Someone Finally Listened to God…..Noach — and Rosh Chodesh and the Temple

 

The Temple Institute

Noach did so; just as G-d commanded him, so he did"

 

(Genesis 6:22)

 

Cheshvan 2, 5786/October 24, 2025

 

Noach, among his other well deserved claims to fame, is the first man in recorded history to actually do as G-d told him to do. Adam, together with Chava (Eve), defied G-d's single prohibition. Cain was not able to pull himself up out of his spiritual malaise, despite G-d's pep talk, (“Sin couches at the door; Its urge is toward you, yet you can be its master." Genesis 4:7) Nor was he honest with G-d when questioned as to Abel's whereabouts. 

And this is where the Torah leaves off recording any spoken words between G-d and man. Until, of course, this week's Torah reading, the second reading from Genesis, in which G-d, having discovered a righteous man in Noach, instructs him to build an ark and thereby save himself, his family and the animal kingdom from extinction. And how does Noach respond? "Noach did so; just as G-d commanded him, so he did." (ibid 6:22) With that simple act of following G-d's instructions, Noach made a giant leap for mankind. At last - man listens and does! 

 

G-d's instructions for building the ark are quite complex and the building of the ark itself was extremely time consuming. It took Noach one hundred and twenty years to complete his task! He never wavered during all those years in his dedication to completing the job that G-d had given him. He never strayed from any of the details of his task, nor second guessed anything G-d told him. Significantly, the Torah does not record a single word spoken by Noach to G-d, or to any one else, during the entire time of his preparations for the flood. He was totally consumed by his mission: build an ark and save humanity! For that we literally owe Noach our lives. For that we are eternally grateful.

 

G-d had despaired of man ever coming around, which is why He brought on the flood in the first place. But Noach, a single righteous man among a generation of depraved sinners, gave G-d hope for a better tomorrow. Noach gathered all the beasts onto the ark, just as G-d commanded him. He and his wife, his three sons and their wives all boarded the ark.  HaShem shut the door and away they went, buoyed by the rising waters. We don't hear a peep out of Noach as the heavens open and all dry land is submerged beneath the turbulent waters. 

Just when it seems that the situation can get no bleaker, "G-d remembered Noach." (ibid 8:1) The waters begin to subside and after sending out reconnaissance missions via the raven and then the dove, Noach and his family and all the animals step out of the ark and onto dry land. Mission completed. The taciturn Noach has saved the world. Neither turning to the right nor the left, Noach literally, "walked with G-d,"(ibid 6:9) step by step, on land, at sea, and once again on land. G-d at last had the partner in man that He longed for and hoped for in the being that He created in His image. It was, however, a silent partnership. G-d had found someone He could talk to and be heard by, but Noach offered no words in response. He did as he was told and kept silent.

 

Following the flood Noach took the initiative and acted independently for the first time in his life: "Noach built an altar to HaShem and, taking of every pure animal and of every pure bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar." (ibid 8:20) Noach takes his first, (and ultimately, only), step in building a relationship with HaShem. G-d, addressed to this point by the name Elokim, was a G-d to be listened to, a stern G-d, a G-d who could create and also destroy. But G-d has another side, a compassionate, loving, forgiving and listening G-d, referred to in Torah by the divine name, HaShem. 

This is the name the Torah refers to when HaShem lovingly shut the door of the ark, making certain its passengers were safely inside. And this is the aspect of G-d to whom Noach now, in an unprecedented act of thanks, makes an offering. Yet again, a reason for G-d to be hopeful for His future relationship with man. G-d, who regretted creating man, now vows to Noach that He will never ever again threaten man with a flood. Those days are over. G-d has come to accept that man is highly imperfect, ("since the devisings of the human mind are evil from youth" ibid 8:21), but, nevertheless, possesses the innate ability to be better, to improve, to do good. 

Noach's final days would be tragically tainted by a family crisis, brought upon by his own uncharacteristic act of getting drunk. His active relationship with G-d ended shortly after leaving the ark. But not before G-d blessed Noach and all his descendants forever, with a covenant to guide all mankind forever. G-d had also learned that man simply cannot go it alone. Man, as we all know, needs to be told the dos and don'ts of life. 

 

It would be ten more generations of man and yet more misbehaving by man, deserving of and receiving a harsh punishment, referring, of course, to the tower of Bavel affront to G-d. But this time the punishment wasn't merely punitive. It also laid the foundation for the future development of mankind into diverse nations all of whom could turn to G-d in good times and in bad. 

