Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Ki Savo

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 Devarim 29:1, wherein the Torah states וַיִּקְרָ֥א משֶׁ֛ה אֶל־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אַתֶּ֣ם רְאִיתֶ֗ם אֵ֣ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר֩ עָשָׂ֨ה יְהֹוָ֤ה לְעֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לְפַרְעֹ֥ה וּלְכָל־עֲבָדָ֖יו וּלְכָל־אַרְצֽוֹ . R' Frand remarked that this was said by Moshe on the last days of his life and perhaps on the last day of his life, as part of his "valedictory address." 

Thereafter, in the next pasuk, Moshe gives a brief summary of some of the events in the desert, before stating in Devarim 29:3 - וְלֹֽא־נָתַן֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה לָכֶ֥ם לֵב֙ לָדַ֔עַת וְעֵינַ֥יִם לִרְא֖וֹת וְאָזְנַ֣יִם לִשְׁמֹ֑עַ עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה. In so doing, Moshe tells the Jews that they did not seem to "get it" (R' Frand's words) until now. But it took until now before Hashem allowed you to understand.

R' Frand made reference to Rashi's pshat on the pasuk, albeit without discussing it. R' Frand noted that immediately after this, Moshe again recites events which occurred in the desert in Devarim 29:4-7. R' Frand quoted R' Weinberger who writes in his sefer Shemen HaTov that the end of this discussion seems to mention an unimportant point - that the land on the other side of the Jordan was given to the two and a half tribes. But this does not rival the defeating Sichon & Og, or the open miracle of having the Manna or that their clothes did not wear out for 40 years. So why is is this mentioned here?

R' Frand noted that no one "popped up" to question why the land on the other side of the Jordan was being given to these tribes. Someone could have argued - maybe we won't successfully conquer all the land on the other side of the Jordan and there won't be enough land for the rest of the tribes. And this was the way that the Jews had behaved for the rest of their time in the desert - they constantly complained and worried that they would be unsuccessful and hearkened back to their time in Egypt.

But not this time. For some reason there was no challenge to Moshe and know he knew that something was different and that they finally "got it" - as mentioned in 29:3 - I see that Hashem has given you the ability to trust Him.

R' Frand said that he has found this more meaningful to him, because as he has gotten older, he sees more of the Yad Hashem. He mentioned a conversation he had with R' Weinberg ZTL when he was a kollel man in Toronto. He asked R' Weinberg - what if I don't have enough money for my kids to get braces? R' Weinberg responded - you see me - Boruch Hashem, He provides.

R' Frand said that as he has gotten older he has become a greater ma'amin because he does see that Hashem provides and that things work out for the best. R' Frand said that its not that Hashem speaks to him directly, but he does see that Hashem has a plan and that things work out for the best.

R' Frand said a second vort on the Tochacha's 98 curses, specifically the last curse which the Torah mentions in Devarim 28:68 - that the Jews will be brought back to Egypt in a boat and attempted to be sold for slaves, but no one will buy you. Why is this the worst? Because it shows that you are back to square one - back to where you were before you left Egypt. The futility demonstrates that this is the worst of the curses.

R' Frand said that it was not a political statement - but it is ironic what we are seeing right before 9/11. He recalled where he was on 9/11 when he was trying to write his teshuva derasha and he got a call from his son telling him about the plane that flew into the WTC. And then after President Bush stood on the pile of rubble and said -we are going to get you. (And R' Frand remarked that he was enthused - yes - go get them!) Later, there were pictures of people riding on horseback into battle.

But where are we now? The US sunk $2 Trillion into that war and more than 2,400 servicemen and women were killed. But its 20 years later - what do we have to show for it? Without getting into whether we should stay or go, this is a curse that we are back to where we were on that day. And its truly a horrible shame. He wondered - how can someone who lost a loved one fighting in Afghanistan feel right now? Nothing has been accomplished - this is a curse.

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Sunday Night Suds - New Belgium Summer Bliss

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium's Summer Bliss Tropical Wheat Ale.

This is one of the few non-sours introduced by New Belgium outside of the wildly successful Voodoo Ranger line of beers. New Belgium was not shy about rolling this out, as it is available in the 30th Anniversary mix box (in bottle form) and in six pack can boxes.

I picked up my Summer Bliss as part of the 30th Anniversary mix box and had the bottle in the fridge for a couple of days before trying my first bottle. I then sampled another bottle with only six hours of fridge time. The tastes were slightly different, but equally enjoyable.

The beer poured a cloudy orange and the orange was the main flavor and scent. There was slightly below average carbonation, but decent lacing and foam which lasted longer than I expected.

