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SPECIAL SUKKOT EDITION • PARSHIOT BEREISHET - NOACH • TISHREI 5762 • OCT. 2001 • VOL. 9 NO. 2 SUKKOT The Season Of Our Simcha By Rabbi Mendel Weinbach

ach one of the three Chagim Rabbi Aharon Halevi in his classic service. (Festivals) has its own spe- “Sefer Hachinuch” offers a penetrating Aside from channeling the inherent cial character which finds insight into the connection between simcha of the climax of the agricultural expression in our prayers. simcha, the four species and this partic- year into a positive service of Hashem, ETwo of them are identified ular time of the year. the mitzvah of the four species, adds with the historical event they invite us This time of the year, he notes, is the Sefer Hachinuch, also acts as a to relive: Pesach is the “Season of our called the Festival of Ingathering. It is brake on the excesses which inevitably Freedom” because that is the time of a time of great joy for Jews, for it is the accompany human celebrations. the year when Hashem liberated us time for gathering grain and fruits from Hashem commanded us to take four from Egyptian bondage. Shavuot is the species from the world of agriculture, “Season of the Giving of the Torah” species which bring joy to the hearts of because that is the point on the calen- their holders and beholders, in order to dar when we stood at Sinai and became remind us that our festival celebration Hashem’s chosen people by being the “Today we can should be Heavenly directed and disci- only ones to accept this Torah sight plined. unseen. only experience An interesting parallel to this obser- Sukkot, however, is the “Season of vation may be drawn by recalling a our Simcha” for a reason not related to an echo of the study of alcoholism made almost half a history but rather to the command- century ago in New York State. By ments and services connected with this simcha which analyzing the backgrounds of a large Chag. While there is certainly an oblig- number of people admitted to hospitals ation for a Jew to be joyous on every took place in the in the state because of alcoholism, the Chag (in the time of the Beit Hamikdash researchers aimed to determine which through the eating of sacrificial meat Beit Hamikdash.” ethnic groups had the greatest tenden- and afterwards through meat, wine and cy to drinking too much. It did not fine clothing), there is a special stress come as much of a surprise that the on the simcha of Sukkot. Irish made up such a high percentage of “You shall rejoice before Hashem their fields into their homes, a cause for the patients. What did shock them was your G-d for seven days” commands great rejoicing. Hashem therefore that in a state with such a large popula- the Torah (Vayikra 23:40) in regard to commanded His people to celebrate a tion of Jews, their representation the mitzvah of taking the four species festival at that time in order to elevate amongst hospitalized drunks was so on Sukkot in the Beit Hamikdash. them by channeling that simcha to His tiny.

continued on page three 1 PARSHA OVERVIEW

BEREISHET world with immorality, idolatry and robbery, and Hashem n the beginning, Hashem creates the entire universe, resolves to bring a flood which will destroy all the earth’s Iincluding time itself, out of nothingness. This process of inhabitants except for the righteous Noach, his family and creation continues for six days. On the seventh day, sufficient animals to re-populate the earth. Hashem Hashem rests, bringing into existence the spiritual universe instructs Noach to build an ark. After forty days and nights, of Shabbat, which returns to us every seven days. Adam and the flood covers even the tops of the highest mountains. Chava — the Human pair — are placed in the Garden of After 150 days the water starts to recede. On the 17th day Eden. Chava is enticed by the serpent to eat from the for- of the 7th month, the ark comes to rest on Mount Ararat. bidden fruit of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” Noach sends out a raven and then a dove to ascertain if the and in turn gives the fruit to Adam. By absorbing “sin,” waters have abated. The dove returns. A week later Noach Adam and Chava render themselves incapable of remaining again sends the dove, which returns the same evening with in the spiritual paradise of Eden and are banished. Death an olive leaf in its beak. After another seven days Noach and hard work (both physical and spiritual) now enter the sends the dove once more; the dove does not return. world, together with pain bearing and raising children. Now Hashem tells Noach and his family to leave the ark. Noach begins the struggle to correct the sin of Adam and Chava, brings offerings to Hashem from the animals which were which will be the main subject of world history. Cain and carried in the ark for this purpose. Hashem vows never Hevel, the first two children of Adam and Chava, bring again to flood the entire world and designates the rainbow offerings to Hashem. Hevel gives the finest of his flock, and as a sign of this covenant. Noach and his descendants are his offering is accepted, but Cain gives inferior produce and now permitted to slaughter and eat meat, unlike Adam. his offering is rejected. In the ensuing quarrel, Cain kills Hashem commands the Seven Universal Laws: The prohi- Hevel and is condemned to wander the earth. The Torah bition against idolatry, adultery, theft, blasphemy, murder, traces the genealogy of the other children of Adam and eating meat torn from a live animal, and the obligation to set Chava, and the descendants of Cain, until the birth of up a legal system. The world’s climate is established as we Noach. After the death of Sheith, Mankind descends into know it today. Noach plants a vineyard and becomes intox- evil, and Hashem decides that He will blot out Man in a flood icated from its produce. Ham, one of Noach’s sons, delights which will deluge the world. However, one man, Noach, in seeing his father drunk and uncovered. Shem and Yafet, finds favor with however, manage to cover their father without looking at his Hashem. nakedness, by walking backwards. For this incident, Canaan is cursed to be a slave. The Torah lists the offspring of O H R N E T NOACH Noach’s three sons from whom the seventy nations of the t is ten generations world are descended. The Torah records the incident of the THE OHR SOMAYACH TORAH MAGAZINE ON THE INTERNET since the creation Tower of Bavel, which results in Hashem fragmenting com- Iof the first human. Published by munication into many languages and the dispersal of the OHR SOMAYACH TANENBAUM COLLEGE Adam’s descendants nations throughout the world. The Parsha concludes with POB 18103, Jerusalem 91180, Israel • 02-581-0315 have corrupted the the genealogy of Noach to Avram. General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman Editorial & Web Advisor: PARSHA INSIGHTS Rabbi Reuven Lauffer Associate Editor: Rabbi Reuven Subar BERESHET Contributing Writers Weekly Daf, Love of the Land: Rav Mendel Weinbach THE GOOD GOODS Insights, Overview: Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair “Able was a shepherd and Cain worked the ground. Cain brought from the (inferior) vegeta- Editorial Assistant: tion as an offering to G-d, while Able brought the first born of his flock and from their fattest Menashe Lewin ones.” (4:3,4) Web Production: Shimon Young wo brothers sailed across the sea. They had heard that in a distant land there Produced and Designed by the Office of Communications were unimaginably lucrative business opportunities; so, they borrowed as Rabbi Eliezer Shapiro, Director T much money as they could, obtained three-month visas, and sailed across the © 2001 OHR SOMAYACH INSTITUTIONS - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED sea to make their fortune.