 

But only at parashat Noach's conclusion are we introduced to the man who will transform man's relationship with G-d forever. Named by his father, Avram, and later renamed by G-d, Avraham, he will not only listen and do as G-d tells him, he will talk to G-d, question G-d, argue with G-d and walk before HaShem. And Avraham will also, unlike Noach, open a dialogue with his fellow man, friend and foe, inviting them in and sharing with them his fellowship with G-d. Avraham is the spiritual father of us all. But without the righteous Noach who saved man from physical destruction, we would never have been blessed by the appearance of Avraham, who forged man's spiritual connection to G-d and the world that He created.

 

ROSH CHODESH CHESHVAN: CHESHVAN OR MARCHESHVAN?

The name of the month Cheshvan, like all the other months in the Hebrew calendar, were adopted by the Jews exiled in Babylon, following the destruction of the first Holy Temple. In many ancient Jewish texts, such as the Mishna and the Talmud, the month is referred to as Cheshvan. Yet other ancient texts refer to the month as Marcheshvan. Either name is acceptable.

Our sages have come up with different ways of interpreting the prefix "mar." Mar means bitter in Hebrew. One understanding is that Cheshvan is seen as being bitter because unlike the festival filled month of Tishrei which precedes it, Cheshvan is void of major holidays. 

Others point out that mar also means a drop of water, as in Isaiah 40:15: "Behold the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and like dust on a balance are they counted; behold the islands are like fine dust that blows away." Seen in this light, the prefix mar may be referring to the onset of the rainy season which begins in Cheshvan.

Still another understanding of the mar of Marcheshvan is the fact that mar also means "mister," or "master" in Hebrew. Understanding Marcheshvan in this light grants a certain measure of formality and respect to the month of Cheshvan. This may be a nod to the Midrashic understanding that the future Holy Temple, (may it be built soon!) will be dedicated in the month of Cheshvan, forever transforming the bitter to the sweet!

Noach - Earning God's Compassion

 

 

 Why did Hashem want Noach to essentially act as a zookeeper for the year he resided on the ark? Does Hashem have compassion on the animals? Why did R' Yehuda Hanassi have pain in his tooth for 13 years, and how did that pain finally stop? How do the righteous transform Hashem's attribute of Justice into Mercy? How do the wicked do the opposite? How does the focus on being merciful to others draw Hashem's mercy upon the person who does so? Why did Hashem let Rabba bar bar Chana survive his near death experience if it was really his time to leave earth?

Reb Ginsbourg: Noach, man of the earth, planted a vineyard and debased himself

Why does Rashi comment: ’’Noach debased himself’ - he should have first engaged in planting something other than a vineyard."

Our Parasha relates that, after Noach and his sons came out of the Ark, Noach (9:20): ’ ויחל נח: איש האדמה: man of the earth, debased himself, and planted a vineyard.’

Rashi comments: ’’Noach debased himself’ - he should have first engaged in planting something other than a vineyard."

Elucidates Siftei Chachamim: "If not so, it should have - instead of choosing ויחל - stated ונטע: that ‘he planted a vineyard.’ "

The Nachlat Yaakov, on our Rashi, adds: "Though ויחל is usually related to התחלה: beginning, as Rashi comments that Noach should have started by planting something other than the vineyard, and, then, to plant a vineyard, by not using the literal word: ויתחיל: ‘and he began’, and instead using the word ויחל, which alludes to making himself mundane’, it precludes the language of ‘beginning’, as it does not then state that he then planted something else."

Rav Eliyahu Shlezinger expounds:

"The criticism of Noach - that he was now called ‘the man of the earth’ - was that, he began by planting a vineyard, this after his great stature that he had attained, that in his merit and righteousness the whole of the world was saved, and despite his incessant acts of chessed whilst in the Ark - attending without rest to the demands of the animals.

"Yet a heavy accusation was laid against him, as though clearly some action was demanded of him when he left the Ark, for the rectification of the earth which had all but been destroyed, nevertheless he was called to account for having first planted a vineyard.

"Even though his intention was surely for the sake of Heaven; further, wine brings joy, and the desolate, ravaged earth surely needed some joy.

