Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayera

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 the midst of Avraham's "negotiations" to save Sodom and the other cities from destruction, Avraham stops actively negotiating and says to Hashem in Bereishis 18:27 וַיַּ֥עַן אַבְרָהָ֖ם וַיֹּאמַ֑ר הִנֵּה־נָ֤א הוֹאַ֨לְתִּי֙ לְדַבֵּ֣ר אֶל־אֲדֹנָ֔י וְאָֽנֹכִ֖י עָפָ֥ר וָאֵֽפֶר. Rashi explains that Avraham uses these terms to thank Hashem as he could have become dust when he fought in the war of the four kings vs the five kings and he could have been turned into ash when Nimrod threw him in the Kivshan Ha'Esh. 

R' Frand quoted R' Bukspan (of Parshah Pearls fame) who observes that Avraham was mentioning these things at present even though the events had occurred in the past. In this way Avraham was teaching how to be Makir Tov - by constantly having in focus the good that was done for you.

R' Frand told a story about someone who had been in a massive car accident and walked away without a scratch. The state trooper was amazed and told him that no one walks away from an accident like that. 

The man decided that he would learn Mussar every day as a Hakaras HaTov for being saved. But after a year he was no longer keeping the Mussar seder. 

Avraham's lesson was that you need to constantly remember the good and not relegate it to the past. R' Frand gave the example of a person who was unemployed for a period of time and then found a job. He was ecstatic when he began the job, but at some point later he felt under appreciated and under paid. 

R' Frand also invoked a car commercial for GM from my childhood which asked "What have you done for me lately." He also quoted the late great Pete Rose who famously said - you are only as good as your last at bat.

Avraham was teaching us that this is not the mindset of a Jew.

R' Frand said a second vort related to the Akeidah and specifically the pasuk in Bereishis 22:5 -  וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶל־נְעָרָ֗יו שְׁבֽוּ־לָכֶ֥ם פֹּה֙ עִם־הַֽחֲמ֔וֹר. The Gemara in Kiddushin remarks that they are compared to a donkey, in the sense that much like a donkey does not have lineage, so too if one has a baby with a shifcha or akum, the child does not have his lineage.

The Beis Halevi asks - why does the Torah choose this point in time to teach this law? He answers that Avraham could have had a doubt when Hashem told him to sacrifice Yitzchak - after all, Avraham had been previously told that Yitzchak would be his lineage. Perhaps Avraham was thinking that Hashem had "changed His mind" and that the lineage would be through Yishmael. To disabuse him of this notion, the Torah chose this moment to teach that a child of Hagar could not be Avraham's lineage.

R' Frand next quoted the Pirkei D'Rebbi Elezer in which R' Yehudah states that when the knife was applied to Yitzchak's neck, his soul departed. It was only when he heard from between the Kruvim that Avraham was told not to harm him that Yitzchak's soul returned. At that point Yitzchak recited the bracha of Mechaye HaMeisim. 

R' Frand then quoted the Ari who writes that Yitzchak previously had a female Neshama, but when it returned to him after the Akeidah it was male. R' Frand (although with the disclaimer that he is not a Kabbalist) said that this was truly the new beginning for the Jewish people. When Yitzchak had a female Neshama he did not have the ability to procreate, but now he could become one of our forefathers. 

R' Frand said that there are times that a person can feel that something is coming to the end, but in reality its a new beginning. He quoted R' Epstein who observed that the Golden Age of Spain ended for the Jews on Tisha B'Av 1492 ... the same day that Columbus set sail for America. And while the Jews of Spain were forced to flee on that day, it was the beginning of the discovery of a nation which would absorb millions of Jews from the 1800s through the Holocaust.

