Author Topic: Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World  (Read 2907 times)

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Offline muman613

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Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World
« on: October 23, 2014, 12:43:07 AM »
Shalom,

Here we go again, the cycle of Torah readings resumed last Shabbat (but due to the Holiday I was unable to post the video study thread) with the book of Bereshit and the story of Creation. This week we leap into the story of Noach which occurred 10 generations from the creation of Adam and Chava. Time is moving very quickly in the 1st two parshiot of the Torah since the Torah is not a history book, nor a science book, but rather a testament to Hashems awesome deeds and a record of the generations which came from Abraham (who we will be reading about shortly)...

Noach is the story of how humanity, without guidance from the wise or rather from the Torah, has a tendency to go 'off the path' due to the animalistic aspect of every humans soul. Hashem created the soul as a complex entity, a place where all kinds of tension takes place... The soul has two aspects, the animal soul and the intellect soul, and each of us has two aspects of our soul, the masculine aspect and the feminine aspect... And all these soul parts conflict, especially our inclinations for good and evil.

Humanity descended to a very vile place by the generation of Noach, a world full of theft, violence, and sexual depravity. Hashem would not countenance such a disgusting world so he deigned to destroy it, leaving the one and only Noach as the righteous man of his generation.

From Chabad's Parsha in a Nutshell:

http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3155/jewish/Noach-in-a-Nutshell.htm

Quote
G‑d instructs Noah—the only righteous man in a world consumed by violence and corruption—to build a large wooden teivah (“ark”), coated within and without with pitch. A great deluge, says G‑d, will wipe out all life from the face of the earth; but the ark will float upon the water, sheltering Noah and his family, and two members (male and female) of each animal species.

Rain falls for 40 days and nights, and the waters churn for 150 days more before calming and beginning to recede. The ark settles on Mount Ararat, and from its window Noah dispatches a raven, and then a series of doves, “to see if the waters were abated from the face of the earth.” When the ground dries completely—exactly one solar year (365 days) after the onset of the Flood—G‑d commands Noah to exit the teivah and repopulate the earth.

Noah builds an altar and offers sacrifices to G‑d. G‑d swears never again to destroy all of mankind because of their deeds, and sets the rainbow as a testimony of His new covenant with man. G‑d also commands Noah regarding the sacredness of life: murder is deemed a capital offense, and while man is permitted to eat the meat of animals, he is forbidden to eat flesh or blood taken from a living animal.

Noah plants a vineyard and becomes drunk on its produce. Two of Noah’s sons, Shem and Japheth, are blessed for covering up their father’s nakedness, while his third son, Ham, is punished for taking advantage of his debasement.

The descendants of Noah remain a single people, with a single language and culture, for ten generations. Then they defy their Creator by building a great tower to symbolize their own invincibility; G‑d confuses their language so that “one does not comprehend the tongue of the other,” causing them to abandon their project and disperse across the face of the earth, splitting into seventy nations.

The Parshah of Noach concludes with a chronology of the ten generations from Noah to Abram (later Abraham), and the latter’s journey from his birthplace of Ur Casdim to Charan, on the way to the land of Canaan.

Last year Rabbi Richman of the Temple Institute posted this video:


You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities
Duet 16:13-14

Offline muman613

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Re: Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2014, 01:39:43 AM »
You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities
Duet 16:13-14

Offline muman613

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Re: Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2014, 01:45:06 AM »
Rabbi Shafiers short Shmuz, you can never lose...

You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities
Duet 16:13-14

Offline muman613

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Re: Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2014, 01:48:28 AM »
Rabbi Weisblum relates some Torah thoughts on this weeks portion.

You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities
Duet 16:13-14

Offline muman613

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Re: Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2014, 01:55:45 AM »
Let us listen to some Chassidic thought on the parsha. Rabbi Chaim Miller from TorahInTen.

You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities
Duet 16:13-14

Offline muman613

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Re: Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2014, 02:09:03 AM »
The ultimate chessedik (kind) rabbi, Rabbi Machlis from Jerusalem on the portion of the week.

You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities
Duet 16:13-14

Offline muman613

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Re: Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2014, 02:21:35 AM »
The 'coolest' rabbi in the Judean hills, somewhere... Rabbi Levi Chazen..

You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities
Duet 16:13-14

Offline muman613

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Re: Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2014, 11:59:40 PM »
Looks like Rabbi Richman just posted his latest video on the portions, once again covering both Bereshit & Noach...