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OHRNET is available from the following sources: The first brother descended upon the market place, buying the most beautiful • E-MAIL: silks, garments, gems, gold and silver jewelry, expertly crafted goods and artworks. Write to [email protected] for information. He bought as much as he could afford, a king’s ransom back in his home country, and • WORLD WIDE WEB: Our address is: www.ohr.edu he carefully stored everything in preparation for his return voyage. The other brother invested in real estate. His money bought him huge tracts of

continued on page three

2 PARSHA INSIGHTS continued from page two land, orchards, vineyards, fields of wheat and barley, fruits which has value only on earth for a good deed which he can and vegetables. He bought himself a great mansion to live in, pack up and take along when the whistle blows. a lovely garden with a brook running through it adjoining. With his remaining money he hired workers to tend his fields NOACH and orchards and to look after his household. At the end of three months, a great whistle sounded: The A WINDOW ON THE WORLD last ship home was about to leave! The first brother loaded “A window you shall make for the ark...” (6:16) his rich cargo onto the boat, but the other brother had noth- s any real estate agent will tell you, the three funda- ing to pack; all his money was invested in the ground. He mentals of real estate are: Location, location, loca- couldn’t stay in this land any longer, for his visa had expired; Ation. One of the things you can’t change about a prop- and besides, he yearned to return home to his family and erty is the view. A room with a view is a precious jewel. birthplace. He boarded the ship with nothing more than a When G-d instructed Noach to build the ark, He includ- few items he was able to gather at the last minute. ed specific instructions to include a tzohar. Tzohar has two The Midrash in this weeks parsha states that Cain and possible meanings. It can mean either a “precious stone” or Able agreed to divide the world between themselves: Cain a “window.” A precious stone might fill the ark with a beau- took all the land and Able took all the chattel, the moveable tiful light as the sun’s rays were refracted, bathing the inside property. What is this midrash telling us? of the ark with a multicolored glow. A precious stone is to There are two types of people: Those who see this let the light in. A window is to look out. But what were they world as an end in itself, and others who keep their eye on supposed to look out at? An empty waterscape of gray in their final destination. every direction? Cain, who brought the worst of his crop as an offering, is G-d wanted Noach to have a window on the world to see the former: Cain is so charmed with physical stuff that when the world’s destruction and have a feeling of pity. it’s time to do a good deed he can’t bear to part with any but In life, it’s easy to think if I’m okay — the world’s okay. the worst. He’s fully invested in this world. Life’s biggest jewel is to look out of our own arks and take Able, in contrast, offers G-d his very best, “the firstborn up the yoke and the heartaches of others. of his flock, from the fattest.” Able doesn’t look at it as Sources: divesting, he looks at it as investing. He trades a sheep • Rashi, Rabbi Rafael Stephansky

