Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Metzorah

Due to this being the last Thursday Night shiur before Pesach, R' Frand did not deliver his live shiur. However R' Frand did post a pre-recorded Parsha vort on OU Torah which I have summarized here. This week's vort can be found at https://outorah.org/p/190665, but I have attempted to reproduce the vort to the best of my ability in this post.  Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to the maggid shiur.

R' Frand began the vort by noting that Tzaraas is translated as leprosy, but that is not accurate as it is not a physical ailment and can even be found on inanimate objects such as clothing and the walls of a house.

Rashi comments on Vayikra 14:35 that the Kohain's advising that Tzaaras on a home is a "Besorah Tova" - good news! The reason is that Canaanite prior occupants of the home hid gold and silver in the walls and now that the Jews were there the Tzaraas exposes that there is a pot of gold in the home.

R' Frand asked - there are easier ways for Hashem to give someone money? Why put in the walls and have them knock down the walls?

R' Frand quoted the first Gerrer Rebbi who comments on the directive from Moshe to the Jews in Shemos to ask ("V'Yishalu) for golden and silver vessels from the Egyptians. Why was this the language of borrowing when it was not going to be returned? He answers that this was the Jews first experience with money after being slaves in Egypt for 210 years. The first rule of money is that the money is Hashem's and he is just loaning it to you for you to use it properly. But you should always keep in mind that the money is on loan from Hashem.

R' Frand said that he was told by someone who was looking for a job that he had asked Mr. Germazian (sp?) why did you become so rich? He responded because Hashem knows that I know what to do with the money.

R' Frand quoted the Sefer Milchamos Yehuda who explains that the reason that Hashem gave gold & silver this way is to teach a lesson that gold & silver can destroy a person's home, because if money takes ahold of a person, it can destroy the family. R' Frand suggested that if someone wants to hear horror stories they can ask an Estates attorney about how an inheritance destroys families.

Therefore Hashem gave the money this way as a warning that gold & silver can destroy the home if a person allows it to take over.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Tazria

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 Vayikra 13:52, the Torah states - וְרָאָ֨ה הַכֹּהֵ֜ן אַֽחֲרֵ֣י | הֻכַּבֵּ֣ס אֶת־הַנֶּ֗גַע וְ֠הִנֵּ֠ה לֹֽא־הָפַ֨ךְ הַנֶּ֤גַע אֶת־עֵינוֹ֙ וְהַנֶּ֣גַע לֹֽא־פָשָׂ֔ה טָמֵ֣א ה֔וּא. Translated literally, the Pasuk is telling us that since the Nega has not changed its appearance, it is Tamei.

But the Chiddushei HaRim explains that עֵינוֹ֙ can refer to the eye of the person. There is a Mesorah that Tzaraas comes as a result of speaking Lashon Hara and while Tehillim 34:13-14 tells us that one who wants life should נְצֹ֣ר לְשֽׁוֹנְךָ֣ מֵרָ֑ע וּ֜שְׂפָתֶ֗יךָ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר מִרְמָֽה, Lashon Hara does not begin with the tongue. Instead, its results from the person's view about another. He may feel haughty and want to show his superiority, or he may feel jealous and want to belittle the other person to make himself feel important, but Lashon Hara is spoken because a person has negative views about the other person. 

R' Frand quoted R' Weinberg (and also noted that R' Shlomo Kluger said the same thought) who explains that we learn about Lashon Hara from the Meraglim. The punishment for the Meraglim was that the Jews would spend 40 years in the desert as equivalent to the 40 days they were in the land of Israel. But they did not speak Lashon Hara for 40 days - it probably took only a few minutes! They were only in the land for 40 days.

He explains that they were punished one year for one day because when they walked around the land they viewed the land negatively. Chazal tell us that they had a negative view and said אֶ֣רֶץ אֹכֶ֤לֶת יֽוֹשְׁבֶ֨יהָ֙ הִ֔וא (Bamidbar 13:32) based on all the funerals they saw. However they could have looked at the positive - because the people of the land were so preoccupied with the funerals, they did not see the Meraglim.

Thus the sin of Lashon Hara began with the eye - the way that they viewed the land. It was only at the very end that they spoke the words that had been in their minds.

The message of the Tzaraas is that because this person has not changed his eye, he is Tamei because he will perpetuate the Lashon Hara.

R' Frand also noted that the word Nega and Oneg have the same letters, the only difference is where the Ayin is placed. If the Ayin is moved to the front so that a person has a positive outlook, he will not be Tamei.

