Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Nitzavim Vaylech

The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand in his shiur this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort 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 pasuk of Parshas Nitzavim (Devarim 29:9) begins in unique fashion as Moshe tells the Jews "Atem Nitzavim Hayom Culchem" - You are standing today, all of you. Rabbi Frand then asked his audience if they knew the only four pesukim in Tanach which begin with the word "Atem" (Pesukim which begin V'Atem do not count).

Rabbi Frand then said over in the name of the Ba'al Haturim that the other three pesukim are (1) Shemos 5:11 wherein Pharaoh tells the Jews they must go and find straw on their own to make bricks (Atem l'chu k'chu lachem teven); (2) Shemos 19:4 where Hashem tells the Jews - you have seen what I did to Egypt (Atem r'eesem asher asisi l'mitzrayim) and a pasuk in Isaiah (I don' t have the cite) - you are My witnesses (Atem eidai n'eum Hashem).

But what is the connection between the pesukim? Rabbi Frand answered by making reference to a vort from the Reisha Rav (grandfather of noted constitutional lawyer - Nat Lewin) who wrote in his sefer Hadrash V'Haiyun that the Jews noticed a change - in the beginning in Egypt they saw public miracles. However, later in Jewish history the miracles appeared to be hidden or even non existent. The Reisha Rav said that this perception is incorrect - the miracle of today is even greater - the fact that there still is a Jewish people is a great open miracle.

Rabbi Frand then quoted R' Yaakov Emden in the Ya'avetz that if we think about the fact that there are Jews today, despite the generations and generations where people rose up and tried to wipe out the Jews, we would understand that the continuation of the Jewish people is a greater miracle than leaving Egypt.

Indeed, when Fredrick the Great asked his Court to prove that G-d existed, they responded - just look at the Jews - the fact that they still remain proves that G-d exists.

The Reisha Rav wrote that the Jews in Egypt were despondent when they had to look for straw to make bricks and they wondered whether they would continue as a people. However, Hashem took us out of Egypt amidst great miracles and as a result the Jews are told - you have seen what I did to Egypt.

Similarly, while Jews may ask now where are the public miracles - the answer is the first pasuk of this week's parsha - you (the Jews) are still in existence standing here. You (making reference to the pasuk from Isaiah) are My (Hashem's) witnesses and prove that He is in the heavens and controlling what occurs on earth.

Rabbi Frand then made reference to a set of pesukim in Vayelech (Devarim 31:20-21) where Hashem tells Moshe that after Moshe dies and the Jews are in Israel the Jews will turn to other gods and Hashem will get angry towards them and punish them, but the Torah will speak before it that it has not been forgotten (V'ansa hashirah hazoas lefanav l'eid ki lo tishcach mipi zaro).

Rabbi Frand told a story about the Ponovich Rav who came to Israel in 1941 and started a yeshiva. People thought that he was crazy since at the time Rommel was rampaging through North Africa and he was only a few hundred miles away.

Not long after the war, a boy came to the Yeshiva and asked to be admitted to learn. The boy was brought to the Rav who asked him his story. The boy said that he had been in Yeshiva but was captured and interred in the concentration camps. The Rav asked him - do you remember anything that you learned before you were in the camps. The boy replied that he remembered learning a gemara in Eilu Tereifos.

The Ponovich Rav gave the boy a kiss and then immediately grabbed the boy and began to run through the streets of Bnei Berak stopping people and telling them - "this boy was in the camps and he still remembers Eilu Tereifos."

The Rav then stopped at the home of the Chazon Ish and brought the boy in to meet him. The Chazon Ish said - this boy proves the pasuk in Vayeilech - the Torah will be a witness that it will not be forgotten.

Just another nes which demonstrates the greatness of Hashem and our continued existence despite all those who seek to destroy the Jews.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Wednesday's Weird But True Legal Cases - Vol LI

This week's weird (but true) legal case is inspired by a CLE (continuing legal education) course I recently took on the laws of search and seizure.