SUKKOT...continued from page one

This startling discovery impelled the his Sabbaths and festivals and adds a accompanied this mitzvah in the Beit researchers to make a study as to why special dimension to his wedding cere- Hamikdash, as do the music, dancing Jews don’t get drunk (Purim withstand- mony and the feasts which accompany and singing in the “Simchat Beit ing!). A couple of theories were pro- and follow it. When one uses drinking Hashoeva” celebrations in Eretz Yisrael posed by a sociologist they consulted. for reaching greater heights in his ser- offer us a taste of the simcha which One was that if you ever saw a Jewish vice of Hashem, one does not “become accompanied the real thing in the Beit mother stuffing her child with food you high” in the vulgar sense. Hamikdash. would realize that the outlet other eth- Simcha is truly a wonderful thing, Even though our simcha without a nic groups find in drinking, Jews find in especially on Sukkot. In the time of the Beit Hamikdash is far from complete, we eating. This theory was dismissed as an Beit Hamikdash this expressed itself as still have, in our mitzvot and our cus- unconvincing explanation, just as was well in the music, dancing and singing toms, an opportunity to link the simcha the one based on the premise that since which accompanied the “Simchat Beit inherent in our festival, especially one Jews are so self-conscious about their Hashoeva” drawing of water for the which is the “Season of our Simcha,” to minority status they are extra careful in libations on the altar which took place our service of Hashem. The lesson we avoiding the embarrassment of drink- only on Sukkot. Today we can only ing their way into the gutter. experience an echo of that simcha. can draw from this festival is how to What they finally decided upon as Even though the Torah commanded consecrate all of the occasions of sim- the only reasonable explanation sounds the taking of the four species outside cha in our lives — birth, marriage and like an echo of the Sefer Hachinuch’s the Beit Hamikdash only on the first day happy events — by channeling them comments on simcha. From the earliest of Sukkot, a decree was issued by Rabbi into opportunities for recognizing the moments in his life the Jew associates Yochanan ben Zakkai after the destruc- Divine source of our prosperity. Not spirits with the spirit. The wine at the tion of the Beit Hamikdash to take them only do we thus learn to discipline our brit of a baby boy or the kiddush cele- for all seven days wherever Jews find celebrations, but also to elevate them brating the birth of a baby girl contin- themselves. This provides us with an from ordinary “fun” into sacred “sim- ues to serve as the way a Jew ushers in opportunity to recall the simcha which cha.”

3 Historical and textual backgrounds for passages from Tanach for the seven pages of Talmud studied in the course of the worldwide Daf Yomi cycle. WEEKLY DAFootnotes BAVA KAMA 72 - 85

on the ruling of the Sages that if a man makes a vow to bring an FOUR DIMENSIONS OF CONSPIRACY olah sacrifice without specifying what sort of animal he will offer, he can fulfill his vow by bringing even a calf. Can the thief o not put your hand with a rasha (wicked person) to be therefore get away with making compensation with a calf? an unrighteous witness.” (Shmot 23:1) This is the The Sage Rava put forward this question in regard to a posi- Dsource for disqualifying certain sinners as witnesses. In tion taken by Rabbi Shimon (Bava Kama 76a). Rabbi Shimon our gemara it is cited in regard to the disqualification of people holds that when the Torah (Shmot 22:6) speaks of something who have been exposed as “eidim zomemim.” Eidim zomemim “being stolen from the house of the man” in regard to the are witnesses about whom other witnesses testify that they thief’s obligation of restitution, this includes even an animal were at an entirely different locale at the time they claim they which the victim has designated for fulfilling his sacrificial vow. saw the incident, such that there is no possibility of their testi- Since the man who made the vow must provide a substitute mony being true, and therefore they are considered wicked. animal should the designated one be lost or stolen, this sacrifi- But where is it indicated in this passage, whose literal mean- cial animal is considered his property; it is therefore to him, not ing is a prohibition against joining with a rasha to present testi- to the Sanctuary, that restitution must be made. mony, that the testimony of a rasha is not valid? On the one hand, states Rava, the thief can claim that he Our gemara is very cryptic in regard to this interpretation, need repay no more than a calf, as his victim is able to fulfill his and simply quotes four of the eight Hebrew words in this state- vow with this cheaper animal and will suffer no financial loss. ment to read “don’t make (a) rasha (a) witness.” Rambam, in On the other hand, the victim may argue that he was interest- his codification of these laws (Laws of Testimony 10:1), cites this ed in performing his good deed of bringing a sacrifice in a big passage in its complete form as a source for the prohibition way by offering an ox, and therefore he can insist on receiving against joining a rasha (whose identity is unknown to the court) a large animal for his compensation. in presenting testimony even though you know he is telling the Rava’s conclusion, that the thief can indeed get away with a truth, and against joining a witness who is not yet a rasha but is calf, led one of the early commentaries to an interesting ruling: testifying about something which he did not see and thereby If a man borrowed a very beautiful and very expensive etrog rendering false testimony. from his neighbor and lost it, he can compensate him with a It is clear from Rambam’s combining these concepts — the much cheaper etrog with which he can fulfill his mitzvah of the unacceptability of the testimony of a rasha with these two four species. This ruling is challenged by Rabbi Zvi Ashkenazi instances of conspiring with a rasha to create the impression of of Amsterdam in his “Responsa Chacham Zvi” (Responsum the testimony of two qualified witnesses — that all three points 102). He argues that, while it is true that in the case of the ani- are derived from the same passage. By instructing us to avoid mal designated for a sacrifice that the thief caused no financial joining the rasha in testimony, the Torah is essentially demand- loss to his victim, this is not so in the case of the expensive ing that we refrain from doing anything which will give force to etrog. Being that the etrog owner could have sold it at full value, the testimony of a rasha. The most basic application of this rule the borrower who lost it is obligated to compensate him in full is for the court to disqualify his testimony, and this is what the for depriving him of this option. gemara here means by “don’t make a rasha a witness.” The • Bava Kama 78b extended application is to the valid witness who is asked by the claimant to join a rasha whose identity or intended prevarica- BURGLARS AND ROBBERS tion is unknown to the court. An interesting extension of the three aforementioned appli- cations is raised by the commentaries. If someone is invited to he penalty of double payment which the Torah assigned testify about something he saw, yet he is aware that he has to the “ganav” — burglar — does not apply to the committed the sort of sin which disqualifies him as a rasha, he T“gazlan” — robber. Our Sages explain that the sneak- too is prohibited from testifying before the court, which is thief’s crime is graver because he demonstrates that he is more unaware of his status. He too is guilty of creating credibility for afraid of man than he is of Hashem. a rasha. What is an example, they ask, of the gazlan who robs his vic- • Bava Kama 72b tim in broad daylight and equates his lack of fear of Heaven with his lack of fear of man? Rabbi Yochanan cites the example of the people of Shechem STOLEN OX AND LOST ETROG who are described (Shoftim 9:25) as setting ambushes on the man makes a vow to bring an olah sacrifice and sets aside mountain tops and robbing everyone who passed before them. an ox for fulfilling his vow. The ox is subsequently stolen To understand who these robbers of Shechem were, we must Aand the thief wishes to make restitution by providing his return to the era of the shoftim — judges and leaders — who victim with a much smaller calf. The thief’s reasoning is based ruled Israel before there was a king.

