Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Bechukosai

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 prefaced his parsha vort tonight by stating that this week's shiur marked the completion of forty years of his Thursday Night shiur. In honor of this event he thanked many people who are responsible for the success of the shiur and it was quite a remarkable list (you can find it here if you would like to listen to his full remarks - https://torahmedia.com/flexcart/searchResults.php?sid=&cid=0lc3d05m69ar2bc&evid=5yud447u2w&directlink=49916 ).

R' Frand said that in honor of the shiur he wanted to give the first vort that he had said on Bechukosai, but he could not find his notes and instead said a vort from the first recorded shiur on the parsha which was from 1986. He quoted a Medrash on a pasuk in Nach which stated that the Berachos of Bechukosai run from Alef to Tuf, while the Klallos run from Vuv to Heh. The Berachos begin in Vayikra 26:3 with the words אִם־בְּחֻקֹּתַ֖י תֵּלֵ֑כוּ and they end at Vayikra 23:13 with the words וָֽאוֹלֵ֥ךְ אֶתְכֶ֖ם קֽוֹמְמִיּֽוּת.

Meanwhile, the Klallos begin in Vayikra 26:14 with the words וְאִם־לֹ֥א תִשְׁמְע֖וּ לִ֑י  and they end at Vayikra 26:46 with the words בְּהַ֥ר סִינַ֖י בְּיַד־משֶֽׁה.

R' Frand quoted R' Zevin who explains that the Berachos are in order, because when things are going well, everything seems to be in order. A boy gets bar mitzvah'd, goes off to learn, finds a shidduch, gets married and has children. All seems to be according to plan. 

However when things are not going well its harder to understand Hashem's plan and to make sense of what a person is going through. Only after the events are completed can a person possibly understand why they occurred and his vision is truly in hindsight. Thus the Klallos are in reverse alphabetical order, running from Vuv to Heh.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Behar

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 Vayikra 25:25-26, the Torah sets forth the law relating to the redemption of a sold ancestral field (Sdei Achuza). The Torah first states in 25:25 - וּבָ֤א גֹֽאֲלוֹ֙ הַקָּרֹ֣ב אֵלָ֔יו וְגָאַ֕ל אֵ֖ת מִמְכַּ֥ר אָחִֽיו - if he has a relative who can redeem the field then he does so. Thereafter in 25:26 the Torah states וְאִ֕ישׁ כִּ֛י לֹ֥א יִֽהְיֶה־לּ֖וֹ גֹּאֵ֑ל - if he has no relative then there is a process for him to redeem.

R' Frand quoted a Gemara in Kiddushin 21 in which R' Yehuda asked - is there any Jew who has no relatives? There is always some distant cousin, so why does the Torah use this language? He answers that the Torah is referring to someone with a relative who does not want to help.

R' Frand then cited Derash Moshe wherein R' Moshe Feinstein asks - if the Torah was referring to someone whose relative does not want to help, why not write that the relative is unwilling to redeem the land? He answers that if a relative does not want to help, it is as if he has no relative.

R' Frand then quoted the Sefer Be'arah Shel Torah who cites a Gemara in Yevamos which states that if a person brings close his relatives he receives a reward that Hashem will come close to him, quoting the pasuk that Hashem will say Heneini - here I am!

R' Frand said that there are 14 times in Tanach that a response of Heneini is given - 13 times it is the subordinate responding to a master, but this one time it is Hashem responding that way.

R' Frand then quoted the Maharal who writes that a person should know that that it is proper to bring close one's relatives as Hashem says I am your relative and will behave with you as you treat your relatives. If you are close to them, I will be close to you...and if you push them away, I will be distant from you.

R' Frand closed the vort by quoting the Sefer HaChayim which states that a person should bring his neighbors in and honor them, even if they are wealthier than him and this is the mitzva of Hacnasas Orchim. He explained that there was minhag in their time to have a party one day a year and bring all your relatives together. (R' Frand quipped that maybe this is the Makor for the Memorial Day Barbeque).

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Emor

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 Vayikra 21:8, the Torah states וְקִ֨דַּשְׁתּ֔וֹ כִּֽי־אֶת־לֶ֥חֶם אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ ה֣וּא מַקְרִ֑יב. Rashi explains that we learn from here that we are to honor Kohanim by giving them the first aliyah when we lain, the option to lead benching (and recognition when they don't) and the first selection of the nicest piece of food.

R' Frand quoted the Shulchan Aruch Even HaEzer which states that in our era, if a stranger comes to town and says that he is a Kohain, he is not believed and he is not permitted to duchan. 

This opinion is disagreed with by the Rama, who states that we do afford the stranger the kavod of a Kohain. He explains that the concern with an unknown who claims to be a Kohain is that he is only making this claim in order to eat Terumah. However, since in our generation there is no longer any Terumah which is given to a Kohain to eat, there should not be a concern that the stranger is lying about being a Kohain.

R' Frand then quoted the Chassam Sofer, who asked - but if we give a non-Kohain the aliyah of Kohain and any other applicable kibbud in this generation, aren't we violating וְקִ֨דַּשְׁתּ֔וֹ?

