Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Korach

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 first said a vort on the pasuk in Bamidbar 16:7 "רַב־לָכֶ֖ם בְּנֵ֥י לֵוִֽי". Rashi comments that since Korach was a smart man, why did he fall into this shtus? Why would he think that Moshe who brought the Jews out of Egypt and brought down the Torah and gave them the Manna, should not lead? Rashi answers that Korach saw B'Eino - in his eye, that Shmuel would come from him and that since Shmuel was equal in stature to Moshe and Aharon, it was not appropriate that he should be "just a Levi."

R' Frand quoted R' Boruch Sorotskin who comments on Rashi's language of "Eino" - Korach only looked with one eye, he did not look at the situation with both eyes open. Korach viewed this from a limited, myopic perspective and said - if Shmuel is coming from me, I should have more authority. Had Korach viewed this from a fully objective perspective, he would not have this thought.

R' Frand said a second vort from a sefer B'Tzel HaEshel written by R' Shmuel Irons who was R' Frand's roommate when R' Frand first came to Baltimore as a young bochur. The sefer writes on the pasuk in Bamidbar 17:6 "וַיִּלֹּ֜נוּ כָּל־עֲדַ֤ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מִמָּ֣חֳרָ֔ת עַל־משֶׁ֥ה וְעַל־אַֽהֲרֹ֖ן לֵאמֹ֑ר אַתֶּ֥ם הֲמִתֶּ֖ם אֶת־עַ֥ם יְהֹוָֽה". As a result of this complaint, Hashem punished the people and there was a terrible plague, which Moshe and Aharon davened to Hashem to end. Thereafter, Moshe told Aharon - וַיֹּ֨אמֶר משֶׁ֜ה אֶל־אַֽהֲרֹ֗ן קַ֣ח אֶת־הַ֠מַּחְתָּ֠ה וְתֶן־עָלֶ֨יהָ אֵ֜שׁ מֵעַ֤ל הַמִּזְבֵּ֨חַ֙ וְשִׂ֣ים קְטֹ֔רֶת וְהוֹלֵ֧ךְ מְהֵרָ֛ה אֶל־הָֽעֵדָ֖ה וְכַפֵּ֣ר עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם כִּֽי־יָצָ֥א הַקֶּ֛צֶף מִלִּפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה הֵחֵ֥ל הַנָּֽגֶף. This instruction was to bring the Ketores to abate the plague. R' Frand commented that this was the same reason that many Gedolim told people to start saying the Parshas HaKetores from Parshas KiSissa every day when the pandemic first started in March (I myself did as well).

R' Frand quoted Rashi who said that people were speaking evil about the Ketores previously - saying that the Ketores is deadly, because Nadav and Avihu died when they brought the Ketores. Also, the 250 people with Korach died after they brought the Korach. To this Hashem said - see, bringing the Ketores will end the plague. Rashi further quotes the Medrash that when Moshe went up to receive the Torah that the Satan told Moshe the secret that Ketores can end a plague.

The B'Tzel HaEshel further explains the power of the Ketores by quoting the Medrash Tanchuma on Parshas Tezaveh, which discusses the Mizbayach HaZahav that the Ketores was brought on. The Medrash Tanchuma says that Hashem loves the Ketores because it is similar to Kesher. Hagar was called Keturah because she kept her tent tied and this was a ma'alah. But further the Ketores-Kesher is that it is unifies the Jews with and with each other. 

R' Frand quoted a Gemara in Kerisos that says that the Chelbinah that was added was foul smelling, yet it did not give the Ketores a foul odor. Why? Because the Ketores needed various spices to produce its unique sweet aroma. Similarly, the Jewish people need achdus and even the poshei Yisrael need to be together with the group for a fast and a time of tzarah to be abated. The Ketores is the great unifier.

However when there is a time of pirud, the Ketores becomes deadly. This is a tremendous irony, it can be the greatest life giver and also cause death.