Before getting into the case, a brief introduction is in order. The Supreme Court of the United States hears cases in three different ways. Certain cases are original jurisdiction (such as those where a state is a party or those involving certain ambassadors) while others reach the Supreme Court on appeal from either the highest court of a state or from a Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. When parties seek to appeal in the latter situations, they typically file for a writ of certiorari by which the Supreme Court indicates that it is willing to hear the controversy. In order to obtain the writ, four justices of the Supreme Court must agree to hear the matter.

In Pennsylvania v. Dunlap, 129 S.Ct. 448 (2008) a petition for a writ of certiorari was filed by the State of Pennsylvania, which asked the Supreme Court to review a decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The underlying controversy involved an officer who arrested the defendant after the officer saw a hand to hand transaction in a high crime neighborhood. After the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the officer lacked probable cause based on his observations, the prosecutors sought review of the decision.

Although the appellants were unable to obtain the requisite four justices, the Court did not summarily deny the application. Instead, Chief Justice Roberts along with Justice Kennedy wrote a dissent from the denial of certiorari. The first two paragraphs of the dissent read like a novel and are reproduced below:

North Philly, May 4, 2001. Officer Sean Devlin, Narcotics Strike Force, was working the morning shift. Undercover surveillance. The neighborhood? Tough as a three-dollar steak. Devlin knew. Five years on the beat, nine months with the Strike Force. He'd made fifteen, twenty drug busts in the neighborhood.

Devlin spotted him: a lone man on the corner. Another approached. Quick exchange of words. Cash handed over; small objects handed back. Each man then quickly on his own way. Devlin knew the guy wasn't buying bus tokens. He radioed a description and Officer Stein picked up the buyer. Sure enough: three bags of crack in the guy's pocket. Head downtown and book him. Just another day at the office.

You can look up the decision and read Chief Judge Roberts prose at
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/07-1486.pdf .

If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up.

Tuesday's Thoughts on the Daf - Bava Basra 18

On Bava Basra 18, the gemara continues a series of questions which were posed to Rava's position in relation to the use of property within close proximity of a neighboring property.

On Bava Basra 17b, Rava had stated that the laws preventing one from making use of his own property (when it was situated close to a property of another) applied even when the object which could potentially be damaged (usually a fence) was not yet present on the neighboring property. The gemara then began to question Rava by mentioning other beraisos in which neighbors were told not to perform certain acts near the border of their property - such as not planting, plowing or urinating near the border as it would damage the fence. The gemara then opined - since the beraisa mentioned a fence by name, it must only be where there is a fence that the activity is banned. However, where there is no existing fence, the activity would be permitted --thus contrary to Rava's position. The gemara then answered that the use of the fence in the example was only to teach that these activities (which cause moisture) are banned because they damage fences, however even if there was no fence up yet the actions are still barred.

I would like to briefly discuss two of the questions posed to Rava on Bava Basra 18a. One of the situations involved distancing a mill from the border. The gemara indicates that the vibrations from the mill could damage the fence. Rabbeinu Gershom offers two rationales - one that the use of the mill will cause vibrations which would damage the fence. The other explanation is that the use of the mills will cause sound waves which could damage the fence. This grasp of physics by a Rishon was quite striking to me.

The other example dealt with the planting of mustard seed in proximity to a neighbor's bee hive. The gemara recites that the planting should be barred because the mustard seed was damaging to the bees. Rashi explains that the bees would eat the mustard seed and then have a sharp taste in their mouths. They would then return to their hive and eat the honey, thus damaging the neighbors yield from the hive. As a result the Rabbanan prohibit the planting of the mustard seed. The gemara then (in the hava meena) recites that R' Yosi allows the planting as the mustard seed owner could say to his neighbors - you distance your bees from my mustard as they will eat my plants and damage my yield.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up.

Kosher Beers Semi Annual Kosher Beers List - September 2009 Update

THE LIST IN THIS POST WAS UPDATED IN SEPTEMBER 2011. THE MOST RECENT LIST CAN BE FOUND BY CLICKING ON THE LINK ON THE TOP LEFT OF THE HOMEPAGE.