R' Frand closed the vort by observing that the Torah reading on Rosh Hashanah ends with the descendants of Besuel. He said that it always bothered him why the Kriah could not be broken up so that the five Aliyos on Rosh Hashanah could end before this part of Parshas Vayera. But with the understanding of the Ari its clear why the descendants are mentioned. Prior to the Akeidah, Yitzchak was incapable of having children. But after he received a male Neshama he was capable of having children, thus the descendants of Besuel are mentioned because they include Rivka.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Lech Lecha

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's first vort asked why Avram being told to leave his homeland was a test? He prefaced the vort by stating that in Elul 1939, the Brisker Rav travelled from Brisk to Warsaw and eventually Vilna as he fled the Nazis. The Sefer L'Romeim tells a story about how someone observed the Brisker Rav in Vilna and he appeared pensive. The man asked why he seemed concerned and the Brisker Rav explained that he had always wondered why Avram leaving his home was a test. After all, Avram was promised that he would be made famous and wealthy but leaving his home. But now I understand that when a person leaves his hometown he is in Galus and it is difficult to be in Galus. And even though I am waiting to travel to Eretz Yisrael, I am not in my hometown and the house of my father and its a test.

R' Frand observed that everyone has tests and they are difficult. R' Frand quoted the Sefer R' Yehuda Hachasid who said that the foundation of Yiras Shamayim is the test. When a person does not understand why something is happening it is because it is a test. R' Yehuda further states that when Hashem wants to give a person a gift, the Satan comes before Hashem and says - he is not deserving - have You ever tested him? This is why Hashem gives the test and if the person withstands it, Hashem can answer back to the Satan.

R' Frand also told a story about an orphan who went to the Pnei Menachem and said - Hashem is giving me tests and it is like Hashem is putting sticks into my wheels. The Gerrer Rebbi answered - what travels faster - a car or a tank? A tank is slower because it has tracks, but it is equipped to go over anything. While it might be slower, it is a more powerful vehicle. While a person has challenges, it makes the person stronger. 

Rabbi Frand began the second vort by noting that when Hashem said to Avram, לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵֽאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ it appears to be out of order in that Avram is told to leave his land, where he was born and the house of his father, when usually a person would first leave his father's house and as he continued to travel would eventually leave the country.

R' Frand answered by quoting the Malbim who explains that this was not merely a physical move - Hashem wanted him to leave the mindset of his environment. In order to change his philosophy, he needed to leave his state, but more than that, his city will have a greater impact on his thinking and he needed to leave that behind. But even more fundamentally is the mindset of his father's house. 

R' Frand also told a story of R' Moshe Turkichinsky who was born in Israel and traveled to learn in Slobodka for the summer z'man. Before Shavuous, the Rosh Yeshiva, R Isaac Sherer asked him whether he would be keeping two days of Yom Tov as he was now in galus. R' Moshe did not answer and this was more of a statement than a question, but still he was confused. The halacha is that someone who intends to return to Israel does not do work on day 2, but also davens as if it is Chol. 

R' Moshe went and asked the Rav of the city what he should do and was told that he should be davening the Chol davening. When asked again by the Rosh Yeshiva about keeping two days he decided that he would daven in his dorm with tefillin first and then go to the Yeshiva when they davened and no one one would know that he had previously prayed. But then as the Yeshiva was going to daven Maariv to begin the second day, the Rosh Yeshiva approached him and asked him to be the Shaliach Tzibbur. Now he was stuck, how could he lead the Yom Tov prayers?

R' Moshe decided that the only solution was to take upon himself not to return to Israel and become a ben Chutz L'Aretz. He then went up and led davening and recited all of the Yom Tov prayers. When he was done, R' Sherer said to him - I know the halacha that you should only keep one day, but I also saw that your head and heart were not in the yeshiva. You may have been physically in Slobodka, but you were thinking about your birthplace and I needed you to commit to being a bochur here.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Noach

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 Bereishis 7:11 the Torah writes -  בַּיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֗ה נִבְקְעוּ֙ כָּל־מַעְיְנוֹת֙ תְּה֣וֹם רַבָּ֔ה וַֽאֲרֻבֹּ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם נִפְתָּֽחוּ. Rashi analyzes the word רַבָּ֔ה and explains that the punishment was Middah K'Neged Middah - since the people of the generation sinned with רַבָּ֔ה, they were punished with רַבָּ֔ה.

R' Frand then asked - it is known that the generation of the flood was punished either because they were involved in immorality or because they stole. What is the רַבָּ֔ה referring to?

R' Frand answered by quoting a Sefer by an unidentified Vilna Dayan who explains that the people were involved in in the pursuit of uncontrolled pleasure - this is what is referred to.

