Noach
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in the first pasuk in this week’s parsha, Eileh Toldos Noach, Noach Ish Tzadik, etc. The Torah begins by indicating it is going to list the offspring of Noach, but it mentions instead the righteousness of Noach. Rashi responds by teaching us that “Ikar Toldoseihem shel Tzadikim Mitzvos U’Ma’asim Tovim”. The main legacy a person leaves behind are his mitzvoth and good deeds. These are the true “offspring” of a person.
One might ask, what is this emphasis on leaving behind a legacy? Why is it significant to leave behind descendants or good deeds?
The Sfas Emes teaches that this is the fundamental role of man in the world. Hashem created the world with a light of holiness and it’s essential for all of us to spread this light further. The creative process man needs to be involved in is to spread holiness and awareness of Gd’s presence in the world. This is accomplished by having children and teaching them to follow in the ways of the Torah, but Rashi teaches that it is primarily accomplished through mitzvoth and good deeds.
This process has an apparently contradictory nature. Our process needs to be one of expansion and growth of holiness, but it is accomplished only by stepping back and realizing our limitations and understanding we need Hashem’s help in all we accomplish. The moving forward can only be accomplished by first stepping back and focusing on our dependence on Hashem.
The classic illustration of this can be seen on Shabbos. The Zohar Hakadosh teaches that Noach is connected to Shabbos. The Sfas Emes teaches that this idea can be understood from a pasuk we read last week in parshat Bereishis. The Torah states (Chapter 2, Pasuk 3), Vayevarech Elokim es Yom Ha’Shvi’I Vayekadesh Oso. Gd blessed the Shabbos and made it holy. Rashi explains, Beircho b’Mahn, V’Kidsho b’Mahn. The blessing of the mahn was in that a double portion fell before Shabbos, and the holiness was in that there was no mahn on Shabbos itself. The Zohar asks, if there was no mahn on Shabbos, where do we see a bracha of mahn on Shabbos. There can’t be both a refraining from the mahn and a bracha of addition to the mahn at the same time!
The Zohar Hakadosh answers that both the bracha and the kedushah stem from Shabbos. Since there was a kedushah on Shabbos that no mahn fell, this enabled Shabbos itself to be a source of bracha for the rest of the week. The fact there was an expression of cessation and shevisah on Shabbos, this enabled Shabbos to be the source of bounty and expansion for the rest of the week, and caused a double portion of mahn to fall on Erev Shabbos.
This is the explanation of the connection between Noach and Shabbos. This same point is taught by Noach. Noach taught us that Ikar Toldoseihem shel Tzadikim Mitzvos U’Ma’asim Tovim. The main way be creative and produce a legacy in this world is by subjugating ourselves to the dictates of the Torah. This is the p’shat in the words Ikar Toldoseihem, the main hispashtus and expansion outward is by first stepping back and understanding our limitations and dependence on Gd and His Torah. Certainly having children and raising them in the path of Torah is an essential part of our hispashtus in this world. But people sometimes can have children for other reasons as well. It can fulfill some selfish need of asserting themselves and their family name. It doesn’t express Ikar Toldoseihem shel Tzadikim. But when one does mitzvoth and ma’asim tovim, it expresses a devotion and subservience to Hashem which is an essential prerequisite to spreading holiness and Torah. And as we just explained, this parallels the process of Shabbos containing a stepping back from mahn, and yet a bounty of mahn at the same time. The acceptance of the restrictions of Shabbos creates the bracha of Shabbos.
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