continued on page five 4 Historical and textual backgrounds for passages from Tanach for the seven pages of Talmud studied in the course of the worldwide Daf Yomi cycle. WEEKLY DAFootnotes

Continued from page four BAVA KAMA 44 - 71

One of the Shoftim, Gideon, had 70 sons from his wives, womb of his mother. and a son, Avimelech, from his concubine in the city of Exactly when this celebration takes place is not mentioned Shechem. After his death, Avimelech gained the support of his in Tosefot. Rabbi Moshe Isserlis (Rema) in Shulchan Aruch, mother’s family and townsmen in Shechem in murdering all of Yore Deah (265:12), cites the opinion of the Terumat his brothers and establishing himself as the ruler of Shechem Hadeshen (269) that the celebration takes place “on the and all of Israel. After three years of his rule, Hashem punished Shabbat eve after the birth of a son, when people come to visit both Avimelech and his Shechemite conspirators by creating the home of the newborn.” This is what is called a “shalom dissention between them. The people of Shechem turned zachar.” against Avimelech and lay in ambush to slay him. These Several reasons are offered for the choice of this particular ambushes soon turned into instruments of robbery of anyone evening. The Terumat Hadeshen writes that this is the evening who passed by on the highway. when all people are home and capable of making the visit. In Rabbi Yochanan’s example of the Shechemite robbers is the midrash there is an approach that circumcision is compara- challenged by Rabbi Avahu: If the people of Shechem had to ble to offering a sacrifice, and no sacrifice, an actual animal one hide in their places of ambush, he argued, it is an indication that or a virtual human one, can be considered fit as an offering to they feared to be seen in the open and therefore can not come Hashem before experiencing the sanctity of one Shabbat. under the title of gazlan, the fearless daylight robber. Equal to Then, too, there is the explanation of the Drisha that the visit the challenge, Rabbi Yochanan responded that the Shechemites to the home of the newborn is actually a condolence call to were indeed fearless robbers; their reason for hiding in ambush console the baby who mourns for the Torah knowledge he for- was to avoid being seen in advance by their intended victims got. and causing them to flee. This last explanation, based on a gemara (Mesechta Niddah This same Rabbi Yochanan is quoted as ruling elsewhere that 30b) which states that while yet in his mother’s womb the baby an armed robber is considered a ganav despite his daylight is taught the entire Torah, and just as he enters the world an action because he subsequently hides himself in fear of being angel touches his mouth and causes him to forget it all, may caught, in contrast to the fearless gazlan. This sort of hiding, serve as a response to the challenge presented to this entire Tosefot points out, would have also forced us to place the concept of shalom zachar. Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, the rabbi Shechemites in the category of ganav if not for Rabbi of Prague and author of Responsa Noda Biyehuda, argues that Yochanan’s rejoinder that their concealment was not out of this cannot be a celebration of the safe birth of the child as fear of capture but out of concern that the victim would understood by Terumat Hadeshen, because we should then escape. make a similar celebration for the birth of a girl. He therefore • Bava Kama 79b leans towards explaining the “yeshua haben” in our gemara as the celebration (known in Sephardic circles as “brit Yitzchak”) on the night before the brit milah. CELEBRATION OR CONDOLENCE? But if we accept the aforementioned explanation regarding hen the Prophet Yeshayahu foresaw the miraculous the condolences for loss of Torah, we can easily distinguish manner in which Jews would all eventually return to between the son who is obligated to study Torah and the WEretz Yisrael, he compared it to the situation of a daughter who is not. woman in childbirth: “Before the pains of birth come, she will • Bava Kama 80a release a male child” (66:7). This is an analogy to the return of Jews to their land, barren of them for so many years, now vir- tually giving birth to them without pain because the nations of the world will bring them back to her. Dedicated in Memory of What does this passage have to do with the custom of Jews Avram Isaac ben Yehuda Leib o.b.m of Ashkenazi origin to make a shalom zachar party the Shabbat eve preceding the brit milah (circumcision) of a boy? The answer lies in our gemara’s account of an event involv- Ê’Œ ing the Sages Rav, Shmuel and Rabbi Asi who came together to a celebration called “yeshua haben.” Rashi explains this as a ŒÊ† ‰‰Œ „ƒ „‰  —‰†‰‰€ ˜€ feast celebrating the redemption (yeshua) of the first born son „ʐ™š  ™‡ ˜Ž ׁ (haben). Tosefot, however, cites Rabbeinu Tam who under- stands this term as a reference to the celebration made upon the birth of a son. He translates “yeshua” not as redemption .„..–..š but as release, a reference to the release mentioned in the above prophecy of Yeshaya — a release of the child from the

