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CHUMASH
Parshas Noach - Shishi with Rashi
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After the Mabul was over, the world needed to fill up again with people and animals. We start to learn about the children Noach had, and the nations from them that filled up the world. We also learn a story that happened not long after Noach left the Teivah.
We learned in the beginning of the parsha that Noach was a Tzadik Bedorosav, a tzadik in his time. One of the ways Rashi explains this is that Noach was a tzadik compared to everyone else who lived then, but not everything he did was the way a tzadik of nowadays should behave.
Noach should have realized what an important job he had now. The world would need to get filled up again with people and plants and animals. They would need to plant food, raise animals, and build cities!
But, the Torah tells us, “Vayachel Noach” — Noach made himself “chulin,” free to relax. Instead of planting wheat, Noach planted grapes first. When the grapes were ready, he made wine and drank much more than he should have.
In fact, Noach got so drunk that he hardly knew what he was doing. He finally fell asleep in his tent, and wasn’t even tznius’dik.
Canaan, the son of Cham, came into Noach’s tent. He saw his grandfather lying that way, and told his father. Cham came in too, and instead of covering up his father Noach, he excitedly told his brothers to come look.
Shem and Yafes were not excited to hear about this. They were upset at what Cham did! Together, they brought a blanket, and walked in backwards so they could cover up their father without looking at him when he wasn’t tznius’dik.
When Noach woke up, he realized what happened. He gave a curse to Canaan, the son of Cham, saying that his family would be slaves to the children of Shem.
He gave brachos to Shem (that the Yidden would come from him), and to Yafes (that his family should become very rich).
We start to learn about the 70 nations that came from Noach. We learn everyone’s names, and a little bit about some of them. For example, Nimrod tried to fight against Hashem (Mored, like Nimrod), and Peleg was in the time of the Dor Haflagah (like Peleg), the generation that got spread out all over the world.
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Today’s Tehillim is kapitelach Chof-Tes to Lamed-Daled.
The Frierdiker Rebbe once told this story:
Once when the Mitteler Rebbe was 7 or 8, he davened for a longer time than usual — he davened “BaArichus.” After he finished davening, someone asked him what took him so long! The Mitteler Rebbe answered that he stopped to think about something that is says in davening, and that made it take a long time.
Which part? It was a posuk from today’s Tehillim — Kapitel Lamed (posuk gimmel)! We say this kapitel every day before Boruch She’amar.
“Hashem Elokai, Shivati Eilecha Vatirpa’eini” — “I cried out to You, Hashem, and You made me feel better!”
The Mitteler Rebbe was thinking about the word “Vatirpa’eini” (“and You healed me”). He was thinking how that word is like the word “rifyon” — making something weaker; so the posuk could mean “I cried out to You, Hashem, and You made my Yetzer Hara not as strong!” He was thinking about how Hashem helps us win over our Yetzer Hara!
Very soon, when Moshiach comes, Hashem will take away our Yetzer Hara completely! We will have won the fight with the Yetzer Hara!
Until then, Hashem helps us make it weaker so we will act the way Hashem wants us to.
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Chof-Vov
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In this Igeres Hakodesh, the Alter Rebbe is explaining a Raya Mehemna (a part of the Zohar) in Parshas Naso, which tells us what is special about learning Pnimius HaTorah, and the difference between our learning in the time of Golus and the time of Geulah.
A person who learns this Zohar might at first think that the Zohar is saying that when Moshiach will come, we will not learn Niglah anymore — we will only learn Pnimius HaTorah.
The Alter Rebbe shows us that this can’t be at all what the Zohar means! Here are two reasons why:
1) In the Gemara, many times it says “Teiku” — that we don’t understand certain halachos, but Eliyahu Hanavi will explain them when Moshiach comes! If Eliyahu Hanavi is explaining them, of course we will learn them!
2) The things we learn about in these halachos are things we will still be doing when Moshiach comes! We will still be eating fleishigs, and will need to know all of the halachos about shechting meat.
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Way back in the olden days, there was no such thing as street signs or GPS. If someone didn’t know the way, they would have to ask other people or use the sun to know which direction they were going in. But what did they do at night?
The stars in the sky might look like one big pile of dots, but really if you look carefully, you can see that they are constellations — patterns or groups of stars that you can find in the sky every night! People used to use the constellations like a compass to figure out which way they were going. So even on a very dark night, with no street signs, a person could look up at the sky and see which direction they should go and wouldn’t get lost.
The world can sometimes be a very dark and confusing place. People get busy with things that aren’t important and don’t realize what they should be doing.
Yidden are compared to stars! Each one of us has the koach to shine as a Dugma Chaya. Our good example shows other people the way they should act and how to follow the path of Torah and mitzvos.
Yidden are like stars that help others not get lost in the darkness of Golus.
