Monday's Mini Vort on Rosh Hashanah

As regular readers of this blog are aware, the Monday post is usually devoted to sports with a link to a Torah moral or value. With Rosh Hashanah around the corner, I have skipped the sports thought (no, it is NOT because the Jets lost to the Raiders yesterday) in favor of a mini vort which I heard from R' Mansour recently.

R' Mansour asked the following question which seems logical, but I never heard or thought to ask - why is it that there is no mitzva to go up to Yerushalayim for Rosh Hashanah? There is a mitzva of aliyah l'regel for Sukkos, why not just come up two weeks early for Rosh Hashanah as well?

R' Mansour answered the question by quoting the Sfas Emes. The Sfas Emes quotes a gemara in Rosh Hashanah which asks - how do we get a favorable judgment on Rosh Hashanah - by saying pesukim which form the malchios and zichronos and shofros and with the shofar. However, the shofar cannot come from a cow as it would be a reminder of the golden calf, and the shofar cannot be a prosecutor and defense attorney at the same time.

The gemara in Rosh Hashanah then asked what about the clothing of the kohen gadol? The kohen gadol does not wear golden clothes in the avodah in the Beis Hamikdash as it is a reminder of the golden calf. However, for some of the avodah he does wear golden clothes, albeit outside of the inner chamber of the Beis Hamikdash - how can this be? The gemara answers that the gold clothes are only removed when outside of the kodesh kodashim so that there is no reminder of the golden calf.

The gemara then asks - but what about the shofar? It is also not blown in the kodesh kodashim, so why can't we use the cow's horn? The gemara answers that when the shofar is blown it is as if the one listening is in the holy of holies. Regardless of where a person is, at the moment of tekiyas shofar a person is transported before Hashem.

The Sfas Emes explains that this is the reason why a person does not need to be oleh regel on Rosh Hashana. On Pesach a person needs to go to Yerushalayim to be oleh regel, but on Rosh Hashana we are transported by merely hearing the shofar.

R' Mansour stated that this underscores the value of listening to the shofar. The kohen gadol had to prepare for seven days before doing the avodah. We must be prepared to hear the shofar and to be transported to the Beis Hamikdash.

R' Mansour brought a gematria to support his point - the gematria of Beis Hamikdash is 861. The gematria of Rosh Hashanah is also 861. The two are equal and this is the secret of Rosh Hashanah.

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Sunday Night Suds - Sprecher IPA2

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Sprecher's Ipa2 (aka IPA sqaured or Double IPA).

Another beer that was brought in from the Midwest for me at a family simcha in MD (thanks again Jake!). This was not a beer that I knew was available on the market and did not see on the Binny's website. However, after I phoned in an order to have ready for pick up, I got a call back from Binny's about this brand new beer which they had just gotten in.

As regular readers of this column are aware, I am a big fan of IPAs as I love the hoppiness and crisp flavor of an American IPA. When Binny's told me that Sprecher had made a double IPA, I jumped at the opportunity and had it added to my tab. Little did I know that this was a seder beer. What is a seder beer? Its a beer that is different than all other beers, sometimes for good and sometimes for the drain.

By way of explanation, I had tried quite a few Sprecher beers before putting in an order for the Double IPA and I had found that they ranged from slightly above average to outstanding. Additionally, while Sprecher only sells their beer in 4 packs - the bottles are usually true pint bottles (16 oz). However the Double IPA was a four pack of traditional 12 oz bottles.

By now you can probably see where this is going ... the Sprecher IPA2 was not a typical IPA. The beer itself was exceedingly bitter, but not in a traditional IPA manner. I had started with a little floral flavor but by the end it was just a dry, slightly flat beer. It almost seemed like they were trying to create a barleywine type flavor, but even if I had tried the beer with the expectation that it was a barleywine, I still would not have thought that it was true to style. I may try one more of the four pack, but if I don't like it I will probably try to give away the other two.