5 HAFTARA

BEREISHET You are what you do. G-d gave the Jewish People many Haftara: Yeshaya 42:5 - 43:10 mitzvot so we should constantly do holy acts. Through this, he haftara takes up the Parsha’s theme of Creation, we inevitably become holy and deserve eternal existence. stressing that the Creation was not just a primordial It’s not enough to think holy thoughts. Holy thoughts are T banished by unholy actions. However if a person does event but that Hashem creates the world anew at every second. Without this constant re-creation, the world mitzvot and studies Torah — even if his motivation is self- would cease to exist. serving — the mere process impacts his personality. He will Similarly, Hashem did not just create the world and then immediately change for the better. You become what you leave it to its own devices, like winding up a clock. Rather, do — not what you think. He involves Himself with the smallest event in creation. The • Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 16 haftara also mirrors the creation of Adam, the key player in Hashem’s purpose in creating the world, with the role of the NOACH Jewish People who are to be the key role-model for the Haftara: Yeshaya 54:1-10 world — a light unto the nations. n this week’s parsha G-d promises never to bring another Just as the parsha relates that Adam sins but is given the Iflood to destroy the world; so, too, the haftara carries G-d’s opportunity to redeem himself, so the haftara describes how promise never to exile the Jewish People after the redemp- the Jewish People falter and sin, yet, through Hashem’s tion from the current Exile of Edom. mercy, Israel is never abandoned, for they are the agents of The parsha depicts the terrible flood which destroys the Hashem’s original purpose. earth and its myriad creatures. It looks like the end, but it is, in reality, the beginning. Out of the ashes of a degenerate world sprouts the seed of Noach. YOU ARE WHAT YOU DO Similarly, the destruction of the first Beit Hamikdash and “Hashem desires for the sake of His righteousness that the Jewish People’s dispersal were like a “flood” which the Torah be made great and glorious.” (42:21) seemed a total disaster. The Prophet Yeshaya tells that, rather than the ruin of the hy are there so many mitzvot? Do this. Don’t nation, this was its preservation, and like a mother left lone- “Wdo that. Isn’t it enough just to think holy ly and grieving, Zion will be comforted when the exile has thoughts? Why do we have to do so many achieved its appointed task of purification, and her children things?” return to her.

LOVE OF THE LAND: THE PEOPLE Selections from classical Torah sources which express the special relationship between the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael

NOACH — THE PERPETUAL ALTAR

hen Noach finally emerged from the ark follow- Cain and Hevel, brought their offerings. Wing the Deluge, he built an altar to Hashem and This great altar was also the scene of history’s sacrificed upon it some of the animals he had greatest sacrificial gesture, that of Avraham binding his been told to offer refuge from the flood waters. beloved son Yitzchak as an offering. All this was done He did not actually construct this altar, say our on Mount Moriah where eventually the Beit Hamikdash Sages, but rather decided upon an existing altar as would be built and the descendants of Adam, Noach, the one most suited for his post-deluvian offering. Avraham and Yitzchak would offer their sacrifices upon This was the “great altar in Yerushalayim” upon which an altar that they built. Adam had brought a sacrifice and upon which his sons,

6 PARSHA Q&A ?

Bereishet 11. Why was man made from dust gathered from the 1. Why does the Torah start with the account of Creation? entire earth? 2. What happened to the light that was created on the first 12. How is man superior to the animals? day? 13. Why was it not good that man be alone? 3. Why isn’t the word “good” associated with the second day? 14. Where do we learn that one must not add to a com- 4. How was the wood of the trees supposed to taste? mandment from Hashem? 5. On which day were the sun and moon created? 15. What does it mean that Adam and Chava “knew that 6. Hashem blessed the birds to be fruitful and to multiply. they were naked?” Why did He not do so for the beasts? 16. Why did Hevel choose to be a shepherd? 7. In whose likeness was man fashioned? 17. What was the marital practice of the generation who 8. What kind of food did Adam eat? lived before the flood? 9. Why is “the sixth day” written with the definite article 18. What did Tuval-Cain invent? “the”? 19. Why did Chanoch die at a young age? 10. At the end of the sixth day what was the world still 20. What was the sign that Shem was born with great lacking? propensity for righteousness?

PARSHA Q&A!

Answers to Bereishet’s Questions! All references are to the verses and Rashi’s commentary unless otherwise stated.

