Tuesday's Thoughts on the Daf - Bava Metzia 94

Bava Metzia 94 contains the end of the seventh perek of Bava Metzia (HaSocher es HaPoalim) and the beginning of the eighth perek (HaShoel es HaParah). I would like to briefly discuss two points which I found intriguing.

On Bava Metzia 94b, the gemara begins an analysis of the four shomrim and their roots in the chumash. This is odd (to me) because the analysis begins "Tena'an Hasam" (it was taught there) and makes reference to the last mishna in the seventh perek (found on Bava Metzia 93a). Tosafos on 94b (d'h "tena'an) asks why the gemara chooses to mention this here? Tosafos answers that since a prior piece of gemara on 94b mentions the verse "im ba'alav imo", it was appropriate to get into a discussion of the elements of each class of shomer.

I am not comfortable with the answer given by Tosafos. While the reason for reference here may link to the pasuk previously quoted on the page, it does not explain to my satisfaction why the discussion also was not contained immediately after that mishna on 93a and why it only follows the new perek. If anyone has other ideas as to the reason for the division, please comment to this post and I will b'n publish it, if it is on-topic.

The other point has to do with a discussion as to why a sho'el (borrower) pays regardless of fault or act taken in relation to the item. [Yes, Tosafos d'h "Shomer" states that this does not include the animal which dies while it is being used for its borrowed purpose].

The gemara asks on 94b, why is the borrower responsible to pay the owner if the animal is forcibly kidnapped? The gemara answers that one cannot compare it to where an animal dies or breaks a leg after it is borrowed, as these events are forseeable to the borrower, whereas he cannot anticipate that it might be forcibly kidnapped.

It was interesting to me to see the forerunner for the modern rule of law that forseeability plays an important role in the rules of liability.

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Monday Musings on Sports - Michael Vick, Pete Rose and the train

As regular readers of this blog are aware, the Monday post was usually devoted to sports with highlights and analysis of the Max Kellerman show which formerly aired on 1050 ESPN Radio. As Max has resigned from 1050 and has not yet resurfaced on the NY area radio waves, I have decided to continue the tradition of linking sports to Torah which I believe was an undercurrent of the Max Kellerman show.

During the hall of fame induction ceremonies this past weekend, the inevitable reference was made by at least one luminary to Pete Rose, who is still suffering through his (agreed upon) lifetime ban from baseball due to gambling on the sport. (I am told that Pete Rose actually was in Cooperstown earlier in the week, although my source was unaware of whether Charlie Hustle had stayed through the weekend).

People tend to have rather strong feelings about whether Rose should or should not be banned and whether his betting on games impacted on the integrity (if not the result) of the games. Still, there is no dispute that he was one of the greatest ball players of all times and his records (unlike those of the steroid era) will not be tainted by asterisks.

At the same time as the Rose discussion, came news from the NFL that now that Michael Vick has completed his sentence for dog fighting involvement, the league would conditionally reinstate him after he served a six game suspension. Again, this topic brought up strong feeling on both sides, as the PETA type people (no, I am not referring to the People Eating Tasty Animals group, see generally http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_for_the_Ethical_Treatment_of_Animals_v._Doughney ) feel that Vick should not be given another chance to play professional football, while others are not of that opinion.

The disputes about whether Rose and Vick can be forgiven for their transgressions and permitted to return to their chosen societies made me think of a story I heard from R' Frand and R' Zev Cohen on two different occasions. As told by R' Frand - there is a boy who when he graduates high school announces to his parents that he wants to see the country. His father argues with him and tells him that he needs to go to college. The son disagrees and is adamant that he wants to travel cross-country. The father then says - if you leave, the door is closed to you forever.

The son leaves and begins to travel across the country, doing odd jobs to make money. Eventually he tires of touring and begins to hitchhike back to the east coast. When he is in Iowa he writes a letter to his mother asking her whether he could return home. He says that he knows that his father was upset, but if he has changed his mind and would allow him back, the son is ready to do so. He asks his mother to hang a white towel from a certain tree that adjoins the train track near his hometown if the father will take him back.

The son eventually gets on the train which will pass by his hometown. However, he is too nervous to look to see if the towel is in tree. He confides in the guy sitting next to him on the train and asks him to look whether there is a towel in the tree. After the train has passed the spot, the boy asks the other passenger whether there was a white towel in the tree. The man responds that there was not one white towel in the tree. Rather, there was a white towel hanging from every limb of the tree.

