Friday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Beshalach

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha last 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.

The parsha begins by stating in Shemos 13:17 - וַיְהִ֗י בְּשַׁלַּ֣ח פַּרְעֹה֘ אֶת־הָעָם֒. Chazal teaches that the word וַיְהִ֗י denotes trouble or pain. Who was in pain? R' Frand answered that Pharaoh was in pain.

R' Frand then told a story about R' Zevulun Groz who was the Av Beis Din in Rechovot. The Sefer Meir Derech states that before R' Groz went away to yeshiva his father told him a Medrash. A person found a pile of pearls and did not know what it was. He asked someone on the road, do you want these balls? The man took them. He then went into the town and sorted them by size and set up a "pop up shop." The seller later entered the town and saw a line outside the pop up shop. People were asking for the price of the smaller and medium pearls and when he heard their price, he tore his clothes and exclaimed "I had it all in the palm of my hand, but did not know its value."

The Medrash said that the nimshal is Pharaoh who when he saw that he had 600,00 Jews after Moshe counted them, he cried out woe is me that the Jews were leaving.

Sefer Meir Derech asks - what is the parallel? The man who gave up the pearls did so voluntarily. But Pharaoh did not give them up by choice!

The answer is that Pharaoh realized that he had 600,000 wise and industrious people and he used them as brick layers. This is the mashal and nimshal.

R' Groz's father said to him - you are going off to Yeshiva. Don't waste your time. A Yeshiva career is finite and you don't want to look back and say - I had Gan Eden - I had no concerns and could have sat and learned without distraction. And I wasted it.

R' Frand said that he got a text from a former student who had been in mechina. He remembered sitting in a shmooze from R' Tendler who said to him - don't waste your life. One day you will have children and your son will ask you to teach him a perek of Gemara and you would want to be able to do so.

R' Frand said a second vort related to Tu BShvat in 1944. The Belzer Rebbi's father and uncle had miraculously made his way out of Europe to Israel on Tu BShvat. At the time there were a few Belzer Chassidim in Israel, but not many. The Chassidim came to him and said that they had all lost family in Europe and they wanted some Chizuk. He told them that the Jews sang Az Yashir on the 7th day of Pesach. But these are the same Jews who must have lost most of their relatives in Choshech in which 80% of the Jews died. How did they say Shira? He answered based on Rashi who said that they sang that in the future there will be Techiyas HaMeisim - when everything will make sense. 

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 Bo

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 two vorts tonight which were predicated on the Ramban on Parshas Bo. The first vort related to Shemos 10:6 where after Moshe tells Pharaoh that the plague of Arbeh was coming, the Torah writes  וַיִּ֥פֶן וַיֵּצֵ֖א מֵעִ֥ם פַּרְעֹֽה. Thereafter, the Torah writes that Pharaoh's slaves try to convince Pharaoh to let the Jews leave and then Moshe and Aharon were brought back to Pharaoh.

The Ramban writes that when Moshe left, it was before receiving a response to his request that the Jews be allowed to leave. The reason for his departure was to allow the Egyptians to confer about his warning. In fact, this occurred each time that Moshe warned the Egyptians that a plague was coming. 

R' Frand quoted R' Simcha Zisil Brody who explained and developed the Ramban. He asked - why did Moshe leave? Shouldn't he have stayed around and been available for questions or to offer advice? He answered that Moshe knew that human nature is to resist being told to do something and that if he stayed and offered advice it would be rejected. So Moshe left and allowed them to come to their own conclusions as to how to proceed. 

R' Frand also quoted R' Brody for the principle that a person has problems seeing his own flaws. How then can we get direction? From our spouse who is not seen as an outsider and who (hopefully) will be able to tell us when we are being an idiot. R' Brody tied this to a Gemara in Yevamos 63a in which R' Elazar says that any man without a wife is not a (complete) man. This is not an exaggeration as we can see from when we make the Beracha Yotzeir HaAdam. It is not said at birth, nor at the bris or at the Bar Mitzvah. Instead it is said under the Chuppah as a man is not a complete man until he is married.