R' Frand then tied this to the Yonah bringing the olive branch back to the Ark. R' Frand quoted a Medrash which states that the olive branch was actually from Gan Eden as Hashem opened Gan Eden to allow the Yonah to retrieve it. 

But why did the Yonah need to bring an olive branch from Gan Eden? Wouldn't any olive branch suffice?

R' Frand answered that if a person wants to prevent his pursuit of pleasure from getting out of control, he should connect it with something spiritual. This was the reason that the olive branch was brought from Gan Eden - to show that the spiritual can connected with earthly pursuits.

R' Frand closed this part of the vort by repeating a story from a R' Mattisyahu Solomon ZTL sefer about a Rosh Yeshiva who was a Ba'al Teshuva. In his youth, he had been visiting the seedy sections of Haifa when he saw a Yeshiva Bochur who when he passed an inappropriate venue, had shielded his eyes so as to not see it. This was intriguing to him and he wondered what pleasure the Yeshiva Bochur found superior to this? He came to follow the boy and saw the Yeshiva lifestyle and eventually became a Rosh Yeshiva.

R' Frand told a second vort about the animals which came to the Ark - specifically noting that the non-Kosher animanls came to the Ark on their own and that Noach had to go out and locate the kosher animals. 

R' Frand quoted R' Ya'akov Kaminetsky who explained that that the kosher animals were destined to be sacrifices and that someone involved in a Mitzva needs to make an investment in order for the Mitzva  to be complete. This is similarly why a person pays for a Mi Sheberach after getting an Aliyah - because getting a Mitzva for free creates a blemished Mitzva - only by paying for the Mi Sheberach is the Mitzva complete.

R' Frand closed the vort by quoting R' Simcha Zissel Brody who noted that Sefer Bereishis is called Sefer HaYashar because the Avos were straight and always comported themselves with the nations in a way that they were beyond reproach.

This trickled down to the animals as well. As the Kosher animals were destined to be sacrifices, it would not be appropriate for them to instinctively go to the Ark from which they would be later sacrificed. Only the non-Kosher animals which were not destined for slaughter had the instinct to travel to the Ark on their own.

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The Second Part of Rabbi Frand's Teshuva Derasha 5785/2024

The following is second half of the recap of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand in his annual Teshuva Derasha which was broadcast live from Baltimore on the TCN network Thursday Night. This was a very powerful derasha and my attempt to summarize should not be viewed as an exact transcript. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

R' Frand said that while we won't understand why the attack occurred, but we are aware of the ramifications. The rise of antisemitism is beyond what anyone could have dreamed. 

R' Frand tied this to the Meshecha Chacmah's writing on Galus in Parshas Bechukosai in connection with the Tochacha. He writes that the Jews were destined to be in Galus for 3,000 years and that in order to prepare them, Ya'akov gave his children certain instructions when they went down to Egypt - they needed to be different and not change their clothes, names or language. And he told them that they must bury him in Canaan because if they were buried in Egypt, his children would give up on ever leaving Egypt.

Similarly Daniel enacted certain rules during the 70 years of the Galus after the destruction of the First Temple. He forbade Pas Akum and Shemen Akum and Bishul Akum. Because if they would not be allowed to eat with the Akum they would not be fraternizing with them and there would not be a danger that they would be marrying their daughters. Later Ezra and the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah reinforced this to prevent assimilation.  

But the Meshech Chachma notes that after being in a country for generations there will be assimilation. And then there will be a terrific storm which causes the Jews to leave that country for another country. But after rebuilding Torah and being successful, they will again forget that they are in a foreign country and they will give up on being saved. But then there will be another storm which will be even stronger. And the pattern will continue and continue and the Jews will forget where they had come from and will believe that Berlin is Jerusalem. As he died in 1926, this was well before the Holocaust.

R' Frand recounted the Aggadah in Bava Basra that people were on a boat and they saw an island. They got off the boat and settled and cooked and baked on the island and thought they had made it. But then it was too hot for the fish which actually was under the dirt they were on and it turned over and they all slid off. And if the boat was not close by, they would have drowned. 

The Maharsha says that this story is a parable and the Nesivos writes that this is something like Achris HaYamim like America. But eventually it gets too hot for the fish.

R' Frand said that he saw the Meshech Chachma more than 40 years ago and wondered if it could happen in the USA. And yes it can.