In response to many requests, I have compiled an updated list of those beers under Kosher supervision. This post will be updated regularly as new information becomes available - the most recent update was 11/29/09.

[Ed Note -Merely because a beer is not on this list does not mean that it is not kosher. This list contains the results of my research and is based on what I have been able to independently verify].

As a foreword, please note that the major kashruth organizations utilize the chazakah that unflavored beer does not require a hashgacha as unflavored beers are made only from four ingredients: malted barley, hops, water and yeast. For a great article by Rabbi Tzvi Rosen on kashruth in alcohol, including an in depth analysis of beer making please click here http://www.star-k.com/kashrus/kk-thirst-highspirits.htm .

Additionally, for those trying to make sense of the different styles of beer which can be found in your local beer store - please click here for the Beer Advocate beer style list which breaks down the beers both by their type and country of origin: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style .

Assuming that you are looking for a beer with a hashgacha, I have compiled a list of beers along with their certifying agency. Please note that the list below is not meant to be exhaustive as it only reflects the results of my individual research. Finally, to my friends, I have not tried every beer on this kosher beer list and merely because I list them here does not mean I recommend them for your consumption. If you find a beer which looks interesting to you, please feel free to search the archive on the kosherbeers site to see if I have reviewed it.

Samuel Adams - as per Star-K, the following varieties are kosher even without a certification on the label. Please note that not every variety of Sam is on this approved list. To see the Star-K LOC for Samuel Adams, please click here - http://www.star-k.org/loc/kosher_letter_6635_bostonbeercompany.pdf .

Black Lager; Blackberry Wit Beer; Boston Ale; Boston Lager; Brown Ale; Cherry Wheat; Cranberry Lambic; Cream Stout; Double Bock; Hefeweizen; Holiday Porter; Honey Porter; Imperial Stout; Imperial White Ale; Irish Red Ale; Light, Octoberfest; Old Fezziwig; Pale Ale; Summer Ale; White Ale; Winter Lager.

Gordon Biersch - the following beers were listed as certified kosher on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit by fax. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on April 26, 2010.

Blonde Bock; Czech Style Pilsner; Dunkelweizen; Festbier; Hefeweizen; Marzen; SommerBrau; WinterBock.

Josephs Brau - the following beers were listed as certified kosher on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit by fax. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on April 26, 2010.

Dunkelweizen; Hopfest; Oktoberfest; Summer Brew; Winterfest.

Brick Brewery - This Canadian Brewery only sells its fine product in Ontario. However, should you be lucky enough to find some where you are located, the following varieties are approved by the COR on their website - http://www.cor.ca/en/20177

Brick - Amber Dry; Anniversary Bock; Premium. Laker - Honey; Ice; Premium Lager; Premium Light; Red; Strong.Waterloo - Dark Lager, Wheat.


Brooklyn Brewery - This beer company brews in multiple locations including Brooklyn, New York and Utica, New York. The following beers which are brewed in Utica and sold in 12 oz bottles were listed on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on March 10, 2010.

Brooklyn - American Ale; Black Chocolate Stout; Brown Ale; East India Pale Ale; Lager; Monster Ale; Oktoberfest; Pennant Ale; Pilsner; Summer Ale; Weiss Beer; Winter Ale.
Post Road - Pumpkin Ale.


Coopers Brewery (Australia) - The following beers are listed on the LOC from Kosher Australia which can be found by clicking here http://www.coopers.com.au/media/files/2506.pdf

Coopers - Best Extra Stout; Dark Ale; Extra Strong Vintage Ale; Mild Ale; Original Pale Ale; Premium Ale; Premium Light Beer; Sparkling Ale; Special Old Stout.


Coors (including Blue Moon) - To my knowledge, all beers produced by the Coors Brewing Company (including its Blue Moon subsidiary) are under the Orthodox Union. The beers generally have an OU on the label. The following are the varieties which I have seen with an OU.

Coors Golden Ale (aka banquet beer); Coors Light; Keystone Light; Blue Moon; Full Moon Winter Ale; Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale; Honey Moon Summer Ale; Pale Moon Pale Ale; Rising Moon Spring Ale, Killian's Irish Red.


