Rabbi Frand's 5784 Teshuva Derasha Part II

The following is the second half of my summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand in his annual Teshuva Derasha which was broadcast on the TCN network. (The first half can be found here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2023/09/rabbi-frands-5784-teshuva-derasha-part-i.html). This was a very powerful derasha and my attempt to summarize should not be viewed as an exact transcript as it is based on my notes. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

The second part of the derasha asked the question - are we honest with ourselves? Are we who we purport to be?

R' Frand noted that many meforshim wanted the Jews to be reminded of the sale of Yosef on Yom Kippur and we do remember it through the Asarah Harugei Malchus which were a Kapparah for it. He also quoted an opinion that we dont wear leather shoes because Yosef was sold for a pair of shoes. But the main reason is that the day that the brothers faced Yosef is the archetype of the Yom HaDin. One of the most dramatic moments in the Torah is when Yosef tells his brothers that he is Yosef and his brothers could not answer him as they were speechless. The Medrash quotes R' Elazar Ben Azarya who says - woe to us on Yom HaDin and woe to us on the day of Tochaha. And this was a mere mortal, how will we stand before Hashem and answer Him?

But where is the Mussar or Tochacha? Yosef did not say anything overtly negative to them! The answer is that when he revealed himself, the brothers realized that they had been living a lie for all of those years. They thought that Yosef was an evil person and deserved to die and that they had been compassionate by only selling him. But they realized that they were wrong and he was right. And there is no greater rebuke than to realize that you had been living a lie for all of those years.

R' Frand quoted a Gemara in Nedarim which states that Gehinnom will be Hashem taking the Sun from its sheath and there is a bright light. The Tzaddikim will enjoy this as they have lived a life of truth. But the Reshaim will see the inconsistency of their lives and there is nothing more painful. R' Frand said that this is what Chazal had in mind with the allusions to Yosef - its hard to anticipate the Yom HaDin - but we can understand the way the brothers felt.

R' Frand said that there is one day a year where we can examine ourselves and see whether we are living truthful lives or do we see inconsistencies.

R' Frand quoted the pasuk in Devarim 30:1וְהָיָה֩ כִֽי־יָבֹ֨אוּ עָלֶ֜יךָ כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה הַבְּרָכָה֙ וְהַקְּלָלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לְפָנֶ֑יךָ וַֽהֲשֵֽׁבֹתָ֙ אֶל־לְבָבֶ֔ךָ - R' Frand quoted the Seforno on the end of the pasuk which asks what it means to return it to your heart? He says that you should think about the contradictions in your life and the secrets hidden in your heart and ask how far you have strayed from Hashem. R' Frand that it this which is the essence of Teshuva - are you honest with yourself, or do you live a double life? Do we talk and act the same way in Shul as we do in the workplace? Are we the same inside and outside of our homes? Being consistent and Emes is where we need to be.

R' Frand quoted the last of the Ashamnus - Tiatanu which the English translates as you have led us astray. But R' Frand thought that it was connected to the dialogue between Ya'akov and Rivkah where she asks him to dress as Esav to get the berachos. Ya'akov says in Bereishis 27:12 -  אוּלַ֤י יְמֻשֵּׁ֨נִי֙ אָבִ֔י וְהָיִ֥יתִי בְעֵינָ֖יו כִּמְתַעְתֵּ֑עַ - the  word there means that he was afraid of being a faker - a dual personality. R' Frand said this is the last of the Ashamnus - the culmination.

R' Frand said that anyone who has been a parent and grandparent wants their kids to be honest and to fear Hashem. We spare no expense or trouble to do so, but there is no secret formula. R' Frand said that the Shela HaKadosh warns us to raise honest children as honest children will be good children. 

R' Frand said that he heard that R' Ya'akov Kaminetsky never hit his children, unless they lied.