Sprecher IPA2 is certified kosher by Wisconsin Kosher and their is a kosher symbol on the four pack holder, although not on the individual bottles. For the experts' take on the Sprecher IPA2 please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/144/37308.

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!

Motzei Shabbos Pre Selichos Special - The Shofar That Would Not Blow

The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand this past Thursday night on Rosh Hashanah. I had actually heard a slightly different version of the vort earlier in the day as I had downloaded it from the www.yadyechiel.org site earlier in the day. As I was listening to it in my car, I was thinking about trying to transcribe it on Motzei Shabbos. When I heard R' Frand say the vort again (and in my opinion more powerfully) at the close of the Thursday night shiur, I knew that it would be worth sharing on the blog. As always, have attempted to reproduce this 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.

R' Frand quoted the Magen Avraham in Shulchan Aruch 585 who writes about a story that occurred once when the shofar could not blow. After the ba'al tokeiah tried and tried, he whispered the pasuk V'yihee Noam Hashem Elokeinu Aleinu into the wide end of the shofar and then the shofar was able to blow.

R' Frand quoted the Tollner Rebbi who asked three questions on the Magen Avraham:
(1) Why is the Magen Avraham telling us stories about the shofar? The Magen Avraham was generally terse and did not waste words.
(2) Why did the person say the pasuk V'yihee Noam? It would have been understandable if it was Tiku Bachodesh Shofar or some other pasuk related to Rosh Hashanah and Tekiyas Shofar, but why this pasuk?
(3) Why was the pasuk whispered into the wide end of the shofar? The Livush explains that we blow from the narrow side because Min Hameitzar Karasi Ka. If we want the shofar to sound, it needs to come from the narrow side.

R' Frand quoted the Tollner Rebbi who answered the three questions. He explained that the Magen Avraham was not telling us a story - he was telling us the foundation of Rosh Hashanah, the foundation of teshuva and the foundation of life.

The pasuk of V'yihee Noam was first said by Moshe after the completion of the mishkan. Once the Jews completed the construction, Moshe said these words of bracha. The reason Moshe said this after completion of the building of the mishkan was because the Jews came out of Egypt with no knowledge of construction or artistry and they still were able to build the mishkan anyway. The message to the Jews by being asked to build the mishkan was - it does not matter what your background is, you have to try. Thus the end of the pasuk of Y'yihee Noam - may Hashem establish our handiwork for us.

Indeed, the question can be asked - if Hashem wanted a mishkan, why did He not build it Himself like the third Bais Hamikdash which will come down from shamayim. The answer is - Hashem wanted them to try. This is the message of the Magen Avraham - the Ba'al Tokeiah was unable to blow the shofar, so he said to Hashem I tried - now You help up please.

This is also why he said the pasuk into the wide side. The Ba'al Tokeiah said the pasuk into the wide side because he had already done his part of trying from the narrow side. In effect he was saying min hameitzar karasi - I called out from the narrow end, now, annani bamerchav - answer me please from the wide end - Your end.

R' Frand explained that this is the avodah of Rosh Hashanah - we blow shofar to ask Hashem to leave the kisei hadin and sit on the kisei rachamim. Why can't He do this on his own? Because we have to act and give Him a reason to do it.

This is how we should approach Rosh Hashanah and teshuva - we need to put our effort in and then He will help us. Of course this applies to all efforts in life (R' Frand stressed that this includes raising children) - we need to act and Hashem will help us.

R' Frand then quoted a Medrash in Shir Hashirim which tells of how R' Chanina was jealous that others were going up to Yerushalayim. R' Chanina was upset because he had nothing to bring up. He went into the forest and saw a beautiful stone. R' Chanina polished the stone and shaped it and wanted to bring it up, but it was too heavy. R' Chanina went looking for workers to help him bring the stone up, but they wanted 100 gold pieces for their troubles. R' Chanina was despondent and turned away, but then five angels who were disguised as people approached and offered to help. They said that they would bring it up for only 5 sela'im - a small amount of money. But there was one catch, R' Chanina had to help carry the stone.

