Parshat Noah

They came to Noah into the ark, two each of all flesh in which there was a breath of life.

(Noach 7:15)

 

They came. It is a miracle that they all came to Noah, as most animals flee from man and flee from enclosures and love freedom. It is also a miracle that only two of each species came and not more, and that all the species came and none were missing.

(Malbim, ibid)

 

Man is revealed here in his entire splendor. All the animals came to him and to be rescued by him.

(Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, ibid)

 

All the flesh in which there was a breath of life. He says here all the flesh, And also all the flesh in which there was a breath of life. Up until this time, man was not permitted to kill a living creation for meat. Noah was the first who was permitted. In theory, this seemed very cruel as they were saved by Noah. Seeing that they were saved by him, they understood that he did them a service. From being beasts of burden, Noah elevated them to living beings with intelligence and speech. Noah was merciful to them.

And the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant and harmonious to God - In the future, the abundance of knowledge will spread and permeate even in animals. "You shall not defile on all of my holy mountain, as the whole earth is full of His knowledge," and the sacrifice then that will be the offering will be from produce, "will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years."

(Olat Hare"yah, p. 292)

 

 

All who are thirsty, come for water

Dalia Marx

Large and small signs of life and heralding of the seasons are encoded in the prayers of Israel. The prayers signal the changing of the seasons, the daily times and the years and enable those who pray to anchor themselves in a world that is felt at times perplexing. An example of change in nature that the prayers give expression to is the division of the Hebrew year to a rainy season and a dry season.

We have just celebrated the Feast of Sukkot when we are "judged through water." (Rosh Hashanah 1:2) During the Second Temple period, the rituals linked to pouring the water on the altar were the highlight of the holiday. The ceremonies were called "The Joy of Drawing the Water." At the conclusion of the holiday, on Shmini Atzeret, we recite the Prayer for Rain. And thus, we have marked the beginning of the rainy season. From now until Passover we mention the rains in the blessing "gvurot" in our prayers, and turn to God "who causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall." Next week or to be more exact, the 7^th of Marheshvan, the hope for rain is reinforced in our prayers and we add "request for rain", that is the request, "and give us dew and rain for a blessing."

Many times I ask myself what did our grandfathers and grandmothers, who asked for rain in Europe, which is overflowing with lakes and rivers, and is rainy anyway, think. Could they feel the existential angst of the composers of our prayers for the inhabitants of the Land of Israel who were dependent on the rain for their livelihood and dreaded a drought? In the Land of Israel, however, there is no doubt that the prayers for rain were said out of a real apprehension, with a worrisome peak at the sky and the land. Rav Yehudah, one of the Talmudic scholars, expressed the importance of rain when he said: "A day of rain is as great as the day the Torah was given." Rabbah exceeded him by saying: "More than the day the Torah was given," while Rav Hunah said: "The day of rain is greater than the day of the rising of the Dead, because the rising up of the dead is for the righteous, while the rainy day is for the righteous and the sinners (Bavli Taanit 7:7).

In most cases, for us, rain is a blessing, but here, too, there are floods and deluges of the Ayalon Highway, when there is not much difference from the waterbeds of the Judean desert. Precisely, this week, the time between "mentioning" the rain and "asking for the rain "Parashat Noach is timely, where the narrative of the flood and the description of the water that was so strong that it obliterated the signs of life on earth is read. Although God promised not to curse the land again with a flood, the sages also saw a need to set a textual response to the dangerous waters in the Parsha. This response is found in the language of the Haftarah¹ with the glorious cry of the prophet "All who are thirsty, come for water!" (Isaiah 55:1) The sages associated between water and Torah, explaining that the thirst is for words of Torah. But we can read it as the pshat, the literal meaning for what it is, may all that are thirsty, come to the waters and quench your thirst. Not merely are these words spoken in the prophecy. We know that this is not such a simple thing; living waters were not available to everyone in the past, nor are they available to everyone in the present.

This Shabbat, we find ourselves between "the reminder" that the nature of the world in this season is to bring rain, between the "requesting of the rain" that bears witness to the fact that we should not take rain for granted and not always are the rains a blessing in their season; Between the waters of the flood that punish, destroy and kill and the waters that we ask to quench, "All who are thirsty" - This is an opportunity to reflect on the significance of water for us. We associate water with purity and cleanliness, but is this always the case? In her article in the book Parshat Hamayim, the environmental quality investigator, Mirale Goldstein writes:

Immersing in the waters of the mikveh is a physical symbol of spiritual purification. The power of the symbol derives from the understanding that water is clean and has the capacity to wash away contaminants. But what if we are afraid of untreated water? We associate water in nature with a risk of disease. Most of what contaminates water cannot be seen. Some of the causes of pollution are ancient and familiar, such as sewage. But others, such as industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals, are frighteningly unfamiliar. Moreover, humans have created and disseminated these dangerous pollutants. This state of affairs raises ancient questions about the relationship between physical and spiritual purity to a new level. Can we be spiritually pure if our physical surroundings are impure? Can we partake of the holiness of mikveh if we have desecrated the waters that fill the mikveh?