R' Frand said that he realizes this is a tall order. But we can start by living a life that is scrupulously honest. We need to be careful with our speech - even white lies. R' Frand said that he knows this is trivial - but exaggerating and saying a trip took 7 hours instead of 5 is still lying. And being careful about this will have an impact on our speech, even to avoid the whitest of lies will have an impact.

R' Frand said that he recently heard a story about someone who was a close talmid of R' Aharon Kotler ZTL and when R' Aharon was working something through in a tough sugya he asked for the talmid to come. But when the student visited Israel he never went to R' Aharon's kever because he said that he was embarrassed as to how he turned out, although R' Frand opined that the student probably had nothing to be embarrassed about.

R' Frand said in the time of Moshiach there will be Emes which will impact the whole universe. But on an individual level this could be frightening - standing in front of him and saying Shalom Aleichem. R' Frand quoted Yeshaya who writes that the Moshiach will have the spirit of Hashem and the spirit of wisdom and undestanding...and the Moshiach will not need to judge by what his eyes see or his ears hear - the smell will be enough. The Radak says that this means that he will have a lightning grasp of whether we are truthful or not. How will we feel when we greet the Moshiach when he will judge us without even opening our mouths. R' Frand said that if we become more honest, we wont have to be concerned - I may not be the greatest Tzaddik, but I am who I am.

If we commit ourselves to be honest in our relationships in business, with our friends and with our spouse/family, we wont need to be afraid.

[Wishing everyone a Gmar Tov, easy and meanigful fast - Neil] 

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Rabbi Frand's 5784 Teshuva Derasha - Part I

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand in his annual Teshuva Derasha which was broadcast on the TCN network . This was a very powerful derasha and my attempt to summarize should not be viewed as an exact transcript as it is based on my notes. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

R' Frand began by stating that he is not a prophet or the son of a prophet. But he knows that Hashem is saying. R' Frand quoted a Medrash which states that when the Jews are in a Beis Medrash and are listening to shiurim, Hashem is happy in his world and he calls the angels and tells them - look how my creations are coming to hear my Torah and be Meshabyach me. R' Frand said that even if you got nothing out of the derasha, this is your reward.

R' Frand then started the derasha by quoting the Gemara at the end of Sotah which talks about what will happen at the time before Moshiach comes. This includes that Chutzpah will be rampant, the prices will be high, the old will stand up to honor the young and the young will insult their elders. But R' Frand cited one specific section - that the truth will be absent. And we will have nothing to rely on besides Hashem.

R' Frand quoted R' Yerucham Levovitz who asked - will this be unique? Who else can we rely on? He answers that in the past there were other things that we could rely on such as Nevi'im and the Urim VeTumim and we could also rely on the truth. But today it is as though reality does not exist anymore. R' Frand gave numerous modern day examples - there is a basic reality that a person is born male or female, but not anymore. R' Frand quoted a list of "broken things" which appeared in the press - things that we previously relied on. But today the truth is replaced by woke and as one presidential candidate stated - woke is a war on the truth. R' Frand quoted the governor of South Dakota who said "woke is what we did at 530 AM to milk the cows." 

R' Frand said that this is why the time before Moshiach is different. Because even without a Navi or the Urim VeTumim we could rely on the truth. But no longer. R' Frand quoted an article which noted that journalism has lost credibility with the public - whether you listen to Fox or CNN, there is a bias.

And when the Jews live in such a society it falls on us to become particular to protect ourselves from these developments - and especially in the matter of truth. R' Frand quoted R' Yona who said that it is assur to be gonev da'as of an akum, even worse than being goney mamon. When one lies it is an attack on one's soul. R' Frand said that we should cringe when we hear that Amazon has changed return policies because they feel that people in certain zipcodes are abusing it - and its not Fargo, ND. Or the people who buy air conditioners in Walmart and return them at the end of the summer.

R' Frand said that there is no more important a time to be diligent in being truthful than now. We pray with our mouths for a good year and it needs to be in good working order to do so. If we have damaged our mouths with falsehood it is hard to make out mouths work properly. We know that Hashem's signet is truth.