R' Frand quoted Nathan Lewin in an op-ed where he talked about his grandfather who was on the city counsel in Lodz. A Jew was shot and killed in broad daylight and Mr. Lewin's grandfather wanted to mark the event at the city council. But a virulent anti semite got up and said - "If I could I would shoot 1,000 Jews...what are you doing in Poland, go back to Palestine."

And now 86 years on the college campuses, the "River to the Sea" protestors tell the Jews they should "go back to Poland."

So which is it - is it Palestine? Is it Poland? Is it the sea? Where are we to go?

R' Frand said that antisemitism cannot be cured until the Moshiach comes. Because as Rashbi states - Halacha He Esav Soneh L'Yaakov. But this is not a halachic ruling! R' Moshe Feinstein writes that the same way that halacha wont change, this wont change. R' Frand added on that the same way that we don't understand all halachos, we won't understand this.

And it is not logical. Dr Salk saved the country by curing polio and there have been hundreds of Nobel Prize winners. But just like there are laws of nature, the world was set up that Esav Soneh L'Yaakov.

R' Frand quoted a Gemara in Shabbos which writes that the Toah was given on Sinai, but Sinah came down to the world at the same time. And just as inexplicable was the giving of the Torah was the the devolution of antisemitism.

And antisemitism started in the womb with Esav fighting Yaakov. We don't know why this was Hashem's plan, but maybe it has to do with the fact that we would in Galus for so many years and that this is a way that they will reject us and we will not intermarriage with them.

R' Frand said that there is way to survive and thrive and we learn it from Bila'am who tried to curse and kill us. But he said something so profound in Bamidbar 23:9 - הֶן־עָם֙ לְבָדָ֣ד יִשְׁכֹּ֔ן וּבַגּוֹיִ֖ם לֹ֥א יִתְחַשָּֽׁב.

R' Frand quoted the Netziv who writes that the Jews are not like every other nation which assimilates and becomes accepted into the society they are in. When the Jews are separated and are not mixed, they will be able to live in serenity and peace - if they are separate they will leave in peace, but if you want to be with them, they won't consider us a nation.

R' Frand quoted R' Chaim Volozhin who said that if the Jews don't make Kiddush, the Akum will make Havdalah and will separate us. Our job is to be a holy people and to live an exalted existence, then they will leave in peace with us.

R' Frand also quoted the Netziv on the Hagaddah who writes that what stands for us in every generation is that V'hi - "it" - that which was said in Bris Bein HaBisarim (Bereishis 15:13) -  יָדֹ֨עַ תֵּדַ֜ע כִּי־גֵ֣ר | יִֽהְיֶ֣ה זַרְעֲךָ֗ בְּאֶ֨רֶץ֙ לֹ֣א לָהֶ֔ם וַֽעֲבָד֖וּם וְעִנּ֣וּ אֹתָ֑ם - the way to survive and thrive is to be a stranger. But if we think we came over on the Mayflower and this is our country, we won't surive.

So what is there for us to do? Are we not making Kiddush? Are we not learning Daf Yomi? Are we not davening three times a day? Are the women not dressed Tzniously? 

R' Frand said that if there is a positive impact from the events of October 7 it is that Jews on college campuses are flocking to Hillel and Chabad in ways that there never were before. Whether this is because they want to understand what it means to be a Jew or because they are seeking shelter among their own kind, or even if its because they want Jewish comfort food, they are reaching out. And we should be there to satisfy that thirst. In so doing, our mitzvos will become more infused with holiness. And a sure fire way to do is to explain Judaism to an unaffiliated person - and both will become more holy and you will appreciate your Judaism more.

R' Frand quoted a book called Suddenly Jewish by Barbara Kessell, The author writes that if she thinks seriously about possibly being told that she was not Jewish, she would be devastated. She writes that she knows that on Friday Nights she will set her table with a white tablecloth and her best dishes and the family will talk about the week's events. She knows that in the spring her family will visit and have a Seder. And in the fall she will fast 25 hours and think about how she can better herself. And if this was taken from her she would be devastated.

R' Frand said that the Netziv asks - do we feel like we are in Galus, or do we think that Berlin is Jerusalem? But more to the point, we make the Sinah more palpable when we get in the face of Akum neighbors. R' Yaakov Kaminetsky told people in Monsey not to walk in the street with their Tallis on the outside. Why? Because this is Galus and not Jerusalem.