R' Frand also observed that if a person can refrain from speaking Lashon Hara he can live a happier life. R' Frand quoted the a story in the gemara about a peddler. The peddler would announce that he was selling the elixir of life and that anyone who wanted the elixir of life should come to him. The peddler was approached by R' Yannai who asked to buy the elixir. The peddler responded to R' Yannai - you are a tzadik, you don't need this. However, R' Yannai persisted. Finally the seller said to him - look in the book of Tehillim - it is written in 34:12-13 -מִֽי־הָ֖אִישׁ הֶֽחָפֵ֣ץ חַיִּ֑ים אֹ֘הֵ֥ב יָ֜מִ֗ים לִרְא֥וֹת טֽוֹב. נְצֹ֣ר לְשֽׁוֹנְךָ֣ מֵרָ֑ע וּ֜שְׂפָתֶ֗יךָ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר מִרְמָֽה.

Following this conversation, R' Yannai was heard to say, all my life I would say these pesukim, but I never understood this until now.

R' Frand asked the obvious question - what was it that the peddler was able to teach R' Yannai about the pesukim in Tehillim which he did not know previously? 

He answered that R' Yannai always knew that not speaking Lashon Hara would be a key to getting Olam Haba. What the peddler taught him is that by not speaking Lashon Hara he could also enjoy this world as well.

R' Frand closed with a story about R Lazer Silver who served as a chaplain in the US Army after WWII. He was successful in organizing a room in a DP camp where people could make a minyan. One day they were short one man for the minyan and R' Silver sent someone out to ask a man who was outside to join them. The messenger returned and said that the man had refused and said that he does not want to see a siddur, or a shul or another frum Jew. R' Silver then went out and asked personally and received the same response. He asked - why do you feel that way? The man responded  that when he was in the camps, there was a frum Jew who had a siddur which he used to daven before the men went out to work every day. But the man did not only use the siddur, he "rented" it out to others in exchange for half their daily ration of bread. The man was disgusted by this and did not want to see another siddur, or shul or frum Jew.

When the man had finished explaining himself, R' Silver said to him - but why don't you look at all the Jews who were willing to give up half their meager rations just so that they could daven with a siddur. The man accepted this and joined them.

Thirty years later, a man spoke at a conference of major Jewish leaders and told that story. He said that he was the man who had refused to join the minyan before speaking to R' Laizer Silver. His name is Simon Wiesenthal.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Shmini

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 noted that when the sacrifices were brought at the inauguration of the Mishkan, Aharon brought two Karbanos on his own behalf and three were sacrificed on behalf of the Jewish people. The Torah writes in Vayikra 9:3 that the Jews' Karbanos were a calf, a lamb and a goat. 

R' Frand quoted the Sifra which states that one might have thought that only Aharon required atonement, so the Torah tells us that the Jews did as well. But why did they need to bring more animals than Aharon? The Sifra answers that it is because they sinned at the beginning and at the end. In the beginning they slaughtered a goat which they used to convince Ya'akov that Yosef was dead. And they sinned in the end with the Egel. Therefore they brought a goat to atone for Mechiras Yosef and a calf to atone for the Egel. 

But what is the connection between Mechiras Yosef and the Mishkan? And why did they bring the lamb as a Karban?

R' Frand quoted the Targum Yonasan which explains that the lamb was brought in the Zechus of Yitzchak. But this begets another question - what is the connection between Yitzchak and the Mishkan?

R' Frand next cited the Pesikta Rabbasi which states that the Mishkan was completed on the 25th of Kislev, but was not actually inaugurated until Nissan. During the intervening time it sat in storage, but the Jews questioned - what was wrong with the Mishkan that they could not use it now? The response was that it would be inaugurated in Nissan - the month that Yitzchak was born.

R' Frand then quoted R' Emanuel Bernstein who tied these concepts together. He explains that the sin of the Egel was not worshipping Avodah Zara as the Egel was meant to be an intermediary and not a deity. The Jews came to Aharon and asked him to construct an intermediary as they felt that they were lost without Moshe.

But if they were coming to Aharon, why not ask him to be the leader? Or at the very least, ask him what to do! The answer is that they did not come to ask any question - they dictated what they wanted. And this is not a Jewish trait, as when we have questions we ask a Shaila - we don't decide for ourselves.

This hearkens back to the sale of Yosef. The brothers had concerns that perhaps Yosef was a Rodef and that he should be killed. But instead of asking the Gadol HaDor (Ya'akov) what to do, they made their own decision based on what they thought was appropriate.

Thus the root of the sin of the Egel was the actions of the brothers in acting, rather than asking what to do. But Yitzchak stands in sharp contrast. When Avraham told him that Hashem had told Avraham to bring Yitzchak as a sacrifice, Yitzchak did not question, he followed the directions of his father , the Gadol HaDor, who had heard directly from Hashem. 

This is why we invoked the Zechus of Yitzchak at the inauguration of the Mishkan - to atone for our sins in not asking questions and instead making our own uninformed decisions. And this is why the Mishkan was left until Nissan before it was inaugurated.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Tzav

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.

Although Parshas Vayikra contains most of the Karbanos, the Karban Todah is found in Parshas Tzav, which is mostly about the Kohanim. R' Frand then asked - why was this Karban mentioned in Tzav and not Vayikra?

