Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Bereishis

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.

The first vort that Rabbi Frand said this evening related to the emergence of the plant growth in the second perek of the parsha. In Bereishis 2:5 the Torah states וְכֹ֣ל | שִׂ֣יחַ הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה טֶ֚רֶם יִֽהְיֶ֣ה בָאָ֔רֶץ וְכָל־עֵ֥שֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה טֶ֣רֶם יִצְמָ֑ח כִּי֩ לֹ֨א הִמְטִ֜יר יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהִים֙ עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאָדָ֣ם אַ֔יִן לַֽעֲבֹ֖ד אֶת־הָֽאֲדָמָֽה . From the plain language of the pasuk we see that Hashem did not cause the plants to emerge because there had not yet been rain and there was no man to work the land.

Rashi explains that the reason that the rain had not fallen (triggering plant growth) was because man did not realize that rain was needed for growth and had not prayed to Hashem for the rain to fall.

R' Frand said that there is an important lesson from this Rashi - something may be destined to occur, but Hashem will not bring it about until the person prays for it. Hashem created the world and knew that the plants could not grow without rain, but He waited until man prayed for the rain, because the power of prayer is needed to unlock the rain.

R' Frand tied this into the concept of shidduchim as well. Although 40 days prior to the creation of the embryo there is a Bas Kol which identifies who that person will be marry, the actual shidduch will not come to fruition without prayer.

R' Frand quoted R' Mordechai Druk (sp?) who notes that if a person forgot to say Mashiv HaRuach U'Morid HaGeshem, he must repeat Shemoneh Esreh. However, if a person forgets Ya'aleh V'Yavo in certain prayers he is not required to repeat them. Why not? Because rain is tied to prayer and it will only come if it is prayed for.

R' Frand also quoted the Maharal in Gur Aryeh, who writes that it is forbidden to do something for someone else if that person will not recognize and thank the do-er. Hashem did not bring the rain before man was created, because until man recognized Hashem and asked for the rain, there was no reason to send it.

R' Frand said a second vort in connection with the grant of clothing to Adam and Chava in Bereishis 3:23 - וַיַּ֩עַשׂ֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים לְאָדָ֧ם וּלְאִשְׁתּ֛וֹ כָּתְנ֥וֹת ע֖וֹר וַיַּלְבִּשֵֽׁם. R' Frand noted that the gift of clothing to Adam and Chava after they (and the snake and the ground) were told their respective curses. But the clothing was not simply material. There are many medrashim about the clothes, including that the word ע֖וֹר actually refers to clothing made of the hidden light, or that the clothes had special properties which allowed Esav to hunt while drawing the animals to him. 

But even beyond the clothing itself, the pasuk notes that Hashem dressed Adam and Chava Himself. While Hashem may have felt a need to give them clothes after they recognized their nakedness, why did He personally dress them?

R' Frand answered that the key is in the pasuk before the clothes are given in which the Torah writes וַיִּקְרָ֧א הָֽאָדָ֛ם שֵׁ֥ם אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ חַוָּ֑ה כִּ֛י הִ֥וא הָֽיְתָ֖ה אֵ֥ם כָּל־חָֽי - Adam called her Chava because she was the mother of life. R' Frand quipped that Adam could have called her death, because prior to her sin there was no death in the world. However, Adam did not get angry at Chava for her mistake (as most men would do if a spouse made a doozy of a mistake like this). 

When Hashem saw that Adam gave his wife Chizuk rather than getting angry at her, Hashem personally bestowed the miraculous clothes on them.

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Erev Yom Kippur's Thoughts on Teshuva aka the Second Installment of R' Frand's Teshuva Derasha 5782

This year unfortunately R' Frand did not give his Teshuva Derasha live from Baltimore and he was hospitalized earlier in the week. Although I did hear that he has been discharged from the hospital, I would ask my readers to have him in mind during their m'sheberach prayers (Yissocher Dov Ben Chaya Bracha). I attepted to summarize the first portion of it in Tuesday's post and am adding a bit more today. As in years past, this is  not a verbatim transcript of an hour plus long shiur, but I have attempted to capture many of the thoughts to the best of my abilities. Any inconsistencies are the results of my transcription and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

R' Frand asked - how can we see Hashem in our daily lives? He answered by making reference to the Bila'am story from Parshas Balak. Bila'am wanted to curse the Jewish people and knew the exact time that Hashem got angry and attempted to capitalize on that in order to curse the Jews. But every time that he tried, he was unable to do so and his curses came out as blessings. He tried again and again and was oblivious to the fact that he could not succeed. Because each time, Hashem exercised His will (however that is to be understood) and did not get angry. 

