Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayeshev

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 R' Frand said this evening was related to Yosef following his father's instruction to look for his brothers. The Torah states in Bereishis 17:14 that Yosef left מֵעֵ֣מֶק חֶבְר֔וֹן - which the Mefarshim explain that it was from Hashem's deep plan. 

Yosef then finds "a man" whom Rashi explains is actually an angel. The Torah states in 17:15 -  וַיִּשְׁאָלֵ֧הוּ הָאִ֛ישׁ לֵאמֹ֖ר מַה־תְּבַקֵּֽשׁ. R' Frand quoted the Kotsker who states that the angel was telling Yosef - you are about to an embark on an incredible journey - you will be thrown in a pit by your brothers, sold many times and arrive in Egypt where you will be a slave. There you will be wrongly accused and then thrown in a pit again, but you will eventually emerge as the second in command. Throughout your journey, always keep in mind - מַה־תְּבַקֵּֽשׁ - remember what you are looking for and what you need.

R' Frand also quoted the Ramban who notes that the Torah goes to great lengths to discuss Yosef's quest to find his brothers. Given how hard it was to find them (R' Frand equated it to looking for ranchers in Montana), why didn't he just come back to his father and say - I could not find them? The answer is that he was showing Kavod for his father and continuing to seek out his brothers. This quest to find them and the inability to do so easily was a recognition that Hashem had a plan for how this would happen and all the Hishtadlus would not change that as רַבּ֣וֹת מַחֲשָׁב֣וֹת בְּלֶב־אִ֑ישׁ וַעֲצַ֥ת יְ֜הוָ֗ה הִ֣יא תָקֽוּם.

R' Frand related that the Chazon Ish had said that if he knew that Holocaust was on the horizon, he would have davened for it not to happen. But Hashem hid it and no one knew that Hashem's plan was that six million Jews would be killed.

R' Frand's final vort related to Reuven who was not present when the brothers sold Yosef. When Reuven returned to the pit which he had convinced the brother to throw Yosef in, Yosef was gone and Reuven was beside himself. Rashi explains that Reuven was not there when Yosef was sold - either because it was his turn to assist his father, or because he had been busy with trying to atone for switching the beds.

R' Frand asked - why is it that this was the moment that Reuven was busy trying to do Teshuva? He answered that Reuven had an epiphany when he convinced the brothers not to kill Yosef. He had told them - think about what it would do to Ya'akov is Yosef was killed! And then he realized that his desire to honor his mother by switching the beds had caused his father anguish. This was what caused him to embark on a course of Teshuva.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayishlach

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 related to the pasuk in Bereishis 32:5 wherein Ya'akov instructs his messengers to tell Esav  כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ עַבְדְּךָ֣ יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב עִם־לָבָ֣ן גַּ֔רְתִּי. Rashi famously has two interpretations of Ya'akov's message. The first is that Ya'akov is telling Esav - even though I received the berachos they did not come to fulfilment. The second interpretation was that Ya'akov was telling Esav, even though I lived with Lavan, I kept the Torah and did not learn from Lavan's evil ways.

R' Frand quoted R' Ruderman who asked - isn't Rashi's statement that Ya'akov was telling Esav that he kept the Torah and did not learn from Esav, a redundancy? Of course, if he kept the Torah he did not learn from Lavan's ways? R' Ruderman explained that Ya'akov was saying that I kept the Torah and did not live as a Naval B'Rshus HaTorah. R' Frand remarked that there are people who go to shul three times a day and learn Torah, but they will pursue permissible pleasures to an extreme, spending extravagantly on epicurean adventures and other worldly pleasures.

R' Frand next quoted the Chofetz Chaim who explained that Ya'akov was lamenting to Esav that even though he lived with Lavan, he did not learn from him. Ya'akov observed that Lavan pursued his evil deeds with passion and excitement. Ya'akov lamented that he had not learned from Esav how to become as passionate in doing mitzvos.

R' Frand gave several examples of this, including the people who used to sit outside Target from 9 PM on Thanksgiving, waiting for the store to open at 5 AM so that they could get the limited quantity flat screen TVs. R' Frand remarked that there is nothing that he would wait on line over night with no bathrooms in the middle of November, in order to acquire.

R' Frand also mentioned that he once spoke to his dry cleaner on black Friday and asked him how his Thanksgiving was. The man told him that he had watched every single football game. R' Frand was amazed as the man was a recent immigrant who five years prior probably did not know the shape of a football, but had now spent nine hours watching football on Thanksgiving.

R' Frand connected this with a story involving R' Gifter. He had traveled to Mexico City to collect for the Telshe Yeshiva and had been attempting to collect from a man, but had difficulty finding him at home. After much effort he was able to meet him at work at a very early hour. He asked the man how he found time for his family and the man responded in Yiddish - you have to "live in the business." R' Gifter returned to the yeshiva and told the bochurim in a shmooze that they need to "live in Torah" like he "lived in the business."

R' Frand closed his remarks with a story he had received by email from an Aryeh Gross earlier that afternoon. It related to a story in a secular Israeli newspaper. A Kollel member had bought an apartment from a non-religious woman who was selling it on behalf of her deceased brother. The Kollel member had some work done on the apartment, and during the work the contractor located 150,000 NIS in 200 NIS bills, hidden in a wall of the apartment. The Kollel member asked his Posek, a Rav Silman, whether the money could be deemed abandoned under the principal of Yiush, or if he must return the money. He was told to return the money and he did.

When he gave the money to the woman, she cried and asked - why don't we read these kinds of stories about frum people in the newspaper? Meanwhile R' Silman blessed the Kollel member with children who are Bnei Torah and Shomer Mitzvos and success in his life.

R' Frand observed that there is so much that the frum do, between Zaka and Bikur Cholim, yet the press in Israel is like the press in the United States - the right can do nothing correct in the press.

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