Blog: Ari Enkin 25 - Noach 5767

28 Elul 5770

September 7 2010

Notes on Noach

What we can learn from Noach:
One : Don't miss the boat.
Two : Remember that we are all in the same boat.
Three : Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
Four : Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
Five : Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
Six : Build your future on high ground.
Seven : For safety sake, travel in pairs.
Eight : Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
Nine: When you're stressed, float a while.
Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.
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Seek the company of people from whom you can learn positive qualities. "Noach was a completely righteous person in his generation". There is the well-known debate whether Noach was inherently righteous or just righteous in comparison to the corruption around him.
The Chasam Sofer notes that both interpretations are correct and not necessarily inconsistent. If Noach would have stayed the way he was in his own generation, then he wouldn't have been special in Abraham's generation. But, had Noach been in Abraham's generation, he would have likely been influenced positively by Abraham, and would have been greater than he actually was. We are all influenced by our surroundings. When we are close to people who act in an elevated manner, we are positively influenced.
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Strive for harmony even with people who are different from you. The rainbow symbolizes peace and unity. A rainbow is made up of different colors which come together to make one entire whole. Similarly, people are different from each other. But if we look at ourselves as one unit, there can be peace and harmony despite our differences. (Rabbi Zelig Pliskin)
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The Rainbow
1. On the ark, various predators peacefully co-existed. This foreshadows the coming of the ultimate time of peace and satisfaction -- the Messianic Age, when "the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat" and "there will be neither famine nor war, neither envy nor competition, for good things will flow in abundance." By vigorously following in Abraham's footstep, spreading love and kindness, we can help bring about this Age of ultimate peace and satisfaction and, like Noach and his family, merit the shining of the rainbow. (Lubavitcher Rebbe)

2. When God first told Noach of His plan to destroy all flesh, He did not mention that He intended to do so by bringing a flood. Rather, He commanded Noach to build an Ark, and only then informed him of the impending flood. Wouldn't it have been more logical for G-d to first warn Noach about the flood and then command him to build an Ark? G-d proceeded in this order so that Noach would build the Ark entirely for the sake of fulfilling His commandment, rather than to save himself from the flood. From here we learn an important principle that applies to all mitzvos: even when we think we understand the reasons for a mitzvah, we must nonetheless observe it purely because G-d commands us to do so. (Rabbi Moshe Feinstein)
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Rashi was very careful in his choice of language: "there are those of our Rabbis who interpret this [Noach's righteousness] complimentary" -- those who interpret as complimentary are referred to as our "Rabbis". "And there are those who interpret it disparagingly" - those who do so lose the title of "our Rabbis," because one must always give others the benefit of the doubt. (R' Yaakov David of Amshinov).