But there is more to the story, so to speak. The Jews were completely oblivious to the danger. If you were to ask them what happened during this time, they would say - we sat in the camp, ate manna and learned Torah. They had absolutely no idea that Hashem had saved them. R' Frand quoted the Chassam Sofer who teaches that even Moshe did not know about the incident and he only learned about it through nevuah to write it in the Torah.

The Haftorah of Balak (from Micah) contains a rhetorical statement - what did I do for you? I took you out of Egypt and and sent before you three prophets - Moshe, Aharon and Miriam. Remember what Balak wanted and what Bila'am answered so that you should know the Tzidkus of Hashem.

The Gemara in Berachos elaborates on this, stating that the Jews should know Hashem's tzidkus with them. He did not get mad when Bila'am had attempted to curse the Jews and if He had (G-d forbid) there would be no one left.

R' Frand said think about how many bad things don't happen because of Hashem watching over us. He made reference to the fertilizer explosion which blew up half of Beirut a few years back. Who knows if this prevented an attack with what had been stored at the port, an attack which was avoided because of the Hand of Hashem.

R' Frand quoted R' Sampson Refael Hirsch who noted that when the snakes attacked, it says HaNechashim with a Heh serving as a definite article. Why? Because we needed to know that those snakes were always there, but Hashem prevented them from biting until then.

R' Frand said - the fact that we have a vaccine for COVID now is not because of "warp speed." We need to realize that it was a beracha from Hashem that the scientists were given the wisdom and opportunity to develop the COVID vaccine. He said that when he got vaccinated (by a non-Jewish nurse) he publicly stated Hodo L'Hashem Ki Tov, Ki L'Olam Chasdo.

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Tuesday's Thoughts on Teshuva aka the First Installment of R' Frand's Teshuva Derasha 5782

Tonight R' Frand did not give his Teshuva Derasha live from Baltimore and he was hospitalized earlier in the week. Although I did hear that he has been discharged from the hospital, I would ask my readers to have him in mind during their m'sheberach prayers (Yissocher Dov Ben Chaya Bracha). As TCN had been having some issues with transmission over the last few weeks, they provided a previously recorded version of the Derasha which R' Frand gave for Just One Life on Sunday and I have attempted to summarize the first portion of it in this post. As in years past, this is  not a verbatim transcript of an hour plus long shiur, but I have attempted to capture many of the thoughts to the best of my abilities. Any inconsistencies are the results of my transcription and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

R' Frand began the derasha by quoting a statement from the Ran in the 1300's about a plague that his generation was encountering and R' Frand remarked that it could be equally applicable to the COVID pandemic which the world has been dealing with for the last nineteen months. But beyond the pandemic, the last year has featured other wake up calls, such as 45 people being crushed to death in Meron while visiting on the yahrtzeit of R' Shimon Bar Yochai. And that that this took place on Lag B'Omer - the day that the students of R' Akiva stopped dying, makes this even more difficult to comprehend.

R' Frand remarked that in 2006, R Elyashiv ZT'L used to ask for the names of people who had been killed during the Lebanon war so that he could daven for them. When he was told that a woman died in Meron he could not believe it - how was it that the zechus of Rashbi did not protect her?

But while people could attempt to write this off as safety issue due to overcrowding (wince), two weeks later bleachers collapsed at the Stolin Beis Medrash and two more people were killed. 

And again, people could try to rationalize that the bleachers were only temporary and should not have been used the way they were, but then how do you ignore the tragedy of the building collapse in Surfside? This was an apartment building in the United States, not a third world makeshift structure. People went to sleep thinking they were secure in their beds and were crushed by tons of concrete. R' Frand remarked that he saw a Minchas Chinuch being carried out of the rubble - this is a serious sefer for someone who knows how to learn and underscores that the tragedy took place among frum people.

R' Frand then returned to discuss the COVID pandemic that is hitting worldwide and which we hope will be ending soon with the help of Hashem. R' Frand said that he is not a prophet, but he says that this is a message to us that the world (called Olam) is tied to the word hidden (Ne'elam). Hashem is hidden in nature and we don't see or think about Him when times are good. 

