Parasha patners Noach 5770

8/14/2019 Parasha patners Noach 5770

1/4

PARSHAS NOACH| 6 CHESHVAN 5770 | 24 OCTOBER2009

One is hard-pressed to understand howNoach could be considered of lesserbelief. If he didnt really believe that theflood waters would come, why would hehave worked on building the Ark for 120years and subjected himself to intenseridicule? Indeed the Torah states clearlythat Noach did all that Hashem had

commanded him. Wouldnt that indicatethat his belief was flawless?

Consider another situation in the Torah inwhich a great individual shares similarcriticism. When Sarah heard that shewould be having a child at her old age,she laughed within herself. Rashi(17:17) explains that Sarah was rebukedbecause her laughter betrayed herdisbelief. Could it be that our holymatriarch Sarah didnt believe?

Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen, better knownas the Chofetz Chaim, maintains that thisdisbeliefwas in fact present. It is possible,he explains, for one to have completebelief without internalizing that belief. TheChofetz Chaim, in fact, says that theTorah devotes so much space to thediscussion around Sarahs diminished

belief as a message to a future generationwhen our prayers for the arrival ofMoshiach will eventually be answered.People who daily recited or even sang theAni Maamin in Thirteen Articles of Faith,expressing their complete belief in thearrival of Moshiach even if he may tarry,may greet the news of Moshiachs arrivalwith disbelief. Hey, I just finished redoingmy kitchen! He cant be here now!

How can one both believe and not

believe simultaneously? Its simple! A

person is not one-dimensional. Somepass the written exam of life butmiserably fail the driving test. There is noway of knowing whether a fireman whotrained for many years will run into theburning building to save a life or run theother way.

The saintly Rabbi Chaim of Sanz askedsome of his chasidim what they would doif they found a wallet with a significantamount of money in it, and there wereidentifiable signs of who the owner was.In all sincerity, one of the chasidim said,Of course, I would return it! The Rebbeexclaimed, Foolishness! Anothersheepishly admitted that he would keepit. Ganav- Thief! the Rebbe proclaimed.A third man said, I really dont know whatI would do, Rebbe, but I hope I wouldhave the moral resolve to do the rightthing and return it to the rightful owner!Ahhhhh! sighed the Rebbe of Sanz,This is a wise man!

We cant know with certainty how we willreact when faced with challenges, but wemust realize that knowledge alone doesnot guarantee results. Noach indeed did

everything he was commanded to do byG-d, but the Torah implies that there wasa gap between his belief and theinternalization of that belief. We as toomay have a shortfall in the internalizationof our beliefs and would do well to atleast be honest about this possibility andstrive through study and prayer toprepare ourselves for it. After all, the besttime to buy an umbrella is before it rains.

Rabbi Lam can be reached at:[email protected]

'

And Noach did all that Hashem had commanded him, andNoach was six hundred years old and the flood waters were upon

the earth. And Noach came and his sons and his wife and thewives of his sons with him into the Ark because of the waters of

the flood. (Bereishis 7:5-7)

B

ecause of the waters of the flood: Even Noach was among

those of lesser belief. He both believed and didnt believethat the flood would come, and therefore he didnt enter the

Ark until the waters forced him. (Rashi)

Parsha Perspectives RABBI LABEL LAM


2/4

B E R E I S H I S Talking Points RABBI ELAZAR MEISELS1. YOURE FIRED!And He blotted out all existence that was on the face ofthe ground, from man to animals to creeping things andto the bird of the heavens 7:22

And He blotted out - Rav Chisda said, They sinned with heat [i.e. promiscuity], and were judged accordingly with boiling water [i.e. thewaters of the Flood were scalding]. Talmud,

Tractate Sanhedrin 108b

There are a significant number of manifestationsof the number 15 related to the Great F lood:

Fifteen cubits upward the waters swelled, andthe mountains were covered. [7:20]

And the waters strengthened on the earth onehundred and fifty days. [7:24] This is a total of10x15.

