Noach – Page 13 – Peninim on the Torah

Noach walked with Hashem. (6:9)

Describing Avraham Avinu’s relationship with Hashem, the Torah states, “Walk before me and be wholehearted” (Bereishis 17:1) While Noach walked with Hashem, Avraham walked before Him. Noach needed the support of Hashem to maintain his moral strength, while Avraham , who was morally independent, functioned on a higher level. Noach was not successful in turning back the tide of destruction decreed for the people of his generation. This is enigmatic. Noach spent one hundred and twenty years building an ark. During that time he chastised the people. Indeed, throughout the Midrashim we learn that Noach constantly rebuked the people in…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5757

And the earth had become corrupt before G-d, and the earth became filled with violence. (6:11)

The text seems to imply that these people were corrupt only in the eyes of Hashem. In the eyes of society, however, they apparently did no wrong. What type of people were they that they were paragons of virtue according to the rules of society, while they were iniquitous before Hashem? Horav David Feinstein, Shlita, cites Chazal in the Talmud Sanhedrin 57A who define “,ja,u”, corrupt, as referring to immorality and idolatry. These are sins that do not really hurt anybody. Does anyone suffer if a person chooses to bow down to idols? Who is hurt by the immoral activities…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5757

And the land was filled with corruption. (6:11)

In the Midrash, Chazal teach that “corruption” refers to idolatry. We may wonder why idolatry stands out as the primary sin of that generation. What is there about “chamas,” corruption, that infers idolatry? Horav Yaakov Kaminetzky, zl, responds by first defining the essence of idolatry. We are taught that if a certain city has decided to reject one ritual of the taryag, 613 mitzvos, regardless of the type of mitzvah, that city is declared an “Ir Hanidachas,” a city that went astray and is to be totally destroyed. Accordingly, asks Rav Yaakov, why should the fate of the generation of…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5757

“Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood.” (6:14)

The Torah recounts the construction of two “structures” the Ark and the Mishkan. In a lecture to a group of students, Horav Yitzchak Hutner, zl, commented that these two structures can serve as metaphors to describe the disparity between Jewish education during pre-World War II Europe and its parallel in contemporary society. The Mishkan was an edifice dedicated to spiritual ascendancy. All the people who resided in proximity of the Mishkan were “spiritually correct.” They were not exposed to harmful environmental influences which were antithetical to their faith in Hashem and His Torah. Their commitment to the Almighty was not…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5757

And Cham saw…his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers. And Shem and Yafes took a garment…and covered the nakedness of their father and their faces were backward. (9:22,23)

We have here before us a distinction between the two reactions among Noach’s sons, the reaction of Cham as opposed to that of his brothers, Shem and Yafes. Cham observes an indiscretion on the part of his father, and he immediately exploits it. Not only does Cham jest about his father’s failing, but he also goes out of his way to publicize it. He shows no filial respect whatsoever. His two brothers, on the other hand, throw the mantle of love over their father’s weakness; they turn their heads away, so even they would not view their father’s shame. We…

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Sruly Schnair In Noach, 5756

“Noach walked (served) with Hashem.” (6:9)

Regarding Avraham Avinu, the Torah states, “Walk before me.” Rashi distinguishes between Noach’s and Avraham’s spiritual plateaus. Avraham was strong enough to walk alone, whereas Noach needed the support of the Almighty. The Midrash presents a parable from which we can gain a better insight into understanding Noach’s spiritual essence. A father who walks with his little child, while the youngster is still unsteady and learning to walk, must lend his total support to prevent his son from falling. As the child grows older, he is weaned from his father’s support. Noach, ostensibly, did not have the spiritual stamina to…

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Sruly Schnair In Noach, 5756

“They said to one another, ‘Come let us make bricks and burn them in fire.'” (11:3)

The Torah begins the narrative discussing the sin of the Dor Haflagah, generation of the dispersion. Everyone assembled under the leadership of the evil Nimrod, self-proclaimed king of the world, to build a tower ascending to Heaven. From this vantage point they planned to wage war against the Almighty. It seems, therefore, superfluous to mention their comments of, “Let us make bricks.” Do the technicalities of the development of the tower carry any significance with regard to the sin? It is clear that Bavel/Iraq is — as Rashi notes — situated on a plain, where there are no stones available…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5755

“And the earth was corrupted before Hashem and the land was filled with violence.” (6:11)

Rashi explains that chamas, violence, refers to robbery, which had become rampant. Indeed, as Chazal note, the decree of ultimate destruction for that generation was the result of their blatant robbery. What was “unique” about their type of robbery that distinguished it to such an extent and effected their annihilation? The Ozhrover Rebbe z.l. explains that they derived no material benefit from the fruits of their theft. Their thievery always remained within the parameters of legitimacy, since they stole less than the value of a prutah, a coin designated as the minimum standard for theft. They stole for the specific…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5755

“Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood, with rooms; you shall make the ark. And you shall pitch it within and without… A light/window you shall make for the ark.” (6:14,16)

Horav Aharon Levine z.l. uses the ark as a metaphor for the Jewish home. Chazal explain that gopher wood is actually cedar wood. As the cedar tree stands tall, towering above the other trees, so, too, should the Jewish home exemplify lofty goals and ideas in establishing the spiritual foundation of the Jewish family. The roots of the cedar tree are firmly implanted in the ground and will not yield even to the strongest winds. The Jewish home must also have its perspective on life firmly rooted in Torah hashkafah, philosophy, rendering it immune to the heretical winds of change….

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5755

“Of clean beast(s) and of beast(s) that are not clean, and the bird(s) and of everything that creeps on the ground.” (7:8)

The symbol of “acharis ha’yamim,” the days of Moshiach, is the “wolf will live in peace with the lamb.” This concept has been presented by Chazal as the paradigm of peaceful co-existence that will reign during that period of time for which we pray and yearn daily. Addressing a major Rabbinic conference in Warsaw, Horav Meir Shapiro z.l. questioned the uniqueness of this prophetic vision. What is so unique about the wolf “living” with the lamb? Did not all of the various species of the world co- exist harmoniously in Noach’s ark? If we take Noach’s ark into consideration, the…

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Noach walked with Hashem. (6:9)

And the earth had become corrupt before G-d, and the earth became filled with violence. (6:11)

And the land was filled with corruption. (6:11)

“Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood.” (6:14)

And Cham saw…his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers. And Shem and Yafes took a garment…and covered the nakedness of their father and their faces were backward. (9:22,23)

“Noach walked (served) with Hashem.” (6:9)

“They said to one another, ‘Come let us make bricks and burn them in fire.'” (11:3)

“And the earth was corrupted before Hashem and the land was filled with violence.” (6:11)

“Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood, with rooms; you shall make the ark. And you shall pitch it within and without… A light/window you shall make for the ark.” (6:14,16)

“Of clean beast(s) and of beast(s) that are not clean, and the bird(s) and of everything that creeps on the ground.” (7:8)

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