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Parsha Perspectives

by OZER ALPORT

ויחל נח איש האדמה ויטע כרם
וישת מן היין וישכר ויתגל בתוך אהלה

“Noah, the man of the earth, debased himself and planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk, and he uncovered himself within his tent.” (Genesis 9:20)

After the waters of the flood subsided and Hashem commanded Noah and his family to leave the ark, Noah encountered a desolate wasteland, a reminder of the year of unprecedented destruction the world had just endured. Overwhelmed by the sheer amount of rebuilding which was necessary to render the world once again inhabitable, Noah chose to begin by planting a vineyard.

In our verse, the Torah criticizes Noah’s actions, noting that he desecrated and sullied himself by doing so. The end result was that he became drunk after drinking from the wine and passed out naked in a drunken stupor. Rashi explains that Noah’s error was that he should have overcome his craving for wine and begun by planting more essential trees.

The Medrash goes even farther, sharply contrasting the fact that prior to the flood the Torah refers to Noah as a righteous man with the fact that this error transformed him into a debased and sullied man. Although it may be true that Noah could have displayed better judgment in his priorities for rebuilding the earth, why was his mistake so catastrophic? As the vineyard also served a valuable purpose, why does the Torah take Noah to task for such a seemingly insignificant lapse in judgment?

The following Medrash may shed light on these questions. The Medrash relates that on the night after the construction of the first Temple was finished, King Solomon got married. The combination of the two celebrations was a cause for tremendous joy.

In order that Solomon shouldn’t wake up early in the morning, his new wife hung a sheet on top of his bed and drew on it pictures of the moon and stars so that when he would wake up, he would think it was still the nighttime and would continue to sleep. On that night he slept uncharacteristically until four hours after sunrise, and the Jews waiting eagerly to offer the morning sacrifice had to wait until that time, as the keys to the Temple were underneath his pillow.

When his mother heard that the sacrifice was being delayed due to his sleeping late, she went and woke him up and rebuked him quite soundly. Although it would have been nice to bring the sacrifice at the earliest possible time, nothing was actually lost as it was offered four hours after sunrise, which is still within its acceptable time range. Further, Solomon did nothing wrong as he was rejoicing with his new bride, and he had only slept late as a result of her deceiving him. Why, then, was his mother so upset with him?

Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Shapiro answers that Solomon’s mother understood the importance of a proper beginning, both to the Temple and to one’s marriage, as everything which happens subsequently is an outgrowth of that foundation. She therefore wanted to emphasize to Solomon that no excuse in the world justifies damaging the foundation of a new project.

Similarly, Rabbi Shapiro explains that in harshly denigrating Noah, the Torah is teaching us that although his decision seems to represent a trivial oversight, in reality his planting of the vineyard set the tone for his actions in rebuilding the world. Although it was possible to undo the damage caused by poor judgment, the solid foundation would still be missing.

As the recent holidays fade into the past, we once again focus on our daily lives. Whether we are returning to a new semester in yeshiva or school, to our jobs, or to caring for our families, we should internalize the lesson of Noah and Solomon, making sure to plant solid foundations which will help ensure success in all of our endeavors throughout the year to come.

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Parsha Talking Points

by RABBI ELAZAR MEISELS

1. HARMLESS ATHEISM?

“The earth became corrupt before Hashem, and the earth became filled with corruption.” 6:11

The Earth Was Corrupt – Meaning, lewdness and idolatry…
And The Earth Became Filled With Corruption – Robbery - Rashi

It is not unusual for people to dismiss as inconsequential, actions defined by the Torah as “sins against G-d,” since the only victim is their personal relationship with G-d, and not society. The unique sequence of this verse however, informs us otherwise. The verse begins with the story of how the earth turned corrupt in matters between man and G-d, but alas, it didn’t end that way. It rapidly deteriorated into corruption between man and his fellow as well. This is a pattern that is all too familiar with observers of human history.