Before answering the question, R' Frand quoted the Gemara which sets forth the four categories of people who are obligated to bring a Karban Todah: (1) someone who recovered from an illness; (2) someone who traveled across the sea; (3) someone released from prison, and (4) someone who traveled across the desert. Rashi explains that these people bring a Karban Todah because a miracle was performed for them. But are these truly miraculous? Certainly all four categories had some element of danger, but is the recovery from surgery or the completion of a sea journey, miraculous?

R' Frand quoted R' Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld who explains that - yes these are miracles, but they are miracles of nature. He explains that there are many things that happen daily which are miracles, but because they are part of nature, we don't recognize them as miracles. This can include major events such as childbirth, or even the fact that a person is capable of producing speech.

The reason that the Karban Todah is mentioned in Tzav, which is dedicated to the Kohanim is to remind them that miracles are truly miraculous. R' Frand quoted Pirkei Avos which states that there were ten daily miracles in the Beis Hamikdash. Because the Kohanim saw and lived these miracles every day, they needed a reminder that these were miraculous and that they should thank Hashem for them.

R' Frand mentioned a Shayla that was once asked to Rav Shach by a young couple who had been married for a year and then had a baby girl. They wanted to know whether they should make a Kiddush. He answered them - if you had been married for 7 years without children and then had a baby, would you be asking the same question?

R' Frand next quoted the Rabbeinu Bechaye who cited the Gemara about the four categories of people who are obligated to bring a Karban Todah, but then also mentioned a Chassan and Kallah, quoting a pasuk in Yirmiyah. But why would they bring a Karban Todah?

R' Frand first quoted the Imrei Emes who cited the famous Gemara that making a Shidduch is as difficult as Kriyas Yam Suf - a miraculous event. 

R' Frand said a second answer that a person is half a person before meeting one's mate, much like a sick person who is not whole when ill.

R' Frand quoted R' Shamai Gross who states that there are two forms of Todah - those brought because there is an obligation and those brought voluntarily. And a Chassan and Kallah who find each other is a miracle in nature and can count themselves in the category of bringing a voluntary Todah.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Pikudei

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 38:24, the Torah writes כָּל־הַזָּהָ֗ב הֶֽעָשׂוּי֙ לַמְּלָאכָ֔ה בְּכֹ֖ל מְלֶ֣אכֶת הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ וַיְהִ֣י | זְהַ֣ב הַתְּנוּפָ֗ה תֵּ֤שַׁע וְעֶשְׂרִים֙ כִּכָּ֔ר וּשְׁבַ֨ע מֵא֧וֹת וּשְׁלשִׁ֛ים שֶׁ֖קֶל בְּשֶׁ֥קֶל הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ . R' Frand commented that he does not know the weight in pounds, but he is sure that it was very significant.

He then quoted a Medrash on Parshas Terumah which states that Hashem had no need to create gold as the world would have been fine without it. (R' Frand quipped We could have used silver as gifts for our spouses). The reason that Hashem created it was to beautify the Mishkan and the Beis Hamikdash. 

R' Frand commented that we learn from this that there are many things which are not truly necessary, but Hashem created them only for a specific purpose.

R' Frand quoted the sefer Yismach Yehuda which writes that the Choftez Chaim said that the reason that Hashem put in the mind of a person to create trains was to make it faster and easier for bochurim to get to yeshiva. Prior to the train, people travelled by horse and buggy and the buggies often got stuck in the mud when it rained. R' Frand theorized that in our generation, if one needed to take a horse and buggy to go to yeshiva he would probably not go.

R' Frand connected this with a Gemara (although he did not mention which mesechta) which told of a man who would travel three months to get to yeshiva and then he would stay and learn for a day, before commencing a three month walk back to his home.

R' Frand also said in the name of R' Aryeh Leb Gurvitz of Gateshead that the seforim today are so plentiful and the print is so beautiful, whereas a few generation back the seforim were scarce and the print was not as clear. R' Frand mentioned that in Slobodka there was one copy of the Ohr Sameach and the boys would take turns learning it. When it was R' Ruderman's turn it was nice and he went out to learn it by moonlight. 

R' Frand also told of R' Birnbaum who when he was learning in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Europe was thought of as having come from a wealthy family since he had a Kitzos HaChoshen. But the truth was that his mother sold her silver candlesticks to buy it for him.

Again, in our generation there would not be this level of Mesiras Nefesh.

R' Frand told a second vort based on a Medrash which states that Hashem said that gold that was donated for the Mishkan was an atonement for the gold donated for the Egel. Hashem said - when you created the Egel you angered Me, as you stated in Shemos 32:8 -אֵ֤לֶּה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶֽעֱל֖וּךָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם. But when you built the Mishkan and said in Shemos 38:21 - אֵ֣לֶּה פְקוּדֵ֤י הַמִּשְׁכָּן֙ מִשְׁכַּ֣ן הָֽעֵדֻ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר פֻּקַּ֖ד עַל־פִּ֣י משֶׁ֑ה you made Me happy.

