Mondays Musings on Sports - Of Prodigies, Prospects, Prognostications and Pisces

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. Although Max resigned from 1050 more than a year ago (he has recently resurfaced on ESPN Radio in Los Angeles), I have tried to continue the tradition of linking sports to Torah which I believe was an undercurrent of the Max Kellerman show.

As the expression goes, hope springs eternal. In sports, the inverse is true - in spring hope is eternal. Baseball teams go into spring training loaded with hope that their prospects will turn into major leaguers and that last year's rookies will blossom into all stars. College football teams hold their spring practices when their coaches and fans begin to dream that the team can make a run at the BCS.

I read a story on Saturday night about a different form of prospect, but first a short introduction is required. In college sports, school can recruit players to attend their school, regardless of the age of the player and how far away they are from being college age. If the recruit is in high school, then depending on his year of school he can sign a letter of intent or verbally commit to the school. If he is younger, the player can be extended a scholarship offer which is not worth the paper it is printed on because either side can back out. Still it makes for good publicity at the very least.

The story that I read about involved Michael Avery. In 2008, Michael was an eighth grader from California who was invited to a summer basketball camp tournament with kids considerably older than him. Based on Michael's performance it was "suggested" that he call Billy Gillespie who was then the coach at Kentucky. Once Michael called him, the coach offered a scholarship to Kentucky, with the understanding that it was not binding.

As more fully detailed in the article (http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/throwback/201102/high-school-juniors-college-future-uncertain-after-eighth-grade-commitment-ken), following the offer from Kentucky, life became very difficult for Michael. He transferred to a school in Florida which had a great reputation for academics and basketball. But after one year at the school, he switched back to school in California because his family could not afford the $35,000 tuition. Then, the California Interscholastic Federation would not allow him to play ball at his old school under a rule which was meant to prevent students from shopping for schools.

The article concludes with a discussion about Michael's positive attitude, his acceptance of where he is at the present and his plans for the future. It is refreshing to see his maturity in the face of adversity and I highly recommend the piece.

The story about Michael Avery reminded me of a vort that I heard from R' Mansour about the reason that the mazal for Adar is two fish. R' Mansour explained that there are two kinds of fish - large and small. If one cuts open a large fish, they will see small fish - all of which appeared to have swum directly into the mouth of the large fish. R' Mansour explained that the small fish say to Hashem - please help us and watch that we are not eaten from behind by the big fish. Hashem obliges and does watch out that the fish are not eaten from behind. However, since the fish rely on themselves to watch what is in front of them, he does not protect them from swimming straight into the mouth of the big fish.

The lesson of the fish is that we need to understand that we are not the masters of our destiny and that there is a higher power which controls all. If we completely put our trust in Hashem and do the hishtadlus which He requires, He will take care of us. But if we feel that it all comes from our own actions without any need for his help, we will get eaten by the big fish.

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Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat

This week's Sunday Night Suds review looks at Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat.

This past shabbos, our company brought us some delectable cherry strudel along with a six pack of Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat. While Mrs A's baking was quite delicious and could go with any meal, the Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat cannot.

The problem with fruit beer is that the brewers often make it so sweet that it can't be consumed with food. While some brews have a mild flavor which complement food, most are so strong that they can only be imbibed as an apertif as they are basically sodas or wine coolers with a little beer flavor mixed in.

The Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat is certainly more of the latter than the former. If you are a fan of strong cherry flavor and want a little kick, then this beer is for you. I opted to serve this after the fish course at lunch before the cholent and main. I have yet to find a food which would go with this beer, but if you have any ideas, please feel free to comment on this post.

Samuel Adams Pale Ale is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K. However, unlike many other Samuel Adams brews, this bottle does have the Star-K certification mark on the label.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the Cherry Wheat, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/108.

PUBLIC SERVICE NOTICE - The Star-K has informed me that the Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock is Dairy - Chalav Stam. Although the Chocolate Bock status as kosher and Dairy is not yet listed in the Star-K LOC posted on the website (http://www.star-k.org/loc/kosher_letter_6635_bostonbeercompany.pdf) the beer is in fact dairy.

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).

Lastly, I would like to give hakaras hatov to all those who have visited this blog over the last ten months and have pushed my hit count to 30,000. I hope that you have found it worth while and informative. I appreciate all the e-mail and words of encouragement and iyh will continue to provide helpful content.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayakhel

The following is a brief summary of a vort said over by R' Frand this evening. I have attempted to reproduce the vort 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 36:5-6 the Torah mentions that the Jews were so generous with their giving to the mishkan that the chachamim came to tell Moshe that the people were bringing more than could be used in the building of the mishkan. In response, Moshe announces that people should stop and the Torah indicates that the people were restrained (Vayikalei) from bringing. Rashi explains that the word vayikalei means min'ia which is another word for being stopped from doing something.