R' Frand also quoted the last Ramban on the parsha which asks - why do we have so many mitzvos which are intended to remind us of being taken out of Egypt? He answers that with Yetzias Mitzrayim, Hashem answered the skeptics who questioned if Hashem existed, or if He is aware of what takes place on earth and if He is in control. By taking the Jews out of Egypt with great open miracles, He showed that He does exist, is aware of what takes place here and does care about what happens.

The Ramban further explains that Hashem does not make open miracles daily and for that reason, people can forget His involvement. Therefore we are given so many Mitzvos that cause us to remember Yetzias Mitzrayim. Because for a person to have a portion in the Torah he needs to be aware that just like there were open miracles, there are also hidden miracles and that what happens here is not simply "nature", it is Hashem's divine acts which are all hidden miracles.

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 Va'era

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 began the vort by quoting the pasuk in Shemos 6:5 - וְגַ֣ם | אֲנִ֣י שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי אֶת־נַֽאֲקַת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִצְרַ֖יִם מַֽעֲבִדִ֣ים אֹתָ֑ם. The pasuk begins with the words - וְגַ֣ם | אֲנִ֣י שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי - and also I heard. R' Frand quoted the Chassam Sofer who asked - who else heard the cries of the Jews?

The Chassam Sofer explains that the Egyptians were so cruel that they would not allow the Jews to cry about their troubles. The only exception was when Pharaoh died they were allowed to cry, although their tears were for their tragedies and not Pharaoh's death.

R' Frand observed that when someone is generally undergoing troubles, it is hard to be sympathetic to someone else's troubles. It's not that the person is callous, it's just that when a person is in pain, he does not necessarily feel someone else's pain.

However in Egypt the Jews were able to do just that. Not only did they cry about their individual troubles, but they were able to cry about other people's troubles as well. It was this crying for others that Hashem said "I also heard" - I have people's crying for themselves and that they can still cry for others as well.

R' Frand tied this into a story in the sefer L'Mromem about R' Gud Eisner (sp?). He had been in the camps towards the end of the Holocaust at a time when the Nazis knew the end was near. They ordered the weak prisoners to march through the snow in a "death march" where anyone who fell was immediately shot.

R' Eisner was marching with his friend R' Nechemia Blustein when R' Eisner felt that he had no more energy and he fell to the ground. R' Nechemia yelled at him "Gudele, run." And he got up and began running and was not shot. He lived through the march and eventually became the Mashgiach at the Yeshivas Sfas Emes.

R' Eisner said that he learned three things from this: (1) that everyone has hidden strengths that just need to be unlocked as he did not know that he could push through; (2) that encouragement has the power to help someone who is down get back up, and (3) that knowing that someone else cares is significant enough to help someone persevere.

R' Frand closed the vort by acknowledging that we live in a world where people are very lonely. This is not just a COVID, or post-COVID effect. He observed that when you see people on a train or a plane they are all absorbed in their screens and he theorized that the smart phone and internet cause people to feel isolated and alone because others are not interacting with them. But a little encouragement and showing that you care can be enough to help someone who is lonely feel that they are no longer by themselves.

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 Shemos

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 began the vort by repeating a central concept of his that in every parsha we can see the middah of HaKaras HaTov. He gave an example in this week's parsha which related to Pharaoh. Although Pharaoh did many evil things, the Torah introduces us to Pharaoh in Shemos 1:8, it is with the statement וַיָּ֥קָם מֶֽלֶךְ־חָדָ֖שׁ עַל־מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יָדַ֖ע אֶת־יוֹסֵֽף - that Pharaoh was not makir tov for what Yosef did. Or as one mefaresh explains - he acted as if he did not what Yosef did to save Egypt.

What Chazal are pointing out that if someone is not a makir tov and is instead is kafoi tov, he can come to do horrible things as the result was that he bathed in the blood of Jewish babies.

R' Frand also observed that Pharaoh claimed in Shemos 1:10 that הָ֥בָה נִתְחַכְּמָ֖ה ל֑וֹ פֶּן־יִרְבֶּ֗ה וְהָיָ֞ה כִּֽי־תִקְרֶ֤אנָה מִלְחָמָה֙ וְנוֹסַ֤ף גַּם־הוּא֙ עַל־שׂ֣נְאֵ֔ינוּ וְנִלְחַם־בָּ֖נוּ וְעָלָ֥ה מִן־הָאָֽרֶץ - he was concerned that the Jews would desert Egypt in a battle and would not show HaKaras HaTov. (This despite that the Torah has specific rules that still requires us to show favor to Egyptians because we were geirim in their land).