R' Frand explained that according to the Chassam Sofer there is no problem at all, since you are being mechabed him because you believe that he is a Kohain, which is what is required under the mitzva.

R' Frand quoted R' Pam Ztl who said that this should give peace of mind to someone who is being honored as a Talmid Chacham, but does not believe that he personally is worthy. The mitzva of honoring the Torah and its sages is a mitzva which is fulfilled when the actor believes that he is honoring the Torah. Even if you have doubts about your personal worthiness, the person who honors you is fulfilling the obligation to honor the Torah.

R' Frand also alluded to the flip side by quoting the Rambam Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah which writes that a Talmid Chacham needs to be very careful not to create a Chillul Hashem. R' Frand explained that even if the person does not believe that he is a Talmid Chacham, it matters what others think when they view him. [I recall hearing R' Mansour say many years ago that any male Jew who walks with a yarmulke and a female who wears  sheitel is viewed by the outside world as a Rabbi/Rebbetzin].

R' Frand closed the vort by making reference to the recent Lufthansa incident where a few Orthodox Jews did not wear masks in transit and the airline banned all Jews from getting on connecting flights. Obviously the airline was wrong to punish hundreds of people who did not violate the mask rule because of the few who did, but we do need to be aware of the way that the world views us when we do something wrong.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Kedoshim

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 Vayikra 19:17, the Torah states לֹֽא־תִשְׂנָ֥א אֶת־אָחִ֖יךָ בִּלְבָבֶ֑ךָ. But why specifically is one forbidden to hate in one's heart?

R' Frand first answered by quoting the Rambam who writes that one who hates someone in his heart without revealing it violates the pasuk, as there is a positive commandment to tell a person who is doing something wrong about the wrongful act and it comes from the end of the pasuk - הוֹכֵ֤חַ תּוֹכִ֨יחַ֙ אֶת־עֲמִיתֶ֔ךָ.

R' Frand also said a more drush based vort on the pasuk. He painted the following picture - there is a guy in your shul who constantly talks during Chazaras HaShatz. Every tefillah. Every day. You know its wrong and it drives you up a wall. Or someone else who every time he has Yahrtzeit has to daven for the amud on Shabbos and sing every possible song, even though he does not have a particularly nice voice and he adds extra time to davening.

You know that what the first guy is doing is halachically wrong and what the second guy is doing is a tircha, because you have an understanding in your heart of what is right and what is wrong, whereas these other people do not. The prohibition of לֹֽא־תִשְׂנָ֥א אֶת־אָחִ֖יךָ בִּלְבָבֶ֑ךָ teaches that one should not hate someone else because of your heart - because you get it and he does not.

R' Frand said a second vort on the mitzva of Orlah. The Torah gives the rules of this mitzva in Vayikra 19:23-25 which discusses how the fruit of the first three years cannot be consumed, the fourth year fruit has special kedusha and the fifth year can be eaten without restriction. Rashi explains that if a person properly observes the first four years, Hashem will provide a bountiful crop in year five. Rashi quotes R' Akiva saying R' Akiva Haya Omer that the Torah spoke against the Yetzer Hara of a person, that a person should not say, I wasted four years.

R' Frand asked - why does this mitzva need the reinforcement vs the Yetzer Hara. He gave the example of the recent Pesach holiday where people spend major $$ on matza and all the yom tov meals. Why is it that there is no reinforcement where we are told that there will be a financial windfall later in the year?

R' Frand answered by quoting the Tolner Rebbi who explains that the difference is that the person who spent money on the other mitzva (in our example Pesach food) will not have a feeling that he wasted his money, because at least he enjoyed the Pesach meals with his family. However the farmer who spent four years working the land without being able to eat during years 1-3 and then eating with restrictions in year four might say - why did I waste my efforts. To counteract this, there is a promise of a bountiful harvest in year five.

This is also why Rashi says Haya R' Akiva Omer - he himself said this because he lived it. He began to learn Torah at age 40 and could have said, I wasted my first 40 years. But instead he realized that his first 40 years allowed him to develop a thirst for Torah so that he could appreciate it more when he started learning it.

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Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams Wicked Tropical IPA

 

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Samuel Adams Wicked Tropical IPA.

Last year I chanced across some of the Samuel Adams "Wicked" beers which are strong rivals to the New Belgium Voodoo Ranger line of beers. These included the the Wicked Easy Lager (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2021/05/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-wicked.html) and the Wicked Hazy Juicy New England IPA (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2021/06/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-wicked.html).

This beer is an exceptionally juicy IPA, with strong mango and pineapple notes, but it is not just sweetness. This beer has some pine and bitter as well and combines with good carbonation and lacing. I shared it at dinner with a KBJrette and she really enjoyed.

At 6.8% abv the beer was high in alcohol for an average IPA, but the alcohol taste was not heavy.  I picked this up as part of a Wicked Party Pack which gave me three cans of it, but I would have wanted more! 

The Wicked Tropical IPA is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K and has a Star-K certification mark on the can. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link - www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/589931/.

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!