What is the connection other than the use of the same word? 

R' Frand answered by quoting the pasuk in Bereishis 2:4 - אֵ֣לֶּה תֽוֹלְד֧וֹת הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ בְּהִ֣בָּֽרְאָ֑ם. This was Hashem's expression of pride in creating the world. When the Jews used the same term in describing the Egel it showed their level of pride about its creation and that angered Hashem. But when they built the Mishkan and again used that term, Hashem granted them atonement.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayakhel

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 35:30, the Torah writes רְא֛וּ קָרָ֥א יְהֹוָ֖ה בְּשֵׁ֑ם בְּצַלְאֵ֛ל בֶּן־אוּרִ֥י בֶן־ח֖וּר לְמַטֵּ֥ה יְהוּדָֽה.

R' Frand noted that the Torah does not generally mention someone's grandfather and he asked why was Hur referenced in the pasuk. He also observed that at the time that Betzalel was selected to work on the Mishkan he was 13 years old! Lastly, he quoted Rashi who states that Hur was the son of Miriam. R' Frand then asked why did Rashi need to tell us this now, after having given the same commentary twice before?

R' Frand first addressed the mention of Hur by quoting the well known Medrash on Vaykhel which states that Betzalel received the honor in the merit of his grandfather who refused to bow to popular pressure when there was a swell of support for building the Golden Calf.

R' Frand then asked - in hindsight, was it proper for Hur to stand up against the masses when they did not listen to him and ultimately killed him for saying no? R' Frand answered that Hur did do the right thing, because sometimes a person needs to stand up for what he believes in, and even if he does not think that others will listen to him.

Where did Hur learn this from? The answer is that he saw this in his mother Miriam.

R' Frand identified four specific moments that Miriam stood up for ideas, even though unpopular and they seemed unlikely to succeed.

The first event was when Amram divorced Yocheved because Amram saw all the Jewish babies being killed by the Egyptians. Although Amram was the lead Rabbi for the Jews in Egypt, his toddler daughter Miriam reproached him for divorcing Yocheved and told him he was worse than Pharaoh. Although Miriam could not have believed that she would succeed in convincing her father, she knew that he was wrong and that she needed to try to influence him.

The next event took place when Moshe was placed by Miriam in the basket in the water. After Miriam saw that the daughter of Pharaoh had retrieved Moshe, Miriam approached her and told her that she should give the baby to a Jewish midwife. Again, this must have seemed like a longshot - why would the daughter of Pharaoh listen to a slave girl? Still Miriam stood up and spoke about what she believed in.

The third event involved the singing after the Jews crossed the Yam Suf. The women were upset and expressed to Miriam their displeasure in not being able to sing. The Tosafos Harosh explains that Miriam picked up a tambourine and encouraged them to sing - because she knew that they wanted to sing and that the noise of the tambourine would drown out their singing.

The final event involved the spinning of thread for the Mishkan. The gemara relates that the women spun thread into wool while it was still on the sheep. Miriam actually taught them to do this because the women wanted to participate, but were concerned that they would be unable to do so if they were niddos. To solve the problem, Miriam taught them to spin thread while it was still on the sheep and not capable of becoming tamei.

This is what allowed Betzalel at the tender age of 13 to become the architect of the mishkan - because he was the grandson of Miriam and lived her message. 

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Friday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Ki Sissa

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha last 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 asked in his first vort about the use of singular and plural forms in Shemos 31:13 -  אַ֥ךְ אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖י תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ כִּי֩ א֨וֹת הִ֜וא בֵּינִ֤י וּבֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ . He first gave an answer in the name of the Ramban who states that  אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖י refers to the Shabbosim of the year as a unit. 

But R' Frand quoted the Sefer HaKsav V'HaKaballa who says that there two aspects of Shabbos - one is to stop doing work and the other is to have a spiritual elevation from Shabbos. There is more to Shabbos than not to drive or turn on lights. But beyond your body not doing the usual work of the week, there is also a "Shabbos" for your soul. By not doing what you usually do during the week, there is more of a spiritual elevation for your soul. 

This is the meaning of the Gemara that says that if the Jews would only keep two Shabboses Moshiach would come. Why specifically two? He answers that it is not two discrete Shabboses, its that if the Jews will keep both aspects of Shabbos, Moshiach would come.

R' Frand said a second vort related to the breaking of the luchos. The Torah writes in Shemos 32:19 - וַיְהִ֗י כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֤ר קָרַב֙ אֶל־הַמַּֽחֲנֶ֔ה וַיַּ֥רְא אֶת־הָעֵ֖גֶל וּמְחֹלֹ֑ת וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֣ף משֶׁ֗ה וַיַּשְׁלֵ֤ךְ מִיָּדָו֙ אֶת־הַלֻּחֹ֔ת וַיְשַׁבֵּ֥ר אֹתָ֖ם תַּ֥חַת הָהָֽר. But since Moshe knew before he came down that the Jews had worshipped the Egel, why did he bring the luchos down? Why didn't he just leave them on the mountain?