This story is symbolic of the Jews relationship with Hashem. If we are willing to take the step of genuinely asking for forgiveness, Hashem will welcome us back with open arms.

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Sunday Night Suds - Lake Placid 46er Pale Ale

This week's (belated) Sunday Night Suds column looks at Lake Placid's 46er Pale Ale.

[I would like to apologize to the loyal kosher beers fanatics for my inability to post the Sunday Night Suds column in its regular slot. Although there are weeks where I will miss a post or two, I have been endeavoring to always post a weekly Sunday Night Suds column so as to broaden the kosher market's understanding and appreciation of good beer. Unfortunately, due to some travel and technology restrictions, I am unable to post the SNS column on Sunday. Rather than skipping the post for the duration of the summer, I will be posting it on Mondays instead.]

Lake Placid is one of those breweries that relishes in the fact that they have a cult following. I guess there is no reason that they should not, since they make good beer and their clientele tolerate and/or appreciate their quirkiness.

So where do they get their names from? Yes the beer names are not as over the top as some other craft brewers who seem to put more into giving their beers creative names then into thinking through the brew process. Still, between the Ubu Ale (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/07/sunday-night-suds-lake-placid-ubu-ale.html ) and the 46er Pale Ale (named for the purported 46 Adirondack high peaks), it does make you wonder.

Regardless of what you think of the beer names, the brewery does produce some really good brews. The 46er Pale Ale is a true English Pale Ale with a generous hop flavor and excellent carbonation and lacing. The beer would go well with steaks, spicy chicken or bbq (even if you need to wait another week to have the combo).

Lake Placid 46er Pale Ale is under the kashruth supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit, as are all other beers bottled at the FX Matt plant in Utica (yes they contract bottle for Lake Placid). If you would like to see the LOC which identifies the 46er Pale Ale as under the Va'ad, please send me an email and I will forward it.For the experts' take on Lake Placid 46er Pale Ale, please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1888/6752.

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).

If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up.

Tuesday's Thoughts on the Daf - Bava Metzia 87

Bava Metzia 87 continues the agaddic discussion about Avraham and Sarah. Within the discussion, the gemara recounts the angels visit to Avraham in the beginning of Parshas Vayeira. The gemara comments that the angels say to him (Eilav) where is Sarah your wife and that the word Eilav has dots above the alef, yud and vuv. R' Yosi (as interepreted by Rahi) teaches that the dots are there to teach "derech eretz" that it is polite to ask about your hostess' welfare.

Tosafos (d"h Lama) is bothered by Rashi's interpretation as the dots should have said Ayeh not Ayo. Instead, Tosafos learns in the name of R' Azaria that the angels both asked Avraham about Sarah's welfare and then went to Sarah and asked about Avraham as well.

The story in the gemara brought back to me a vort R' Frand said last fall on this conversation between Avraham and the angels (according to Rashi anyway). R' Frand told a story in the name of a Rabbi Friedman who had said the story over in the name of Rabbi Shalom Wallach [I may be a bit off with these names]. The story involves a R' David Hershwitz who had learned in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Europe before WWII and then eventually moved to America. Forty years later, R' Hershwitz travelled to Israel to visit the Mirrer Yeshiva which had now migrated to Israel via Shanghai. When he arrived, he met with R' Chaim Shmulevitz who greeted him warmly. R' Chaim asked him whether he wanted to join them for lunch and (after asking permission from his wife) invited R' Hershwitz to come to his home for lunch.

When they arrived at the house, R' Chaim asked his wife what was for lunch. She answered that she had made chicken and rice. He ate the chicken with gusto and then commented on the quality of the food before asking as to the spices his wife had used in making the meal. She answered him and then he asked for (and received) a second helping. He ate this as well and commended her on her cooking.

When the meal was done, R' Hershwitz asked R' Chaim what had happened? The boy that R' Hershwitz remembered from yeshiva used to have to be reminded to eat because he was so absorbed in his learning that he forgot about meals. Indeed, at times he even needed to be reminded to bentch, because he got back into learning and forgot that he had eaten. How could this same person now be discussing the finer points of his wife's cooking and taking seconds?

R' Chaim answered - I am the best maggid shiur in Israel. I am not being haughty in saying this - my shiurim were developed over forty years and I have fine tuned them to the point that they are at right now. However, when a 17 year old student comes over to me after a shiur and tells me that it was a "nice shiur" it makes my day. The student does not know the hard work that went into the shiur and the time it took for me to develop the thought, but it still thrills me nonetheless that he enjoyed it.