But COVID and Meron and Stolin and Surfside show us that Hashem is involved in the world and that if he does not want something to proceed it will fail.

R' Frand told a Chelm story where the elders were asked- what is more important the moon or the sun? They answered - the moon, because at night it is not light and the moon allows us to see. During the day it is light out and we don't need to depend on the sun.

Much like the people of Chelm, we don't recognize Hashem when things are running well. 

R' Frand told a similar "joke" about a Rabi who went to visit someone dying in the hospital, but could not find a parking space. He said - Hashem if you help me find a spot, I will donate $500 to charity and as soon as he said it a spot opened. He then said - forget it - I found one...without realizing that Hashem was behind it.

I will b'n attempt to summarize more of the derasha in upcoming posts, and wish everyone an easy and meaningful fast.

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Sunday Night Suds - Leinenkugel's Lemon Haze IPA

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Leinenkugel's Lemon Haze IPA.

I must admit that I generally don't like lemonade added to beer and that I find anything in the Shandy/Radler style to be off-putting.  Still, when I saw a single of this new beer in the beer store, I decided to take a chance on it (especially since the price point was pretty low).

Surprisingly, this beer was not overwhelming lemony, even with the addition of the lemonade. It was not exactly an IPA either, but then again I was not expecting big IPA flavor from Leinenkugel. So what was it? It was a citrusy light beer with some lemon flavor, but not like drinking a bottle of lemonheads. It went decently well with cold leftover schnitzel and red potato salad and I could see enjoying this at a summer bbq or picnic because of the mild flavor. 

Leinenkugel Lemon Haze IPA is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, and has an OU on the can. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/710/507340/.

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).

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayelech

Since Rabbi Frand did not give a shiur tonight due to the fast, I would like to substitute a vort from from R' Shraga Kallus as recorded on torahanytime.com (https://www.torahanytime.com/#/lectures?a=92372). Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the 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 the maggid shiur.

In Parshas Vayelech the Torah has a seemingly dark prediction where Hashem tells Moshe in Devarim 31:16 that after Moshe dies, the Jews will worship the gods of other nations and will abandon Hashem. The Torah then states in 31:17 that Hashem will be angry at the Jews and abandon them and hide His face from them and the Jews will say הֲלֹ֗א עַ֣ל כִּי־אֵ֤ין אֱלֹהַי֙ בְּקִרְבִּ֔י מְצָא֖וּנִי הָֽרָע֥וֹת הָאֵֽלֶּה - is it not because Hashem is not in my midst did these bad things occur. The following pasuk then states וְאָֽנֹכִ֗י הַסְתֵּ֨ר אַסְתִּ֤יר פָּנַי֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא - Hashem says that he will hide His face on that day.

R' Kallus gave a slightly more upbeat version of this based on the Sfas Emes. He explains that the Torah is saying that that there are going to be days when Hashem will hide from us and we will say that we don't feel Hashem. This is the worst sin, because if we say that Hashem is not with us, then He will get angry. The worst thing that can happen is if a Jew says that he does not feel Hashem. Because even when we are suffering, Hashem is with us.

R' Kallus explained that the same way that we need to work on relationships with people that we do see, we need to work on our relationship with Hashem and feel His presence, even when it is not readily apparent.

R' Kallus quoted a gemara in Chaggiga where an apikores gestured to R' Shimon Ben Chananya and he gestured back. The Caesar saw the exchange and asked what was going on. R' Shimon said what the apikores saying to you and what did you say? He responded, the apikores said that Hashem had left us and I responded that He is still here. The Caesar asked the apikores and he said the same thing, so Caesar killed the apikores.

R' Kallus noted the minhag that the Ba'al Shacharis says "HaMelech" from his place and then goes up to daven for the amud. Why? Because a person thinks that he is in a particular difficult situation because of something external that he wishes could be corrected. If only he had different parents, or lived in a different town, or had a different job...A person needs to realize that Hashem puts him in the situation for a reason and that HaMelech = Hashem is with him there.

R' Kallus observed that many people have problems davening because they don't like the tune of the Chazan, or the air conditioning, or the guy who is next to him. But Hashem wants him to be there.