2. DELAYED RESPONSE

“In the six hundredth year of Noach’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day, all the fountains of the great deep, burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.” 7:11

The Fountains…Burst Forth…The Windows…The Heavens Opened – Shouldn’t the verse first have spoken of the opening of the windows of the heavens, and only afterwards mentioned the opening of the fountains from the deep similar to that found in the verse, “Who will bless you with the blessings of heaven from above, blessings of the depths that lie below” [49:25]? The answer is that since it brought devastation to the world, Hashem wanted to stall the destruction and He therefore sought to utilize a less destructive method first. This is the reverse of His method when bringing blessing upon the world. He utilizes the most powerful means available in order to hasten the onset of blessing. – Rabbenu Bachya, (Rabbi Bachya ben Asher lived in Spain and died around 1340)

In The Six Hundredth Year – This verse alludes to a potentially great spiritual deluge that was to have taken place during this year, in which the Written and Oral Torah would have both been presented to mankind, had they been worthy. Instead, a catastrophic flood was brought upon them that almost wiped out the existence of all life on earth. – Zohar

It is clear from the commentators that the Great Flood was a last resort and the result of overwhelming evil by mankind. Hashem’s overriding desire was to bring blessing and wisdom upon man, but mankind frustrated that plan and left Him no alternative other than to rid the earth of them. The Talmud [Tractate Brachos 4b] echoes this sentiment when it says that the angel Michael [who bears good tidings] is dispatched on a non-stop “flight” to carry out his missions, whereas the Angel of Death is required to stop eight times before arriving at his destination. These interruptions to his mission are introduced deliberately to delay the retribution for as long as possible and allow the offender time to rectify his misdeeds, in which case the Angel can still be recalled. The dispenser of good on the other hand, is dispatched with the utmost haste so as not to allow the recipient time to cause its annulment through inappropriate behavior.

3. MODEL BEHAVIOR

“Haran died during the lifetime of his father Terach, in the land of his birth in Ur Kasdim..” 11:28

Ur Kasdim – There was no place named “Ur” Kasdim. Rather, the place was called Kasdim, and “Ur” is an allusion to the famous incident in which Nimrod, the murderous pagan ruler of that time, cast Avraham Avinu into a flaming furnace in an attempt to disprove Avraham’s belief in monotheism.

The angels asked the Holy One Blessed Is He, “Why do You show favoritism to the Jewish people?” He responded, “Because of the sacrifice of their father Avraham who sanctified My Name to the entire world. When Terach, his father, asked him to sell his recently manufactured idols, Avraham would do all in his power to demonstrate their ineffectiveness to potential buyers. When asked to tend to the “needs” of the idols, Avraham would place food before them and ask them to partake of his food. When they sat there motionless, Avraham pointed out how powerless they truly were. When he was confronted before Nimrod who claimed to be a diety, Avraham challenged him to reverse the course of the sun, to reveal Avraham’s inner thoughts and his future behavior. He also pointed out that Nimrod couldn’t prevent his own father’s death and loudly declared that Nimrod was a fraudulent deity. The outraged Nimrod ordered him cast into a furnace and miraculously Avraham survived demonstrating the greatness and omnipotence of the G-d that Avraham worshipped: Hakadosh Baruch Hu. – Medrash Tanna D’bei Eliyahu Zuta 25

According to some of the commentaries, being cast into the furnace was the first of the Ten Trials that Avraham was subjected to in his quest to prove worthy of spawning the Jewish nation. His unwavering conviction in Hashem’s supremacy and willingness to forfeit his life for this ideal serves as a model for the Jewish people since time immemorial. We too, must do all that is necessary to ascertain His presence and mastery over the universe, and then loyally cling to that conviction even in the face of trying adversity.

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Partner Talk

POISONOUS APPLES?

by RABBI ELAZAR MEISELS

Dear Rabbi Meisels,

Thank you for this wonderful column. I look forward to reading it every week and I hope you don’t mind if I take the opportunity to ask you a question of my own. We just read the story of Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge and I grew up thinking that it was an apple tree. My husband insists that this is not the case, based on an old episode of the hit TV show, “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” where the wrong answer to this question was an apple. They, of course, did not provide sources and I was hoping you would clarify this for us? Also, would you mind explaining why the Torah concealed this information from us in the first place?

Wendy H.