This is how you shall construct it: threehundred cubits the length of the Ark, fifty cubits its width, and thirty cubits its heightmake itwith a lower, second, and third deck. [6:15-16]

At ten cubits height per floor, each floor was a

total of 150,000 square cubits.Kli Yakar (Rabbi Ephraim Lunshitz) explainsthe manifestations of the number 15 in thefollowing manner. The primary sin thatcaused the Great Flood was licentiousnessand immorality. The Talmud [Tractate Sotah17a] explains that the Hebrew words forman and woman share the lettersAleph and

Shin. Woman, however, has an additionalletter Hey, whereas Man possesses the letterYud. Together, these two letters spell theDivine Name, Ya-h,which has a numericalvalue of fifteen. When man and womanreside together in a G-dly fashion, they meritthe Divine presence as symbolized by theName Ya-h. When they behave immorally,His Presence departs and all that remainsare the letters Aleph and Shin which spellAish fire. The terrible fate of thegeneration of the Great Flood was broughtabout by none other than the victimsthemselves, who, through their excessivelyimmoral behavior, drove away the DivinePresence and were consumed by theresultant fire.

2. WINTER BLUESContinuously, all the days of the earth, planting and

harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day andnight, they shall not cease. 8:22

They shall not cease The celestial bodies remained static and the heavenlymazalos [constellations] were suspended throughout theflood. Bereishis Rabbah 33

They shall not cease Immorality manifestsdue to an abundance of materialism and the

resultant boredom. Busy societies do not possessthe luxury to engage in this sort of behavior.Thus, the Almighty promised that no longerwould we enjoy the ease of life which theyenjoyed since the birth of Noah and which led tothis disastrous state of affairs. From this dayonward, they shall not cease, - i.e. theirworkload will be overwhelming and allow littletime for immoral predilections. HeEmek Davar(Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin)

They shall not cease They shall not ceasetheir abnormal operation which I instituted

following the Great Flood. Prior to that time, the sun constantly orbited at the equator and theearth was not subject to the upheaval and

change that comes with the various seasons. Theearth was in a constant state of Spring-time. Now

it veered off course, resulting in enormousdifficulty for the universe. Crops would not growas before, produce would be less nutritious,

human life-spans were severely diminished, andso much more. Sforno, Malbim

Rabbi Yitzchak says, [prior to the Great Flood]they enjoyed beautiful weather like between

Pesach and Atzeret [i.e. Shavuos]. Midrash,Bereishis 34:11

Sforno concludes on a hopeful note. Theverse limits this sorry state of affairs only to,all the days of the earth. It will only be this

way until the Almighty renews the earth inthe End of Days with the advent of theMessiah and the World to Come. At thattime, we will live longer, produce healthierand more plentiful crop, and overcome thelimitations of the seasons.

3. WHEN NATIONS CONVENEThe whole earth had one language, with identicalwords. 11:1

One language This language was the HolyTongue [Hebrew]. Rashi

With identical words They came with one

plan and said, G-d has no right to select theheavens for Himself. Let us ascend to the sky andwage war against Him. Rashi

One languageidentical words This incidentoccurred in the lifetime of Peleg who was born101 years after the Great Flood. Noah and hischildren certainly spoke one primary languageand were of like mind. They lived quiet, secure,

family lives and didnt seek many extras.- Malbim

Gathering and alliances of the wicked aredetrimental for them and for the world at large.

Dispersal and disunity of the wicked is good forthem and good for the world. Talmud,Tractate Sanhedrin 71b

When the wicked convene, even for anostensibly moral purpose, little good canever emerge from such a convention.Instead, theyll utilize their allegedly moralforum to inflict all sorts of damage uponmoral nations and reward immoral nations. Itwould be better that these bodies be

disbanded, than to pretend that theirexistence is justified by their pretensions ofhonorable intent.

Rabbi Meisels can be reached at:[email protected]

This page is dedicated to and written for the6,500 Partners in Torah mentors. We welcome

you to join their ranks by calling 800-STUDY-4-2.Please send your comments, questions, and

suggestions to [email protected]

Contact Info for Partners in

Torah Mentor Advisors*:

Rabbi Elazar Meisels732-917-6370

(Sunday & Tuesday 8:0011:00 pm, andThursday 10:00am12:00 noon)[email protected]

Rabbi Pinchos Jung845-425-6533 (leave message)

*Kindly reserve use of our advisorsfor mentor contact


3/4

Hi Stanley,

Bshaa Tova, as we like to say the babyshould be born in the right time, and both

he and Mommy should be in excellenthealth.