Lakefront Brewery - also certified by the Star-K. Very difficult to find outside of the Midwest, although some are available in Brooklyn at American Beverage on Court Street in Cobble Hill. The following varieties are found on the Star- K LOC which can be viewed here - http://www.star-k.org/loc/kosher_letter_8197_lakefrontbreweryinc.pdf .

Big Easy Lager; Bock Dark Lager; Cattail Ale; Cherry Lager; Cream City Pale Ale; East Side Dark Lager; Fuel Coffee Stout; Holiday Spice Lager; Klisch Pilsner; New Grist Beer; Oktoberfest; Organic Barleywine; Organic ESB; Pumpkin Lager; Riverwest Stein; Snake Chaser Stout; White Beer.


FX Matt Brewing - this company brews many different brands of beer at its Utica factory. The following beers were listed on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit by fax. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on March 10, 2010.

Lake Placid: Ubu Ale; IPA; 46'er Ale.
Saranac: Adirondack Lager; Amber Wheat; Belgian Ale; Belgian White; Big Moose Ale; Black Diamond Bock; Black Forest; Black & Tan; Bock; Brown Ale; Caramel Porter; Chocolate Amber; Dunkel; ESB; Golden Pilsner; Hefewiezen; Helles; High Peaks Imperial IPA; Imperial Stout; India Pale; Irish Red Ale; Kolsch; Light; Maple Porter; Marzenbier; Mocha Stout; Mountain Ale; Nut Brown Ale; Oatmeal Stout; Oktoberfest; Pale Ale; Pale Pale Ale; Pomegranate Wheat; Pumpkin Ale; Rauchbier; Roggen Bock; Rye Pale Ale; Rye Pilsner; Season's Best; Scotch Ale; Single Malt; Stout; Summer Ale; Summer Brew; Traditional Lager; Winter Wassail;
Utica Club : Light, Pilsner.

Kirkland - the following beers which are sold at Costco under their Kirkland house brand are certified kosher. These beers were listed on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit by fax. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on April 26, 2010.

Kirkland Signature Amber Ale; Signature German Style Lager; Signature Hefeweizen and Signature Pale Ale.

Miller - only select beers produced by the Miller Brewing Company are under kosher supervision by the OK laboratories -

Miller Genuine Draft (MGD); Miller Genuine Draft Light and Miller Lite.

New Belgium -only select beers produced by the New Belgium Brewing Company are certified kosher under the LOC which I received from the Scroll-K. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on June 30, 2010 and included:

1554 Black Beer; 2 Below; Abbey; Blue Paddle; Fat Fire; Frambozen; Mighty Arrow; Mothership Wit; Old Cherry; Skinny Dip; Sunshine; Trippel.

Pete's Brewing Company - The following beers were listed on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on March 10, 2010.

Pete's Wicked Ale; Rally Cap Ale; Strawberry Blonde; Wanderlust.

President's Choice - PC is the private label brand for the Loblaws supermarket chain. The following PC beers are listed as are approved by the COR on their website - http://www.cor.ca/en/20177:

Choice 2.5, Dry, Genuine Draft, Genuine Lager, Honey Red, Light, Low Carb 2.5, Pilsener, Wheat.

Redhook Brewery - This brewery produces beer on both the East Coast (New Hampshire) and West Coast (Woodinville, Washington). Both breweries produce beers which are under the kashruth supervision of the OU (all Redhook bottles which I have seen have the OU on the label) including:

Blonde, Copperhook Spring Ale, ESB, Longhammer IPA, Winterhook Winter Ale.


Spoetzel Brewery - This small town Texas brewery has a cult like following among those who have tried its product. The following beers (brewed under the trade name Shiner) were listed on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit by fax. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on December 31, 2009.

Blonde; Bock; Bohemian Black Lager; Hefeweizen; Holiday Cheer; Kolsch; Kosmos Reserve; Light; 99 Helles; 100 Commemorator; Smokehaus; Spezial Leicht.