Dear Wendy,

I’m so glad you enjoy this column and I’m thrilled that you took the time to submit your excellent question. Your husband is certainly correct that the Tree of Knowledge was not an apple tree. What’s left for us to discover is what kind of tree was it? The Talmud discusses this question and cites three opinions on this matter:

“R’ Meir holds that the tree of which Adam ate was the [grape] vine, since the thing that most causes weeping to a man is wine…R’ Nehemiah says it was the fig tree…R’ Judah maintains that it was wheat…” Tractate Brachos, 40a

The Midrash adds an additional opinion that is particularly noteworthy as it relates to the just-concluded Succos holiday: “Rabbi Abba of Acco says, ‘[The tree of which Adam partook] was an Esrog tree…’” Medrash Rabbah Bereishis 15:7

However, that very same Midrash concludes with yet a fifth opinion that stands in stark contrast with the first four opinions mentioned above:

“Rabbi Azariah and Rabbi Yehudah Bar Shimon said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, ‘The Holy One Blessed is He absolutely did not reveal the name of the tree nor is He ever destined to. After all, the Torah instructs us [Vayikra 20] to execute the animal with which a woman cohabited to spare her the shame of people referring to her shameful act each time they encountered the animal. If the Torah was so careful to preserve the honor of Adam’s descendants, how much more careful would it be to preserve Adam’s own honor [and refuse to conceal the identity of the tree with which he sinned.’”

The commentators reconcile all of these disparate opinions by explaining that indeed, the Torah concealed the identity of the tree in an effort to preserve the honor of Adam and Chava, but it provided various hints to help us understand what it was about the tree that rendered it so attractive in their eyes and induced them to disobey the will of Hashem. Each of the opinions lend insight into the nature of its attraction and serves as a valuable warning against falling prey to the arguments of the Yetzer Hara [evil inclination] for all future generations. Let us examine each one and try to discover the deeper meaning behind it.

Grape
The grape produces wine, which while endowed with many wonderful qualities, when over-imbibed, serves as a catalyst for a great deal of sin. Excessive intake of wine causes a person to escape his state of mental vigilance, and foolish behavior that was previously unthinkable, suddenly appears pleasurable and worthwhile.

Fig
In ancient times the fig was a principal source of honey [See Rashi VaYikra 2:12] and as such, is representative of excessive pursuit of sweetness and pleasure. Convincing a person to focus on the pursuit of pleasure is a primary weapon in the Yetzer Hara’s arsenal used to induce man to sin.

Wheat
Wheat is identified by the Talmud [Berachos 20a] as a symbol of wisdom and intellectualism. Sometimes the Yetzer Hara encourages us to discard age-old Torah principles in the name of intellectualism and enlightenment.

Esrog
The Esrog is the only tree whose fruit and bark share an identical flavor. By partaking of the Esrog, Adam and Chava demonstrated a desire to “compete” with their Maker, precisely in the manner that the serpent had suggested [Bereishis 3:5]. They wished to ascend to His level [if that were possible] much as the Esrog tastes exactly like its origin. This unwillingness to be subservient to their Maker is at the root of much sin and drives a person away from Hashem.

These are just some of the myriad insights our sages offer into this fundamental episode and I have no doubt that further study will prove highly illuminating and enlightening.

Best wishes,
Rabbi Elazar Meisels

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Soul Talk

It is written that the generation of the Flood was lacking in achdus (oneness), with each person caring only for himself. This leads to an interesting question: How does one cultivate the trait of achdus?

R’ Chaim Shmulevitz explains that the seeds of achdus are planted when people care about one another, and are concerned for each other’s wishes and needs. He notes that although the Jews reached a high level of achdus before receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai — indeed, the Torah (Shemos 19:2) describes their camping there using the singular word ויחן, and he camped, and Rashi there comments that they camped “as one man, with one heart” — they reached an even higher level during the time of Mordechai and Esther. During the time of Purim, the individual re-accepted the Torah willingly, without Hashem having to remind them that they could not live without the Torah (see Shabbos 88b). This, explains R’ Chaim, was due to the intense concern generated by the threat of annihilation that hung over every Jew, which caused every individual to worry about the fate of his family, friends and neighbors. The total achdus fostered by such a situation created the ideal climate for accepting the Torah anew.

We find also that the Talmud (Sanhedrin 20a) singles out the generation of R’ Yehudah ben R’ Ila’i for special praise, placing them on a level even higher than the generations of Moshe Rabbeinu and Chizkiah. Although the generation of Moshe Rabbeinu merited to receive the Torah, and in the generation of Chizkiah the people were so well-versed in the Torah that every child who lived between Dan and Be’er Sheva was proficient in the laws of ritual impurity, the generation of R’ Yehudah ben R’ Ila’i was greater still. Why? The Talmud explains that theirs was a poverty- stricken generation, and the children were forced to study while six of them would huddle under a single garment. R’ Chaim explains that it is impossible for six children to be sheltered under a single garment unless every one of them is concerned about the others’ warmth, and not about his own. It was this merit that gave them such greatness.

