Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams Double Agent IPL

This week's Sunday Night Suds and the last post on this blog until after the Pesach holiday, looks at the Samuel Adams Double Agent IPL. 

This beer is one of the newest Samuel Adams products and can be found in the 2013 Spring Thaw Box, which also contains last year's new seasonal - Alpine Spring (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/01/belated-sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams.html); the overly sweet Maple Pecan Porter (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/02/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-maple.html); the vastly underrated Irish Red Ale (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2008/10/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-irish.html); the Boston Lager flagship brew and one other new for 2013 beer - White Lantern. 

I must admit that when I bought this beer I had little idea what I was getting myself into. I had never seen an IPL before, but when I saw that there were new Samuel Adams beers which (for a change) actually had the Star-K on the label, I invested some of the beer fund and bought a bottle of the IPL and a bottle of the White Lantern. 

What is an IPL? The experts as BA classify this as an American Pale Lager, which they note is "sometimes referred to as "all-malt," this category of beer refers to lagers brewed without cereal adjuncts (mainly rice or corn). Though often still yellow and fizzy, these beers will display a broader depth of malt flavor and a more complex bitterness vs. their adjunct counterparts." 

With all due deference to the experts at BA, the IPL is clearly not an American Pale Lager and is unlike any lager that I have ever tasted. The beer poured a light orange (think Crayola's Maize crayon) with a good amount of foam. There is a nice amount of citrusy hops which hits right at the first sip. It is not as strong as a traditional IPA, but it is like no lager I have ever tasted.

The label of the bottle gives a little hint as to the character of the brew as it supposes - what if we gave an IPA a new identity and used some of our favorite West Coast hops, with their grapefruit, piney & tropical fruit character, in a a lager? 

My answer to the question proposed by Samuel Adams is ... it would not be a lager. It would be a IPA without some of the alcohol taste and content (only 5% abv).

The Samuel Adams Double Agent IPL is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K and has a Star-K certification mark on the label. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/88429. 

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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Second Half of R' Mansour Haggadah Tidbits

On Thursday, I began a summary of a Rabbi Mansour shiur on the Haggada (available for download on www.learntorah.com). The following is the summary of the second half of the shiur. Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the shiur to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my attempts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Mansour.

R' Mansour next asked - why is it that the Jews went down to Egypt in the first place? He answered that the Jews went down to Egypt because of the sale of Yosef. Bad things happen to the Jews when there is internal fighting and this was one of our worst episodes.

R' Mansour brought a proof to this concept from the story of Yaakov sleeping on the rock. The Medrash states that the twelve rocks were all fighting over which one would be Yaakov's pillow. Hashem made a miracle and all the rocks fused into one. But why was Yaakov sleeping on a rock? Why did they not become a pillow? The answer is that when something begins as a fight, it can never be a perfect situation.

The Ben Ish Chai says that the sale of Yosef as the reason the Jews went down to Egypt is hinted at in the seder. How? When Yosef received the colored coat, Rashi states that Ketones Pasim is like Karpas. The word Karpas is made up of two words - kar (clothing) and pas (striped).

The Ben Ish Chai states that by dipping the karpas in the saltwater, we commemorate the dipping of Yosef's colored coat into the blood.

R' Mansour stated that the Jews were unable to leave Egypt until the Jews had cured the fighting in the family. Once it was solved, the Jews were allowed to leave Egypt and stay together until the Bais Hamikdash was destroyed.

This is also hinted at in our seder as we say "al Matzos U'Merrorim Yochluhu" - we eat the matza and marror together. This symbolizes that the first day of Pesach and Tisha B'av always fall on the same day of the week (under the At Bash). They are forever joined together on the calendar.

[R' Mansour noted parenthetically, that the seventh day of Pesach always corresponds to Tu B'Av. Why? Because creating shidduchim can be as difficult as splitting the sea. So on the same day that the sea split, the young singles would go out and meet and become engaged].

The fact that there is a prevalent custom to eat an egg at the seder also brings us to remember Tisha B'Av as it is the food of a mourner and the food that is traditionally eaten as the last meal before the fast. Why do we need to remember Tisha B'Av on the night of the seder? Because the message of the egg is that there will be a Tisha B'Av in a few months which will start the same night as the seder if we don't take to heart the message of the seder.

R' Mansour then asked - where do we see that the Jews actually came together as one and effectively corrected the sin of Mechiras Yosef?

R' Mansour answered by quoting a Medrash which states that when Moshe told Pharaoh that the Jews would be leaving for only three days and the Jews were told to ask to borrow items to take the trip, the Jews all knew that this was not going to be a three day trip. All of the Jews knew that the trip was for good, but not a single Jew told the Egyptians that they were leaving forever. Not a single Jew ratted the nation out to Pharaoh, even though it could have engendered a great position with the Egyptian government or a tremendous reward.

This was the signal to Hashem that the Jews truly were ready to leave Egypt. The Jews were united and stayed together as a nation without any infighting or fracturing. Thus they had come full circle and were worthy of leaving.