Trader Joe's - the following beers which are sold at Trader Joe's under their own label are certified kosher. These beers were listed on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit by fax. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on April 26, 2010.

Trader Joe's Bavarian Hefeweizen; Bohemian Lager; Hofbrau Bock and Vienna Lager.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up.

Sunday Night Suds - Waterloo Wheat Beer

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at the newest kosher Canadian brew - the Brick Brewery's Waterloo Wheat.

Prior to my recent trip to Canada to visit the Northern branch of the family, I contacted the COR (the Toronto based Kashruth Council of Canada) to inquire as to the beers under COR supervision. I received a January 2009 letter of certification by email from the COR which contained the beers which are currently listed on the COR website. I then went down to the Beer Store (one of the two legal outlets to buy beer in Ontario) and while looking at the chart on the wall, I saw that the Waterloo Wheat label on the chart had a COR on the label. Since I adore wheat beers, I had to buy it, even though it only came in 12 and 24 packs.

Although the experts at Beer Advocate call the Waterloo Wheat a witbier, the brew does not taste like a typical witbier. There is no spice note or even the slightest hint of coriander. I would say that the beer tends towards an American Wheat Beer, but even for an American Wheat Beer the Waterloo Wheat was rather pale, almost like a blonde.

Having said that, the Waterloo Wheat does have some flavor and is rather drinkable. It went well with shabbos leftovers and probably would not conflict with most meat dishes.

Waterloo Wheat is under the Kosher Supervision of the Kashruth Council of Canada. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Waterloo Wheat, please follow this link http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/416/37476.

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 such as JBlog, please feel free to click here 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 Savo

The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand in his shiur this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort 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 beginning of Parshas Ki Savo contains a description of the bikkurim ceremony where a farmer brought his first fruits to the Beis Hamikdash and they were given to the Kohain with much fanfare. Within the Torah's discussion of the ceremony (Devarim 28:1-11) the Torah indicates that after giving the fruits to the Kohain, the farmer bows as it states V'hishtachavisa Lifnei Hashem Elokecha (Devarim 28:10).

The Midrash Tanchuma writes that Moshe saw with ruach Hakodesh that the Beis Hamikdash would one day be destroyed and that the Jews would no longer be able to bring bikkurim. Therefore Moshe established the concept of praying Shemoneh Esrei to compensate for this loss.

Rabbi Frand then asked, what is the connection between Shemoneh Esrei and bikkurim?

Rabbi Frand began his answer by making reference to the Minchas Asher (R' Asher Weiss) who discusses many situations in the Torah which involved bowing, including Ya'akov and his wives bowing to Esau (Bereishis 33:3,6). Why did they bow? Because bowing connotes respect - which we see in some cultures today. Rabbi Frand made reference to the bowing ceremony when one meets the Queen of England and Japanese ceremonial bowing.

The Minchas Asher also mentioned another form of bowing brought down in the Torah. When Eliezer learned that he would be able to bring Rivka back to Yitzchak, the Torah states that he bowed to Hashem (Bereishis 24:51). This was bowing as a sign of acknowledgement that Hashem had done something good for him.

In Shemoneh Esrei there are two periods of bowing - in the beginning in the Avos portion and towards the end in the Modim portion. These demonstrate the two forms of bowing - the first wherein the person demonstrates that he is subjugated to Hashem. The second bowing is an indication that he acknowledges the good that he has received from Hashem.

So which form of bowing is found in the bikkurim ceremony? Rabbi Frand answered that it is a machlokes. The Vilna Gaon in the sefer Aderes Eliyahu says that the bowing is showing subjugation, because when leaving the King, one must still bow his head and show that he is respectful of the King.

In contrast, the Tosafos in Gemara Sukkah says that the bowing comes while the Kohain is waving the basket with the fruit and that this is an acknowledgement of the goodness received from Hashem.

The Midrash Tanchuma's message is that Moshe saw that the bikkurim ceremony afforded the Jews the opportunity to perform both forms of bowing. Knowing that the Beis Hamikdash would be destroyed, Moshe set up the Shemoneh Esrei so as to allow us to continue to practice both forms of bowing.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!