Rabbi Frand quoted the Tolner Rebbi who asked why the Torah used the word vaikalei instead of min'ia? The word min'ia is more prevalent in the Torah as it was used in connection with Bilam as well as in the conversation between Yitzchak and Rivka as to why she was barren.

As an introduction to the answer, Rabbi Frand quoted the Midrash Rabbah on Pikudei where the Torah indicates that the work in building the mishkan was "Dayah". The Midrash Rabbah states that Moshe had gone to visit Betzalel and saw that there was more material than could be used in making the mishkan. Moshe davened to Hashem to ask what should be done with the leftover materials. Hashem responded to Moshe - you should make a "mishkan l'edus."

The unresolved question from the Midrash Rabbah is - what is a mishkan l'edus?
The Yifei To'ar states that the mishkan l'edus was a small beis medrash which was built along side the mishkan. But R' Frand then gave a more in depth explanation of the concept. R' Frand quoted the Chidushei Harim who cited to R' Bunim who said that any time a Jew does a mitzva and has a desire that he should do more, but the mitzva is finished, Hashem has greater pleasure from the person's desire to do more than the mitzva itself. By way of example - a person gives tzedakah to the shul but wants to give more, but the budget is met and there is no need for more.

R' Frand then made reference to the sentence in the Yishtabach prayer "habocher b'shirei zimra..." R' Frand quoted R' Bunim as saying that one should read b'shirei as b'shiarei - that which is left over from davening. If a person has a desire to pray more, even though he has completed the prayer, this is the person who Hashem has chosen - the one that wishes that there was more that he could say to Hashem.

R' Frand also quoted the Eliyahu Rabbah who discussed the custom of saying the Adon Olam prayer after davening on Shabbos. Why do we do so? Because by saying Adon Olam we are showing that we have a desire to pray more - we started with the Adon Olam prayer and even though we are done, we want to start again at the beginning.

R' Frand indicated that this was the meaning of the statement that Hashem wanted the Jews to make with them a mishkan l'edus - Hashem wants to reside in them and with them because they want to do more. (Much like the vort v'asu li mikdash v'shachanti b'socham - I want to be with them because they want to do more for Me).

R' Frand then quoted the Malbim in Sefer Hakarmel as to the difference between vayikalei and min'ia. Vayikalei is a language of being involuntarily stopped - a person wants to do, but he is forced to stop. This can be seen in the language for jail - a Beis Hakeleh - a person wants to leave but is forced to stay. In contrast, min'ia is a voluntary cessasion of activity.

R' Frand then tied the concept back to the Rashi - the language in the pasuk vayikalei - the Jews wanted to do more and give more, but the work was done and Moshe had to tell them to stop.

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Monday's Musings on Sports - The Wrestler With a Conscience

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. Although Max resigned from 1050 more than a year ago (he has recently resurfaced on ESPN Radio in Los Angeles), I have tried to continue the tradition of linking sports to Torah which I believe was an undercurrent of the Max Kellerman show.

You probably have never heard the names Cassy Herkelman or Joel Northrup, but the story of how their paths did not cross is quite remarkable and worthy of attention.

Northrup is a home schooled sophomore who competes in high school athletics and wrestles for Linn-Mar High School in Iowa. This year, Northrup compiled a record of 35-4 and qualified for the Iowa High School Wrestling Championship in the 112 pound weight class. Newspaper reports speculated that Northrup could have competed for the title in his weight class. Herkelman who was scheduled to be Northrup's first round opponent had a record of 20-13 and was a year younger than Northrup. While this could have been Northrup's first step towards the title, Northrup never got on the mat and did not wrestle with Herkelman.

As Northrup explained in a statement "wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times. As a matter of conscience and my faith I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner."

Northrup's father is a minister in a Pentecostal church in Marion, Iowa. As explained by their pastor, the church believes young men and women shouldn't touch in a "familiar way." The pastor further explained "[w]e believe in the elevation and respect of woman and we don't think that wrestling a woman is the right thing to do. Body slamming and takedowns, that full contact sport is not how to do that."

[To read more about this story click the following link http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=capress-wre_girl_wrestler_default-5984888]

As an NCSY advisor in Central and Southern New Jersey for eight years, I was often asked by kids who were becoming religious about the concept of shomer negiah - the popular phrase which signifies that the person does not touch people of the opposite gender. Often times, kids who were looking for their Jewish identity would learn that they could no longer have friendly contact with their male/female friends who they had close friendships with. For many of these hormone raging teenagers, it was difficult enough to avoid meaningful contact with their boyfriend/girlfriend. The greater challenge was understanding that Judaism had created this fence to prevent them from being "too familiar" with others in order to protect them from their own normal urges.

