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Torah Portion -
Noach
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Written by d fine
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After the flood is all over and Noach brings his korbanos after setting foot onto dry land for the first time in a while, HaShem promises not to bring such a deluge upon the earth again. The pasuk says (8:21) ‘And HaShem said to Himself ‘I shall no further curse the ground because of man (man’s deeds) - for man’s inclination is evil from its youth.’ What exactly is going on here; why should the fact that HaShem has dubbed man as ‘evil’ mean that he does not deserve future punishment? Rashi and the Sforno make similar points to answer this question. Rashi says that HaShem was saying that since our yetzer hara comes into us at birth - whilst the yetzer hatov does not become part of us until years later - we are ‘not fully to blame’ for any wicked actions that we might do. Similarly, the Sforno writes that the natural climate of the post-flood world changed in that it was less conducive to following one’s (spiritual) sechel. Thus, again, HaShem was saying that ‘it’s not our fault that we’re so bad
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Torah Portion -
Noach
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Written by d fine
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After the flood, HaShem gives special permission for Noach to eat meat (9:3). As Rashi underlines, Adam HaRishon was forbidden to eat meat, as were all other men forbidden to eat meat. What changed? One answer given is that the climate and nutritional makeup of the earth changed after the flood (remember, the flood was hot water, by the way). Thus, whereas man could previously survive on eating plants, they no longer proved nutritionally wholesome and energy-providing to keep man going - so eating meat was given the go-ahead. The Chizkuni takes another approach. He answers that since the animals now owed their lives to Noach for keeping them alive (and thus ensuring their survival) in the ark, he was allowed to eat them for food
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Torah Portion -
Noach
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Written by Rafi Jager
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In this week’s Parsha, Parshat Noach, the Torah tells us of 2 generations of sinners, The Dor Hamabul (the generation of the flood), and the Dor Haflagah (the generation of division). The Dor Hamabul lost their fear in Hashem. They partook in all types of immoral and destructive activity, as the Torah states, ותמלא הארץ חמס “The Earth was filled with robbery” (6:11). In short, the description of the Dor Hamabul is very bad. Yet, the Dor Haflaga is even worse. The Dor Haflaga lost themselves even more. They rebelled directly against Hashem’s authority. They attempted to build a tower, go up to Heaven, and conquer the heavens (Bereishit Rabbah 38:7). This is defiance at its peak. However, if we
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Torah Portion -
Noach
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Written by Rafi Jager
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Rashi says that we see from the words "MiKol HaChai" (Noach 6:19) that even Sheidim were admitted to the Teivah. The Daas Zikeinim MiBaalei HaTosfos brings a Medrash that says that Sheker, the liar, came to Noach and asked to be admitted to the Teivah. Noach told him that only couples are allowed in the Teivah and Sheker has no mate. Sheker then went and found Pechas, the koach that makes people lose their money. Sheker asked Pechas if it would become its spouse so that they can be admitted into the Teivah. Pechas asked Sheker
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Torah Portion -
Noach
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Written by Rabbi Don Moskovitz
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"And they came (the pure creatures) to the ark seven by seven, male and female" G-d's command was that only the pure (kosher species) creatures be taken seven each of male and female, yet the impure creatures (non-kosher species) be taken only two each, male and female each...
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