"However, in choosing as his first act, to plant a vineyard, there was also mingled an element of חומריות: of physical pleasure - and though man also needs in his daily life an element of physical pleasure, in his case, this signified a descent in stature, which can be seen in the change in his appellations: he now being described as ‘man of the earth’, whereas he was previously called ‘איש צדיק’: ‘a righteous man’.

"In truth, all man’s actions - even be they great in themselves - cannot be seen as ‘giving’, by the man, and as fulfilling a debt that he has, so that he can now ‘do for himself’,-for this is ‘our life and length of our days’, the unceasing spiritual ascent being the essence of our life in this world.

"If we are to summarize our subject, we would be compelled to say, that the planting of the vineyard was in the nature of a halt in his spiritual ascent.

"Till now, Noach did all that was in his power for the salvation of his life, and the lives of his household, and was concerned that there be a continuation of the existence of the world, so that - from the moment that he finally left the Ark, it is as if he said to himself: now I will attend to my own needs and he therefore ‘planted a vineyard’.

"This inevitably led to a spiritual descent - unlike Moshe Rabbeinu, who was in an uninterrupted ascent - this being his very essence, at all times meriting the Torah attesting that: Hashem’s ‘faithful servant You called him’."

Rav Shlezinger brings the exposition of Rav Aharon Kotler, who writes:

"Despite the righteousness of Noach - as our Sages attest - because of a seemingly ‘light’ criticism - that his first action after leaving the Ark, was to plant a vineyard - which is, after all, required as part of the offerings to Hashem - and which the Torah itself states: brings joy to man , the Torah writes, that: ויחל: he debased himself - language denoting ‘mundane’, and for this ‘light’ matter, it now called him ‘a man of the earth’, as if this was now his whole essence.

"This because he ceased to ascend further spiritually - this being caused by his inclination to physicality - as whilst his planting was for the sake of Heaven, it was his physical inclination that שיחדה אותו: ‘seduced him’, to this planting - and this led to his action losing its value, as any descent affects the status of man’s work.

"This can be gleaned from considering that one who toils in Torah eighteen hours a day, and then reduces his hours, to ‘only’ ten hours daily - not only the lesser number of hours are ‘lost’ by him, but the whole ‘value’ of his learning is now of a much lower worth.

"Man needs to be constantly ascending and is given from Above, the strength to do so - if he halts his ascent, and remains ‘standing’, he is failing in his present obligation.- this because he now utilizes the strength he was given - for his spiritual ascent - for physical, mundane desires and activities, which is a great descent for that person.’"

Rav David Hofstedter offers an intriguing original understanding of our subject:

"The complaint that Noach should have planted something other than a vineyard, requires consideration.

"Noach was, at that point in time, in a state of great mourning and sorrow - when he came out of the Ark and saw a desolate and barren world and members of his family - apart from his wife and his children - no longer amongst the living .

"This was surely a loss unmatched in the annals of the world!

"Did our Sages not teach that wine was the drink most suited to assuage the sorrow and the loss of mourners?

"How then, can there be a claim against Noach, that in the time of his unparalleled loss, he engaged in planting that which could best help him cope with his loss?

"The answer may be, that since the Divine wisdom of Hashem decreed that the period which preceded the flood, should be completely lost from the world - so that its existence should not be recalled, at all -and that a new period - which had no connection to the previous period, whatsoever - should now begin, from Noach and his family.

"There was therefore no place for mourning that which had been, and no longer was.

"This may be the meaning of what our Sages said: ’Noach should have planted an item של תקנה: of repair’ - as this was a new beginning of the world, he should have been engaged in something of settlement of the world, and not in something to assuage his mourning for the world that had been."

The Kli Yakar writes: "’ויחל’: profane, is the opposite of קדושה: sanctity, and we find that wherever that you find immorality curtailed, there you find sanctity - this we find in the case of Noach, as the by his planting the vineyard, the immoral events occurred in his tent.

"He was called ‘a man of the earth’, because his action derived from the substance whose origin is the earth, from which it derives.

"This is unlike the שכל: man’s mind, which is a part of the divine Above, and did not acquiesce to this planting, as wine confuses the mind of man.

"Another matter: Noach was called ‘a man of the earth’ because he followed in the path of Adam Harishon, who sinned with a vineyard - according to the view that the Tree of Knowledge was a vine."