R' Frand quoted R' Cooperman of Michlala who quoted the Seforno who states that Moshe knew that they had made the Egel, but he thought that if he came down with the luchos they would stop and repent. But when he came down and saw that they were dancing around the luchos and had made it into a holiday, he thought they were too far gone. So he broke the luchos.

R' Frand said that there is a connection between the two vorts. Just as Hashem wants us to elevate ourselves for Shabbos, there is a mirror image of the enthusiasm for Avodah Zara which is the antithesis. People make mistakes all the time, but if they turn it into a simcha which is done with passion, that is the opposite.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Tezaveh

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 focused his vort on the Mizbeach HaKetores which is the last Mitzva in the parsha. He noted that many meforshim, including the Ramban, Ibn Ezra and Seforno all ask why this is commanded in Parshas Tezaveh, since the Klei HaMikdash are all mentioned in Parshas Terumah?

R' Frand answered based on the Sefer Simchas Mordechai who explains that the reason why the Mitzva is in this parsha is because essence of being a Kohain is the Ketores.

R' Frand mentioned many sources including two thoughts from the Medrash Tanchuma. The first was a ma'amar of R' Yitzchak Ben Elazar who noted that the Kohanim did many acts of avodah, but the Shechina did not descend until they brought the Ketores. The second ma'amar was a statement that Hashem said that of all the sacrifices that are brought, none is as dear to Him as the Ketores. The Medrash explains that all of the sacrifices come in order to atone, such as the Chatas and Asham, while the Ketores is just Simcha for Hashem.

R' Frand also noted that on Yom Kippur, the only sacrifice that is brought in the Kodesh HaKodashim is the Ketores.

R' Frand quoted the Medrash that when Moshe went up to receive the Torah there was an argument with the angels. After the argument subsided, each angel gave Moshe a present and the gift from the Malach HaMaves was to teach Moshe that Ketores can abate a Mageifah.

[R' Frand noted that at the beginning of Corona, people were saying Parshas HaKetores as a Segulah].

R' Frand also observed that the Ketores was the test when Korach chose to challenge Moshe and Aharon.

R' Frand then pivoted to discuss how the Ketores was emblematic of Aharon. He quoted Pirkei Avos which states that Aharon was Ohev Shalom and Rodef Shalom and would bring Jews together. As a result he was Zoche to wear the Choshen on his heart. Much like Aharon who brought people together, the Ketores was made of 12 spices, including the Chelbanah which had a foul smell, but with the other spices created such a sweet aroma that women did not need to wear perfume. So too, the Jews need to be united and to include all kinds of Jews when we come together on Ta'anis Tzibur as taught by the Gemara in Kerisus as well as we see in the beginning of the Kol Nidrei prayer.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Mishpatim

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 noted that R' Yisrael Salanter passed away on the 22nd of Shvat in 1883 which was Erev Shabbos of Parshas Mishpatim. His greatest talmid, the Alter of Kelm said at his levaya that it was no coincidence that R' Yisrael died on that Erev Shabbos, as Parshas Mishpatim is all about Mitzvos Ben Adam L'Chavero and that is what the Mussar movement is about.

R' Frand then told a story about the recertification of Ner Israel recently by the State of Maryland. This occurred at the same time that ARTS (a Yeshiva accreditation organization) was visiting as well. R' Frand met with the women who were visiting from the State of Maryland and told them that this institution is not only interested in intellectual growth, it also is interested in producing good human beings and that we devote significant time for introspection and personal growth.

R' Frand also discussed the crossover of the two visiting bodies. He mentioned that ARTS had sent R' Yisrael Reisman from Torah V'Daas and after sitting in on some shiurim, he went to visit the Kollel where the boys were learning Hilchos Ribbis. As R' Reisman had written a sefer on Hilchos Ribbis, the 40 members of the Kollel were firing questions at him on Hilchos Ribbis, as one of the women from the State of Maryland was observing from the back of the room. She remarked "I have never seen a thirst for knowledge as I have seen in this session."

R' Frand also quoted R' Hutner who quoted a Rashi in this week's parsha that Hashem said all 10 dibros simultaneously - a feat that is impossible to say and impossible to comprehend. So why did Hashem do this if people cannot understand it? R' Hutner answered that it was done to demonstrate that no one Mitzva has priority over another.

R' Hutner also cited a Rashi on the pasuk in Shemos 24:6  וַיִּקַּ֤ח משֶׁה֙ חֲצִ֣י הַדָּ֔ם וַיָּ֖שֶׂם בָּֽאַגָּנֹ֑ת וַֽחֲצִ֣י הַדָּ֔ם זָרַ֖ק עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ. Rashi explains that an angel came down from Shamayim to make the exact split of the blood so that precisely half would be on the Mizbeach and half would be sprinkled on the people. R' Hutner explains that this was symbolic that the Ben Adam L'Chavero was as important as Ben Adam L'Makom.