R Chaim then explained - my wife's cooking is her shiur. She has worked hard at making this meal and my asking about it and commending her on her cooking makes her day. By praising her for her cooking, I show my appreciation for her dedication.

I can recall seeing a similar incident at the home of my Rebbi, R' Goldvicht when I was twenty years old. I had a meal in their apartment on 186th Street on Shavuos. After the meal, R' Goldvicht praised his wife for her cooking and said "If I knew Torah as well as my wife cooks, I would be the Gadol Hador."

The statement seemed cute to me at the time, but now with the benefit of twelve+ years of marriage I can tie it together. Spouses need to know they are appreciated and anything that an outsider can do to raise the level of respect that one spouse has for the value of the other can only help to further cement the marriage.

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Monday Musings on Sports - Old Timers Games and Evolution

As regular readers of this blog are aware, the Monday post was usually devoted to sports with highlights and analysis of the Max Kellerman show which formerly aired on 1050 ESPN Radio. As Max has resigned from 1050 and has not yet resurfaced on the NY area radio waves, I have decided to continue the tradition of linking sports to Torah which I believe was an undercurrent of the Max Kellerman show.

While listening to the radio today, I heard a remarkable thing said by a Sports Radio host. Brandon Tierney, an unabashed Yankee lover who generally has a warped view of New York baseball teams said that the Yankee Old Timers Game had lost some of its appeal to him. He remarked that he used to like to watch these games to see the old Yankees which were brought back, but that the players at the most recent Old Timers game did not evoke the same thoughts.

In contrast, about two week ago, I heard a different Sports Radio host talk about how the Mets don't do a regular Old Timers game and that while they don't have the history of the Yankees, there are certainly some old timers who the fans would want to see. Fast forward to yesterday, when I heard an ad on 660 (WFAN) for a Mets promotion where the fans can donate money for a specific charity (I don't specifically recall which one) and the fans would have an afternoon with former 1969 Mets including Seaver, Koosman and Nolan Ryan and then get tickets for that evening's game.

The interesting differences in views on the Old Timers games made me realize that its a matter of perspective for the fans. As a child, you read or hear about former players and there is an element of mystique and perhaps even reverence for former players. As the person gets older, or in Brandon Tierney's case, more used to seeing regular players now that he is starting to become accepted as (I shudder) a sports journalist, the view of those same players changes.

The two outlooks remind me of the story involing R' Yaakov Kaminetsky and a plane ride. During the flight, R' Yaakov's grandchildren periodically came over to ask him if needed anything. The man sitting next to R' Yaakov was an elderly secular professor who was amazed that this older man was getting such attention from these young teens. The professor turned to R’ Kaminetzky and asked, “Why is it that your grandchildren take such good care of you but my grandchildren ignore me?” R’ Kaminetzky answered, “You believe that man is descended from apes, so, to your grandchildren, you are closer to an ape. We believe that we are descendants of people that received the Torah from G-d at Sinai, so my grandchildren respect me because I’m closer to Sinai.”

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Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Amber Wheat Ale + BONUS Nine Days Havdalah Guide

This week's (belated) Sunday Night Suds column looks at Saranac Amber Wheat Ale and also gives some suggestions for the vexing problem of havdalah during the Nine Days.

[I would like to apologize to the loyal kosher beers fanatics for my inability to post the Sunday Night Suds column in its regular slot. Although there are weeks where I will miss a post or two, I have been endeavoring to always post a weekly Sunday Night Suds column so as to broaden the kosher market's understanding and appreciation of good beer. Unfortunately, due to some travel and technology restrictions, I am unable to post the SNS column on Sunday. Rather than skipping the post for the duration of the summer, I will be posting it on Mondays instead.]

The Saranac Amber Wheat Ale is another example of an excellent beer which can only be found in mix packs. The Amber Wheat Ale is classified by Beer Advocate as an American Dark Wheat Ale (as opposed to the more traditional American (Pale) Wheat beers such as Blue Moon, Samuel Adams Summer Ale or most American Hefeweizens). In creating the subcategory of American Dark Wheat Ale, the experts at Beer Advocate explain:

An Americanized version of a Dunkel Weizen, these beers can range within the brown to garnet range. Often cloudy with long-lasting heads. Light to medium body with high level of carbonation. Hop characters will be low to high with some fruitiness from ale fermentation, though most examples use of a fairly neutral ale yeast, resulting in a clean fermentation with little to no diacetyl. Flavors of caramel and toasted malts might be present.