A parting gem from the Alshich Hakadosh, who brings in aid an intriguing Midrash: ’’He 'planted a vineyard’: Satan came towards him and said to him: ’Do you want the two of us to plant the vineyard together’? ‘Yes’, responded Noach; immediately, the Satan brought a lamb, and slaughtered it over the vineyard; next, he brought a lion and slaughtered it over the vineyard, and - finally - brought a pig and slaughtered it over the same vineyard.

"Why did the Satan do this? Because when a person drinks one cup of wine, he is like the lamb, humble and meek; however, when he drinks two cups, he becomes brave like a lion, and begins to speak braggingly, saying:’Who is like me?’

"After three cups - or more - he becomes like a pig, wallowing in the dirt, and even in his own water - here the Midrash concludes.

"Here we ask::what caused Noach to enter this partnership with Satan; further, why this [analogy] of the three cups?

"A different Midrash relates that on the same one day, Noach planted - and drank from its wine, without waiting a year or two for the grapes to mature, and then to drink the wine.

"This led Satan to make his offer, seeing Noach’s strong desire to drink the wine - and ‘to enter Satan’s domain, by drinking trom the third cup."

Concludes the Sage; "This is why Rabbi Yochanan says - in the same Midrash -‘At no time be eager to imbibe wine.’"

Prison Conditions for Bnei Yeshiva…..

 

Remember! 

Rav Shternbuch said that it was like the Inquisition

A Chareidi avreich arrested for “draft dodging” spoke to Kol Chai on Thursday about his stint in military prison.

He said that the conditions in the prison pose a danger to ruchniyus.

“There were eight prisoners in one room, including Chareidim, secular, and Druze,” he said. “The conditions were very difficult, especially for someone who comes from the Olam HaTorah.”

“You’re in a room with the television on all day, and you can’t always turn it off. Even if you don’t watch it, you’re affected by it. It’s not an environment appropriate for Chareidim.”

He added that most of the officers serving in the prison are female. “You have to approach them for the most basic things, and it’s very uncomfortable.”

“My stay in prison wasn’t easy, emotionally or spiritually, but despite the hardships, I felt a sense of mission.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

If one can believe this is accurate, https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2462436/chareidi-draft-dodger-says-prison-conditions-are-a-danger-to-ruchniyus.html

What are”good friends” for?

 

Trump: Israel Would ‘Lose All Of Its Support’ 

From The US If It Annexed The West Bank

Do we need to know more?

The Best Friend is HKB”H

Noach: Cheshvan & the Third Beis Hamikdash

 אלף ראש חודש

Reb Sones:

 Was Binyamin Netanyahu ‘Born Pregnant’?

Is the Prime Minister's political career his own, or was he irreversibly committed to an American-led script from the very beginning?

“It was felt that if one planeload of arms could be introduced through Zambia, with Kaunda’s permission, he would be irreversibly committed,” Stockwell explained. The agency had a term for this state of strategic entrapment. “‘Pregnant’ we said in CIA headquarters.”

The jargon is cold, a product of a bureaucratic culture that, as some critics have noted, views moral compromise as a tactical tool. To be “born pregnant” is to be irreversibly complicit, your future actions dictated by a past event you cannot afford to have exposed.

This American modus operandi provides a stark, unsettling lens through which to re-examine the career of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. For decades, Netanyahu has defined Israeli politics, building a global brand as the ultimate Jewish nationalist, a fierce defender of Israeli sovereignty, and the only leader capable of saying “no” to Washington.

But this public persona has always coexisted with a starkly contradictory record: a history of stunning political capitulations, land concessions that violated his own “red lines,” and a pattern of acquiescence to American demands, often at moments of his greatest political strength. This chasm between rhetoric and action has fueled a persistent, unsettling question, one that his critics have asked from the very beginning: Is Binyamin Netanyahu an English-speaking Israeli, or is he, in terms of his loyalties and practical actions, a Hebrew-speaking American?

Continue reading on Jewish Home News.

Acquiescence Again: Netanyahu, the ‘Revitalized’ PA, and the Betrayal of Judea and Samaria

As Washington advances its 'revitalized PA' plan, Netanyahu's avoidance signals a familiar capitulation—and a new security betrayal in Judea and Samaria

In the theater of Israeli politics, the script is agonizingly familiar. While Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu offers tedious declarations of “total victory,” American officials, speaking to Ynet, detail a completely different plan. The U.S. is actively “pressing” Netanyahu on his “day after” plan, a plan Washington has already drafted: a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority must take control of Gaza.