R' Frand also noted that in 1983 the Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Israel (which bears the Israel name after R' Yisrael Salanter) said a shmooze on the 100th yahrtzeit of R' Yisrael. He recalled that when he was in Europe he had been in a shul where the minhag was to wear a Kittel on Hoshana Rabbah. One year the Ba'al Mussaf did not wear a Kittel because the Shamash forgot to bring it to shul. A member of the kehillah laced into him publicly. The Rosh Yeshiva lamented that the wearing of the Kittel was a minhag, but not embarrassing another Jew is a D'Oraysa.

R' Frand closed the vort by telling a story about a group of students in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Poland who were being chased by a group of people. They ran into a dormitory and locked the door, but the people pounded on the door and it turned out to be the police. They opened the door and the police demanded to see everyone's papers. One of the boys did not have his papers and explained that his papers were in a different dormitory. The police went with him to see his papers and then let him go. 

The following day, R' Yerucham Levovits said that he was ready to close the yeshiva. He explained that he was aghast that the boys would allow one bochur to be escorted by the police by himself, without others making sure that he would be Ok. The yeshiva was not closed, but this shows the level of concern that R' Yerucham had that the boys should have looked out for each other.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Yisro

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 Kiddushin 31a about the story of Dama Ben Nassina. The Gemara recites the story about how the Kohanim needed the precious stones for the Urim and Tumim and Dama's father had them in a safe and the keys were under his father's head. The Gemara relates that Dama "Lo Tziaro" which can be translated as he did not "trouble him" and as a result, he lost the ability to sell them for 600,000 coins. Dama was rewarded a year later with a Red Cow and when they came to buy it from him he said that all he wanted was the money that he lost from not being able to sell the stones.

The question that many meforshim ask is why is it that we learn the mitzva of Kibbud Av V'Aim from Dama Ben Nassina? 

R' Frand quoted the Avnei Shoham which explains that we don't learn any rules of the mitzva from the story. Instead, we see how far a person is willing to go in order to honor his parent. 

R' Frand noted that this mitzva is one of the hardest in the Torah because it is a constant mitzva and when a parent ages it becomes more difficult to do the mitzva. We learn from Dama Ben Nassina that a person can be willing to forego a fortune just to honor his parent. But not only did he give up the money, but it did not bother him. The Avnei Shoham explains Lo Tziaro as - it did not trouble Dama to pass up the sale.

R' Frand then quoted the Sefer L'Meromem which stated that the Chazon Ish would go to sit and visit with his mother for an hour every day. Even though the Chazon Ish was scrupulous never to waste time, he felt it important to sit and shmooze with her daily.

R' Frand said that his father's mother came over from Germany with his own mother. The grandmother lived in their home until she needed more care and was placed in a nursing home. But every day, his father would go visit her. R' Frand said that he could not do the same for his mother as they lived on different ends of the country, but every time that he had a West Coast trip he would make an effort to visit her.

R' Frand recalled the last time that he visited his mother. She had Parkinson's and was no longer able to speak. When R' Frand could not keep the entire conversation by himself they sat and watched the US Open golf tournament, even though his mother hated golf. But this was the tournament where Tiger Woods wrecked the field and they sat together and watched.

R' Frand also told a story about someone who traveled from Jerusalem to Bnei Brak to get a beracha from the Chazon Ish. At the time it was a difficult and expensive journey. When the man was complaining about his illness, the Chazon Ish asked him - was this an expensive trip? The man replied that it was. He then asked - are your parents alive? The man said, yes. And are they well off? No, the man replied, they struggle financially. The Chazon Ish then asked - why are you spending money to visit me for a beracha that may or not be successful? Spend the money on your parents and then ask Hashem to heal you as he promises a reward of long life for honoring your parents and I am just flesh and blood.

R' Frand told a final story about the Sar Shalom (original Belzer Rebbi) whose mother joined him for a seder. When the soup pot came out, she dipped her matza in the soup because she had no teeth and needed to soften it. The Chassidim watched as the Belzer Rebbi not only did say anything, but he took from the soup that the matza had been soaked in. They asked the Rebbi - gebruchtz - chametz! He responded, gebruchtz is a chumra, Kibbud Av V'Aim is a D'Oraysa. 

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Friday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Beshalach

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha last 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 parsha begins by stating in Shemos 13:17 - וַיְהִ֗י בְּשַׁלַּ֣ח פַּרְעֹה֘ אֶת־הָעָם֒. Chazal teaches that the word וַיְהִ֗י denotes trouble or pain. Who was in pain? R' Frand answered that Pharaoh was in pain.

