real end of the pandemic and the end of the acts of anti-Semitism and Hashem should bench us to end all of our troubles. Amen.

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