The American “frustration,” as the report terms it, is not that Netanyahu is fighting them on this. It is that he is “avoiding discussions” entirely. U.S. officials say they worry Israel is “sleepwalking” into an “untenable occupation.”

But as our previous analysis, Was Binyamin Netanyahu ‘Born Pregnant’? established, this behavior is not “sleepwalking.” It is the classic signature of an “irreversibly committed” leader. It is the Wye River Memorandum playbook. Netanyahu is not defying the U.S. plan; he is enabling it by “avoiding” a confrontation. He is stalling until the moment of capitulation arrives, at which point he will face the Israeli public, shrug, and deploy his infamous justification: “We had no choice.”

Continue reading on Jewish Home News.

Trump is "For This"

This upsets me very much; to watch the anti-religion, anti-Torah, anti-Eretz Yisrael politicians betray the Israelis at every turn of events....leading to more tragedies chv"s

*the surrendering the Heart of Our Land to the Arabs

Netanyahu: Sovereignty vote 'a deliberate political provocation by the opposition'

The Prime Minister’s Office condemned the Knesset vote on sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, calling it a political stunt during Vice President Vance’s visit and vowing the bill will not advance.

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* this is why at the Inauguration of the "Pilgram's Road" the other night, he didn't or couldn't even mention the name of one of our Avos, Yaakov, when he was 'talking history'.... only Yitzchak ......because he was taking the side of the Arabs vis-a-vis the Land of Eretz Yisrael. The man is a 'capitulalizer', constantly giving in to our enemies.....in FACT.  https://habayitah.blogspot.com/2025/10/inauguration-of-pilgrimage-road.html

AND

MK Succot Warns: IDF to cut defense forces in Judea and Samaria

MK Succot wrote to Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to protest what he claimed would be a 30% reduction in IDF forces in the region.

Parshas Noach

Did Noach Eat Before The Animals?? 

The Amazing Insight of Maharil Diskin too Answer Chasam Sofer

 

The Mystery of the First Beis of the Torah & the North Side that Can Not Be Sealed ....Plus

So sorry, I missed posting these. It’s too late to enjoy and learn more on Bereshis

Bereishis:

Bereishis: The Maharal on How to "Take" People

Bereishis:  This Too Needs the Aggada - An Original approach To Rashi

Rabbi Winston: Parashas Noach

 

Dedicated in loving memory of Naomi bat Chorshid, a”h. A modest person, may her Neshamah have aliyah after aliyah and may she be a meilitz yoshar for all of Klal Yisroel, especially at this time of need of the Jewish people.  Shimon & Channah Kedar

I CAN’T recall if I noticed this last year or the year before. I also don’t remember if I   heard it from anyone else, though I find it very hard to believe that no one else would have noticed it until now. So, I’ll mention it anyhow.

One of the prayers we had been saying (thank G–D we don’t have to anymore) for the hostages was something that we already say regularly as part of Monday and Thursday  Shacharis: “[As for] our brothers, the entire House of Israel who [still] remain in distress uvashivia—and captivity, whether on sea or on land, may G–D have compassion on them, and bring them from distress to relief, from darkness to light, from servitude to redemption, at this moment, speedily, very soon; and let us say Amen.” 

Similarly, the word for “captive” also appears in the Torah here: “The Canaanite king of Arad…waged war against the Jewish People and took from a shevi—captive” (Bamidbar 21:1). Until recently, that is the word we have used to refer to Jews taken captive, which was once a far too common thing.

But that is not the word you will find used by the media or anyone since October 7, 2023, after Hamas invaded Israel and brutally took captives. The word used was chatufim from the word (lichtoph), which means to grab something suddenly and forcefully, also correct. 

This is the interesting part. In this week’s parsha, the Torah tells us why    G–D decided to destroy mankind, save Noach, his family, and some of the animals: “the land was filled with chamas—theft” (Bereishis 6:11). Yes, they were doing all the other things mankind does wrong and which angers    G–D, even the worst of the worst. But, as the commentators point out, stealing from one another seemed to seal the deal on destruction.

We’re told a similar thing at the end of Parashas Ki Seitzei. First, we were commanded to make sure our weights and balances are just so that we do not cheat anyone. Then, we are commanded to wipe out all memory of Amalek, raising the question, what’s the connection between the two?

It is explained that the Torah is indicating what leads to Amalek, our most formidable enemy and national nemesis: stealing. The cardinal sins are cardinal sins, but there is something specific about stealing that represents the breakdown of society and great spiritual vulnerability.