R' Frand quoted a gemara which states that Gehennom does not truly exist as a separate place. Hashem will take out the sun and it will be illuminating for the Tzadikim and destructive for the Resha'im.

R' Frand paralleled this to radiation - it can be used to heal and it can also destroy. It can cure people of cancer, but in heavy doses, like what happened at Chernobyl, it can kill.

So to the Ketores, if used improperly it can kill, like with Nadav & Avihu and the 250 followers of Korach. But when used properly it can bring us together and with Hashem.

R' Frand said that the "take home lesson" of the Ketores is not only that we should say the Ketores, but we should learn the lesson of the Ketores - to be M'Ageid - to bring Jews together and put aside the petty machlokes that we often have. If we do so, we can be zoche to see the life giving power of the Ketores.

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

Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Suncatcher Ale

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

As mentioned in the last few SNS posts, the good folks at Saranac have continued to roll out new beers, including three new beers in the 12 Beers of Summer mix box. This includes the Backpacker Pils (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/06/sunday-night-suds-saranac-backpacker.html); Blood Orange Wheat (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/06/sunday-night-suds-saranac-blood-orange.html); last year's Summer Haze IPA (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/08/sunday-night-suds-saranac-summer-haze.html) and Suncatcher Ale.

The Suncatcher Ale bills itself as an "Ale brewed with lemon" but there is not much more of a description of the beer on the bottle. The website is not much more descriptive (its actually less helpful) as all it states is "A crisp and refreshing German-style ale. ABV – 5.3%."

The Suncatcher Ale poured a warm dark maize and had some lacing which surprisingly disappeared rather quickly. The lemon was present, but it was mild and did not overcome the hops. But having said that, the beer itself was not as rich and flavorful as I was expecting. I won't say that it was disappointing, but KB Jr who tends towards macro lagers liked this, so you can tell that this was no IPA. 

I have not seen this beer sold in anything but the 12 Beers of Summer Box and I am unaware of this beer being sold in six or twelve packs, so if you want this beer you need to pick up the mix box.

The Suncatcher Ale is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit as is every other beer produced at the Matt Brewery plant in Utica, NY. Keep in mind, Saranac brews some varieties off site, so check the cans/bottles for kosher certification from the Va'ad of Detroit.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the brew, you can search on  https://www.beeradvocate.com, but as of now there are no reviews. 

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

Pre-Shabbos Ruach on Parshas Shelach

When reviewing the parsha this week I was reminded of a vort from Rabbi Mansour that I heard in a previous year on Parshas Shelach and I wanted to briefly summarize in a pre-Shabbos post. Same ground rules as always apply. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Mansour.

Rabbi Mansour based this shiur on an Ari which discusses the character of the Meraglim and analyzes why only Yehoshua gets the beracha of shinui hashem - change of name. He begins with the proposition that each of the meraglim actually had the soul of their particular tribal forefather inside of them when they went to scout the land of Israel.

His first limud is on the pasuk in Bamidbar 13:3 - וַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח אֹתָ֥ם משֶׁ֛ה מִמִּדְבַּ֥ר פָּארָ֖ן עַל־פִּ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה כֻּלָּ֣ם אֲנָשִׁ֔ים רָאשֵׁ֥י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל הֵֽמָּה - he teaches that the words at the end of the pasuk signify that the  "רָאשֵׁ֥י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל" are actually the sons of Ya'akov (Yisrael) which were in the Nasi. This is why Chazal teach that they were perfect at the beginning, which is because they were with their forefather.

