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“In that very day entered Noach… with them into the ark.” (7:13)

Rashi explains the Torah’s emphasis on when Noach entered the ark. He explains that the people of that generation said, “If we see Noach entering the ark, we will break it and kill him.” Hashem responded to them, “I shall bring him into the ark before everyone’s eyes, in mid-day, so that we shall see whose words will prevail.” Their threatened action is puzzling and seems inconsistent with their words, since they did not believe in the arrival of the flood. In any case, if Noach was credible, they should have listened to him and repented. If, to the contrary,…

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“The name of Avram’s wife (was) Sarai, and the name of Nachor’s wife (was) Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Yiscah.” (11:29)

Why is it mentioned only concerning Milcah that she was Haran’s daughter? Was Sarai any less of a daughter to him that no mention is made of her father, Haran? The Bais Yitzchak explains that there are various ways for one to establish his reputation in a community. First and foremost is to earn and establish one’s notability in his own right, either through scholarship, virtuous deeds, impeccable character, etc. One only has to mention the name of certain individuals and their stature and good name precedes them. There are those who are recognized only based upon their yichus, ancestral…

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Noach was a man righteous and whole hearted in his generations. (6:9)

Rashi cites Chazal, who differ in opinion regarding Noach’s level of righteousness as compared to Avraham.  Some Rabbis explain the phrase “in his generations” to Noach’s credit i.e.; his righteousness would be noteworthy all the more so had he lived in a generation of righteous people. Others feel that had Noach lived in Avraham’s era, in contrast he would not have been notable at all. Rashi’s statement, which presents Noach as having had no relative importance, seems to be a bit critical. True, he would not be as great as Avraham, but he was nonetheless still a great tzaddik! Rabbi…

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“And Hashem saw the earth and behold it was corrupted. (6:12)

The entire world had become corrupt and evil. Immorality had become a normative lifestyle. Yet, we find no indication that this rampant miscreancy was noticed by anyone other than Hashem. He observed the situation and responded accordingly. Why did anyone not challenge the reprehensible manner in which the people were acting? Rav Simcha Zisel M’Kelm responds that, specifically because everyone was obsessively involved in sin, their perspective of evil was distorted. One whose glasses are tinted blue will see blue wherever he looks.  Even if someone points out the folly of his ways to the sinner, he will not take…

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And he sent out the raven, and it kept going and returning. (8:7)

The Midrash makes an amazing statement concerning Noach’s behavior, which can serve as an important directive for us all. When his whole generation was condemned to extinction, he built an ark for himself, into which he brought the male and female of every species. He took seven pairs of each of the clean animals, while he took only a male and a female from among the unclean animals.  Undoubtedly, after the flood, the demand for clean animals would be greater than that for their unclean counterpart. At the end of the deluge, Noach wanted to ascertain the situation outside of…

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And the dove came to him in the evening and behold an olive leaf, freshly plucked, was in her mouth. (8:11)

Rashi cites the Talmud Eruvin 18b which notes that the bitter tasting leaf was unnatural for a Yonah, dove, to eat. By bringing it, the dove was essentially saying, “I would rather eat bitter food from the hand of Hashem than something as sweet as honey from the hand of flesh and blood.” It seems puzzling that the dove would “talk” this way to Noach. Chazal laud Noach’s exemplary display of chesed, kindness, in feeding all of the animals. He wasn’t satisfied to give them all the same food simultaneously. Instead, he fed each animal its preferred food at its…

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And Terach took Avram his son . . . and they went forth with them from Uhr Casdim to go into the land of Canaan and they came into Charan and dwelt there. (11:31)

The Arugas Ha’Bosem makes an interesting observation based upon this pasuk. Often one becomes inspired to change his ways to expiate his sins.  Along the way, however, the yetzer hora, evil inclination, confronts him with various obstacles which block his path to success.  Those individuals whose resolve is as weak as their moral character fall prey to their impuissance.  Terach was such a person. He was inspired to journey to Canaan and change his past. He traveled to Charan, however, and halted. He could not extricate himself from the clutches of his yetzer hora.  Avraham, on the other hand, did…

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“Noach was a man, righteous and wholehearted”. (6:9)

The characterization of Noach as a tzaddik, a devout and righteous man, is enigmatic. Indeed, Chazal themselves question Noach’s unique personality. He was, however, the only individual who Hashem saved from the devastation that engulfed an entire world. Corruption, violence, and debauchery effected a tragic end to that world. One man stood alone with his family, in contrast to these people, unaffected by their immoral way of life. Hashem told him to build an ark in order to save himself and to go forward to rebuild the world. “vzv rusc hbpk ehsm h,htr l,ut hf”- For you I have seen…

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“And the land was corrupt before Hashem.” (6:11)

Rashi comments that the ultimate verdict for the destruction of that generation was based upon the people’s stealing. The Ozorever Rebbe, z.l., explains that the arrogance demonstrated by the manner of this stealing signified a decadence so sinister that repentance for this sin was highly unlikely. Their form of stealing was unique in that it was not biblically prohibited, since the people were careful to steal less than the value of a “perutah” (which is the criterion for establishing an act of stealing). They obviously derived no benefit from such an insignificant theft. They stole for the pure sake of…

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“And Noach, master of the land, planted a vineyard.” (9:20)

When Noach went ashore following his lengthy journey on the ark, his first activity was to plant a grapevine. Later, he drank its wine “and became inebriated.” This act ultimately led to an embarrassing situation which culminated in his cursing his grandson, Canaan. When we view the positive and negative actions of our forebears, we must delve into their origins in order to learn from them. What was Noach’s mistake and what lessons may be derived from it? Horav A. H. Lebowitz, Shlita, cites Sforno who interprets Noach’s violation in the following manner. “And Noach began”– his mistake lay in…

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