R' Frand then told a story about R' Zevulun Groz who was the Av Beis Din in Rechovot. The Sefer Meir Derech states that before R' Groz went away to yeshiva his father told him a Medrash. A person found a pile of pearls and did not know what it was. He asked someone on the road, do you want these balls? The man took them. He then went into the town and sorted them by size and set up a "pop up shop." The seller later entered the town and saw a line outside the pop up shop. People were asking for the price of the smaller and medium pearls and when he heard their price, he tore his clothes and exclaimed "I had it all in the palm of my hand, but did not know its value."

The Medrash said that the nimshal is Pharaoh who when he saw that he had 600,00 Jews after Moshe counted them, he cried out woe is me that the Jews were leaving.

Sefer Meir Derech asks - what is the parallel? The man who gave up the pearls did so voluntarily. But Pharaoh did not give them up by choice!

The answer is that Pharaoh realized that he had 600,000 wise and industrious people and he used them as brick layers. This is the mashal and nimshal.

R' Groz's father said to him - you are going off to Yeshiva. Don't waste your time. A Yeshiva career is finite and you don't want to look back and say - I had Gan Eden - I had no concerns and could have sat and learned without distraction. And I wasted it.

R' Frand said that he got a text from a former student who had been in mechina. He remembered sitting in a shmooze from R' Tendler who said to him - don't waste your life. One day you will have children and your son will ask you to teach him a perek of Gemara and you would want to be able to do so.

R' Frand said a second vort related to Tu BShvat in 1944. The Belzer Rebbi's father and uncle had miraculously made his way out of Europe to Israel on Tu BShvat. At the time there were a few Belzer Chassidim in Israel, but not many. The Chassidim came to him and said that they had all lost family in Europe and they wanted some Chizuk. He told them that the Jews sang Az Yashir on the 7th day of Pesach. But these are the same Jews who must have lost most of their relatives in Choshech in which 80% of the Jews died. How did they say Shira? He answered based on Rashi who said that they sang that in the future there will be Techiyas HaMeisim - when everything will make sense. 

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Bo

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 said two vorts tonight which were predicated on the Ramban on Parshas Bo. The first vort related to Shemos 10:6 where after Moshe tells Pharaoh that the plague of Arbeh was coming, the Torah writes  וַיִּ֥פֶן וַיֵּצֵ֖א מֵעִ֥ם פַּרְעֹֽה. Thereafter, the Torah writes that Pharaoh's slaves try to convince Pharaoh to let the Jews leave and then Moshe and Aharon were brought back to Pharaoh.

The Ramban writes that when Moshe left, it was before receiving a response to his request that the Jews be allowed to leave. The reason for his departure was to allow the Egyptians to confer about his warning. In fact, this occurred each time that Moshe warned the Egyptians that a plague was coming. 

R' Frand quoted R' Simcha Zisil Brody who explained and developed the Ramban. He asked - why did Moshe leave? Shouldn't he have stayed around and been available for questions or to offer advice? He answered that Moshe knew that human nature is to resist being told to do something and that if he stayed and offered advice it would be rejected. So Moshe left and allowed them to come to their own conclusions as to how to proceed. 

R' Frand also quoted R' Brody for the principle that a person has problems seeing his own flaws. How then can we get direction? From our spouse who is not seen as an outsider and who (hopefully) will be able to tell us when we are being an idiot. R' Brody tied this to a Gemara in Yevamos 63a in which R' Elazar says that any man without a wife is not a (complete) man. This is not an exaggeration as we can see from when we make the Beracha Yotzeir HaAdam. It is not said at birth, nor at the bris or at the Bar Mitzvah. Instead it is said under the Chuppah as a man is not a complete man until he is married.

R' Frand also quoted the last Ramban on the parsha which asks - why do we have so many mitzvos which are intended to remind us of being taken out of Egypt? He answers that with Yetzias Mitzrayim, Hashem answered the skeptics who questioned if Hashem existed, or if He is aware of what takes place on earth and if He is in control. By taking the Jews out of Egypt with great open miracles, He showed that He does exist, is aware of what takes place here and does care about what happens.

The Ramban further explains that Hashem does not make open miracles daily and for that reason, people can forget His involvement. Therefore we are given so many Mitzvos that cause us to remember Yetzias Mitzrayim. Because for a person to have a portion in the Torah he needs to be aware that just like there were open miracles, there are also hidden miracles and that what happens here is not simply "nature", it is Hashem's divine acts which are all hidden miracles.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Va'era

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 pasuk in Shemos 6:5 - וְגַ֣ם | אֲנִ֣י שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי אֶת־נַֽאֲקַת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִצְרַ֖יִם מַֽעֲבִדִ֣ים אֹתָ֑ם. The pasuk begins with the words - וְגַ֣ם | אֲנִ֣י שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי - and also I heard. R' Frand quoted the Chassam Sofer who asked - who else heard the cries of the Jews?