R' Frand used an adage was Peter says about Paul, says more about Peter than it does about Paul. Pharaoh's concern for the Jews not being loyal was born out of his lack of HaKaras HaTov for what Yosef did for Egypt.

R' Frand quoted a Gemara in Avodah Zarah where a person said that Jews can't keep Shabbos, because if they are walking on the street and see a wallet on Shabbos they would not be able to walk away from it. This is because he was too attached to money. Another Gemara quoted a person who said that he does not think Jews can live in the same house with their wife when she is a Niddah. Why? Because he himself had no self control.

R' Frand next mentioned a Medrash Tanchuma in which Moshe tells Hashem - I can't take the Jews out of Egypt without getting permission from Yisro. Yisro took me into his house and treated me as a son and fed me and employed me.

R' Frand asked - who owes who? Yisro could not find a shidduch for his daughter and welcomed Moshe because Moshe did not know about Yisro's history. But Moshe treated him as if Yisro had done him a favor. R' Frand quoted the Chovos HaLevavos which explains that when someone does you a favor, you should see that it comes from Hashem and the person is just a conduit.

R' Frand then quoted R' Chaim Friedlander who observed about this story that when an opportunity comes for you to do a Mitzva, you cannot step over someone else or do something wrong to someone to do what you need to do. He gave the example of coming late to shul and blocking someone else in the parking lot. Being in shul does not give someone the right to hinder someone else.

This is the lesson of Moshe asking Yisro for permission - because even doing a great Mitzva like taking the Jews out of Egypt did not supplant Moshe;s need to recognize the good that Yisro had done for 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!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayechi

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.

Rabbi Frand's first vort related to Ya'akov crossing his hands when blessing Ephraim and Menashe so that his right hand would be on Ephraim, although Yosef had aligned the boys in age order so that Ya'akov would have placed his right hand on Menashe's head.

But why did Ya'akov cross his hands? Wouldn't it have been easier to just move the boys from one side to the other?

R' Frand quoted the Chizkuni who answered that this was done out of sensitivity for Menashe who was the bechor. It already was an affront to him that his grandfather was placing his right hand on his younger brother because his grandfather had nevuah that Menashe's descendants would be greater. But to physically move him to a lesser position would be a more public slight and Ya'akov did not want to hurt his feelings any more.

R' Frand told a story about an MD from Minnesota who was an expert on epilepsy who attended a conference in Jerusalem. While speaking at the conference, he noticed a Yerushalmi who was sitting in the audience. The doctor approached him and asked, what is your specialty? The man responded, I am not a doctor. The man explained that he had a daughter with epilepsy and whenever there were conferences he would attend to hear the latest treatments.

At the close of the conference the Yerushalmi approached the doctor and asked if he would like to spend Shabbos at their home. The doctor accepted the invitation and when they were walking to the home, the Yerushami told the doctor that he had five daughters and he was certain that the doctor would not be able to tell which was the epileptic. This daughter was perfectly normal and did not act differently unless she was having an incident. The doctor said - yes I can tell. They even bet on it.

After the Friday Night meal, the doctor correctly identified who was the epileptic (of course out of earshot). The Yerushalmi asked - how did you know? The doctor answered that he saw that when the Yerushalmi gave the Brochos he had more intense concentration when he gave that daughter the Beracha - even his heart rate increased. There was nothing that the girl had done to give away her condition. It was her father's concern which gave it away.

R' Frand said a second vort on the pasuk where Yosef tells his brothers not to feel bad, as Hashem had this as part of his plan. The Torah states in Bereishis 50:20 - וְאַתֶּ֕ם חֲשַׁבְתֶּ֥ם עָלַ֖י רָעָ֑ה אֱלֹהִים֙ חֲשָׁבָ֣הּ לְטֹבָ֔ה לְמַ֗עַן עֲשׂ֛ה כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה לְהַֽחֲיֹ֥ת עַם־רָֽב. Although much of the pasuk seems simple, why did Yosef use the words לְמַ֗עַן עֲשׂ֛ה כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה - what happened on a day like today?