R' Chanina agreed to the requests of the "workers" and together they carried the stone up to the Beis Hamikdash. When they reached the Beis Hamikdash and the stone was placed in the heichal, R' Chanina turned to pay them and they had vanished.

The message of this Medrash is not that if you have a flat tire, five angels will appear and offer to change it for a nickel. Instead, the message is that we have to try and then Hashem will help us. This is the message of the Magen Avraham and the words of V'yihee Noam.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshios Nitzavim & Vayelech

The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this 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.

R' Frand quoted the Maharal who noted that while the Tochacha in Parshas Bechukosai has words of nechama (comfort) after the Tochacha,the Tochacha in Parshas Ki Savo does not have words of nechama at the end.

R' Frand quoted R' Yosher Ber Soloveitchik who explains that the Tochacha in Bechukosai is aligned with the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash and galus bavel. Since the first galus was very brief, the divrei nechama come soon after the Tochacha. However, the Tochacha in Ki Savo is aligned with the destruction of the second Beis Hamikdash and galus Edom. Although this is a long drawn out galus which we are still experiencing, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and nechama at the end of the galus. R' Yosher Ber explains that the divrei nechama comes in Parshas Nitzavim at Devarim 30:1-2, where the Torah writes "V'haya ki yavou alecha ..." that it will be when these things come on you, the blessings and the curse, that the Jews will return to Hashem.

The Rambam in Hilchos Teshuva writes that the Nevi'im promised us that the Jews will do teshuva at the end of galus and they will be immediately redeemed. R' Yosher Ber explains that this is the nechama, knowing that there will be teshuva and the galus will end.

R' Frand mentioned that he was always bothered by this Rambam. There are so many people who are not keeping the Torah and do not even know that they are sinning because they lack the basic knowledge of the Torah laws. How will these people do teshuva?

R' Frand said that he heard a vort from the Shem Mishmuel which answered the question. The Shem Mishmuel quoted Devarim 30:3 which states that Hashem will bring back "shevuscha" - translated as your people in captivity. However, the Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel translates shevuscha as your teshuvos - Hashem will gather in all the teshuvos from all the generations and use them to redeem the Jews.

The Shem Mishmuel referenced the line from the Rosh Hashanah davening - Ma'avir Rishon Rishon - the Gemara in Rosh Hashana 17 states that this means that if a person is equally weighted with sins and mitzvos, Hashem will take away one aveirah so that the scale tips to life. However, the sin is not erased completely. If later a person piles on the sins, Hashem will add this sin back to the pile.

The Shem Mishmuel states that if Hashem will store away an aveirah to be added in at the appropriate time, than He certainly is saving the less than perfect thoughts or acts of teshuva that were done for centuries so that they can be added togther at the appropriate time and bring the geulah. The Shem Mishmuel states that this explains how a person can do teshuva at the end of his life and it will be accepted. The teshuva certainly cannot be an acceptance to change for the future since the person will die in short order. The Shem Mishmuel explains that this person had many thoughts or acts of teshuva over his lifetime which did not come to fruition. However, at the end of his life when he has a genuine desire to teshuva, Hashem brings back all these thoughts and deeds and togther they cause the person to become a true ba'al teshuva.

The Shem Mishmuel further states that this collection of imperfect teshuvas applies not only to individuals, but also to groups. Hashem has collected our improper teshuvos over thousands of years and geula can happen in our days by adding just a little bit to the scale to put us over the top. This is the answer to the question that bothers people - if we did not merit geulah when we had greater leaders, how can we possibly merit the Moshiach today? The answer is that all those teshuvas have been building up and if we on our lower level can somehow add the final piece through our teshuva, we can bring the geulah and be the nechama.

[Ed note - Rabbi Frand actually said a second vort on Rosh Hashanah after completing this vort. I will b'n attempt to post the Rosh Hashanah vort on Saturday Night].

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Monday's Musings on Sports - Fantasy, Realty and Football

Over the course of the last dozen or so years, the TV world and the United States in particular has become fascinated with the concept of reality TV. From the early days of Survivor to American Idol (or is it Idle) to the recent uptick in cooking shows such as Hell's Kitchen and Chopped, viewers can't seem to get enough of watching every day people competing with one and another.