R' Frand noted that we do Hataras Nedarim to prepare for Yom Tov. Why? Its not like Bedikas Chametz before Pesach! He answered that we need to make sure that if we did not keep our word that it has been taken care of, before we can daven on the Yamim Noraim. 

R' Frand told a story about Mrs KB's alta zayde - R' Elya Lopian - who when he said that the Hinneni before Musaf on Yomim Noraim would not say the words Nirash V'Nichpad - because he was not trembling. R' Frand told a story about R' Yaakov Kaminetsky who was a litvak but never ate Gebruchtz. Why? Because when he was 14 he was in yeshiva and he was told to go to a certain house for Pesach. Since he had concerns about Kashrus he told the people he could not eat there because he did not eat Gebrutchtz. And from that point forward he would never eat Gebruchtz.

R' Frand also told a story about R' Rif who was the Rav in Camden NJ and was also the Rav HaMachshir for 999 kosher. On one of his factory visits he asked for a salami. He had never asked before, but this time he asked and then cut it open and ate some. Why? Because someone called to ask about the Kashrus and then asked him - do you eat the products? He said yes, but later realized that he had not - so he went and asked for some.

He also told a story about R' Chaim Kanievsky who was asked to sign a letter on behalf of a Tzedakah, but refused because the letter was written during the day and now it was night.

R' Frand told a story about the Chofetz Chaim which absolutely blew me away. When he applied for a passport to visit Eretz Yisrael, there was a section of the application which asked for "occupation." Although he was a Rav and a prolific Tamid Chacham, he did not have formal Semicha. So he wrote to R' Chaim Ozer to obtain semicha (R' Frand quipped that he was sure that the Chofetz Chaim did not need to take a bechina). R' Frand remarked - even though the phone book is filled with every Tom, Dick and Harry who is called Rabbi, the Chofetz Chaim would not write that as his profession until he was formally given Semicha as it was not Emes.

IYH I will try to finish the summary tomorrow before Yom Kippur.

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Thursday's Pre-Rosh Hashanah Tidbits

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the upcoming holiday of 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.

Rabbi Frand quoted from a Mishna on Rosh Hashanah 26 which states that the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah is comparable to the Shofar of Yovel. Rashi states that even though the Shofar of Yovel in unrelated to Tefillah and serves an entirely different purpose (as it is as a clarion for the release of Avadim), we learn the Mitzva of Shofar from Yovel.

R' Frand then asked a practical question - Yovel comes every 50 years and there is only one Shofar blast. Why would this be the source for the annual Shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah - a day when we hear 100 sounds?

R' Frand answered that the blowing of Yovel is the root of the blowing of Shofar on Rosh Hashanah because it signifies that the world has turned over. The eved who had worked for 20 years is being released. The land which was purchased 47 years ago is now being returned to its ancestral family. And the Avadim who are being released are not merely sent away. When Rosh Hashanah comes they begin a ten day period of feasting and are given luxuries until the Shofar of Yovel when they are sent home with gifts for their families. 

This is why the Shofar of Yovel serves as the paradigm for Rosh Hashanah - it is to show that we can have a new beginning with a sea change from where we were last year. 

R' Frand remarked that this is why the Gemara mentions that Yosef was released from prison on Rosh Hashanah. Prison in that day was not a cinderblock building where inmates had three square meals, an exercise yard and TV. It was a hole in the ground or a cave with no running water. Yet Yosef who had been in prison for 12 years was released on Rosh Hashanah and taken to Pharaoh where he was able to eloquently interpret the dreams and was then placed in the position of second in command.

This is what Rosh Hashanah can signify and bring us, IYH. The Sfas Emes teaches that everyone can be released from his own personal master (Yetzer Harah) on Rosh Hashanah.