You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities
Duet 16:13-14

Offline muman613

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Re: Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World
« Reply #8 on: October 24, 2014, 12:14:04 AM »
Rabbi Shlomo Katz gives a 1hr talk on Noach, including some Kabbalistic ideas.


You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities
Duet 16:13-14

Offline muman613

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Re: Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World
« Reply #9 on: October 24, 2014, 12:25:16 AM »
Double 'OWW'

Watching Rabbi Katz.... Hits me between the eyes...

Bereaved Parents...

Siblings who don't talk...

My brother died, my parents are bereaved... I wasn't talking with my brother at the time he died (hadn't talked in about 2 years and never saw his children)...

You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities
Duet 16:13-14

Offline muman613

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Re: Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World
« Reply #10 on: October 24, 2014, 01:03:07 AM »
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5775/noach.html


Certain Things Noach Did Not Have To Worry About

There appears to be an apparent contradiction in the narrative of the animals' entry into the Teyva [Ark]. In one place, it appears that they (miraculously) came on their own, in other pasukim [verses], it appears that they did not come on their own but rather Noach had to go catch them himself.

The Ramban explains that the pairs of animals that came "two by two" all approached the Teyva on their own. It was the species of kosher animals for which Noach was told to bring 7 pairs – so that he would have "extra" animals with which to offer sacrifices after the flood - that he needed to fetch on his own. The Ramban explains that those animals, which came to be saved to preserve their species for future generations, were given a Heavenly instinct of self-preservation that caused them to gravitate to the Teyva on their own. However, the animals, which would eventually be sacrificed as burnt offerings, were not given such an instinct as G-d would not place within an a nimal an instinct, which would lead to its future destruction. Therefore, their arrival on the Teyva was something, which required manual intervention on Noach's part.

The sefer Im Levovi Asicha explains this distinction based on an incident, which happened with Rav Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik (the Brisker Rav).

Shortly after the State of Israel was established, in the early 1950s, there was a great controversy whether to allow religious girls to do national service (Sheirut Le'umi) in lieu of military service in the army. The leading Rabbis from the Yeshiva world were concerned about the potential for spiritual corruption in a Sheirut Le'umi structure and they took the position that under no circumstances was this to be permitted. David Ben Gurion, the Prime Minister of Israel, threatened to rescind the draft deferment given to male Yeshiva students if the Roshei Yeshiva would not cooperate with him in allowing girls to do national service.

The Roshei Yes hiva refused to budge and basically called Ben Gurion's bluff regarding his threat to close down the Yeshivos if he was not allowed to draft the girls into Sheirut Le'umi. The Brisker Rav said at that time: We have one responsibility and one responsibility only and that is to keep the Halacha. 'But what is going to be with Torah?' What is going to be with Klal Yisrael if the Yeshivos are shut down and there will not be any Yeshiva bochrim learning Torah? That is G-d's problem, not our problem. G-d promised us that the Torah will not be forgotten from the midst of our children [Devorim 31:21]. We can rely on G-d to fulfill his problem. We must focus on keeping the Halacha (which in that context, he felt was to refuse to permit the girls to do national service) and not attempt to compromise it out of strategic considerations "what is going to be with Torah?"

In this vein, the Sefer Im Levovi Asicha explains the Ramban's distinction. The "two by two" who came to preserve G-d's plan for the world that there should always be elephants and rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses -- that was G-d's issue to worry about and Noach did not need to get involved. However, if Noach wanted animals for his own voluntary sacrifices – that was something he needed to arrange on his own. But Noach does not need to worry about what is going to be with creation.

It Wasn't True Then and It Is Not True Now

I would like to share the following article from January 6, 2005, after the great Indian Ocean tsunami of December, 2004. Approximately 1900 Swedish people who were vacationing in the affected area vanished in the tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean that winter.

What does this have to do with Parshas Noach?

The building of the Tower of Bavel was an attempt by the people there to inoculate themselves from any type of disaster. "We are going to build this tower that will reach the heaven and this will protect us from any future flood. The Almighty will never again be able to destroy us! We don't have to worry about G-d anymore."

