Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshios Acharei Mos-Kedoshim

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

The first vort R' Frand said this evening related to the death of Nadav & Avihu. He quoted the Da'as Zekeinim M'Baalei HaTosafos which asked  - why is it that they died by being burnt internally, while Titus HaRasha went into the Kodesh HaKodashim in peace and left in peace?

Before answering the question, the Da'as Zekeinim quoted a pasuk (I am unfamiliar with its source) which states that the Bachurim were consumed by fire and the Besulos were not praised. The Bachurim are a reference to Nadav & Avihu - why did they die, because they did not praise the Besulos. How many young girls remained like agunos, waiting for Nadav & Avihu. Meanwhile they said, our uncle is the king, our father is the Kohain Gadol, another uncle is the Nasi and we are the Sganei Kohain Gadol - no girls are good enough for us....and they died without children.

R' Frand said that he is involved in Shidduchim and he sees how many boys and girls will go many years in the parsha of dating and will never find the right mate, because they are too selective. Similarly many parents will feel that no potential candidate is good enough for their child.

R' Frand said that he once spoke with the Skveir Rebbi about this and was told that the boys and girls need to cut their lists to one or two items. He said that for his children there is only one thing - they should marry a "Rebbishe Einikle."

R' Frand observed that we live in a generation where anything can be optimized (my word). He does not visit Starbucks, but he knows that you can get a coffee with many different infusions and options. Similarly when you buy a car there are so many options and choices.

With that mindset on customization, is it any surprise that those in the parsha have lists that are so long?

R' Frand said a second vort on Vayikra 16:18 which states וְיָצָ֗א אֶל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֛חַ אֲשֶׁ֥ר לִפְנֵֽי־יְהוָֹ֖ה וְכִפֶּ֣ר עָלָ֑יו. Rashi explains that the Kapparah being performed was the taking of the blood of the cow.

R' Frand quoted the Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel who cites the Gemara which discusses the prayer of the Kohain Gadol at the time. He would pray three things: (1) that the king would always be from the tribe of Yehuda; (2) the Jews would need to rely on one and other for financial support, and (3) that Hashem should not heed the prayer of those passing on the roads. The specific prayer of the passersby was that there should not be any rain which would make the roads muddy.

Buy why did this third item need to occupy the Kohain Gadol at the time that he was praying for much more loftier things?

R' Frand quoted the Sefer Bei Chiya which quotes the Divrei Yechezkel who comments on the pasuk (again I am unaware of the source) - far from my yeshua is what I am crying out for. He explains that people cry out for things that are not good for them and the reason their prayers are not answered is because they are asking for things that are not important.

This is the prayer of the passerby - asking on Yom Kippur that there be no rain so that the roads are not muddy during their travels? The Kohain Gadol in turn asks Hashem not to listen to the short sighted prayers by people for the trivialities they don't really need.

[Although not said by R' Frand, it appears to me that the two thoughts are linked. If only those in the parsha were not preoccupied by trivialities, maybe they would find their intended so much quicker].

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshios Tazria-Metzorah

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

Rabbi Frand started the vort by making reference to a story in the gemara about a peddler. The peddler would announce that he was selling the elixir of life and that anyone who wanted the elixir of life should come to him. The peddler was approached by R' Yannai who asked to buy the elixir. The peddler responded to R' Yannai - you are a tzadik, you don't need this. However, R' Yannai persisted. Finally the seller said to him - look in the book of Tehillim - it is written in 34:12-13 -מִֽי־הָ֖אִישׁ הֶֽחָפֵ֣ץ חַיִּ֑ים אֹ֘הֵ֥ב יָ֜מִ֗ים לִרְא֥וֹת טֽוֹב. נְצֹ֣ר לְשֽׁוֹנְךָ֣ מֵרָ֑ע וּ֜שְׂפָתֶ֗יךָ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר מִרְמָֽה.

Following this conversation, R' Yannai was heard to say, all my life I would say these pesukim, but I never understood this until now.

R' Frand asked the obvious question - what was it that the peddler was able to teach R' Yannai about the pesukim in Tehillim which he did not know previously?

R' Frand answered by quoting R' Issar Zalman Meltzer who explained that the peddler was saying - this is life because it gives life. Generally a person who is tempted to sin and refrains from doing so receives a reward for his abstinence, but does not receive a reward for observing a positive commandment as well. However a person who stops himself from speaking loshon hara not only receives the reward for not violating the negative commandment, he even receives reward for keeping the positive commandment of  נְצֹ֣ר לְשֽׁוֹנְךָ֣ מֵרָ֑ע וּ֜שְׂפָתֶ֗יךָ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר מִרְמָֽה.

R' Frand then quoted R' Nissim Alpert who explained that the chiddush of the peddler was where to end the question. While normally we read the pesukim as the question is in the first pasuk (34:12) and the answer is נְצֹ֣ר לְשֽׁוֹנְךָ֣ מֵרָ֑ע וּ֜שְׂפָתֶ֗יךָ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר מִרְמָֽה, the peddler viewed this differently. The question is מִֽי־הָ֖אִישׁ הֶֽחָפֵ֣ץ חַיִּ֑ים? The answer is אֹ֘הֵ֥ב יָ֜מִ֗ים לִרְא֥וֹת טֽוֹב. If a person wants life he should love his days to see good. With that positive mindset he will be more likely to guard his tongue from speaking evil.

R' Frand closed the vort by asking a question related to the punishment for the Meraglim of spending 40 years in the desert as equivalent to the 40 days they were in the land of Israel. But they did not speak loshon hora for 40 days - it probably took only a few minutes! They were only in the land for 40 days.

He answered that they were punished one year for one day because when they walked around the land they viewed the land negatively. Chazal tell us that they had a negative view and said אֶ֣רֶץ אֹכֶ֤לֶת יֽוֹשְׁבֶ֨יהָ֙ הִ֔וא (Bamidbar 13:32) based on all the funerals they saw. However they could have looked at the positive - because the people of the land were so preoccupied with the funerals, they did not keep an eye out for the Meraglim.

R' Frand said a second vort which related to the Haftorah of Metzorah which will not be read this year as this Shabbos is also Rosh Chodesh and that Haftorah is read instead. R' Frand quoted R' Bukspan who said his father had observed that the Haftorah starts from the middle of the perek (Melachim II, 7:3) and leaves out the nevuah from Elisha that the following day Hashem would cause the price of flour to fall precipitously and the skeptical response from the king's officer of will Hashem make - אֲרֻבּוֹת֙ בַּשָּׁמַ֔יִם הֲיִהְיֶ֖ה הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה. Instead the Haftorah begins with a description of the 4 Metzoraim and only ends with the skepticism of the officer and that he was trampled when the prophesy was fulfilled.

He tied this to a Medrash quoted by R' Kasher on Parshas Noach. The Medrash states that the officer's problem was not that he did not believe Hashem could do this, it was that the Jews were not worthy of the reward. He invoked the אֲרֻבּוֹת֙ בַּשָּׁמַ֔יִם term because this is what Hashem brought down on the generation of Noach because they were not worthy of being saved. 

For this reason, the officer was not worthy to see the prophecy fulfilled and was trampled by the people when the price of flour dropped.

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