The Saranac Amber Wheat Ale certain tends towards the deeper color as it is a molasses brown in color. The head on the beer also lasts significantly longer than any other Saranac I have experienced, although like most Saranac brews it has an excellent level of carbonation.

I would recommend the Amber Wheat Ale to anyone looking to move beyond the macro brews as the beer has a little more character, but without an overwhelming hoppy bite. Actually, if this was more readily available I would recommend it as a Nine Day havdalah beer (see bonus section below) as it is easy enough to drink on its own after a long shabbos. However, since you need to buy a 12 pack of Saranac Summer Brews just to get two of these Amber Wheats, you might be better off picking something else up for your havdalah options.

Saranac Amber Wheat Ale is under the kashruth supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit, as are all other beer produced by Saranac. For the experts' take on Saranac Amber Wheat Ale, please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/48543.

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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Bonus section - 9 days Havdalah Guide

In years past, I have been approached in shul on shabbos chazon (the Saturday within the summer nine days mourning period) and asked what would be a good choice to make havdalah on. By way of introduction, on Saturday nights after the evening prayer is said, Jews have a special set of blessings that are said by which we separate between the holy shabbos and the rest of the week. There is a custom to say this prayer on a cup of wine, however this custom needs modification when the Saturday falls during the nine days of mourning.

As noted by the Orthodox Union on their website:

Meat and wine are prohibited during the Nine Days, except on Shabbat. Meat and wine are associated both with joy AND with Temple service. Both reasons combine to explain this prohibition.Even though havdala is officially after Shabbat, one is permitted to drink wine. It is preferable to give the wine to a child who is old enough to understand brachot but not yet old enough to understand the concept of "mourning for Jerusalem". Alternately, some authorities recommend the use of a substitute beverage for havdala such as fruit juice, beer, etc. Other authorities insist on wine as usual.

Should your local Rabbi direct you to utilize non-wine in your havdalah, there are multiple options to use to fulfill the havdalah requirement. Indeed, my father in law will use diet soda (or as he says "diet pop"). I recall as a child seeing my father on one occasion use hard alcohol for havdalah (and then burn the decorative plate my sibling made when he tried to put out the candle).

To me, the simplest answer to the havdalah dilemma (and one that is widely recommended by rabbinic authorities) is to use beer, which in the time of the talmud was called chamra d'medina - the wine of the masses. This brings us to the reason I get more summer phone calls and email around this time every year - which beer would I recommend?

The number one problem with the question is that most people who ask it don't generally drink beer, so they need to have something to use for havdalah that won't have them making faces in their attempt to drink the halachic minimum level for the blessing. The second problem is that since the havdalah cup is imbibed on its own (i.e. without the benefit of food) people who might be inclined to have a beer with a meal will still have problems finishing their cup when the beer is consumed on its own.

The easiest solution is not to have beer, but instead to make havdalah on what is commonly called alcopop. These are malt beverage drinks with some similarities to beer and a beer-like 5% alcohol content by volume, but do not have the beer taste. Some examples are the Boston Beer Company (aka Sam Adams) Twisted Teas and the Zima beverages produced by Coors. Another example would be the Smirnoff Twisted V/Twisted Ice line. However, caution is urged as not every flavor is certified Kosher. Indeed, the last time I looked at these in the beer store, most of the Smirnoff's were not certified kosher. For the complete list of those Smirnoff products and other alcopops approved by the CRC, please click here http://www.crcweb.org/kosher/consumer/liquorList.html#Beer .

If you do like beer, or would like to drink something that is more manly than alcopop, the next step up would be an American wheat beer (such as the Blue Moon line, Saranac's Hefewiezen or Pomegranate Wheat) or some of the better Summer Ales such as Brooklyn Brewery's or Sam Adams' Summer Ale. Many of these beers have been reviewed on the pages of this blog and you can search through prior Sunday Night Suds reviews to find one that might appeal to you.

If you are a beer aficionado, you obviously won't need this post to tell you which ale or lager you should crack open for havdalah.

May the world have a tikkun from our three weeks/nine days observances and may tisha b'av soon be transformed to the holiday that the gemara tells it will be in the times of moshiach bimheira biyamenu.

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