Video Study for Parasha Noach : And a little Beresheit

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Shalom, Shana Tovah, and Welcome back to my Parsha video series.

It is time to roll the Torah back to the beginning and start anew with the greatest wisdom known to man. The miracle of the creation of the world, the quick decline in morality a by-product of the very Free Will which Hashem grants man, and the destruction which we read about in the portion of Noach, the second parshiot of the Chumash, paint a rather odd picture of Hashems greatest creation (the one which justified the very creation of the entire reality).

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

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.

Let us first study with the great Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute:

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How about a short vort from Rabbi Herschel Finman... His latest video:

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Rabbi Moshe Weisblum for a ten minute talk on Noach:

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http://www.dafyomi.co.il/sanhedrin/insites/sn-dt-109.htm

Daf Yomi / Sanhedrin 109

1) THE SIN OF THE "DOR HA'PELAGAH"

QUESTION: The Gemara discusses the Mishnah's statement (107b) that the people of the Dor ha'Pelagah (the Generation of the Dispersion, which built the Tower of Bavel) have no portion in Olam ha'Ba. The Gemara asks what exactly their crime was. The commentaries point out that the Torah itself does not provide enough details to understand their sin, in contrast to the details that it provides with regard to the sin of the Dor ha'Mabul.

Why does the Torah not reveal what their sin was?

ANSWERS:

(a) The BE'ER SHEVA explains that the Torah elaborates about a sin that was committed only in order for other people to take heed and not sin in a similar manner. Accordingly, the Torah describes the primary sin of the Dor ha'Mabul -- thievery -- in order to create a deterrent for that form of conduct. However, the sin of the Dor ha'Pelagah was unique in that it resulted from the entire world being unified and acting together. Such universal cohesiveness will never again occur on such a large scale, and thus no one will ever come to commit that sin again. Therefore, there is no point in elaborating on the sin of the Dor ha'Pelagah.

(b) Alternatively, the Be'er Sheva answers that the Torah does not describe their sin because they spoke in an extremely disrespectful manner towards Hash-m. It would be a Chilul Hash-m to relate what they said.

The CHIDUSHEI HA'RADAL in his commentary to the Midrash (Bereishis Rabah 38:11) also gives this explanation. He adds that, according to another explanation of the Midrash, the reason why their specific sin is not recorded is that they were at peace with each other, and in that merit Hash-m covered up their terrible sin.

(c) The MAHARSHA's explanation of their sin gives another insight into this question. The Maharsha explains that the people of that generation wanted to rebel against Hash-m but they were afraid of the possibility of another flood. They obviously did not believe Hashem's promise that He would never again bring such a flood. Therefore, they conspired to build a towering structure that would enable them to reach the heavens and empty the sky of its water. (See Maharsha at length.)

According to the Maharsha's approach, perhaps the reason why the Torah does not describe their sin is that it is merely a continuation of the sin of the previous generation, the Dor ha'Mabul. (Y. Montrose)

Dor Ha'Mabul = Generation of the Flood
Dor Ha'Pelaga = Generation of the Tower

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Another short Shmuz from one of my favorite Rabbis..

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Someone should tell Rabbi Shafier to cut that video... Here is Rabbi Weisblum once again:

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Learning a little Chassidut at this hour is good for your neshamah...

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Now for an 'intimate' discussion on the Parsha with the inviting Rabbi Machlis in Jerusalem:

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Here is another great lesson from Rabbi Richman in Jerusalem:

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Rabbi Svirsky on Noach:

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Rabbi Shafier, from last year, talks about 30 minutes on the portion we just read today.

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Wow, Rabbi Shlomo Katz just posted a long 1hr+ discussion on Noach.