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SEFER HAMITZVOS
Shiur #181 - Mitzvas Lo Saasei #125, #123, #128, #126, #127, #121, #122
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In Sefer Hamitzvos today, we learn A LOT of mitzvos about the Korban Pesach! Most of these mitzvos come from Parshas Bo, where Hashem tells the Yidden about this mitzvah.
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #125) We are not allowed to eat the Korban Pesach when it is cooked in any liquid, or when it is not fully cooked. It needs to be roasted well, the way people usually eat meat.
We learn this mitzvah from the words: אַל תֹּאכְלוּ מִמֶּנּוּ נָא וּבָשֵׁל מְבֻשָּׁל בַּמָּיִם
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #123) We are not allowed to take any of the Korban Pesach out of the house where we are eating it.
This mitzvah comes from the words: לֹא תוֹצִיא מִן הַבַּיִת מִן הַבָּשָׂר חוּצָה
The details of this mitzvah are explained in Perek Zayin of Mesechta Pesachim.
We also learn some mitzvos about who we can’t share the Korban Pesach with:
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #128) We are not allowed to give part of the Korban Pesach to a meshumad, a Yid who converted to another religion and serves Avodah Zarah.
The posuk says: כָּל בֶּן נֵכָר לֹא יֹאכַל בּוֹ
4) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #126) We can’t give the Korban Pesach to a Goy, even if he follows the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach. As the Torah says: תּוֹשָׁב וְשָׂכִיר לֹא יֹאכַל בּוֹ
5) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #127) A Yid who didn’t have a Bris Milah is not allowed to eat from the Korban Pesach.
We learn this from the posuk that says: וְכָל עָרֵל לֹא יֹאכַל בּוֹ
We need to treat the Korban Pesach with kavod!
6) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #121) We are not allowed to break any of the bones of the Korban Pesach. As the posuk says: וְעֶצֶם לֹא תִשְׁבְּרוּ בוֹ
7) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #122) We can’t break any bones of the Korban Pesach if we bring it on Pesach Sheini.
This mitzvah comes from a posuk in Parshas Behaalosecha, which speaks about Pesach Sheini: וְעֶצֶם לֹא יִשְׁבְּרוּ בוֹ
The details of this mitzvah are also explained in Perek Zayin of Mesechta Pesachim.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more halachos about bringing the Korban Pesach, and then about eating it!
Perek Vov: There are some people who are not allowed to bring the Korban Pesach. Someone who was Tomei, and won’t become Tahor in time, has to wait until Pesach Sheini.
Perek Zayin: We learn about Tumah Dechuyah Betzibur. When MOST of the Yidden are Tomei, the Yidden are allowed to bring the Korban Pesach on time, even though they are tomei.
Perek Ches: We learn how the Korban Pesach is eaten: We eat the Korban Pesach together with matzah and maror. We are only allowed to prepare it by roasting, and we can eat it only at night.
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We learn how the witnesses come to say that they saw the new moon, and the messengers that would go out from Beis Din to let everyone know when Rosh Chodesh is.
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In this week’s parsha, Parshas Noach, we learn about the Mabul Hashem sent on the world. The Torah calls the boiling water that covered the earth the “Mei Mabul,” the waters of the flood.
In this week’s Haftorah, though, from the Navi Yeshaya, we also hear about the Mabul. Hashem spoke to the Navi, and told him something about the Mabul in his nevuah. There, Hashem doesn’t call the water “Mei Mabul,” the water is called “Mei Noach,” the waters of Noach.
This seems strange! The name Noach means pleasant, so calling the water “Mei Noach” is like saying that the Mabul was pleasant!
Why does Hashem call the Mabul “Mei Noach” when speaking to the Navi?
The Rebbe tells us that when Hashem speaks to a Navi, Hashem is telling the Navi a secret, like the posuk says, “Gila Sodo El Avadav HaNeviim.” Hashem tells Neviim the secret that is behind what is happening, so that the Navi should see things the way they are inside, the pnimius.
When Hashem told Yeshaya about the Mabul, Hashem called it Mei Noach, pleasant water. Because the real reason for the Mabul WAS pleasant, and this is what Hashem wanted the Navi to know.
In Torah Ohr, the Alter Rebbe explains that Hashem didn’t need to send a flood if He wanted to destroy the world, Hashem could have just stopped creating it! Hashem sent a flood for a different reason: To make the world TAHOR. Just like a keili goes into a mikvah with 40 se’ah of water to become tahor, Hashem covered the earth with water for 40 days to make it tahor!