However this presents a problem - the tribe of Levi was not involved, but to get to 12, both Ephraim and Menashe send a Nasi. However since they were the sons of Yosef and not the sons of Ya'akov, they could not each get Yosef inside. The Ari teaches this from the pesukim at 13:8 and 13:11. For Menashe the pasuk states - לְמַטֵּ֥ה יוֹסֵ֖ף לְמַטֵּ֣ה מְנַשֶּׁ֑ה גַּדִּ֖י בֶּן־סוּסִֽי - showing that Yosef went with him. However for Yehoshua from Ephraim, the Torah states - לְמַטֵּ֥ה אֶפְרָ֖יִם הוֹשֵׁ֥עַ בִּן־נֽוּן - he did not have Yosef linked to him.

This explains why Yehoshua got the beracha and the others were not jealous of it. The Ari teaches that since the other tribes had their forefather with them, they did not need the beracha. However, since Ephraim was left out, Yehoshua got this as a make up.

R' Mansour next quoted the pasuk at 14:24 where the Torah states about Calev - וְעַבְדִּ֣י כָלֵ֗ב עֵ֣קֶב הָֽיְתָ֞ה ר֤וּחַ אַחֶ֨רֶת֙ עִמּ֔וֹ - the use of Ruach is odd if it is only stating he had a different idea. However the Ari teaches that this means that he had a different spirit - Yehudah was inside of him and that was why he did not stray.

R' Mansour then connected this to the story of Joseph when he addresses his brothers at Bereishis 42:9 וַיִּזְכֹּ֣ר יוֹסֵ֔ף אֵ֚ת הַֽחֲלֹמ֔וֹת אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָלַ֖ם לָהֶ֑ם וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ מְרַגְּלִ֣ים אַתֶּ֔ם לִרְא֛וֹת אֶת־עֶרְוַ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ בָּאתֶֽם. In so doing Yosef calls them "spies" but how can this be a true statement? The Ari explains that he looked ahead and saw that they would be inside their descendants who would be meraglim.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click 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 Shelach

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 said a vort from R' Zalman Sorotskin on Moshe changing Yehoshua's name from Hosheah to Yehoshua. The Yerushalmi in Sanhedrin states that the Yud was taken from Sarah's name (when it was changed to Sarah from Sarai) and the letter was floating (R' Frand said it was "in the cloud") until it was given to Yehoshua.

R' Sorotskin suggests this was connected to Sarah's idea that Avraham should take Hagar to have a son. However, Sarah was adamant that Ishmael should not have a portion in the land of Israel. Yehoshua was the leader who brought the Jews into the land of Israel and who divided the land. Since Sarah was so concerned that Israel should go to her son, it is only right that the Yud from her name went to the man who brought that to fruition.

R' Frand next quoted R' Boruch Sorotskin (son of R' Zalman) on the Haftorah for Shelach, which deals with other spies - Pinchas and Kalev. The Medrash states that if you want the prime example of the two greatest Shluchei Mitzvah who were sent on a mission, it is these two, who gave their souls for their mission.

But what was so great about what they did, that they are called the greatest Shluchei Mitzvah? R' Sorotskin quoted the sefer Or Hanefesh which notes that the language of the Haftorah states that they disguised themselves and feigned as if they were deaf. But the Or Hanefesh learns that this can be read as they were pottery salesmen. Why is this significant? Because earthenware can only be tamei if the tumah enters its airspace. But a metal object contracts tumah when something touches the outside. We also see that an earthenware vessel served solely to hold things and its only value was as a receptacle. Meanwhile, a metal vessel has an intrinsic value.

R' Frand continued by noting that Kalev and Pinchas were important men in their own right and were no youngsters. Yet they accepted orders from Yehoshua (one of their contemporaries) and were subordinate to him, much like a receptacle which is subordinate to what it holds. R' Frand said that this is the classic example of Shliach Mitzva - my identity is meaningless, I am going to do the mitzva that I was sent to do. 

R' Frand said a third thought which began with a question - which sin seems worse - the Egel or the Meraglim? It would appear that the Egel was worse as it is compared to bride who strays right after the wedding. Furthermore the Jews did teshuva right after the sin of the Meraglim and they expressed a desire immediately thereafter to go up to the land of Israel. Yet the Jews were forgiven shortly thereafter for the sin of the Egel and they languished in the desert for 38 years after the sin of the Meraglim.