[Personally, I believe that the rise in popularity of reality TV is a manifestation of the every man's fantasy to be famous, be it competing in an office setting or trying to perform superhuman feats of survival, but I digress].

By virtue of succeeding in these shows, the winning contestant is supposed to reap a reward which changes his life. In some shows it might be a dream job, while in others it may be a relationship or a cash prize. One of the more interesting rewards was on a cable TV show called Fourth and Long. The show challenged former college athletes to compete for a chance to be invited to the Dallas Cowboys training camp and possibly make the team. The reward was viewed largely as symbolic, since NFL training camps involve players who are: returning to their team; were drafted by their team or are free agents who were signed off another team's roster. Besides these marquee players, the teams will bring in twenty to thirty undrafted players, one or two of which will be lucky enough to make the practice squad (cue the Rudy music).

The winner of the Fourth and Long program in 2009 was Jesse Holley, who at the time was working as a security guard and selling cell phones on the side. Although Holley participated in training camp in 2009, he was cut by the Cowboys and signed to their practice squad where he remained for the season. In 2010, Holley again was one of the final cuts, but he was later signed to the active roster and was on the team for twelve games in 2010. Although Holley did not catch a pass that year, he did return one punt.

Two Sundays ago, star Cowboy received Dez Bryant was injured in a game against the NY Jets. After Bryant was declared out against the 49ers, the Cowboys added Holley to the active roster and he repaid the favor by making a 77 yard reception in overtime which set up the Cowboys' game winning score.

The fascination with "reality TV" and the way that people view and root for the common man to do something which they deep down wish they could do reminded me of a vort that I once heard about the questions which will be asked when a person finishes his time on this earth. I can't remember specifically who the Rav was who posed the question, but the vort goes something like this. When a person gets up to shamayim (heaven) he will be asked a series of questions including did you make regular time to learn Torah, were you honest in business and did you anxiously await the Moshiach. One of the questions that will not be asked is why were you not Moshe Rabbeinu. The reason is simple, we cannot be Moshe as he was a very special man who lived in a different time. But the question that we will be asked is why were you not (fill in your own name). Every person has the ability to be something special and improve the world. If we can accomplish the tasks that we are capable of doing, we will have no problem answering the question.

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Sunday Night Suds - Uinta Wyld

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Uinta's Wyld, an organic Extra Pale Ale.

As discussed in a post earlier this summer, Utah based Uinta Brewing Company is the most recent brewery to obtain kosher certification. Uinta brews a number of beers under its Uinta label, but it also has a creative/quirky division called the "Four+ Beers." The Uinta website explains that "four" refers to the four primary ingredients: hops, water, yeast, and barley, whereas the plus is "[t]he magical combination of elements to create an exceptional beer requires the alchemy of the brewer's art: skills, palate, and creativity. This is a key component of the "plus", but not all of it. There's always an element that defies definition."

All of the Four+ beers have interesting names and descriptions such as Monkshine - Belgian Style Pale Ale, Rype - Orange Tinged Wheat Beer, Hyve - Honey Stung Ale, Sum'r Organic Summer Ale, Punk'n - Harvest Pumpkin Ale and the Wyld Organic Pale Ale.

The interesting thing about the Wyld Organic Pale Ale is the incredible citrus flavor. Unlike the Shiner Ruby Redbird which is flavored with grapefruit, the Wyld is not a flavored beer, but I could swear there is some citrus juice in the brew. I received this beer as part of a Chicago care package that Binny's packed up for my BiL to deliver to me at a family simcha last weekend (thanks Jake!). I enjoyed this beer on its own and was able to appreciate it without blending it with food. Since I only have a few more to work with I will cautiously experiment with some APA friendly foods.

Uinta Wyld is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union and bears an OU on the label. For the experts' take on the Uinta Wyld please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1416/48873.

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!