The bris (Brit Milah) is possibly the mostspiritually significant experience your sonwill ever undergo. It is the onlymitzvah thatalters ones physical body and leaves himforever marked with the sign of the holycovenant. Therefore, it is a great honor andmerit for anyone who plays a role infacilitating thismitzvah.

Here is the chronological rundown:

The first honor is given to a couple (Aruch

Hashulchan), often one that is hoping toalso be blessed with a child. This honor,called kvatter, is given to the people whobring the baby to the area where the briswill be performed. The woman usually takesthe baby from the mother and then handshim off to her husband, who brings thebaby to where themohelhas set up. Thesepeople are the representatives of the father,who is commanded to circumcise his son hence the namekvatter, which is from theYiddish word,kfotter, like the father.

As the baby approaches, the mohel callsout Baruch Haba,which translates literallyas blessed is he who has come. RabbiDavid Avudraham (Spain, 1260-1350)

points out that the numerical equivalence ofHaba is eight, so essentially the mohelissaying, Blesses is he who will becircumcised on the eight day!

Elijah the Prophet plays a prominent role inabris, because he once complained to G-dthat the Jews were not adhering to theircovenant with enough care. G-d decreedthat he should come to every bris to beartestimony to the fact that the covenant iseternal. We prepare a special Chair of Elijahin honor of this visit (next to the chair inwhich the bris will take place). The nextstep of the bris is when someone else ishonored with taking the baby from thekvatterand putting him momentarily on theChair of Elijah.

The father of the child then takes the babyfrom the Chair of Elijah and hands him overto the sandek the highest honor at thebris ceremony the person who will holdthe baby during the circumcision. In manyplaces, the father verbally appoints themohel to be his representative in doing this

mitzvah (the onus of the mitzvah isspecifically on the father), and sometimeshe hands the knife over to the mohel toshow this.

The mohel preps the baby, recites theblessing on performing the mitzvah andperforms the circumcision. Immediatelyafter the circumcision, the father makes a

blessing regarding his obligation to enter hisson into the covenant of Abraham.

Themohelthen bandages up the baby, andthen another person is honored withholding the baby while additional blessingsare recited and the baby is named. Bothhonors can be designated to one person orto two different people. A blessing is recitedover the wine, and another one regardingthis great mitzvah. Then there is aparagraph in which we declare the babysname and pray that he grow up to be agreat Jew.

Thekvatter then brings the baby out, and afestive meal closes out thismitzvah.

I hope that this information was helpful. Iwish you all the best.

You and your wife should get only nachas(pride) from your son!

Rabbi Leiby Burnham

Rabbi Burnham can be reached at:[email protected]

THE CHRONOLOGY OF A BRIS RABBI LEIBY BURNHAMDear Rabbi,

My wife is due in two months with our first son, and we are reallyexcited about the upcoming birth. My wife and I both have studypartners, and after each of us discussing the upcoming baby with ourrespective partners, decided that we want a traditional Brit Milah. Ive

only been to a few of them, and usually find myself getting lost in theceremony. Can you please enlighten me (I should say, us) so we canbetter understand whats happening?

Thanks,Stanley G.

LOOK WHO MADE PARTNER

RECENTSAMPLINGOFPEOPLEWHOHAVEJOINEDASPARTNERS:

SHIFFY GLIKMAN -- KEW GARDEN HILLS, NYHERMINA HOROWITZ -- SOUTH EUCLID, OHHARVEY OLIVER -- DAYTON, NJ

JASON BERENDT -- CHARLESTON, SCLEVI BREUER -- MONSEY, NY

MEL HAFT -- LOS ANGELES, CADVORA LANDMAN -- LAKEWOOD, NJROCHEL GREENFIELD -- BROOKLYN, NY

Making Partner has never been this easy!