I would like to add something to R' Mansour's vort. Yesterday afternoon I was zoche to hear my Rav, Rabbi Yehuda Kelemer, give his Shabbos HaGadol derasha. R' Kelemer asked four questions (as he always does), one of which was - why do we break the middle matza for Yachatz at the table? Why don't we just break it in the kitchen?

This is actually a question that always bothered me as well. Sometimes it can be very hard to find whole matzos in the box. Why do we need a whole second matza to start the seder when we will only break the matza in half before we ever get to the brachos?

R' Kelemer answered this question (along with his three others) by developing the concept that the "ha lachma aniya" was actually said in Egypt - he quoted the Kol Bo who states that the Jews invited each other to come and join in a meal and they broke their matzos up to share with each other in brotherhood.

R' Kelemer also quoted a Tanna D'vei Eliyahu who writes that when the Jews were in Egypt they came together as one group and made a covenant together that they would do chessed for each other. They agreed that they would not lose their religion, nor their language. They would stay together.

I heard this dvar Torah on Shabbos and it made me realize why the Yachatz follows Karpas. The Karpas is the recollection that Yosef was sold down to Egypt by his brothers and his coat was dipped in blood. But immediately thereafter, we break the matza in half, much as the Jews came together in Egypt and shared their meager provisions and formed a bond that they would take care of each other.

Once we have completed the cycle of dissension and then unity, now we can start the maggid and the Haggadah begins in earnest.

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Thursday's Haggadah Tidbits

Regular followers of this blog are aware that the Thursday night post is usually dedicated to a summary of R' Frand's vort on the parsha. As R' Frand does not generally give the Thursday night shiur on the week before Pesach, I have substituted a summary of the first half of a Rabbi Mansour shiur on the Haggada. Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the shiur to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my attempts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Mansour.

The Haggadah mentions a passage that invokes a conversation between Hashem and Avraham at the Bris Bein HaBesarim (Bereishis 15:13) where Hashem tells Avraham that the Jews will be enslaved for 400 years and then they will go free.

The use of the 400 years is odd, because the Jews were actually only enslaved for 210 years, not 400. This is hinted to in Bereishis 42:2 where Yaakov says to the brothers - "Ridu Shama" - go down there. The gematria of Ridu is 210 - the Jews would only be in Egypt for 210 years.

The Gemara in Megilla states that every time that the Jews are put into exile Hashem goes with them. This is seen in the pasuk "imo anochi b'tzarah" - I will be with you in times of trouble. It is even seen in the fact that Hashem appears to Moshe from the burning thorn bush. Why could Hashem not have appeared in a majestic tree? Because Hashem was with the Jews in their time of trouble and He too was in pain.

This is seen in the Hagaddah where it says Baruch Shomer Havtacato - Blessed is Hashem that He kept his promise. The passage continues that Hashem computed the Ketz - the gematria of Ketz is 190 - Hashem deducted the 190 years from the 400 and the Jews were only in exile for 210 years.

Another of the interpretations said by R' Mansour focuses on the intensity of the troubles in Egypt. It says in Shemos (1:14) - "Vayimarriru Es Chayeihem" - The Jews had a bitter life with hard work. It was so bitter that it was like 400 years of troubles, but condensed down to 210.

R' Mansour also quoted the Vilna Gaon who explains that the notes on Vayimarriru Es Chayeihem are a Kadma V'Azla. The meaning of the words Kadma V'Alza - they proceeded and they went. Because the work was so difficult they left early.

R' Mansour added to this thought by quoting the Apter Rav who said that the gematria of Kadma is 145 and the gematria of V'azla is 45. The Kadma V'Azla = 190 - the Jews left Egypt 190 years early because they had an extra bitter time.

R' Mansour tied this into the custom of dipping the marror into the charoses. The charoses is made with apples and wine - it is meant to be sweet. But we dip the marror into the charoses - this dilutes the bitterness with the sweetness - even though we shake off the charoses. This seems to be in conflict, but it is not. We have the bitterness, but we need to understand that there is some sweetness in it. This is a message of life - in every marror that Hashem gives a person, there is some sweetness, because Hashem always has a reason and it is good. Although we can't always taste the charoses, it is there.

This also explains a confusing section of the Hagaddah where R' Gamliel says anyone who does not say Pesach, Matza and Marror did not fulfill their obligation. This seems to be out of order - Pesach is freedom - its the karban Pesach, Matza is freedom - its the bread we took with us when we left Egypt, but marror is slavery. The marror should come first! But with our explanation - since the marror shortened the Jews stay in Egypt, it is freedom as well.

I will iy'h try to continue my summary of this shiur in the days leading up to Pesach.

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Sunday Night Suds - Third Shift Amber Lager

Following up on last week's New Belgium Shift Pale Lager, this week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Third Shift Amber Lager.

Third Shift Amber Lager is one of those beers which pretend to be craft brews but simply is not. Third Shift is a "new" line from MillerCoors which seems to be rolling out new beers at the rate of one or two a month. This beer began distribution around the same time that MillerCoors began to market the more superior Redd's Amber Ale. Although neither beer advertises that it is a division of beer giant Miller Coors, they both are the offspring of this mega company.

