Parshat Noach 5781
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in this week’s parsha, at the end of the first pasuk, es Ha’Elokim Hishalech Noach; Noach walked with Hashem. Rashi comments that this statement contrasts with the pasuk regarding Avraham, where it says (Chapter 24, Pasuk 40), Asher His’halachti Lefanav. Avraham walked before Hashem, while Noach walked with Him. What is the deeper meaning of this distinction between Noach and Avraham?
The Medrash Rabbah on our parsha (30, 10) compares Noach and Avraham’s relationship with Hashem to a king and two friends. He sees one friend who is sinking into the quicksand. The king immediately calls out to him and tells him he will walk with him and save him. In the other metaphor, the king is walking through dark alleyways and he notices the friend peering through the window shedding light on the king. The king, says to him, why look from afar (i.e. Ur Kasdim), come closer to me and there will be greater light; Lech Lecha and come to Eretz Yisrael.
The examples brought by the Medrash are meant to illustrate the different ways Noach and Avraham responded to the world. Noach was an Ish Tzadik, and as a result, he had great difficulty in confronting the world. For Noach, the physical Olam Hazeh was like quicksand; he was afraid he would sink in and be influenced by the wicked people in the world. Hence, Hashem told him to walk with Him and he would save him. This is what the pasuk means when it says Noach Ish Tzadik… es Ha’Elokim Hishalech Noach. His righteousness needed to be held up by Gd.
The Sfas Emes teaches that this explains the statement of the Tikunei Zohar Noach Da Shabbos. Noach represents the midah of Shabbos, a world of Kedushah and holiness. He struggled with the challenges of the physical world, of light and darkness mixed together. He tried to rebuke the people of his generation (see the Medrash Rabbah 31, 3), but was not successful. As a result, he feared for his life, both physically and spiritually.
In contrast to Noach, Avraham Avinu saw the King in the dark alleyways of the world. He realized the holiness and light of Hashem could be experienced in the darkness of this world. He used the windows and cracks of light available in the world to shed light on the King. As the pasuk says in Shir HaShirim (Chapter 2, Pasuk 9), Mashgiach min Ha’Chalonos, Matzitz min Ha’Charakim; watching from the windows and peering through the cracks. And he attempted to bring this light to others as well.
The Sfas Emes teaches that Avraham Avinu was a man of chesed, Lifnim Ma’Shuras Ha’Din. He went beyond the letter of the law required by Halacha. The Gemara in Erchin 16B asks, Ad Heichan Tochacha? To what extent is one obligated to rebuke his friend who is doing something wrong? The Gemara brings the positions of Rav and Shmuel. Rav says until he gets hit; Shmuel says until he is cursed.
Avraham Avinu went past both limits. The Gemara in Pesachim 118A teaches that Nimrod threw Avraham into the fiery furnace. This is certainly well beyond the limit of getting hit; only a miracle from Hashem saved him. And he was certainly cursed. How do we know? Hashem tells Avraham in the beginning of Lech Lecha (Chapter 12, Pasuk 3), U’Mekalelcha A’or; those who curse you shall be cursed. Certainly if Hashem needed to defend Avraham in such a manner, it was an indication that many had cursed Avraham Avinu.
This is why Avraham is referred to as Asher His’halachti Lefanav. Where Noach saw quicksand, Avraham saw flashes of great light. He blazed ahead a trail of light and awareness of Hashem’s presence in the world. And he did this with great Mesirus Nefesh and beyond the letter of the law. For Hashem created the world with chesed by limiting his Kedushah and thereby creating the physical world, as the pasuk says (Tehillim, Chapter 99, Pasuk 3) Olam Chesed Yibaneh. And Avraham responded in kind by allowing others to see the presence of the Divine in the dark, narrow alleyways of Olam Hazeh. Mashgiach min Ha’Chalonos, Matzitz min Ha’Charakim.
Good Shabbos
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