The article says, "In Sweden, for decades, this Scandinavian nation has grown in prosperity and peace, immunized by its policy of political neutrality. Like other Europeans, its people learned to abandon the chill of traditional winters for tropical lands brought closer by easy connections of global tourism. But cheap ch arter flight air fares do not include the cradle to grave security that Scandinavians have woven around themselves and neutrality cannot guard against natural disaster...

The implication of this article is that the people of Sweden said, "We are going to protect ourselves. We are going to immunize ourselves from all the world's troubles. We are going to remain neutral so we are not going to have wars. We are going to provide socialism from cradle to grave. We are going to take care of you from the minute you are born until the minute you die. We are going to build ourselves a tower that reaches to heaven and protect ourselves from all the ravages that plague the world.

So what do they do? They get on a plane and go from cold Sweden in the middle of December to Thailand. They are living it up. They think they are safe. No. Someone can go to the other side of the world and still be affected. It is always something. Today, Ebola reminds us that there are some thin gs, which we cannot control. What can we do about Ebola? The article concludes "This will erode our confidence in our ability to be safe."

Since the Tower of Bavel, people have been thinking "We can protect ourselves; we can be safe; we do not need to depend on the Almighty." It was not true then and it is not true now. The only protection that human beings can ever count on is the protection of the Ribono shel Olam.
You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities
Duet 16:13-14

Offline muman613

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Re: Video Study for Parsha Noach : Destroying Hashems World
« Reply #11 on: October 24, 2014, 04:14:13 PM »
One of the issues the Talmud and sages discuss concerning the portion of Noach (and some of the rabbis I have posted above have alluded to it) is a to compare Noach and Abraham. Generally the sages consider Abraham to be superior to Noach concerning his love of Hashem and his desire to spread the message of Hashem in the world. But as Rabbi Machlis pointed out that the Torah (Hashems own thought) shows that Noach was the most righteous man of the generation. Such an appellation is deserving respect as no other person in Tanach is given such honor.

Rabbi Wein discusses the topic further..

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15852#.VEqyV-IUAak



The main character described in this week's Torah reading is naturally Noach (Noah) himself. I think that the Torah wishes to illustrate for us through the personality and reactions of Noach to the impending disaster and later to a world after such a disaster, the challenges of being a survivor.

Everyone who has survived tragedy and challenge replays in one's mind what could have been done differently, whether the tragedy could somehow have been avoided and there is always an element of guilt that every survivor carries with him or her. Noach had ample warning as to the arrival of the flood that would destroy civilization as he knew it. There are different opinions in the commentaries to the Torah as to whether Noach really tried to save his surrounding neighbors or whether he was mainly passive in his attitude towards them, hoping that somehow by publicly building the Ark they would get the message.

Whatever opinion we adopt, it is obvious that Noach was unsuccessful in saving his generation from destruction. That stark fact must have undoubtedly weighed very heavily on Noach after the aftermath of the flood. It explains his superficially strange behavior - planting a vineyard and becoming drunk and sexually abused – but it does not excuse it. Post-traumatic syndrome is today recognized as a medical disease and psychological and physical problem.

Almost all servicemen who were engaged in actual combat suffer from it in one way or another. There are grief counselors to help people recover after personal tragedies in their families. But Noach was all alone in the world and there was no one to help him cope with his own survival syndrome.

Coping with sad and difficult events is ostensibly the true measure of a person and of life itself. It is perhaps what the Mishna meant when it described the ten trials of our father Avraham “and he withstood them all.” It was not only the trials that made him great but rather it was the fact that after so many trials he still stood tall and resolute, faithful and graciously kind to the end.

Avraham was also a survivor but his method of overcoming the survival syndrome was far different than that of Noach. This dichotomy was clearly seen in the past generation when the survivors of the Holocaust made choices regarding their future lives after their liberation. All of them were affected by the horrors they witnessed and in fact endured. Yet their choices as how to pursue life once more became the true mettle of their existences and personalities.

Choosing life, family, faith and entrepreneurial and social and national productivity and success was for many a survivor the road to rehabilitation and normalcy. The past was never forgotten and the events could never be erased, but rebuilding life took precedence over all other factors.

Adam and Noach both could not overcome the tragedies that previously engulfed them. They became reclusive and lost their drive for leadership and inspiring others. By so doing, they compounded the tragedies that overtook them and forfeited the opportunity to forge an eternal people that would somehow be able to rise above all tragedies and fulfill its historic mission.

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Berel Wein
You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities
Duet 16:13-14