R' Frand gave an answer from the Seforno which writes that the sin of the Meraglim was a Chillul Hashem which even Yom Kippur cannot atone for. But R' Frand also quoted a Ralbag on Parshas Devarim which answers that teshuva can only help atone for a sin, but it cannot makeup a missed opportunity. A person can regret and ask forgiveness for a missed opportunity, but it cannot makeup that specific opportunity. 

R' Frand said that this is something to think about. A person can say that I will do something another time or later and the opportunity does not present itself again. R' Frand told a story from R' Dovid Drien who wanted to start a Kollel in a coal mining town in northern England. He wrote 22 letters to Rabbanim asking for their assistance. Twenty did not respond, one replied and said no and one said - the next time that you are in London, lets talk about it. That Rabbi was R' Eliyahu Dessler - he took the opportunity and was involved in the Yeshiva and wound up writing the Michtav M'Elyiahu and eventually became the Mashgiach in the Ponovich Yeshiva. All because he took the opportunity presented to him.

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

Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Backpacker Pils

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac Backpacker Pils.

As I mentioned in last week's SNS post, the good folks at Saranac have continued to roll out new beers, including three new beers in the 12 Beers of Summer mix box. This includes the Backpacker Pils; Blood Orange Wheat (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/06/sunday-night-suds-saranac-blood-orange.html); Suncatcher Ale and last year's Summer Haze IPA (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/08/sunday-night-suds-saranac-summer-haze.html).

The Backpacker Pils poured a rich gold which was the first indication that this was not a macro style pilsner. The first sip was surprisingly fruity in addition to the typical pilsner backbone. Subsequent sips gave additional fruity notes and I found myself liking this beer very much. At 5.4% abv, this brew is right around the sweet spot for alcohol content for pilsners and I am considering trying this again next Shabbos to see how it stacks up to a cholent. 

I have not seen this beer sold in anything but the 12 Beers of Summer Box and I am unaware of this beer being sold in six or twelve packs, so if you want this beer you need to pick up the mix box.

The Backpacker Pils is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit as is every other beer produced at the Matt Brewery plant in Utica, NY. Keep in mind, Saranac brews some varieties off site, so check the cans/bottles for kosher certification from the Va'ad of Detroit.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the brew, please follow this link https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/487823. 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, if you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click 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 Special - R' Zev Cohen on Beha'alosecha

As I mentioned in a few prior posts, for as long Mrs KB and I have been married, I have been a chassid of Rabbi Zev Cohen of Congregation Adas Yeshurun in Chicago. He has such a powerful and positive way of speaking which I find inspiring and I try to make his replay of his derashas for Shabbos Shuva (given on Hoshana Rabbah night) and Shabbos HaGadol (given on the motzei Shabbos of Chol HaMoed) every year. 

As opposed to some of my prior recaps, this week's shiur was more of a parsha vort than a shmooze.  However, same rules as usual apply, although I have not attempted to summarize the entire shiur,  I have tried to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. (The actual shiur is available on line at www.adasyeshurun.com if you would like to hear the full shiur). Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Cohen.

Rabbi Cohen began the vort by quoting Rashi's explanation of Aharon being given the job of lighting the Menorah because was "depressed" (my choice of words) because neither he nor anyone from the tribe of Levi offered a sacrifice as one of the Nesi'im.

Rabbi Cohen noted that when the donations were first collected for the Mishkan, the Nesi'im were collected from last. However when it came to the Chanukas HaBayis - they were first in line to offer sacrifices. R' Cohen then borrowed from a modern technological tool, suggesting that if the Nesi'im were in a whatsapp group, they left out Aharon. Aharon was upset and Hashem answered him by saying, don't worry - you will light the Menorah.

