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The Ark of Shabbat: Parashat Noach Cheshvan 4 5776 October 17, 2015 Vol. 25 No. 5
The Ark of Shabbat: Parashat Noach Cheshvan 4 5776 October 17, 2015 Vol. 25 No. 5
The Ark of Shabbat: Parashat Noach Cheshvan 4 5776 October 17, 2015 Vol. 25 No. 5
Parashat Noach
Cheshvan 4 5776
Vol. 25 No. 5
family, friends, and selves, and to be fully present, listening not just
with our ears but with our eyes as well.
by Rabbi Scott Friedman
Shabbat is not just a day of physical rest. On Shabbat, we must
rest from all of our distractions. If we do so, we will begin to hear
In Parashat Noach, Hashem instructs Noach to build a boat to and see things which we were previously too busy to realize.
protect himself from the coming flood which will wipe out the Hashem is everywhere and we can find Him in everything, but we
world. Ramban explains that Noach's world had become filled first need to know to look for Him. A story about the Kotzker
with corruption to the point that theft was commonplace and there Rebbe illustrates this point. A student once traveled a long distance
was no order. He clarifies (BeReishit 6:13) that specifically stealing to learn with the Kotzker. Upon his arrival, he met with the Rebbe
is so bad because common sense alone should dictate that stealing and related to him how far he had come to learn. The Kotzker
is wrong and creates a chaotic environment.
asked, "What did you come to find?" "I came to find Hashem," he
Our world is fast paced. We are constantly busy and we feel answered. "How foolish," the Kotzker said, "Hashem is
that we must keep up with the world and juggle all of our everywhere. You didn't have to travel here to find Him. Once you
responsibilities. Often the responsibilities and distractions remove find Him yourself, you'll see Him everywhere."
us from even more crucial and essential priorities. Rav Ron
On Shabbat, we should merit to truly rest and be protected
Yitzchak Eisenmann tells a story in his book, The Elephant in the from the world, to connect with Hashem, and to connect to all the
Room, of a meeting he had scheduled that he felt was very beauty around us. In this beautiful and meaningful manner, let us
important for the wellbeing of a certain couple. The woman called heed the crucial lessons of Noach and his ark.
Rav Eisenmann a few hours before the appointment to ask if she
could bring her child because the babysitter had canceled. The Rav
agreed, although he was disappointed and concerned that the
by Binyamin Jachter (17)
couple might be distracted. The meeting went very well and the
Ravs advice was well received without any interruptions from the
In Parashat Noach, two generations are destroyed: the
beautifully behaved child. After the meeting, the mother suggested
generation of the flood and the generation of Migdal Bavel. The
to her daughter that she ask the Rav a question from the Parashah
one link between the two generations is Noach and his family.
that she had raised earlier. The girl walked over to the Ravs desk
Effectively, Noach was the sole seed of the second generation and
and stood silently. Her mother encouraged her to ask the Rav her
the last, sacred remnant of the first generation.
question. The girl responded that the Rav was not listening. The
After the flood begins, Noach and his family enter the Teivah
Rav, who was cleaning off his desk, told her that he was in fact
in the order of Noach UVanav VeIshto UNeshei Vanav, Noach, and
listening. The mother said, Ask, the Rav is listening. The young
his sons, and his wife, and the wives of his sons (BeReishit 7:7).
girl responded, No mommy, the Rav is listening with his ears but
Here, Noach and his sons are split from their wives. Later in
not with his eyes.
Parashat Noach, however, Hashem is ready to start the world anew
The Slonimer Rebbe cites a passage from the Zohar which tells
and tells Noach, Tzei Min HaTeivah Atah VeIshtecha UVanecha
us that just as the Teivah protected Noach from the raging storm
UNeshei Vanecha Itach, Leave from the Ark; you, and your wife,
outside, Shabbat is "protection" from the world around us. Shabbat
and your sons, and the wives of your sons (8:16). The former
is a great gift from Hashem. The world continues to move around
Pasuk separates the men from their wives, whereas the latter Pasuk
us, but on Shabbat we rest, just like Noach rested on the boat from
connects the husbands and their wives. When Noach leaves the
the corruption around him and like the young girl in Rav
Teivah, the Torah reverts back to the method of the first Pasuk, as
Eisenmanns story required the Rav to rest from his work in order
it states, VaYeitzei Noach UVanav VeIshto UNeshei Vanav Ito, And
to achieve proper focus. We on Shabbat show our trust that
Noach went out, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons wives
Hashem runs the world and that we can abstain from the rush of
(8:18).
weekly activities. We learn to listen to our spouses, children,
Rashi commends the order in which Noach and his family
enter the Teivah. Rashi states that during a time of sadness, a man
Kol Torah is a community wide publication which relies on the
should not be with his wife (7:7 ad. loc s.v. Noach UVanav). After
generous donations of our friends and family in the community
the Mabul, Hashem blesses Noachs family and commands it to
for its continuous existence. To sponsor an issue in memory of
regroup so that the world can grow anew: VaYevarech Elokim Et
a loved one, a joyous occasion, or a Refuah Sheleimah, please
Noach VeEt Banav VaYomer Lahem Peru URevu UMilu Et HaAretz,
contact: business@koltorah.org
And Hashem blessed Noach and his sons; and He said to them be
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fruitful and multiply and fill the land (9:1). In his Unlocking
the Torah Text, Rav Shmuel Goldin explains that Noach
refused to return to his wife because he was in shock from
the trauma of the worlds destruction. He was unable to
accept that the world had changed. Due to this shock and
trauma, Noach planted a vineyard and got drunk to escape
his problems.
After the generation of the Mabul is completely
destroyed, the next generation builds Migdal Bavel.
Although the Pesukim blame the generation of the flood for
stealing, the Pesukim do not articulate what was wrong
with the generation which built Migdal Bavel. According to
Rabbeinu Bachya (11:4), the generation of Migdal Bavel
sinned by failing to fulfill the commandment to be fruitful
and multiply and fill the land. Instead of growing and
spreading, the entire generation decided to focus on a single
tower.
Noach and his sons were wary of fulfilling the
commandment to be fruitful and multiply and fill the
land. They understood the possible downside of
continuing the human race. Throughout the generations,
Noachs descendants feared propagating the world. Noach
witnessed Hashem destroy nearly all of mankind and
realized that there was a tremendous downside to mankind
spreading out too thin.
The generation of Midgal Bavel was plagued by the fear
that Noach had preached to them. This fear caused the
people to desire a close community in which nobody could
be harmed, despite the fact that this went against Hashems
commandment.
Belief in Hashem makes us stronger and braver. The
more we listen to what Hashem commands us, the stronger
we are when facing our enemies.
Emunah Sheleimah
It is stunning that the Arab leadership did not at least try to hide
child labor from UNSCOP and instruct local Arabs to clean their
communities in preparation for the UNSCOP visit.
Segal
One could argue that the success of the UN Partition vote was
a happy coincidence or a result of massive and wide Zionist
lobbying of each UN member which it stood a chance to convince.
However, too much had to work out properly to attribute the
success exclusively to Zionist efforts.
Rabbi Marvin Tokayer, an expert on Jewish life in the Far East, relates:
The closest friend, adviser, and bodyguard of the first president
of China, Sun Yat-sen, was Morris Abraham Cohen, who was
called Two-Gun Cohen. He was an unbelievable person. He
saved Sun Yat-sens life several times and was instrumental in
It is stunning that UN officials did not insist on moving the vote to a more
neutral venue.