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 Shemos 22:30, the Torah states "וְאַנְשֵׁי־קֹ֖דֶשׁ תִּֽהְי֣וּן לִ֑י וּבָשָׂ֨ר בַּשָּׂדֶ֤ה טְרֵפָה֙ לֹ֣א תֹאכֵ֔לוּ לַכֶּ֖לֶב תַּשְׁלִכ֥וּן אֹתֽוֹ" - the Jews are instructed to be holy to Hashem and that meat of a tereifah should not be eaten and should be thrown to the dogs instead.
R' Frand remarked as an aside that although people call everything not kosher "tereif", the actual term refers to an animal which has been torn and that there is a mitzva to give that to the dog to eat.
R' Frand next quoted a Pesikta which states that the dog receiving the carcass of the animal is a reward to the dog for not barking when the Jews left Egypt. The Pesikta further states that if the dog which is an animal receives a reward for doing Hashem's command, how much more so a person will be rewarded.
R' Frand then asked - why is the dog rewarded when other creatures who were involved in miracles are not? We dont treat frogs differently because they harassed the Egyptians, nor do we view lice or locusts with any special attention due to their role.
R' Frand answered by quoting the Tolner Rebbi who states that the dog receives the reward for going against its nature. The frogs hopped (as did the grasshopper) and the other kinds of animals followed their nature. Only the dog resisted its natural urge to bark and for that it is rewarded.
R' Frand also quoted the Da'as Zekeinim M'Ba'alei HaTosafos that because the dog went against its nature, it should be rewarded when it follows its instinct. People use dogs to watch their other animals (sheep was the specific example) and the dogs do a good job of protecting the flock from predators such as wolves. In order to not be a kafoi tov, we reward the dog by throwing it the carcass.
R' Frand then asked - but wait - the dog did not do its job properly as this torn animal was not protected by the dog. So why do we reward the dog with the carcass?
R' Frand then quoted a GM commercial from many years ago which had the slogan - "it is uniquely American to ask - what have you done for me lately." He also quoted Pete Rose who remarked - "you are only as good as your last at bat."
R' Frand said that these are not Torah values, because although the dog may have missed out on protecting this sheep, we are not kafoi tov for all the good that he did previously.
R' Frand then tied this in to the Gemara in Berachos which contrasts the two statements by Shlomo HaMelech about women where it states Matza Isha Matza Tov but also states in Koheles - Motzi Ani Es HaIsha Mar M'Maves. These seemingly contradictory remarks about women are synthesized by the Gemara (as explained by R' Pa'am) who states that the positive statement is in past tense - look back at your wife and see all the good you have found, but if you only focus on the present act if she made a mistake, you will just find bitterness.
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