The Chassam Sofer explains that the Egyptians were so cruel that they would not allow the Jews to cry about their troubles. The only exception was when Pharaoh died they were allowed to cry, although their tears were for their tragedies and not Pharaoh's death.

R' Frand observed that when someone is generally undergoing troubles, it is hard to be sympathetic to someone else's troubles. It's not that the person is callous, it's just that when a person is in pain, he does not necessarily feel someone else's pain.

However in Egypt the Jews were able to do just that. Not only did they cry about their individual troubles, but they were able to cry about other people's troubles as well. It was this crying for others that Hashem said "I also heard" - I have people's crying for themselves and that they can still cry for others as well.

R' Frand tied this into a story in the sefer L'Mromem about R' Gud Eisner (sp?). He had been in the camps towards the end of the Holocaust at a time when the Nazis knew the end was near. They ordered the weak prisoners to march through the snow in a "death march" where anyone who fell was immediately shot.

R' Eisner was marching with his friend R' Nechemia Blustein when R' Eisner felt that he had no more energy and he fell to the ground. R' Nechemia yelled at him "Gudele, run." And he got up and began running and was not shot. He lived through the march and eventually became the Mashgiach at the Yeshivas Sfas Emes.

R' Eisner said that he learned three things from this: (1) that everyone has hidden strengths that just need to be unlocked as he did not know that he could push through; (2) that encouragement has the power to help someone who is down get back up, and (3) that knowing that someone else cares is significant enough to help someone persevere.

R' Frand closed the vort by acknowledging that we live in a world where people are very lonely. This is not just a COVID, or post-COVID effect. He observed that when you see people on a train or a plane they are all absorbed in their screens and he theorized that the smart phone and internet cause people to feel isolated and alone because others are not interacting with them. But a little encouragement and showing that you care can be enough to help someone who is lonely feel that they are no longer by themselves.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Shemos

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 repeating a central concept of his that in every parsha we can see the middah of HaKaras HaTov. He gave an example in this week's parsha which related to Pharaoh. Although Pharaoh did many evil things, the Torah introduces us to Pharaoh in Shemos 1:8, it is with the statement וַיָּ֥קָם מֶֽלֶךְ־חָדָ֖שׁ עַל־מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יָדַ֖ע אֶת־יוֹסֵֽף - that Pharaoh was not makir tov for what Yosef did. Or as one mefaresh explains - he acted as if he did not what Yosef did to save Egypt.

What Chazal are pointing out that if someone is not a makir tov and is instead is kafoi tov, he can come to do horrible things as the result was that he bathed in the blood of Jewish babies.

R' Frand also observed that Pharaoh claimed in Shemos 1:10 that הָ֥בָה נִתְחַכְּמָ֖ה ל֑וֹ פֶּן־יִרְבֶּ֗ה וְהָיָ֞ה כִּֽי־תִקְרֶ֤אנָה מִלְחָמָה֙ וְנוֹסַ֤ף גַּם־הוּא֙ עַל־שׂ֣נְאֵ֔ינוּ וְנִלְחַם־בָּ֖נוּ וְעָלָ֥ה מִן־הָאָֽרֶץ - he was concerned that the Jews would desert Egypt in a battle and would not show HaKaras HaTov. (This despite that the Torah has specific rules that still requires us to show favor to Egyptians because we were geirim in their land).

R' Frand used an adage was Peter says about Paul, says more about Peter than it does about Paul. Pharaoh's concern for the Jews not being loyal was born out of his lack of HaKaras HaTov for what Yosef did for Egypt.

R' Frand quoted a Gemara in Avodah Zarah where a person said that Jews can't keep Shabbos, because if they are walking on the street and see a wallet on Shabbos they would not be able to walk away from it. This is because he was too attached to money. Another Gemara quoted a person who said that he does not think Jews can live in the same house with their wife when she is a Niddah. Why? Because he himself had no self control.

R' Frand next mentioned a Medrash Tanchuma in which Moshe tells Hashem - I can't take the Jews out of Egypt without getting permission from Yisro. Yisro took me into his house and treated me as a son and fed me and employed me.

R' Frand asked - who owes who? Yisro could not find a shidduch for his daughter and welcomed Moshe because Moshe did not know about Yisro's history. But Moshe treated him as if Yisro had done him a favor. R' Frand quoted the Chovos HaLevavos which explains that when someone does you a favor, you should see that it comes from Hashem and the person is just a conduit.

R' Frand then quoted R' Chaim Friedlander who observed about this story that when an opportunity comes for you to do a Mitzva, you cannot step over someone else or do something wrong to someone to do what you need to do. He gave the example of coming late to shul and blocking someone else in the parking lot. Being in shul does not give someone the right to hinder someone else.

This is the lesson of Moshe asking Yisro for permission - because even doing a great Mitzva like taking the Jews out of Egypt did not supplant Moshe;s need to recognize the good that Yisro had done for him.

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