Kudos to the kid from Iowa who was willing to sacrifice his dream of competing for a state championship if it meant wrestling with a girl.

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Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Belgian Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac Belgian Ale.

Although I have reviewed other Belgian Pale Ale's in prior posts (see Blue Moon Pale Moon - http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/02/sunday-night-suds-pale-moon.html and New Belgium's Fat Tire - http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/12/sunday-night-suds-new-belgiums-fat-tire.html ), its been a few years since I presented the definition for this style of beer. As such,I reproduce below the BA definition of Belgian Pale Ale:

Belgian Pales consume the Belgian brewing scene, and were initially brewed to compete with Pilseners during the WWII time frame. They differ from other regional Pale Ale varieties, by traditionally being less bitter, using aged hops for a delicate hop finish, and boasting sweetish to toasty malt overtones. They should be decanted properly, leaving the yeast in the bottle. This will showcase their brilliant color range from pale straw yellow to amber hues. Most will be crowned with thick, clinging, rocky white heads. Flavors and aromas will vary. Some have natural spice characters from yeast and hops, while others are spiced.

There's a recent growing trend to make much more "hoppy" Pale Ales, to entice the US market and its hopheads.

The Saranac Belgian Ale poured a dark amber with a little bit of foam. The banana like spices his right away, but the flavor was not too over the top. The beer is nice as a change of pace brew and due to the way that Saranac markets it (part of a mixed pack) you wont have to worry about what to do with it as you will never have more than two at a time. Of course if you really like the brew, you will have to drive up to Utica to beg them for some singles, but they are really nice up there and its worth making the trip...

Saranac Belgian Ale is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit, as is every other brew produced by Saranac. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Saranac Belgian Ale, please follow this link http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/26617.

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).

Finally, if you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Ki Sissa

The following is a brief summary of a vort said over by R' Frand this evening. I have attempted to reproduce the vort 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 the beginning of Parshas Ki Sissa, Hashem commands Moshe to count the Jews through the mechanism of machasis hashekel. In Shemos 30:16, the Torah writes that the machasis hashekel was given for the work of the ohel moe'd. Rashi on this pasuk explains that this request actually took place after the sin of the golden calf as Moshe was commanded to count the Jews after the plague which followed the golden calf. Rashi then states that Hashem's request was akin to a flock of sheep which was precious to its owner. After the flock sustained significant losses due to disease, the owner asked his shepherd to count the flock to show how dear the flock was to him.

R' Frand then asked - if the Jews were so dear to Hashem, why send the plague in the first place? Furthermore, the owner of the sheep did not cause their death, so how is the situation comparable?

R' Frand answered his questions by saying over a vort in the name of the Tolner Rebbi. The Tolner Rebbi first made reference to the request that Moshe made to Hashem after the golden calf story was over that Moshe wanted to see Hashem (hareini na es kivodecha). The Tolner Rebbi asked in the name of the Sfas Emes - why did Moshe make this request now? Moshe had a relationship with Hashem for many years in Midyan and in Egypt and took the Jews out of Egypt. Why did Moshe only ask after the sin of the golden calf to see Hashem?

The Tolner Rebbi answered his question by making reference to a story involving the Kotzker Rebbi and his talmid the Chidushei Harim. The Chidushei Harim asked - why is it that I feel holier on the second day of yom tov than the first. The Kotzker Rebbi answered - when a husband and wife have an argument and then make up, they will feel more strongly about each other than they did before the fight. The fact that we have a second day of yom tov is because of our misdeeds which caused the Jews to be expelled from our land. The second day of yom tov is Hashem's way of making up with the Jews and that is why you feel more holy on the second day of yom tov.

Rabbi Frand then quoted the Rambam in his Perush Hamishnayos on Parah (3:3). The Rambam asked - who is more pure - one who was previously tamei and was mitaheir, or one who was never tamei in his lifetime? The Rambam answered that the one who was tamei and now became tahor is on a higher level of tahara because he went from a lower level to a higher level.

The Sfas Emes explained that the "make up" was the reason that Moshe asked hareini na es kivodecha after the sin of the golden calf. At this point, the Jews and Hashem had gotten back together and Moshe felt closer to Hashem. It was at this juncture that Moshe wanted to see Hashem.

This is also the explanation of Rashi's mashal. Hashem had brought the plague on the Jews after the sin of the golden calf because they needed to be punished. But now that the punishment was over, it was time to show Hashem's love for the Jews and to bring them closer by counting them and using the funds to build the mishkan.

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