VOLUME 113 NUMBER 1
Tishrei 30, 5785
November 1, 2024
Parshas Noach
Candlelighting Time 5:39 

The flood was a global devastation. Mankind was fundamentally eradicated. Only a few select people survived that horrific situation. Yet can we blame the people of that generation? Did they realize the extent of their sins or even imagine the eventual punishment that they would incur? Rashi does explain that when Noach was building the Ark for 120 years he did forewarn the people of the impending calamity that was to befall them. However, whatever he said fell on deaf ears! But perhaps they should have been attentive to the previous flood that occurred during the generation of Enosh. A third of the world was destroyed yet the people did not heed this alert and continued to lead lives of robbery and intermingling with other species. Perhaps they reasoned the previous flood was an act of ‘nature’ and not a message from on high. However, after the flood in the days of Noach it was unmistakenly clear that society had failed in its mission and restoration of its essential principles was necessary. Yet we see later on that mankind collectively decided to build the Tower, the skyscraper that allowed people to penetrate into the very Heavens to attack Hashem. Although seemingly a preposterous assumption, nonetheless the mindset certainly was not focused on comprehension of prior events that were a heads up to conform and realize how they should conduct their lives. 

Rashi cites the two floods on the verse in Ha’azinu that one must recall and have the awareness of previous catastrophes as a guide in life. Without delving into the past of our nation and the world in general and perceiving Hashem’s Hand in what transpires, then we will continue to stumble and falter in our lives and not pursue the scope of enhancement and enrichment that we could indeed achieve. 

However, how can one truly remain cognizant of these lessons as a source of inspiration for future accomplishment? Rav Gedalyah Schorr former Dean of Yeshiva Torah V’Daas in Brooklyn explains that a person has to create and fashion his own environmental insulation against the forces of secularism and other negative influences that permeate our society and threaten to debunk our immutable values and rich legacy. Just as Noach prepared for the time when he would have to battle the waves of the flood and eventually was ensconced in his own refuge of safety and security against the raging waters of the flood, so too we must prepare our own sanctuary of protection and fortification defending us from the condemnation and disapproval that we encounter from today’s acerbic rhetoric that is constantly assailing us.  

And what is our defense mechanism, studying Torah and davening. We can only devise a protective shield around us when we connect on a personal level and our very core is intimately linked to Hashem. Perhaps the most in-depth relationship is when we approach Hashem in Shemoneh Esreh and we stand in front of the King of all kings. As we slowly drift away from the pinnacle of the Yomim Tovim, Simchas Torah may it be His will that we should always continue to have that incredible simcha that we experienced then and onwards.   

A BYTE FOR SHABBOS

Our Sages decry that Noach planted a vineyard after the flood instead of a wheat field. Perhaps after viewing the destruction of the world, he needed to be consoled with wine which has a calming effect. However, the claim is that when a disaster has transpired one should rather focus on the need to rebuild not to look inward and endorse one’s sadness.          

Rav Simcha Wasserman

GOOD SHABBOS AND A GUTEN CHODESH

WORLD EVENTS ARE SWIRLING AROUND US. OUR BROTHERS IN ERETZ YISROEL ARE FIGHTING FOR THEIR SURVIVAL SURROUNDED BY WOLVES THAT INTEND TO CONSUME THEM. A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WHICH IS FRAUGHT WITH THE PERCEIVED DANGER TO THE EXISTENCE OF THE COUNTRY AS WE KNOW IT SHOULD THE WRONG CANDIDATE BECOME PRESIDENT. 

HOWEVER, LET US NOT NEGLECT THE UNFORGETTABLE THAT HASHEM HAS HIS BACK TO US THE CHOSEN PEOPLE AND WHATEVER BEFALLS US IS ONLY FOR THE ULTIMATE GOOD AND BENEFIT OF HIS TREASURED NATION.