This and more. If water is linked in our religious consciousness to justice as it said, "But let justice well up like water, righteousness, like an unfailing stream" (Amos 5:25) how can we explain the fact that more than a billion people in this world do not have access to proper drinking water, and how does it happen in our modern era, that millions die every year from water-borne diseases and its absence. All this is occurring while in the wealthy countries people are wasting water every day on Jacuzzis, sumptuous baths and on empty luxuries. It should be said, nonetheless, that the Israeli public is significantly different from the other developed countries. We are aware of the need to save water, many are interested in the water level of the Sea of Galilee and the awareness of "pity on every drop" is not an empty slogan in our houses. But most of the big questions connected to water and its usage beg to be answered.

Goldstein adds: "Technology has given us the power to manipulate natural processes. With this power we adopted an attitude that we could and should manipulate them. As a result of this attitude we have damaged nature at every scale, from the local wetland to the global climate." And as we all know, with a lot of power come a lot of responsibility.

Environmental groups have set this Shabbat, Parshat Noach, as a Shabbat for public awareness of environmental issues. It seems that the Israeli awareness of water, its availability, its quality and the struggle to produce and acquire it, is presented in the civil discourse more often than in other Western countries. But this awareness is not enough, neither from a strategic perspective nor from an ethical point of view - we must remind ourselves that water is God’s blessing; We cannot take it for granted, and if we desire to control it, we must do this out of the recognition of the distresses that are linked to water and the question of justice that flows from the need for it, especially in an arid zone like ours.

Waters teach us a lesson in modesty - such a simple substance, with no color or shape - grasps the key to life. Water suggests an important lesson to us in gratitude and in renewing our commitment towards God, Man and the Earth.

Rabbi Akiva says:

Fortunate are you O Israel!

Before whom do you purify yourselves?

And who purifies you?

Your Father in Heaven

As it is said, "I will sprinkle upon you pure water

And you shall be purified." (Ezekiel 36:25)

And it is said, "The hope (mikveh) of Israel is in the Eternal." (Jeremiah 17:13)

Just as mikve purifies the defiled,

So, too. The Holy blessed is he purifies Israel." (Mishnah Yoma 8 :9)

1. This year Shabbat Noah is also Rosh Hodesh, so we will read the special Haftarah from Isaiah 61.

Dr Dalia Marx is an Associate Professor of Liturgy and Midrash at Hebrew Union College in
Jerusalem. Her book, Feminist Commentary of Babylonian Talmud: Tractates, Tamid, Midot, Kinim. was recently published.

 

 

The World's Existence Depends Upon Law, Morality, and Interpersonal Respect

The world exists thanks to law, you can see that the flood came to the world because they lacked law, they stole and robbed from each other, as it is written, the land became full of robbery. And if this is so, then one who judges, upholding the law faithfully, causes the world to persist in its existence. It is as if he becomes a partner [to the Creator].

(Siftei HakhamimShemot 18:9)

 

The earth was corrupt before God: Before the great ones who were on the earth, who would take the women by force.

And the earth became full of hamas [robbery]: What is the difference between hamas and gezel [another term for robbery]? Rabbi said: Hamas is [robbery of property] worth [at least] a penny while gezel is [robbery of property] worth less than a penny. This is what the people of the generation of the Flood would do: one of them would take a basket full of lupini beans to the market. This one would come and take less than a penny's worth and another one would come and take less than a penny's worth, so that he [the owner] would not be able to demand legal recompense. The Holy One blessed be He said to them: You acted improperly, so I shall also treat you improperly and unfairly, as it is written - Their haughtiness, which is absorbed within them-does it not leave [them]? They die, and not with wisdom (Job 4) - without the Torah's wisdom.