Targum Onkeles’s translation of chamas? Chatofim. 

To be clear, there are levels of stealing. The most obvious level is taking someone else’s property without permission, even if you intend to later return it. They can even see you do it, but if they do not agree to your possession of their property, it is stealing. 

But halachah also talks about how gambling wins can also be a form of stealing. People do not gamble to give up their money, but hoping to win. They are only “forced” to part with their hard-earned cash by the rules of the game. It may be legal by human standards but not necessarily by Heavenly ones.

Gouging can also be a form of stealing by G–D’s standard. Just because we let the marketplace set the price of products does not mean G–D agrees with that. The marketplace is human-made, human-run, and greed-driven. Does that sound like a just system to decide what is good and bad for society?

I once heard the recording of a well-respected rabbi speaking to, rather, yelling at a conference room of frum lawyers. He was shocked at how many widows and orphans had to forgo proper representation in the courts because they could not afford the fees. It was as if, he cried out, secular standards had replaced Torah values. 

One thing is for certain, and that is that we do not appreciate how destructive stealing is to    G–D’s world, or how many forms of stealing there are according to Torah. Making money on money is normal and logical, but not necessarily acceptable in Heaven, and when you learn the laws of ribbis (interest), it is surprising to see how some of the most seemingly fair transactions fall into the category of the Torah prohibition. 

Of course, I am not stating that this was the basis for what happened two years ago and just came to an end (at least for the remaining living captives) this Hoshanah Rabbah. It would take a prophet in touch with    G–D to say that with credibility.

But, we also don’t believe in coincidence on any level, and Parashas Noach came right after we finally came to terms with what had just occurred that Simchas Torah. The most I can say with any certainty is that it is “interesting.” Oh, and, would it hurt to give some thought to how we do business and charge what we do, especially for things people need but might not be able to afford?

At the very least, we’ll have less to confess next Yom Kippur, b”H. At the very best, we can avoid such crises in the future.

Good Shabbos,

Pinchas Winston

Thirtysix.org / Shaarnun Productions

Eliezer Meir Saidel: Religion, Science and Progress – Noach

 

 

וַיְהִי כָל הָאָרֶץ שָׂפָה אֶחָת וּדְבָרִים אֲחָדִים (בראשית יא, א

 

I was born and lived the first twenty-one years of my life in South Africa. In all that time, I never thought of myself as a "South African", I considered myself "Jewish". This all changed when I made aliyah. Suddenly, being a Jew amongst other Jews in Israel, the thing that now distinguished me from everyone else was - that I was "South African", not only amongst the sabra Israelis, but also amongst the other Anglo Saxon olim. 

Suddenly, English speaking people could not understand me when I spoke – in English! They had a hard time understanding my accent and the unique South African English dialect that I had grown up with. I would say to my American neighbor "I'll be over just now" and five minutes later I got a call asking where I was ("just now" in South African English means – later, an unspecified time, in American English it means – now, immediately). 

Similarly, when I mentioned words like "robot" (traffic light ”bioscope" (movies), "pavement" (sidewalk), "garage" (gas station), etc. people looked at me like I had just landed from Mars.

 

Language/dialect is a fascinating field of anthropology and it all began - in this week's parsha. Everyone knows the story (or thinks they do) of the Tower of Babel. A group of people banded together to build a city and a tower that soared up to the Heavens. HKB"H saw them building this tower and came down and "muddled" up their one common language into different languages so that one could not understand the other and He dispersed them all over the world.

 

Unlike the previous generation, דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל, where the Torah clearly specifies their sin וַתִּשָּׁחֵת הָאָרֶץ לִפְנֵי הָאֱ-לֹקִים וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ חָמָס (בראשית ו, יא), with the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה it is not so clear what they did wrong. The psukkim are very "vague" about the whole story and the Mefarshim are, for the most part, similarly vague. 

Look at the Ramban, for example - his perush is extremely "cryptic", כִּי הָיוּ קוֹצְצִים בַּנְּטִיעוֹת. What does that mean??! Another interesting phenomenon I discovered is that if you look online (Youtube) for shiurim on Noach and the generation of the flood, there is a veritable "flood" of shiurim available, hundreds, even thousands perhaps. 

However, if you search online for shiurim on the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה, they are few and far between. It is as if the subject is "hidden" almost, that it is to be discussed "quietly", and not in clear, plain language – but rather in hints, "muddled" language, like the story itself.