4/4

And it was that the whole world was of one language

and one common purpose. And it came to pass when

they traveled from the east they found a valley in the

land of Shinar and settled there. They said one to

another, [] Come, let us build us a city, and tower

with it head in the heavens, and let us make a name for

ourselves, lest we be dispersed across the whole

earth. [] G-d said, Behold, they are one people with

one language [] should it not be withheld from them

all they propose to do?! [] let us [] confuse their

language, that they should not understand one

anothers language. And G-d dispersed them [] over

the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building

the city. (Bereishis 11:1-8)

) The building of the Tower of Bavel seems to be an

unparalleled act of rebellion against G-d. Oddly, it is

not described in the Torah as such or even as a sin.

How could this glaring o mission be explained?

) Unlike previous and subsequent stories recounted in

the Torah, no names are mentioned in association with

the Tower of Bavel ( they traveled from the east and

theyfound a valley, theysaid to one another). Why

would the names of the people invol ved be omitted?

) An apparent motivation in building the Tower was a

fear of being dispersed. What were they afraid of, and

how does this tie in with their scheme to build the

Tower?

) The people were punished by losing their common

language. How was this a fitting punishment for their

scheme?

Rabbi Lam can be reached at: [email protected]

TABLE TALKFOR DISCUSSION AROUND THE SHABBAT TABLE

RABBI LABEL LAM

Soul TalkWe learn from the Torah that it was only due tothe quality of ., favor, that Noah was saved

Sefer Chareidim writes that anyone who iscareful never to get angry is bestowed withfavor. Rabbi Avraham Pam, in his AtarahLaMelech, elaborates on this theme. A personwho is prone to anger, he says, is one whoconstantly feels that he is in a situation in whichthings are just not going his way: people shouldbe showing him more respect, or his personalburdens are unfair and too much for him. A

person who is humble avoids all of theseemotions. He does not feel that he deserves tobe especially recognized, or that his meritswarrant that situations should always develop inline with his wishes. He accepts any load thatlife hands him with forbearance. Humility is thusthe trait that protects a person from the pitfallsof anger. This is confirmed by the verse inProverbs (3:34) that states: , The

humble are bestowed with favor. The verysame favor that is the lot of the humble isbestowed upon one who never gets angry.

If humility is necessary to enable one to bearlarge burdens without complaint, then Noahmust have truly shone in this area. For a period

of twelve long months he was shut away in theArk, with the care of all the earth's creatures inhis hands. The myriad details of feeding andattending to such a large host of animals placedan extraordinary burden upon Noah and hisfamily. In fact, our Sages note that Noahsuffered physically from the burden. Truly, Noahwas deserving of the special favor endowed tothe humble.

Rabbi Pam relates that his mother would oftentell her children stories of tzaddikim (righteouspeople) as a way of imbuing them with an

appreciation for noble character. A favorite storyinvolved the Rebbe, R' Mordche'le, who hadalways harbored a great love for Eretz Yisrael.Once, he acquired a piece of cloth from EretzYisrael and wished to have it made into a pair oftzitzis for himself. He entrusted this job to oneof his chassidim, an expert tailor, and waitedwith anticipation for the finished product. Daysand weeks passed, and the tailor did not showup with the tzitzis. Finally, the Rebbe sent forthe tailor, who appeared before him overcome

with mortification.

What happened? asked R' Mordche'le gently,Why did you not return all this time? Where isthe holy cloth? Haltingly, the tailor responded,Holy Rebbe! In all my years as a tailor I havenever before made such a mistake! As I cut outthe hole in the garment for the neck, I did notrealize that the cloth was folded over. Onlywhen I lifted the cloth did I realize that I hadmade not one hole for the neck, but two!

For a moment the Rebbe's face registered bitterdisappointment. Immediately, however, hereturned to his usual calm demeanor. Twoholes for the neck, you say? But this is exactly

what this garment called for! You see, one holewas necessary as it is in every tzitzis garment,and the other hole was needed so as to testMordche'le to see if he would fall into anger!

Rabbi Pam concludes that one who wishes toimprove his character and free himself fromanger can find helpful advice in many of the

mussarworks. But the first step is to come to afirm realization that anger is destructive anddishonorable, and that no effort should bespared in avoiding this dangerous trait.

With permission from Artscrolls Daily Dose

Parasha patners Noach 5770

Documents

Transcript of Parasha patners Noach 5770