Noach – Peninim on the Torah

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…

Home -> 5754 -> Noach

Moshe Marcovich In Noach, 5754

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…

Home -> 5754 -> Noach

Moshe Marcovich In Noach, 5754

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…

Home -> 5754 -> Noach

Moshe Marcovich In Noach, 5754

“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…

Home -> 5754 -> Noach

Moshe Marcovich In Noach, 5754

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…

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Back to Home -> Noach -> 5754

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)

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

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

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

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

YEARS

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

You have Successfully Subscribed!