We can learn from these sources, concludes R’ Chaim, that worrying about the honor and comfort of others is the path to true achdus, which will lead in turn to greatness in Torah.

(adapted from Sichos Mussar, 5731 §22)

With permission from Artscroll’s Daily Dose

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Table Talk

FOR DISCUSSION AROUND THE SHABBAT TABLE

א) Although the Torah seems to explicitly testify (6:9) that Noah was perfectly righteous, Rashi writes that some of the Sages maintain that this comment is critical of him, teaching that he was only pious in comparison to his wicked contemporaries. If the Torah says that Noah was righteous, why did the Rabbis knock him?

ב) Rashi writes (6:14) that Hashem commanded Noah to build the ark for 120 years so that his contemporaries would question his actions, and upon hearing that he was preparing for a massive flood which would destroy the entire world, they would repent for their wicked ways. Why didn’t Noah use this time as an opportunity to pray that they should repent? (Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh by Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar, Yishm’ru Daas by Rabbi Dovid Povarsky)

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Hey I Never Knew That

Amazing Insights About the Weekly Parsha

by OZER ALPORT

1) Q: The Haftorah for Parshas Noach curiously makes reference to מי נח – “the flood-waters of Noah” (Isaiah 54:9). As Noah was the only one found righteous and worthy of salvation in his generation, wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to refer to it as the flood of his wicked contemporaries?

A: The Holy Zohar explains that during the 120 years that Noah spent building the ark, he neglected to pray for the repentance of his contemporaries, and he didn’t successfully influence even a single person to repent his evil ways. Had he been more concerned about them and not sufficed with his own personal piety, he likely could have prevented the flood and its accompanying destruction; hence, it is memorialized as “the flood of Noah.”

Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, known as the Arizal, writes that Moses contained within him a spark of the soul of Noah, and part of his life mission was to rectify certain mistakes made by Noah. Moses was the antithesis of Noah and came to correct this inappropriate lack of concern for others. Although Divine Providence brought him to Pharaoh’s palace where he was spared the fate of his fellow Jews, he nevertheless felt their pain from his youth and embarked upon his mission as their communal leader, often sacrificing his own personal growth and honor for their sake. The 120 years that Noah spent absorbed in his own personal salvation through the building of the ark were perfectly rectified during Moses’s 120 years of living for others.

We witness Moses’s ultimate dedication to his people after the sin of the golden calf. Hashem desired to eradicate the current Jewish population and to create a new nation consisting solely of Moses’s descendants. Rabbi Yaakov Neiman, in his book titled “Darkei Mussar,” notes that Moses had every right to be upset with his stiff-necked people, who instead of mourning were celebrating (what they perceived as) his death and replacing him with an inanimate object. Nevertheless, he prayed and begged Hashem to forgive their actions, adding that should He refuse to do so, then He should also erase Moses from the entire Torah. This pure and unprecedented selflessness represented the ultimate correction of Noah’s errors. Not surprisingly, this is hinted to as the letters in מחני (“erase me”) also spell מי נח – the flood-waters of Noah!

2) Q: In listing the ten generations from Noah to Abraham and the years of their lives (11:10-26), it is clear that the average lifespan of the generations from Adam to Noah (5:3-32) was significantly longer than that of the post-flood generations. To what may this change be attributed?

A: Maimonides writes (Moreh Nevuchim 2:47) that even before the flood, the average lifespan was only 70 or 80 years, and those who are mentioned as living much longer were exceptions to the rule. Nachmanides disagrees and maintains that these individuals weren’t exceptional, but rather all people prior to the flood had longer life spans. After the flood, natural conditions were no longer as supportive to humans, which resulted in declining life spans. The Sforno suggests (8:21) that prior to the flood, there were no changes in the weather and the seasons, which allowed humans to remain much stronger. After the flood, unnatural changes in the earth and sun resulted in constantly changing weather patterns that left humans less healthy and thus, shortened their life spans.

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Parsha Summary

Parsha Summaries are coming soon!