ON THE PARSHA Parshas Noach by Dovid Lipman, Israel Year 3, No. 2 Introduction This parsha, which explains how the nations of our world developed from Noach, has six parts: 1) Noach's background & Preparation for the flood 2) Flood 3) End of the flood & Covenant 4) Noach's end 5) Seventy Nations & Dispersion 6) Avraham's family 1. Noach's background -- 6:9 [Beg.] to 6:12 Preparartion for the flood -- 6:13 to 6:22 [end, Chap. 6] Noach is introduced as a righteous man in a time so wicked that Hashem decided to rebuild the world around Noach alone. Hashem tells Noach to prepare by building a large ark to protect himself, his family, and a sample of each animal, during the upcoming flood. Worthy of Note (6:16) "Make a 'tzohar' for the ark, and finish it to an amah above..." Rashi explains the latter phrase: the roof should come to a 'point' one amah wide at the top, and slant down on each side, so the water rolls off. The question: why leave an amah at all - finish to a point!. For "tzohar", Rashi gives two meanings - a precious stone that lit the ark, or a window. This brings up question two: Why does the pasuk combine these two unrelated aspects? If the "tzohar" was a light, we can explain that it was to be hung in the middle of the ceiling (of course), and that's why an flat amah was needed - to attach the light to it. The pasuk flows: Make a light, and therefore bring the roof to an amah. If the tzohar was a window, an even more enlightening answer is possible. About the destruction of S'dom, Rashi (19:17) says the reason Lot wasn't allowed to watch was that he deserved only to be saved himself, not to also watch the punishment of the others. Maybe here too, Noach did not deserve to watch the flood, and therefore, the window could only be on the ceiling - which calls for a flat amah. (According to this, the purpose of the window was to let out the birds.) This would even connect to the continuation of the pasuk, "and the ark's door put on the side." Make a window, through finishing the roof to an amah, but put the entrance on the side, unlike the window. 2. Flood -- 7:1 to 7:24 [end, Chap. 7] The flood comes, destroying all life except Noach's family and the animals in the ark. The rain lasts 40 days, and is followed by 150 days with the hot water still destructive, then for sixty days the water level drops, and at the end of a year the ground dries up. The World of the Supernatural (7:18) "...and the heavens' windows opened." When blessing the world with good rain, the language is "the doors of the heavens" (Tehilim 78), not the windows, because Hashem always brings good in greater amounts than He brings punishment. (Yoma 76a) But the distinction implies more rain! Wouldn't that bring even worse destruction? From here we see that the flood's destructiveness didn't come from its quantity, only Hashem's will. He who can make water destroy can make water, even in the same overwhelming amounts, bring blessing to the world. 3. End of the Flood -- 8:1 to 8:14 [Aliyah 4] Covenant -- 8:15 [Aliyah 4] to 9:17 [Aliyah 6] As the water level drops, Noach sends a raven and then a dove out of the ark to check if the ground is dry. When it is, Hashem tells him to go out and rebuild the world, and promises not to destroy the world with another flood, with the rainbow as a reminder. Principles of Shabbos (8:22) "...[they] shall not rest." From this we derive (San. 58b) that a non-Jew is forbidden to make Shabbos, even by picking a different day of the week. A possible reason, which sheds light on the nature of Shabbos, can be illustrated with a mashal. Once, a king had many generals. All were wealthy, successful, and capable. The king, who was very busy, decided to appoint one as his ambassador to other kingdoms. He told the new ambassador, "As a sign that you are the royal ambassador, paint everything in your house purple, the royal color. When the other generals saw, one decided he would paint his house all orange. The king heard, and flew into a rage. "You think you can make yourself an ambassador also, just by painting your house? Your colleague only became an ambassador because I, the king, chose him! You are rebelling against my authority by implying you can become one on your own!" Shabbos is the sign that Hashem chose us (Shmos 31:13). If a non- Jew keeps it, even on Monday, he implies he become Chosen himself! 4. Noach's End -- 9:18 [Aliyah 6] to 9:29 [end, Chap. 9] Noach begins the rebuilding by planting a vine, but when he gets drunk from the wine, his grandson C'na'an tells his father Cham (Noach's son) and Cham takes advantage of Noach, but Shem and Yefes, Noach's other sons, respectfully cover him. When Noach wakes up, he curses C'na'an and blesses Shem and Yefes. This is Noach's final major contribution to the world his sons continue building, and the Torah concludes his story by reporting his death. Worthy of Note The fact that Noach lay uncovered in his tent was deserved, say Chazal, for choosing an unsuitable species to plant first. But why did he deserve for Cham to take advantage of him? R' Chaim Dov Altusky explains: Rashi notes (9:9) that Noach refused to resume to bear children until Hahsem promised there wouldn't be another flood. Self-sacrifice? Perhaps. But one doesn't tell the Boss how to operate. So, in that very matter, he was punished. 5. Seventy Nations -- 10:1 to 10:32 [end, Chap. 10] Dispersion -- 11:1 to 11:9 Shem, Cham, and Yefes build families, which contain the elements of the seventy nations of the world. At first, they settle together, but when they decide to declare independence from Hashem, He causes them to suddenly all speak different languages, and, unable to communicate, they spread out all over the world and develop nations. From the Gemara (11:4) Sanhedrin 109a - One group at the time of the dispersion wanted to battle with Hashem, and some were turned into monkeys. 6. Avraham's Family -- 11:10 to 11:32 [End] A father-to-son chain indicates the survival of the legacy of righteousness left by Noach. Terach, a member of this chain, has three sons, Avram, Nachor, and Haran. Avram marries Sarai/Yiscah, and Nachor marries Milcah, both daughters of Haran, who also has a son, Lot. When Haran dies in their home of Ur Casdim, during a religiopolitical scandal, Terach, Avram and Sarai, and Lot all leave for C'na'an, but settle in Charan, where Terach dies. Do You Remember? - from the files of On the Parsha What is the law of abortion for non-Jews? (Sanhedrin 57b) What's the function of nations? (see Temurah 15b)