In fairness, MillerCoors does have a solid selection of micro/craft brews such as Leinenkugel and BlueMoon. These breweries produce flavorful beer and are always innovating by coming out with new seasonals and limited editions.

The Third Shift Amber Lager does not come close to the quality micro/craft brews produced at Leine or Blue Moon. Instead, the Third Shift tastes like a below average Vienna Lager with very little to distinguish it from the other macrolagers produced by MillerCoors, other than the coloring of the bottle and the fact that it can't be purchased in twenty four pack cans at your local gas station.

Third Shift Amber Lager is under the kosher supervision of the Orthodox Union and there is an OU on the label. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Third Shift Amber Lager, please follow this link http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/306/87749. 

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!

Friday's Fantastic Pre-Pesach Vort

As those familiar with Rabbi Frand's Thursday Night shiur are aware, the first portion of the shiur (approximately 40 minutes) is spent on halachic topics and the second section focuses on the parsha . The Thursday's Parsha Tidbits post that I try to put up on Thursday nights is a summary of the vorts from the last twenty minutes of the shiur, but occassionally there are vorts said in the halachic section of the shiur which I can't resist writing about. Below is a summary of one of those vorts. Same rules as usual apply - 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.

R' Frand quoted the Vilna Gaon who writes in the Divrei Eiliyahu about two pesukim in Parshas Bo (Shemos 13:6-7) that states that Shivas Yamim Tochal Matzos ... Matzos Yeachael Eis Shivas Hayamim. Loosely translated, the pesukim say - for seven days you shall eat matza ... matza shall be eaten throughout the seven day period.  However, the pesukim appear to be redundant and this needs to be explained. Additionally, the pesukim change grammatically from kal to nifal where it transfers from active to passive. Finally, the word matzos in the first pasuk is spelled without a vav but the second time it has a vav. 

The Gaon explains that there are two concepts - a person should eat matza, but he should also make sure that others can eat matza as well. Thus the pesukim are not redundant - a person is obligated to eat and to make sure others have matza to eat. This also explains the transition from active to passive since it is your obligation to make sure others have matza to eat as well. Finally, the reason that there is a vav in the second mention of matza is to teach that you should eat a matza, but you also need to ensure that others have the matzos that they need. 

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayikra

The following is a brief summary 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.

As anyone who has ever opened a chumash knows, the aleph at the end of the word Vayikra which begins this week's parsha is diminutive  The Medrash teaches that the aleph is small because the word Vayikra shows Hashem's closeness to Moshe and Moshe did not want to give the impression that he was close enough to Hashem that he would be called by Hashem. 

R' Frand quoted R' Shach who cites the famous gemara that R' Akiva would teach many halachos from the crowns which are on the top of the letters of the words of the Torah. However, if there are limudim which can be made from the crowns on the letters, how can Moshe deprive the Jews of the ability to learn Torah from the crown which should have been on top of the aleph? 

R' Shach answers that to teach the middah of humility is a great lesson, so great that we can miss out on the other limudim which could be made from the crown on the aleph. 

R' Frand then stated that Moshe's humility can actually be seen throughout the Torah. The Medrash Tanchuma states in the name of R' Levi that Hashem argued with Moshe at the Sneh for seven days in order to try to convince Moshe to take the job. After Moshe was convinced to lead, Moshe went down to Egypt to talk to Pharaoh and was rejected by Pharaoh. The Medrash states that once Pharaoh rejected Moshe, Moshe said to Hashem - I have done what you asked me to do and I have been unsuccessful. I don't want/deserve the job - go find someone else. Again, Hashem had to convince Moshe to lead. 

R' Frand explained that Moshe is an example of the expression that all who chases honor, the honor will run from them. Meanwhile, all who run from honor, the honor will chase after them.

R' Frand next told a story from the Chofetz Chaim which illustrates the concept. There was a talmid chacham in Radin who never got the honor that he felt that he deserved. Eventually, the talmid chacham went to the Chofetz Chaim and asked - since I am so learned, why am I not receiving any honor?

The Chofetz Chaim answered the man with the above cited expression and then explained it as follows. In using the word for the one who runs from honor it says "kol" or "all". The language of all is a language which is ribui - it adds. This teaches that anyone who chases after honor, even if it is deserved, the honor will run from him. Similarly, the word kol is used for one who runs from honor. Anyone who runs from honor even if he does not deserve it, like me said the Chofetz Chaim, the honor will chase after him. 

R' Frand then quoted the Sfas Emes who asks - if a person runs away from honor because he sincerely does not want the honor and not out of false modesty, why does Hashem punish him with the honor that he really does not want? The Sfas Emes answers that in nature - things always return to their source. Hashem is the source for all honor, so honor will always flow back to the Melech Hakavod. A person gets to the level of running from honor because he realizes that he has accomplished things - but it is all due to a gift from Hashem which allowed him to accomplish what he has done. When the person runs from honor, he is running towards Hashem who he identifies as the source of his ability to accomplish. But while he is running towards Hashem, the honor is running back towards Hashem too.

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