R' Frand said a second thought based on a Gemara in Bava Metzia. There is a halacha that if an Aris (sharecropper) is told to plant one crop and he chooses to plan another, he is responsible if the new crop does not produce the proper yield. Even if the entire area is flooded and all fields (including those owned by other people) are devastated, the owner of the field which was worked by the sharecropper can still be held responsible. Why? The Gemara states that the owner can say to him - I davened on Rosh Hashanah that my field would produce abundant wheat, but since you planted barley, it was flooded and destroyed.

Rashi quotes a pasuk in Iyov to explain this - what you ask Hashem for on Rosh Hashanah can be granted. The owner can say, I did not ask for this. Had I davened for the crop you planted, Hashem would have listened and the field would have been saved from the flood. 

R' Frand said that this is a powerful lesson of what the davening on Rosh Hashanah can bring. As the Shulchan Aruch paskens that the sharecropper is responsible. IYH we should daven well on Rosh Hashanah and be granted yeshuos in the new year.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshios Nitzavim-Vayelech

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.

R' Frand's first vort was based on a Rashi on the first pasuk in Netzavim. Rashi stated that after hearing the 98 Klallos in Ki Savo the Jews were disheartened. To this Moshe said - don't worry - you are still here. Even though you did many sins, you are still here. 

Many meforshim ask - what was the point of the Tochacha if Moshe tells the Jews - don't worry? Doesn't that temper the warnings inherent in the Tochacha?

R' Frand answered in the name of R' Elya Ber Wachtfogel who quoted a Tosefta in Berachos which states that the most serene people in the world were those who lived in Sodom. Lot wanted to be like them as he wanted to be serene, much as the way that he observed Avraham to be.

R' Elya Ber explains that there are two types of people who are serene - those like Avraham and those like Sodom. Avraham is serene because he is content and has no internal battles as he accepts that everything is from Hashem. The people of Sodom were also serene - because they did what they wanted without any feelings of guilt.

When a person has an internal struggle between doing right and wrong there are two ways to resolve it. One is to put your faith in Hashem and do what He wants and the other is to whatever you want with no conscience. 

Lot wanted Avraham's serenity but chose the easy route - to do whatever he wanted with no conscience.

What happened to Sodom? It was burned to the ground because everyone did what they wanted.

Moshe's message was - you are still around as Hashem did not do to you what He did to Sodom. You have fallen many times, but you are still fighting and that is why you are still around.

R' Frand said that this is a good message before Rosh Hashaha. Yes, you may have fallen at times in the last year. But as long as you are still battling, Hashem wants to keep you around.

R' Frand said a second vort on the pasuk in Devarim 31:21 - כִּ֛י לֹ֥א תִשָּׁכַ֖ח מִפִּ֣י זַרְע֑וֹ. R' Frand quoted R' Ya'akov Emdem who wrote in the introduction to his siddur that the greatest miracles are that (1) the Jews are still around despite all those who came against us to destroy us, and (2) that we have not lost a single letter from the Torah. Prior to the printing press, all the seforim were written by hand and when they were burned it was very difficult to replace. Yet we have not lost any aspect of the Torah and we are still around.

R' Frand closed by quoting a story told over by R' Melech Biederman about R' Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss who was a young boy when the Holocaust happened in Europe. At the time he was living in a small town in Slovakia and when the word about what the Nazis were doing got to his town, they sent young R' Yitzchak Tuvia to Pressburg to ask in the Kollel what they should do. 

R' Yitzchak Tuvia met with the Rosh Kollel and he was told that they should all leave. The Rosh Kollel was very taken with R' Yitzchak Tuvia and offered him a ticket on the Kindertransport. He went back and asked his parents and they told him that he should go - with the last words from his mother - be a good Jew.

When they got to England, they were lined up in a park for an inspection by the King of England. The boy next to R' Yitzchak Tuvia left his place in line and approached the King. Although the guards tried to keep him away, the boy persisted and said to the King - please I need you to save my parents. The King investigated who the boy's parents were and saved them from death in Slovakia.

R' Yitzchak Tuvia remarked - what made that boy different from the rest of us is that he believed that the King was all powerful and based on his belief, he made the request and it was granted.

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