That is what Hashem was telling the Navi, that the “secret” of the Mabul, its real purpose, was to make the world tahor — and that is Mei Noach, something pleasant!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Chof, Parshas Noach, p. 286
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In today’s Chumash (Shishi of Parshas Noach), we learn an important lesson in Ahavas Yisroel and having good midos:
When Noach drank too much wine after the Mabul he was not behaving the right way. When Shem and Yafes saw this, they went backwards to cover their father. They didn’t want to see what he had done that wasn’t right, they just went to fix the problem.
The same thing is if we see people not acting the way they should. We shouldn’t think about how they aren’t acting right and think not good things about them in our mind, and of course not to say something not nice about them to others Chas Veshalom! Instead, we should just make sure to fix the problem in a kind way.
The Baal Shem Tov says that Hashem uses another person as a mirror for us! When we look in a mirror, we see ourselves. If our face is clean, we don’t see anything dirty in the mirror. If we see dirt in the mirror, it is because OUR face is dirty!
If we think too much about how another person isn’t good, and not just about fixing the person’s problem, that is a sign that we have that not good thing in ourselves.
Imagine if we see someone doing something that could hurt someone else. We might think, “What a terrible kind of person! He doesn’t care about other people! Look at what he is doing!” We aren’t thinking about how to help him be more careful, we’re just upset at him. Really, we should realize that he is a mirror for us! Maybe WE need to be more careful about not hurting other people.
When a tzadik looks at another person, because he doesn’t have any Ra inside of himself, he doesn’t see Ra in another person! If he sees a problem, he doesn’t think about how awful the other person is, he just thinks about how he can help the person become better.
So instead of getting angry about what another person is doing, we should try to help them in a nice way if we can, and work on fixing up the things that need to be corrected in OURSELVES!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Yud, Parshas Noach (English)
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We are learning the meaning of the Yud-Beis Pesukim, the 12 pesukim and maamorei Chazal that the Rebbe wanted every Jewish child to know. Many people say these pesukim every day after davening or after saying Shema at night, so that they know the words well! But the Rebbe says that not only should we know the words by heart, we should also know what the pesukim mean, and what their lessons are for us!
The second posuk of the Twelve Pesukim starts with the words “Shema Yisroel.”
In a rally for children, the Rebbe explained one of the lessons from this posuk!
Shema Yisroel means that there is nothing that exists that is separate from Hashem!
Shema Yisroel — Listen, Yidden!
Hashem Elokeinu — Hashem is Elokeinu, our chayus and our life
Hashem Echod — Hashem is one, everything is part of Hashem!
This posuk isn’t just something we should know, it should also change the way we behave!
In the Chumash, right after the posuk Shema Yisroel, the posuk says Ve’ahavta Es Hashem Elokecha. The Torah says that we should LOVE Hashem and want to stay connected to Hashem all the time.
Since everything in the world is part of Hashem, that makes us realize that we should want to use all of our time and everything we have in a Yiddishe way!
And not only should we want to be close to Hashem when we are learning or davening, but in EVERYTHING we do! Whether we are playing, eating, talking, or sleeping, we should want to do all of these things in order to serve Hashem and live the way Hashem wants.
See Der Rebbe Redt Tzu Kinder vol. 5, p. 269
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Hashem’s name is very holy! We are careful not to say it for no reason.
Even when Hashem’s name is just written, it has a special kedusha. If there is a paper with Hashem’s name on it, we treat it with kavod, and don’t throw it away. It becomes “Shaimos” (meaning “names”).
According to many Acharonim, this isn’t just for Hashem’s name written in Lashon Kodesh. If we write out Hashem’s name in ANY language, that also has kedusha!
Because of this, we are careful not to write Hashem’s name completely, even in English. We write “G-d” so that we don’t have Hashem’s full name written down.
See Shulchan Menachem vol. 5, p. 217
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לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
שליח כ"ק אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו למדינת אילינוי
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At the end of this week’s parsha, Parshas Noach, we learn the ten generations from Noach until Avraham Avinu.
In Pirkei Avos, it says that Avraham Avinu got the sechar for all of those generations! He got the reward for all of them because he tried to fix up the not-good things that they did. He found the Nitzutzos of kedusha that got stuck because of their aveiros, and brought them up to kedusha. Many of those generations were resha’im, but with Avraham Avinu’s chesed, he davened for them too and asked Hashem to forgive them.
In this way, Avraham Avinu was able to finish the job of all of those ten generations that came before him.
We are in the last generation of Golus! Like Avraham Avinu, we also need to fix up the Nitzutzos of kedusha that got stuck here, and bring them up to kedusha. We do this by following the example of Avraham Avinu, of chesed and Ahavas Yisroel, to be mekarev everyone with love to Yiddishkeit. This way, we will not only be rewarded for what we do now, but also from the previous generations!
We will be finishing the job of all of the generations that came before us, and bringing the complete and final Geulah!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Gimmel, Parshas Noach
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לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק
נפטר ב' מנחם אב ה'תשע"ג
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