As I mentioned, the main flavor in this beer is orange, although a bit of tartness which was slightly reminiscent of orange marmalade. There was some mango as well and a tiny bit of pine. The colder beer had less of the tartness, but even the three day bottle had some marmalade flavor. This beer paired well with spicy meat (persian barg - c/o Everfresh of Great Neck), but it would be great on its own as well.

The Summer Bliss is 5.5% abv, but the alcohol flavor was not prevalent, and hardly detectable.

The New Belgium Summer Bliss is under kosher supervision by the Scroll-K/Va'ad of Denver, and their symbol is on the bottom of the 30th Anniversary mix pack. However, not every brew produced by New Belgium is under kosher supervision, so look for the Scroll K on the six pack holder or box when considering purchasing any NBB product.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about New Belgium Summer Bliss, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/548437/.

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 Ki Seitzei

Although the live Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha have restarted, tonight there was a technical probelm and TCN was unable to show the live shiur, so I have summarized R' Frand's pre-recorded Parsha vort from OU Torah. This week's vort can be found at https://outorah.org/p/89362, but I have attempted to reproduce the vort to the best of my ability in this post. [If TCN sends a link to this week's "live" shiur, I will try to summarize it in a post after Shabbos.] Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to the maggid shiur.

R' Frand quoted the pesukim from this week's parsha which have the root of the popular concept of Shana Rishonah (Devarim 24:5-6) in which the Torah discusses the exemption from war for a man who is in the first year of marriage.

R' Frand noted that the words in Devarim 24:6 וְשִׂמַּ֖ח אֶת־אִשְׁתּ֥וֹ אֲשֶׁר־לָקָֽח are conjugated as Loshon Pe'ale - which means that he should do something to someone else - he should be involved in making his wife happy. R' Frand quoted Rashi who notes that that the grammar supports this lashon - he should make his wife happy. He also quotes the Targum Onkelos which has the same reasoning. Rashi also quoted the Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel which states that a man should be happy with his wife, a lashon which Rashi rejects. 

R' Frand quoted the Shemen HaTov who explains that the Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel knew his dikduk and that the pasuk means to make your wife happy. But what he is teaching is that - if you make it your business to make your wife happy (V'Simach) then you will happy with your wife (V'Samach Es Ishto).

R' Frand explained that when a man first goes into marriage he is thinking about himself and his wife is thinking about herself. In order to get to the point where they can be happy together, he needs to stop thinking about himself and start thinking about her happiness.

R' Frand then said a vort based on the bracha said after a child is born that he should be raised L'Torah, U'Lchupa, U'Lmaasim Tovim. He observed that this seems to be out of order. We would understand that Torah is first, but why is good deeds after marriage? If anything it should be right after Torah!

R' Frand answered by giving a mashal - a poor Kollel family sends the husband to the supermarket to buy cereal. He wants to buy Frosted Flakes and she wants Kashi - at $5 a box for cereal, a Kollel husband needs to make the call to only buy one and in R' Frand's (true) observation - Kashi tastes like a box of cardboard. 

R' Frand then said - lets make it less dramatic - she wants Rice Krispies and he wants Cheerios. Both taste good, but he has different preferences than his wife. Until now, he always bought what he wanted. But now he is married and he has to put someone else first. This is the moment when Maasim Tovim come to the forefront - now that he is married will he put her first? If he does, than it truly will be V'Samach Es Ishto.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Shoftim

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 observed that the portion of the parsha which discusses Hashem's disgust for the abominations of the residents of the land of Canaan who use black magic practices to divine the future (Devarim 18:9-12) ends with the pasuk "תָּמִ֣ים תִּֽהְיֶ֔ה עִ֖ם יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ" (Devarim 18:13). 

R' Frand noted that the Art Scroll translation of the pasuk ("You shall be wholehearted with Hashem your G-d") does not really present the meaning of the pasuk. Instead, he preferred Rashi's explanation that the pasuk is telling us to walk with Hashem simply and not to attempt to discern the future.

R' Frand then quoted a Medrash which is cited in a R' Bentzion Kook sefer. The Medrash involves a relative of Shlomo HaMelech who came to him and asked to be taught the language of the birds. Shlomo said no, but the person who is believed to be Benayhu Ben Yehoyada, was insistent. Eventually, Shlomo taught him the language of the birds.

Shortly thereafter, the man was walking in the field when he heard a bird say to the other that the man's flock of sheep would soon die. The man quickly sold all of his sheep and the loss was suffered by the buyer the following week. 

Not long after, the man was again walking in the field when he heard a bird say to another that the man's house would soon burn down. He quickly arranged a bucket brigade in and around the house, and when the fire started, they were able to quickly extinguish it.