(Hizkuni Bereishit 6:11)

 

Now that the exile is prolonged because of our many sins, Israel must separate itself from the vanities of the world, and must hold on to the seal of The Holy One, Blessed Be He, which is truth; Israel must sanctify itself even by [refraining from questionable] acts which are legally permitted (Yevamot 20a); one should not lie, neither to Jew nor to gentile, and not deceive them in anyway, as is written: The remnant of Israel will not perform iniquities and will not speak falsely, and their mouths shall not house deceptive tongues (Zephaniah 3:13). Furthermore it is written And I will sow her in the land as My own (Hosea 2:25) - a person sows one kur of seed in order to harvest a number of kurim, so The Holy One, Blessed Be He sowed Israel among the nations in order that it be joined by converts (Pesahim 87b) As long as they [Israel] deal with them honestly, they will cleave to them. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, is stringent even regarding theft from the wicked, as is written, And the land was rife with lawlessness (Bereishit 1:11)

"It once happened that Rabbi Shimon ben Shetah purchased a donkey from an Ishmaelite. His students noticed a precious stone hanging from its neck. They said to Rabbi Shimon: Rabbi, It is the blessing of the Lord that enriches (Proverbs 10:22). He replied: I bought a donkey; I did not buy a precious stone. He went and returned the stone to the Ishmaelite. The Ishmaelite said of him: Blessed is the God of Shimon ben Shetah!"

(Devarim Rabba 3:3)

 

And thus in the Jerusalem Talmud (Bava Metzia 2:5) "The elderly sages purchased wheat from the gentiles, and discovered a hidden bag of coins, and they returned it. Proclaimed the gentiles: Blessed is the Lord of the Jews! And so there were many cases where they returned things in order to sanctify His Name.

(Orhot Tzadikkim, Gate 23, The Truth)

 

"Come, Let Us Build Ourselves A City and a Tower"

The story of the building of the city and the tower also expresses the danger inherent in the power of man's rule, when technical achievements cease to be means and they become the goal for which man exists. This idea is expressed sharply in a late Midrash called "Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer" which states:

The tower had seven levels on its east side and seven on its west; they would carry the bricks on this side and descend from the other; and if a man fell and died, no one would pay attention, but if a single brick would fall they would sit and cry: Woe unto us, when will another come up in its place!"

This is the meaning of the rule of technology, which puts man into a framework, a social and civilizing assignment from he may not deviate; This Midrash describes the situation in which man becomes an instrument, a tool for raising bricks; the technical production becomes the goal. Therefore no tears are spilled for a man who falls from the top of the tower, because there will always be a replacement.

(Y. Leibowitz, Seven Years of Discussion on the Weekly Parasha, p. 33)

 

Sign and Memory, Covenant and Responsibility

The Holy One, Blessed Be He, did more than promise; He established a sign and a memorial. This is characteristic of divine supervision: The Holy One decrees signs, e.g., tefillin, Shabbat, milah, to constantly remind one of the great truths upon which the peace of humanity depends.

"For ageless generations": "Doubly lacking. [Translator's note - The Hebrew dorot - "generations" - is spelled here without the two vowel vavs] God's covenant will exist in all situations; it will also protect the generation which is marked by defects observable both internally and externally. In those generations, man's heart will melt, and he may despair of ever witnessing divine justice. But the sight of the rainbow in the cloud will remind him that God decreed a covenant with Man and with the earth; this covenant will be in force at all times, in all generations, and divine providence will achieve its goal - even in a flawed generation."

(Rav Shimshon Rafael Hirsch on Ber. 9:12)

…in a world ruled in miraculous ways (before the Deluge), a world whose existence is never assured, there is no place for mitzvoth; a program of recognition of God and His service are possible only in a world subject to natural law. Therefore, it is not a coincidence that we read about the giving of mitzvoth only after the Deluge; Adam's first children were not obligated with mitzvoth. Herein lies the deep meaning of what are traditionally termed "The Noahide Mitzvoth," which were given only after the flood.

...It was in this renewed world - the world destined to be our world and not in the earlier, miraculous world - that saw the opening of the gate to the conflict between the values tikkun olam (perfection of the world) and Man, a struggle realized in the revolutionary personality of our father, Avraham, who appears and begins to function at the end of Parashat Noach. He is the person who takes upon himself the mission of perfecting the world as Kingdom of God, rather than taking the world for granted.

(From Leibowitz, "Seven Years of Discussions on the Weekly Portion")

 

Tribal Morality Contradicts Absolute Morality

If they complete the tower, they will come to think that they must forcibly prevent people who disagree with this opinion, and that involves murder, robbery which will completely corrupt society. The fact that they are currently in agreement will not help. Thus the Prophet Jeremiah cried out, how skillfully you plan your way to seek out love... on your garments is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor - you did not catch them breaking in (2:33-4), which means that they were unified in his day and would boast that they enjoyed love and peace more than any other people, but the prophet disagreed, for on their garments was found the blood of innocents - not because they had committed any theft or such, but because they did not belong to their group. So the groups came to murder, and there is no boast of peace in that, rather only if they had been careful to do evil against those not in their group.

(Ha-Amek Davar and Harhev Davar, Bereishit 11:6)

 

 

 

 

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