Moshe's message to the Jews is -I know that you are going to fall, but Hashem will be with you anyway, so don't give up and find Hashem with you. 

R' Kallus gave a mashal of a Meshullach who comes to the door. The homeowner answers and asks the Meshullach to give him 2 shekels. The Meshullach smiles because he knows that he is getting 4 shekels. The Meshullach knocks on another door and is asked for 10 shekels. He smiles greater because he knows that he is getting 20. He knocks on a third door and is asked for a 100. Now he beams because he knows that he is getting 200. A Martian viewing this would think this is crazy - he is collecting and instead he is asked for money and he is happy?

R' Kallus explained that this person knows that the more that he is being asked for, the more that he will get back. Hashem is putting us in a situation where we need to work, but we need to know that the more work that we do, the more that we will get back.

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Thursday's Thoughts on Rosh Hashanah

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

R' Frand began the vort by noting that the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (33b) states that we learn aspects of Rosh Hashanah from the mother of Sisra. The holiday is called "Yom Teruah" but we don't know what that it is. The Targum calls Teruah - Yevava and the Gemara says we learn Yevava from the mother of Sisra. The pasuk in describing the mother says VaT'Yabev from which we learn that she was crying.

R' Frand quoted the Tosafos in Rosh Hashanah which writes that there is a minhag to blow 100 blasts, although from the Torah one only needs to hear 9 blasts and someone who comes late can fulfil their obligation with hearing 30. But because she cried 100 times, we learn the 100 blasts from her.

But why is she the source of the rule? There are many mothers who were answered on Rosh Hashanah, including Sarah and Chana!

R' Frand answered that this was due to Sisra and his history in battle. He always won (before doing battle with the Jews) and his mother always expected to see his chariot carrying him home...until this time. His mother cried out when what she expected did not happen and R' Frand said that this is the lesson to us - that we should not expect to come out on top simply because we had been judged favorably in the past. R' Frand used the loshon - there is no Chazakah in judgment. Merely because a person has health or wealth, it is not a guaranty, as you never know.

R' Frand quoted the selichos which we say every morning. We say that we are knocking on Hashem's doors like poor people. R' Frand quoted R' Pam who said that we don't know what will be in judgment.

R' Frand also quoted the Satmar Rav who observed that the holiday is "Ba'Keseh" - its the only holiday where the moon is hidden. This natural phenomenon reflects the essence of the day - we don't know.

R' Frand said that every year people ask him after Rosh Hashanah how his holiday was. He always answers - ask me again next Erev Rosh Hashanah, because you just don't know. And if there is one lesson that we can say we learned from 5781 - it's that you just don't know. Look what the world has gone through - there is no one who does not know someone who died in the past year.

[On a personal note, we lost our great Rav - Rabbi Kelemer Z'TL. I would have loved for my son-in-law, aka the Young Rabbinical Scholar, to have met him and talked in learning].

R' Frand then quoted a commercial he had seen in the Wall Street Journal for a cruise which National Geographic is sending people to Antarctica. He said that there is a tag line - The Pandemic Taught us that Our Bucket List has to be Our To Do List. That may be the Wall Street Journal - but the pandemic taught us that we can't take anything for granted.

R' Frand quoted R' Dovid who quoted R' Yisrael Salanter who said that there is a segulah to come out ahead in judgment - it is do for others and to live for others. He said that people in the US, people live for themselves. They "choose" not to have children. He remarked that he reads the obituaries and sees that people have "1 grandchild." This is not living for others.

R' Frand said that there was an article in Mishpacha Magazine which discussed a lack of leadership. R' Frand opined that living for others does not mean that you have to start your own organization. Every town has a chessed organization that needs help and getting involved in an organization like this makes a person more vital.

R' Frand said a vort which I heard previously from R' Mansour about the insert in the davening of Yamin Noraim Shemoneh Esreh - Zochreinu L'Chaim. We ask for life L'Ma'ancha - for Your sake Hashem. R' Frand explained that we are saying - Hashem we are living for You, to be selfless and do for others. And the more that a person does for others, makes him worthy of being matzliach in the judgment. This does not require a person to be the Gadol HaDor - even in one's own family. This makes a person more vital and he can say to Hashem - I am asking for life so that I can do for You.

R' Frand said that IYH we should see the real end of the pandemic and the end of the acts of anti-Semitism and Hashem should bench us to end all of our troubles. Amen.

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