R' Frand quoted the Be'er Moshe who tied the pasuk to a pasuk in Parshas Vayeshev which is in the middle of the story of how the wife of Potiphar attempts to seduce Yosef on a daily basis. The Chumash writes in Bereishis (39:11) that one day -וַֽיְהִי֙ כְּהַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה וַיָּבֹ֥א הַבַּ֖יְתָה לַֽעֲשׂ֣וֹת מְלַאכְתּ֑וֹ וְאֵ֨ין אִ֜ישׁ מֵֽאַנְשֵׁ֥י הַבַּ֛יִת שָׁ֖ם בַּבָּֽיִת. 

When Yosef invokes the term Kayom Hazeh in Parshas Vayechi, he is in effect telling the brothers that Hashem had a plan and He needed me to be there in Egypt to resist the urges of the wife of Potiphar. Based on my resistance, the Jews will be able to survive their time in Egypt and emerge from a country which was on the lowest level of tumah, intact. As a result I am not only keeping the people alive based on the food I have gathered, but I will be able to keep the Jews spiritually alive so that the Jews could fight the yetzer harah to be mezaneh in Egypt.

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 Vayigash

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Dovid Heber as R' Frand had a back issue which prevented him from giving shiur 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' Heber. 

R' Heber began his parsha vort by asking why Yosef did not send word back to his father that he was alive once he was made the second in command? It was understandable why he did not send a message when he was enslaved to Potiphar and later when he was in prison. But why not tell his father that he was alive and well and Pharaoh's number 2?

R' Heber gave an answer by the Shvan HaSofer in the back of the Yerushalmi in Zeraim. He said that when Yosef was sold into slavery after being thrown in the pit, he never had a chance to discuss the issue with his father. As a result he thought that maybe his father was involved in the sale and that his father was upset at him for telling loshon hara about his brothers.

Once he spoke with the brothers and they told him that his father was mourning his loss and that he would not allow Binyamin to go down to Egypt, he knew that his father was not involved.

R' Heber tied this to a famous gemara in Gittin where two siblings were thrown into a jail because their masters wanted their slaves to mate. They cried all night until in the morning they realized that they were siblings. There was such Agmas Nefesh because they did not realize that they were siblings but could not see it because of the galus. So too, Yosef because of his galus in Egypt could not see the truth that his father was not involved. 

R' Heber linked this to the tragic story of the hostages in Gaza who were accidentally killed because the soldiers could not tell that they were Israeli hostages and not terrorists. This due to the pain and cloud of Galus. During Galus there is confusion as Yavan is Choshech - they mistranslated the Torah and distorted it (with the anniversary being earlier this week) so that other religions could miscast the truth.

How do we rectify this? Only through Shalom as the Sinas Chinam comes from misunderstanding and confusion. The offset to this is Ahava, where we love fellow Jews without condition.

R' Heber closed the vort by saying that the only Friday afternoon that we ever lain is when Asarah B'Teves falls on Friday. He then noted the gemara in Eruvin which states that Eliyahu HaNavi will never come on Friday because everyone is busy getting ready for Shabbos. Which means that every time that we fast for the Churban we know that Eliyahu HaNavi can come that day, except for tomorrow. 

On Asarah B' Teves which falls on Friday we know that Eliyahu HaNavi cannot come. But we also do something unique. The Rama (251) states that on Friday we are supposed to minimize our learning in order to prepare  for Shabbos. This is why we never lain on Friday. But the one time that we do lain is that one moment that we are fasting for the Churban but knowing that Eliyahu HaNavi cannot come now. In so doing we are saying to Hashem, every other Friday we don't lain, but today I am ready for Shabbos - because we are coming to Shul in lain. We are showing that there is no tircha because we are ready for Shabbos and sitting in Shul doing something that we never do. In so doing we say to Eliyahu HaNavi - we are ready for you to come now, there is no tircha - so Hashem now that we are ready please send Eliyahu HaNavi. 

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!