1. 1:1 - So that when the nations accuse us of stealing Eretz 11. 2:7 - So that wherever he might die, the earth would Canaan from the Canaanites, we can respond that Hashem, receive his body. as Creator, has the right to give the land to whomever He 12. 2:7 - He was given understanding and speech. sees fit, and He gave Eretz Canaan to us. 13. 2:18 - If he were alone, he would appear to be a god; The 2. 1:4 - Hashem saw that the wicked would be unworthy of it creation of woman emphasized man’s dependence. so He hid it for the righteous. 14. 3:3 - From Chava. Hashem commanded not to eat from 3. 1:7 - Because the work with the water wasn’t completed the tree, but she added not to touch it. Because she until the third day. Anything that is incomplete is not added to the command she eventually came to transgress “good.” it. 4. 1:11 - The wood was to have the taste of the fruit. 15. 3:7 - They had been given one commandment and they 5. 1:14 - They were created on the first day and suspended in had stripped themselves of it. the firmament on the fourth day. 16. 4:2 - Since the ground had been cursed he refrained from 6. 1:22 - He did not want the serpent, who was to be cursed, cultivating it. to receive a blessing. 17. 4:19 - They married two wives, one with whom to have 7. 1:26 - In the likeness of the angels. children. The other one was given a potion which pre- 8. 1:30 - Vegetation. vented her from bearing children. 9. 1:31 - “The” in Hebrew is the letter hey, which has a 18. 4:22 - Murder weapons. numerical value of five. Hashem created the world on the 19. 5:22 - Though he was righteous, he was easily influenced; condition that it will endure only if the Jewish People therefore Hashem took him before his time to protect him accept the Five Books of the Torah. from sinning. 10. 2:2 - Rest. 20. 5:32 - He was born already circumcised.

I DIDN’T KNOW THAT! Bereishet

All 49 “gates of understanding” which exist in the world were given by Hashem to Moshe. And all 49 are written in the Torah; some are written explicitly, some are hinted in the words, some are hinted in the gematria (numerical values) or in the shapes of the letters, or in the “crowns,” the ornamental frills written on top of the letters. All of King Solomon’s wisdom came to him through the Torah. • Ramban, Introduction to the Torah

7 PARSHA Q&A ?

Noach Hashem do to protect him? 1. Parshat Noach begins by describing Noach as “perfectly 10. What grouping of creatures escaped the punishment of righteous.” Yet later in the parsha, Hashem says to the flood? Noach “For I have seen that you are righteous” but not 11. How deeply was the ark submerged in the water? “perfectly” righteous. Why not? 12. What did the olive branch symbolize? 2. What sin sealed the fate of the flood generation? 13. When did humans receive permission to eat meat? 3. Why did Hashem tell Noach to build an ark, as opposed 14. What prohibition was given along with the permission to to saving him via some other method? eat meat? 4. The ark had three levels. What function did each level 15. Why does the command to “be fruitful and multiply” serve? directly follow the prohibition of murder? 5. What indication do we have that Noach was familiar with 16. Name two generations in which the rainbow never the Torah? appeared. 6. Why did Hashem postpone bringing the flood for seven 17. Why did Noach curse Canaan specifically? Give two rea- days? sons. 7. The flood began “in the second month.” What is the sec- 18. Why does the Torah call Nimrod a mighty hunter? ond month? 19. The sin of the generation of the dispersion was greater 8. Why did the first water of the flood come down as light than the sin of the generation of the flood. Why was the rain? punishment of the former less severe? 9. What did people say that threatened Noach, and what did 20. Why was Sarah also called Yiscah?

PARSHA Q&A! Answers to Noach’s Questions! All references are to the verses and Rashi’s commentary unless otherwise stated.

1. 7:1 - Because one should not tell the entire praise of a per- 12. 8:11 - Nothing. It was a leaf, not a branch. (The olive leaf son in his presence. symbolized that it’s better to eat food “bitter like an olive” 2. 6:13 - Robbery. but which comes directly from Hashem, rather than sweet 3. 6:14 - So that people would see Noach building the ark and food provided by humans.) ask him what he was doing. When Noach would answer, 13. 9:3 - After the flood. “Hashem is bringing a flood,” it might encourage some peo- 14. 9:4 - The prohibition of eating a limb cut from a living ani- ple to repent. mal. 4. 6:16 - The top level housed the people, the middle level 15. 9:7 - To equate one who purposely abstains from having housed the animals, and the bottom level, the refuse. children to one who commits murder. 5. 7:2 - Hashem told him to take into the ark seven of each 16. 9:12 - The generation of King Chizkiyahu and the genera- kosher-type animal, and two of each non-kosher type. tion of Shimon bar Yochai. “Kosher” and “non-kosher” are Torah concepts. 17. 9:22,24 - Because Canaan is the one who revealed Noach’s 6. 7:4 - To allow seven days to mourn the death of disgrace to Ham. And because Ham stopped Noach from Mesushelach. fathering a fourth son. Thus, Noach cursed Ham’s fourth 7. 7:11 - Rabbi Eliezar says Marcheshvan; Rabbi Yehuda says son, Canaan. Iyar. 18. 10:9 - He used words to ensnare the minds of people, per- 8. 7:12 - To give the generation a chance to repent. suading them to rebel against Hashem. 9. 7:13,15 - People said, “If we see him going into the ark, we’ll 19. 11:9 - They lived together peacefully. smash it!” Hashem surrounded it with bears and lions to kill 20. 11:29 - The word “Yiscah” is related to the Hebrew word any attackers. “to see.” Sarah was called Yiscah because she could “see” 10. 7:22 - The fish. the future via prophecy. Also, because of her beauty, every- 11. 8:4 - Eleven amot. one would gaze at her.