R' Frand said that he was told a story by a man from Lakewood who had been on a flight. He had a conversation with a seatmate who said - I can't get over how many hundreds of houses are going up on Rt 70 - have the Chasidim taken over the zoning board too? There is latent anti-semitism, but we make it worse when we do things people don't like - and driving in a way that is disrespectful to others only adds gas to the fire. So R' Frand suggested that frum Jews take on to drive in a more considerate way.

R' Frand also said that if people want to feel the Galus then when they daven Shemoneh Esreh they should have more Kavanah in V'Leyrushalaim Ircha. He remarked that he was born in the USA and likes baseball and apple pie, but he has had enough with America and its time to daven for Geulah.

R' Frand also quoted the Rabbeinu Yona who said that if you don't reach out to Hashem in this time, its a smack across His face. The Rabbeinu Yona then repeats the parable about a group of prisoners who escape prison, but one stays behind. The warden hits him and says to him - the way to get out is there and you did not use it. R' Frand said that for years he had problems with this medrash. But he heard from R' Gelbwirth in the name of R' Moshe Shapiro that the king knows that the most wonderful place in the world to be is in his country and if you choose to stay in prison you are an idiot and an insult to the king.

R' Frand said that we have a reverse incarceration - we are not locked in, we are locked out of our homeland. And if you are comfortable being here, you are insulting the King as you take the position that you would prefer to be here.

R' Frand talked about the section of the house which when built is supposed to be left empty. Why? Because in Galus you need to know that life is not complete. You may need a large house because you have a large family, but you don't need every convenience.

R' Frand closed by asking - am I advocating that everyone make Aliyah? He answered "Yes,but" sometimes its not feasible, or practical or even possible. But we need to remember that this is not our homeland and we should not treat it as such. So when sitting on Yom Kippur think about what you can do to remember you are in Galus and bring mor Kedushah into your life. Because where we are is not Jerusalem and if we feel that way, then maybe He will bring the Geulah.

R' Frand quoted Yeshaya in the 6th Haftorah after Tisha B'Av where he states that in place of being despised, I will make you an eternal source of joy for generations. Instead of being spat on and called "Jew" - you will be the joy. This will happen - and then they will come running and want to support you, but Hashem will say that it is too late, and I have the record. He quoted R' Pa'am who said - why does the UN exist? Because one day they will come and say - we were always on your side. But all the votes in the UN have been recorded and I have the record.

We should live to see the day when we will be lauded and be the pride of the world from generation to generation soon in our days.

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Thursday's Thoughts on Teshuva - Rabbi Frand's Teshuva Derasha 5785/2024 - 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 live from Baltimore on the TCN network this evening. I have attempted to summarize the first part of the derasha in this post and iyh will do an additional post over the weekend. 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.

Rabbi Frand began by noting that this year there is no need to look for a topic for the derasha as the events of Shmini Atzeres/Simchas Torah (October 7) and the subsequent horrible events needed to be the subject of the derasha. But while the topic is obvious, the message is a daunting challenge. We do not have Nev'im to tell us the message and we live in the fog of Hester Panim.

But even though we don't have Nevi'im, Hashem speaks to us cryptically through events and it is our job to figure it out.

R' Frand noted that the majority of Jews who are not religious are not asking themselves - what does Hashem want. But those who are Frum believe in divine intervention and when a world shattering event occurs - Hashem is not only speaking to us - He is shouting at us.

R' Frand stated that we should not look at the non-religious and say that the events occurred because they are not religious. R' Frand quoted the Brisker Rav who said that this is an incorrect mindset and he brought a proof from the story of Yonah which we will read on Yom Kippur afternoon. When Yonah gets on the boat there was a terrible storm and the boat was going to capsize. During this time, the sailors all worshipped their idols while Yonah slept. But then Yonah said - this is my fault - its not the idol worshippers. The Brisker Rav in his time said that the events which were occurring were not due to the actions or inactions of the Chilonim - it was due to the actions of the frum Jews.