R' Cohen observed that Rashi uses this as a means to answer the question of what the Menorah is doing here in the first place? The Menorah was lit before and who else could have lit the Menorah besides the Kohanim? Rashi's answer is - Hashem is telling you that this is Rosh Chodesh Nissan and this Mitzvah is greater than the Nesi'im.

R' Cohen then asked - did Shevet Levi have any role in Parshas Nasso? The answer is no. But then how is this meant to compensate Levi, when the tribe of Levi did not light the Menorah? Only the Kohanim were given the Mitzvah to light the Menorah! Were the Levi'im depressed about this as well?

R' Cohen answered by noting that immediately after the parsha of the Menorah, Aharon is instructed in Bamidbar 8:6 - קַ֚ח אֶת־הַֽלְוִיִּ֔ם מִתּ֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְטִֽהַרְתָּ֖ אֹתָֽם - he is to take the Levi'im from among the Jewish people and purify them. 

R' Cohen noted that on the first of Nissan, many things happened - the Mishkan was inaugurated,  Nadav and Avihu died, the Nesi'im started bringing their sacrifices and the Levi'im started working in the Mishkan. Rabbi Cohen theorized that maybe the Levi'im were depressed on the first of Nissan and this was why they got the job today.

R' Cohen then said that he wanted to say something current - he had received many calls from people recently who were upset that people are not social distancing. He observed that many of these people are young and he even asked one if he knew that there was a president named Nixon (the boy said that he was not sure). He told the boy that Nixon coined a phrase called "the silent majority." Most people do the right thing, but there are some people who don't the right thing and they want everyone to know about it. He told the boy - most people are social distancing, but the ones who are not are vocal and want everyone to know they are not. This makes you feel left out.

Hashem said to Aharon - don't feel bad, what you are doing is the right thing. R' Cohen then theorized, we know Aharon felt left out, but maybe the Levi'im felt left out as well.

R' Cohen then said a thought from R' Shneur Kotler of Lakewood on Bamidbar 8:19 which states - וָֽאֶתְּנָ֨ה אֶת־הַֽלְוִיִּ֜ם נְתֻנִ֣ים | לְאַֽהֲרֹ֣ן וּלְבָנָ֗יו מִתּוֹךְ֘ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ - Hashem gave the Levi'im to Aharon to do the work for the Jewish people to atone for them. Rashi notes that the word Bnei Yisrael appears five times in the pasuk, like the five books of the Torah. R' Kotler explained that when the service was done by a Bechor, people were happy because everyone could have a family member do the service. A person may not be a bechor, but his father might be, or his brother, or even his son could be a bechor. But when it went to the Levi'im, the Jews felt cut off from the Mishkan. So Hashem said the words Bnei Yisrael five times, because everyone is connected to the Torah and the Torah is equivalent to working in the Mishkan. The Jews were being reassured that even though they could not serve if they were not Levi'im, they were still connected.

R' Cohen then wrapped it all together - Aharon started feeling upset because he was left out and was told that he would have a greater portion than the Nesi'im. The Levi'im were feeling excluded, so on that day they got the instruction that they would be working in the Mishkan. But what about the rest of the Jews? First they have a whatsapp group and they exclude the Levi'im, so the Levi'im feel bad and then they are given jobs. And then Klal Yisrael feels bad as having been excluded, so now they are told that the Torah is their mechanism to be included in the work done in the Mishkan.

R' Cohen then tied this into shuls - some shuls are now open, while others are still closed. Some have backyard minyanim and outdoor minyanim. Some shuls open one way and others another way. A person who does what they do because they are connected to the Torah, is doing the right thing. R' Cohen noted that the Telshe Yeshiva went to a camp to open and sent three pages of instructions about the rules for social distancing. Meanwhile Lakewood and many other Yeshivos are closed. But everybody has a role and we should be zoche to know what our role is. And one day when we come back to shul, when we all come back to shul, we should feel connected to Hashem and each other in shul.

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