I DIDN’T KNOW THAT! Noach

The Rainbow symbolizes the idea that the world deserves destruction, but Hashem “holds back” due to His promise to Noach. The rainbow’s shape hints to this idea, since it is like an archer’s bow. This symbolizes that the world deserves to be devastated as though by an armed warrior. However, the bow of the rainbow points upwards, away from the earth. This is as though the archer is pointing the bow away from his victim, symbolizing that Hashem will not destroy the world.

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more than skin deep! FRUIT FLAVOR Hashem should bless you that your tree grow tall and strong From: Chaya-Brurya and that you continue to be involved in kind deeds for many, Dear Rabbi, many more years to come! When my 3-year old, 5-foot tall and lovely etrog tree suffered a bug infestation last winter, I sprayed a mixture of soap and water on the leaves because I was reluctant to use carcinogenic commercial RAVENS AND DOVES plant sprays. (I make etrog jelly each year for childless women, as From: Bill Thompson in Riverside, CA etrog is known as a “segula” for childbearing.) I did too good a job, Dear Rabbi, however, and all the leaves fell off from their soapy shower. Why, if Noah released the raven, breaking the pair, how did ravens return to populate? After all, didn’t one mate “disappear?” I couldn’t bear to part with the naked branches of the tree I’d nur- tured all these years. I kept the tree in my dining room, near the Dear Bill Thompson, sunny wintertime windows, hoping for an agricultural miracle. This The raven didn’t do its appointed task; rather, it flew “back past spring, a lone green shoot sprang near the base of the sickly and forth (from the ark) until the drying of the water from the plant. Today, a trio of bright green leaves appeared on an upper land.” (Genesis 8:7) So, the pair was never broken up. branch that is otherwise brown and dry. The situation reminds me Furthermore, the female raven may have already been of techiat hamaitim, resurrection of the dead, especially since etrog “pregnant” with a fertilized egg. Some indeed suggest that, symbolizes the human “heart.” It also reminds me of emunah, knowing this, Noach chose specifically the raven. faith, since I had hopes that the tree could revive (despite the As for the dove, which did fly away, the verse says that despairing sighs of visitors). Does an etrog have other symbolism to Noach took seven of each kosher species of bird aboard the be aware of? ark; thus, there was no concern of doves dying out, as there Dear Chaya-Brurya, were six left. According to Jewish Tradition the etrog tree is very special. Still, I have heard a midrash to the effect that this dove was There is an opinion in the Talmud that the Tree of Knowledge reunited with its mate after all the birds were released from the was the etrog tree. One of the things that makes it so special is ark. that the bark is of the same flavor as the fruit. When G-d cre- ated the world, His original command was that the trees as well Sources: as the fruit be edible. The etrog tree is the tree that symbolizes • Genesis 7:2,3; Rashi, ibid. • Genesis 8:12 this ideal relationship that is supposed to exist between • See Tikunei Zohar, Esrin V’chad V’esrin, 58b mankind and nature. (Of course mankind has proved over and over again that we are so destructive that if trees were edible we would have uprooted them ages ago!) THE FLAMING SWORD The etrog fruit itself is also chock-a-block full of symbolism. According to early sources the etrog symbolizes the heart (its From: Roland Ndayahoze in Montreal, Quebec shape is reminiscent of the heart). The importance of the heart Dear Rabbi, is that it both receives blood and pumps blood into the system. When Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden, the That is, it gives as much as it takes! Aside from that there is a book of Genesis says that an angel guards the Tree of Life with a very famous statement of the sages that each one of the four flaming sword. I read an incredible explanation that this angel is species represents a different kind of Jew. The etrog, having the evil inclination which distracts and invades the mind, keeping both a beautiful smell and taste, represents those Jews who one’s mind from G-d. What does the flaming sword stand for? have both good deeds and Torah knowledge. In effect the etrog symbolizes what it is that we should aspire to be! Dear Roland Ndayahoze, There is a fascinating midrash which relates that the wife of The evil inclination often appears to us like a “good little Potiphar, being upset at her inability to seduce Yosef, began to angel.” But it comes hand in hand with the destructive force of look less than her normally well-groomed and beautiful self. a flaming, double edged sword. It cuts both ways. Her friends became concerned so she invited them round to Sometimes people sin thinking they will get pleasure. Other her house to show them the reason. As they were all sitting times, they think the sin itself is a mitzvah or good deed. Think around eating etrogim, Potiphar’s wife called Yosef to come into of the hijackers who recently killed thousands in New York, the room. Washington, and near Pittsburgh. Their evil inclination con- Before she had a chance to warn her friends, they had all cut vinced them that they were doing a good deed. their fingers with the sharp knives they were using to peel their The Talmud says that the evil inclination is also the angel of etrogim, because they were completely transfixed by Yosef’s death: It lures a person way from G-d, then destroys him. beauty! The symbolism is impossible to miss: Yosef would not succumb to the advances of Potiphar’s wife precisely because Sources: he was an etrog (if one can say such a thing)! His beauty was • See Targum Yonatan, Genesis 3:22