So what is the message? R' Frand said that it is well above his pay grade. But he did note that there was a message from the events of April 13, 2024 when all the projectiles from Iran were shot down and not a single Jew in Israel died. An Israeli general called it a statistical anomaly, as the Iron Dome was only rated as being able to intercept 90% of the incoming projectiles. 

But even if you have forgotten about the events of April 13, 2024, think back to last week when Iran launched not drones or cruise missiles - but ballistic missiles which are much harder to intercept. And not a single Jew was killed.

R' Frand said that this message from Hashem was - this is a miracle to show you that I still love you. And even though I punished you for whatever the reason, I am like a father and I still love you and have not abandoned you.

But R' Frand said that there is another message from this miracle - you still need Me. You can't do this just with your high tech wizardly - that can fail. Just think back to October 7 when the great Israeli army and intelligence and defense was overrun by men on motorcycles and hang gliders. The message was - you can't do this yourself, you still need Me.

R' Frand said that he saw a quote from a female member of the Knesset who by her own admission was not a religious woman. She said that we need the protection of Hashem and the Rabbanim who learn Torah. And she was heckled by members of the Knesset but she stood her ground because she knew she was right.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshios Netzavim - Vayelech

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 the Gemara in Chaggigah 5a which states that when R' Yochanan got to the pasuk in Devarim 31:21 וְהָיָ֠ה כִּֽי־תִמְצֶ֨אןָ אֹת֜וֹ רָע֣וֹת רַבּוֹת֘ וְצָרוֹת֒ he would cry out and say - a slave whose master brings this upon him, can he be saved? He is lost!

R' Meir Shapiro in his sefer Imrei Da'as asked - why is that R' Yochanan cried here, but not when he read the Tochacha? 

To answer the question he cited a Gemara in Berachos wherein R' Yochanan says that Yisurin create an atonement for a person. He learns this from the rule of Shen V'Ever - if a master knocks out a tooth or breaks a limb, the servant goes free, how much more so when a person is afflicted on their entire body! But Reish Lakish disagrees, stating that we learn the beneficial effect of Yisurin from salt - just like it has a positive effect on meat, so does Yisurin on the body.

R' Meir Shapiro then noted that when a master knocks out a tooth or breaks a limb, the servant knows where it is coming from. But what bothered R' Yochanan is that וְהָיָ֠ה כִּֽי־תִמְצֶ֨אןָ - the Yisurin appear to the person as something which just "happened." If a person realizes that the Yisurin come from Hashem, then they can create an atonement. But if the event is viewed as happenstance, there is no way that it can create an atonement for him and he is suffering for nothing. 

R' Frand observed that when good things happen, people will say that they saw the Yad Hashem. But people don't have that reaction when negative things occur. 

R' Frand also told a story from R' Tzvi Hersh Meislish which was written in the introduction to the Sefer Shu't Mikadshei Hashem. He writes that he was in the concentration camp on Rosh Hashanah. There were 1400 bochurim who were in a cell block who knew that they were headed to the gas chamber. They asked R' Meislish to blow Shofar for them as they knew that he had a Shofar. And R' Meislish was on the fence about whether he should blow the Shofar as they might catch him and throw him in the gas chambers as well CV'S. When his son heard about the request he begged his father not to blow Shofar, but R' Meislish decided he would blow anyway, even though Halacha would say that a person does not need to put his life in danger for Shofar.

R' Meislish went into the block and he began the introductory Tefillah before blowing Shofar but the Bochurim begged him for a Shmooze. He quoted the pasuk from Tehillim 81:4 תִּקְע֣וּ בַחֹ֣דֶשׁ שׁוֹפָ֑ר בַּ֜כֶּ֗סֶה לְי֣וֹם חַגֵּֽנוּ. He explained it as by saying that we don't know why Hashem is doing this to us, it is hidden why this is happening, but we need to continue.

The Bochurim did not want to hear 9 Kolos - they wanted 100 Kolos and he did blow Shofar in full. After he finished, a Bochut got up and said - we can hope for the best, but we need to prepare for the worst - lets not forget to say Shema Yisrael and then they all said it loud and with fervor. And then each Bochur came to him to wish the best for the new year and that he should survive.

R' Frand closed the vort saying that it was a very difficult year and that he still cannot get his head around why this needed to happen on Shmini Atzeres/Simchas Torah. But we need to know that it is all from Hashem and we need to continue.

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