Touro University was honored to welcome Ner Israel’s Rabbi Yissocher Frand for a special shiur “Preparing for Pesach and for Life: Why the Dogs and Not the Frogs?” The shiur, held on Monday, March 23, 2026, was attended by a capacity crowd of students, faculty and guests and streamed live from Touro’s Lander College for Women campus in Manhattan. 

Touro’s Executive Vice President, Rabbi Moshe Krupka opened the 3^rd Biennial Rabbi Zalman Levine Memorial Lecture by discussing the historic role of Rabbi Levine, who came to America in 1923 having received Smicha from HaRav Chaim Soloveichick of Brisk and HaRav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Zalman Levine, moved to Albany in 1929, eschewing using any rabbinic titles for the next 60 years, supporting his family by working as an insurance salesman and then as a deeply respected staff member of the New York Controller’s Office.  During these decades he deeply impacted many people including Mr. Joel Margolis who generously endowed this award, which was previously given to HaRav Asher Weiss and HaRav Dovid Cohen, in Rabbi Levine’s memory.

Rabbi Krupka noted “Joel Margolis passed away 13 months ago on the 5^th Adar. It is our fervent hope that tonight’s shiur, the shiur Rabbi Frand will be giving at our Lander College for Men in the fall and Rabbi Frand’s new sefer that we are helping to sponsor will be a zechut for both Zalman Levine and Joel Margolis.”

Touro University’s President and CEO, Dr. Alan Kadish introduced Rabbi Frand’s shiur by highlighting the Rosh Yeshiva’s rare ability to communicate profound Torah ideas to audiences of all backgrounds and educational levels. Dr. Kadish stressed that Rabbi Frand’s shiurim and seforim, both in Hebrew and English, have inspired generations across the globe.

Rabbi Frand began his remarks by saluting the growth and impact of Touro University. He then challenged the audience to a game of word-association seeking the motif of each Jewish Holiday. “Pesach,” he concluded, “is the holiday of emunah and bitachon, a holiday of faith”. The purpose of the Passover Seder is not to dazzle your guests “with another pshat of the four sons, but rather to recount, on a personal level the role G-d plays in each and every one of our lives.”

“The bottom line,” he said, “is to make our children and grandchildren understand this principle of emunah—that there is a G-d who created the world, runs the world, and cares about the world.”

Dogs, Not Frogs

From there, Rabbi Frand addressed the question he raised in the title of the shiur: Why were dogs rewarded during the Exodus for remaining silent, while frogs received no such recognition? The answer, he explained, lies in overcoming one’s natural instincts. Dogs bark by nature, yet they restrained themselves, demonstrating self-control. Frogs, by contrast, acted according to their nature.

That lesson, Rabbi Frand said, carries powerful meaning for personal growth. True spiritual achievement comes when individuals push beyond instinct to make difficult but meaningful choices.

“To overcome our habits and tendencies and to rise above them is what the Ribono shel olam appreciates about us, that we don’t give in, that we’re in control,” he said.

Rabbi Frand offered a powerful closing takeaway: When a dog guarding a flock of sheep fails to protect one of them from a wild animal, which renders the carcass forbidden for a Jewish person to eat, the halacha is that we should feed the carcass to the dog. The Torah rewards the carcass to the dog to show our appreciation for the dog’s previous hard work and loyalty, instead of judging the dog harshly for a single failure. This teaches that people must evaluate others based on the totality of their actions rather than isolated mistakes.

“That’s how we have to have our relationships, whether it is with our parents, our spouses, or our friends,” he concluded. “Everybody makes mistakes, but if you only focus on the here and now, that’s not good. You must look at the whole relationship.”

Dr. Toba Singer, Associate Dean of the Lander College for Women noted that: “at this time of Jewish and geopolitical events, Rabbi Frand’s words were essential and transformational. He offered a path to reframe our mindset around Emunah as we head into Pesach: a message we need to hear and imbibe on a deep, spiritual level.”