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9 WWW.ASKtheRABBI.ORG continued from page 9 word “Adam,” man, has the same root as the word “adama,” HEART STRINGS earth. Man, who is made from adama, justifies his existence From: Stacia from Miami, FL by bringing out the potential of the adama. Thousands of Dear Rabbi, years later, you and I are still planting seeds in the earthly I don’t understand why I should pray, if G-d already knows what- ground, justifying our own existence. The earth still needs to ever it is that I need. (I have prayed before in my life, sponta- be plowed, planted, and watered to bring out its innate good- neously, and at times I have been answered positively. But my ness. How is this expressed in practice? We build a home, question is still, why?) raise children, and concern ourselves with the improvement of society. As Jews, we study Torah and build the world Dear Stacia, through chesed (acts of kindness) by caring for those in need. To address your question, I’m sending you an adaptation of And we, too, feel inadequate. the first chapter of Rabbi Menachem Nissel’s new book enti- We need rain. We pray for rain three times a day. The tled Rigshei Lev: Sukkot festival revolves around the need for rain. Even in our modern, non-agrarian society, rain remains the magine Adam Harishon, the first human, opening his eyes everlasting symbol of earth’s dependence on heaven. The for the very first time. How do we picture it? He sees a Hebrew word for rain, geshem, is related to the word gashmi, Ibeautiful lush garden, a panoply of color, a gorgeous array physical. Rain symbolizes “ruchaniyut shehitgashem,” the of flowers, vegetation, and trees. The first moment of man is transformation of the spiritual into the physical. When we a visual delight, a celebration of existence. look heavenward for our many needs — for health, success in Wrong! Let’s try again. business, protection, etc. — we are asking for the transfor- Chazal (the Sages) teach us that Adam Harishon opens his mation of the spiritual into the physical; we are asking for rain. eyes and sees a bleak and barren world. No colors. No flow- ers, vegetation, or trees. He is surrounded with desolation, The Ultimate Pleasure an earth forlorn in hues of brown and gray. Adam looks Why, though, did Hashem create us with deficiencies deeply into himself and understands that in order to survive, which we must pray to fulfill? he must nurture and build the world around him. This will The answer is astonishing. Although it seems totally ultimately justify the purpose of his creation. He looks at the counter-intuitive, all our problems are in fact nothing more miserable earth and recognizes his total inadequacy to fulfill than a means to have a relationship with Hashem. Every chal- his task. He feels a deep emptiness, an existential void; he has lenge, pain, and moment of suffering, from the anguish of been created incomplete for his task. Adam Harishon when he opened his eyes for the very first Adam looks heavenward and he does something that rep- time to the agony of the birth pains of the messianic era, they resents the most basic instinct of humanity, something that all exist so that man can connect to G-d. The act of prayer is connects all of mankind in every culture and in every age. not a solution to man’s inadequacy, rather, man’s inadequacy The lowly thief as he breaks into his victim’s house will also is an opportunity for prayer. do it. It will be perfected by the Avot (Abraham, Isaac and Our challenge is to internalize this crucial point. When life Jacob) and purified by the kohen gadol (high priest) as he seems to be good we sometimes see prayer as a chore, part enters the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. He does some- of our daily ritual, which we squeeze in between brushing our thing that connects him to the last tear shed for the coming teeth and breakfast. When life seems to be bad we rush to of mashiach. our prayer books to solve our problems. Yet, all life’s events He prays. are just roads to prayer. When the road is smooth, G-d is Within moments, the rains come pouring down; earth’s challenging us to acknowledge that we can take nothing for goodness bursts forth and becomes the glorious Garden of granted, that we are totally dependent on Him. And when Eden. the road is rocky, G-d is giving us the opportunity for extra Man has prayed. God has answered. intensity in prayer, to achieve an even higher level of closeness The rest of history follows in much the same pattern. The to Him. • Rigshei Lev (Targum Press) can be purchased at www.feldheim.com

KASHA! (KASHA MEANS QUESTION) NOACH

“Take for yourself all edible food and it will be for you and for them (the animals) for food.” (6:21) The halacha that one must feed his animals before he himself eats we derive from the verse “And I will provide grass in the field for your animals, and you will eat and be satisfied” (Deuteronomy 11:15); first “grass for the animals” and only afterwards “you will eat and be satisfied.” Why, then, is Noach instructed to bring food “for you (humans)” and only afterwards “for them,” the animals? Shouldn’t it be the opposite? Answer: The halacha requiring a person to feed his animals before he eats applies only to animals that he owns. But before the flood, man was not allowed to eat animals, and therefore he did not own the animals in as full a sense as he did after the flood. Thus, he was allowed to eat before them. • Maharil Diskin

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