Thereafter the man was again walking when he heard the howling of dogs, which was known to be a sign that the Malach HaMaves was nearby. He went to Shlomo to ask what he should do. Shlomo replied - I told you that you should not learn the language of the birds. You must have committed a sin that Hashem was warning you to repent from and had you suffered either the loss of the sheep or the home, you might have done so. Now it is too late תָּמִ֣ים תִּֽהְיֶ֔ה עִ֖ם יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ.

R' Frand told a personal story about one of his sons who at the age of 3 was unable to tie his shoes. One day when R' Frand tied the shoe, the boy said to him - who will tie my shoes when I am bar mitzva? The boy had no concept of when a bar mitzva happens or that in the future he will learn to tie his own shoes, because he could not understand what lies ahead.

R' Frand next told a story about R' Azriel Tauber which is found in the Sefer - Pirkei Machshava. When R' Tauber was celebrating the Shabbos Sheva Berachos of his youngest daughter, it was Shabbos Shoftim. R' Tauber turned to his father and said do you remember the night in the bomb shelter in Budapest. Do you remember when it was you and me and my three brothers in the bomb shelter? 

Their mother had been deported to Auschwitz and they had been hiding pretending to be non-Jews. The younger brothers did not even know their Hebrew names. Then a blast hit the shelter and his father fell to the ground, unconscious.  When he awoke he told R' Yechiel who was then six years old what he believed what his last will and testament. Your mother has gone to Auschwitz, but don't worry as Hashem takes care of orphans. Your brothers Hebrew names are...  

R' Tauber then turned to his father and said that if a prophet came to you in the bomb shelter and said that you and your wife would survive the war and have 5 more children and that 50 years later you would be sitting in Monsey, NY at the Shabbos Sheva Berachos of your granddaughter would you have believed it? And his father replied with an emphatic- NO. But it happened and that was what Rashi means by don't try to figure out the future.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Re'eh

Although there are no live Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha until Elul, I learned this evening that beginning earlier this summer, R' Frand has been posting a pre-recorded Parsha vort on OU Torah. This week's vort can be found at https://outorah.org/p/88607, but I have attempted to reproduce the vort to the best of my ability in this post. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to the maggid shiur.

Rabbi Frand began the vort by quoting from Devarim 14:22 which states עַשֵּׂ֣ר תְּעַשֵּׂ֔ר אֵ֖ת כָּל־תְּבוּאַ֣ת זַרְעֶ֑ךָ הַיֹּצֵ֥א הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה שָׁנָ֥ה שָׁנָֽה. R' Frand observed that this is not the mitzva of ma'aser that most people think of as this is not the tithe which is given to the Levi. This is the mitzva of ma'aser sheni which is eaten in Jerusalem. Why is this done? The Torah states in the next pasuk that it will cause an increase in your Yiras Shamayim.

The Torah also contains an "out" whereby the farmer does not need to take this up to Jerusalem and instead he can redeem the produce on a coin and then take the money to Jerusalem and buy and eat food there.

Rashi notes that this tithe is not given to anyone else - it is for you to eat. And if you can't shlep the food, redeem it on money and spend it on food for yourself in Jerusalem. R' Frand remarked - it don't get any better than this!

But how does eating your food in Jerusalem increase your Yiras Shamayim?

R' Frand answered by quoting Tosafos in Bava Basra which in turn cites a Sifrei which explains that when a person goes up to Jerusalem he needs to stay until he finishes all of his crops. During this time he sees all the Kohanim and Lev'im whose lives are focused on Torah and Yiras Shamayim. 

R' Frand noted that certain cities are associated with certain industries - Detroit is connected with cars. Los Angeles is the entertainment industry. 

The industry of Jerusalem is Avodas Hashem - seeing that these people's lives revolve around Hashem. After spending a few weeks around these people, your life will change. 

Rabbi Frand noted that this Shabbos is also the Shabbos that we announce and bench Rosh Chodesh Elul. R' Frand remarked that people shook when they heard that Elul was coming and he remembered seeing people where the Yiras Shamayim for Elul was on their faces. We may not be on that level and we don't have a Beis Hamikdash, but in Yeshivos and Kollels, people daven with greater concentration in Elul. People can return to daven in Yeshivos in Elul - not necessarily to learn, but to see people davening with Elul on their faces.

R' Frand spoke about what can be seen in Yeshivos - where people argue about the meaning of a Tosafos or line in Shulchan Aruch. This is something that we can observe and it can have an impact on us where we see people who live Torah and recognize Elul.

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