 

It is impossible to fully understand the sin of the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה, without delving into the Kabbalistic sources, which the Ramban does (which is why it sounds cryptic). My understanding of Kabbalah is very limited, but I will attempt to at least scratch the surface and try to understand the concepts as they apply to the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה. It is vital to understand the essence of these two generations mentioned in our parsha - דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל and דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה – because this is not ancient, primordial folklore, events that happened 4,000 years ago. The characteristics of these two generations are "alive and kicking" in our generation and to fully understand the times we are living in, we need to understand their origins.

 

Every great "story" has two main characters - the villain and the hero. This episode is no different and to fully understand it we need to briefly explore our two main characters - Nimrod and Avraham.

 

Nimrod was the great grandson of Noach, grandson of Cham and son of Kush. The Mefarshim describe him as an עֶבֶד בֶּן עֶבֶד, referring to the curse that Noach cursed his son Cham's descendants עֶבֶד עֲבָדִים יִהְיֶה לְאֶחָיו (בראשית ט, כד). Nimrod inherited the "wayward" genes of his grandfather Cham, who the Gemara (Sanhedrin 108b) tells us, against HKB"H's command, had familial relations while in the Ark. Cham, it appears, had "father figure" issues, not only with his Father in Heaven, but also with his biological father, as we read about in the episode when Noach became drunk and Cham disrespected him.

 

When Noach and his family boarded the Ark, they took with them the things that HKB"H commanded them to take, to preserve the essentials of HKB"H's Creation. All the species of animals, special seeds from Gan Eden to replant after the flood (from which Noach planted a vineyard which instantly grew and bore fruit). Another item that went on the Ark and was saved from the flood, were the special garments that HKB"H made for Adam HaRishon after he sinned, the כָּתְנוֹת עוֹר. When they left the Ark, Cham took these garments and they eventually landed up with Nimrod (פרקי דרבי אליעזר, כד).

 

The Sfat Emet (נח, כו, תרנ"ו), quoting the Zohar (וישב), says that before the דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל began to sin they had superhuman powers and cast fear into all living creatures. This ended after the flood. Anyone wearing the כָּתְנוֹת עוֹר of Adam HaRishon, however, still held power over all the animals. Since Nimrod wore these garments, the animal kingdom succumbed to him and he did not need to work hard to hunt or capture animals for food (after Noach it was permitted to eat meat, until then mankind was vegetarian). 

When people saw that Nimrod possessed this special power, they feared him and made him into their leader. This is what the passuk means וְכוּשׁ יָלַד אֶת נִמְרֹד הוּא הֵחֵל לִהְיוֹת גִּבֹּר בָּאָרֶץ (בראשית י, ח). We read much later (פרקי דרבי אליעזר, כד) that Eisav killed Nimrod to take these garments.

 

Nimrod, over impressed by his so-called powers, made himself into a self-proclaimed deity (much like Pharaoh did later in Egypt - לִי יְאֹרִי וַאֲנִי עֲשִׂיתִנִי [יחזקאל כט, ג]). Nimrod, the villain in our story, was the leader of the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה and the "brains" behind the Tower of Babel.

 

Sefer סֵדֶר הַדּוֹרוֹת (אלף השני)   says that Kush gave birth to Nimrod when he was very old and that Nimrod was a בֶּן זְקוּנִים. When Nimrod was 20-years-old Kush gave him the כָּתְנוֹת עוֹר and when the sons of Kush saw his powers, they made him their leader. When Nimrod was 40, the sons of Kush waged war with the sons of Yefet and Kush won the war. They enslaved the sons of Yefet and crowned Nimrod king in year 1788 from בְּרִיאַת הָעוֹלָם. According to Seder HaDorot the story of the Tower of Babel took place three years later (135 years after the flood), in the year 1791. At some point Nimrod appointed Terach, father of Avraham, as his chief of staff.

 

The hero of our story is Avram (not yet Avraham), although he is only mentioned many psukkim later. Shlomo HaMelech (קהלת ז, יד) tells us that when HKB"H creates a power in the world, at the same time He creates the antithesis to that power. If Nimrod was the negative pole of the magnet, the כֹּחַ הַטֻּמְאָה, then Avraham was the positive pole, the כֹּחַ הַטָּהֳרָה.

 

According to Seder HaDorot, Avraham was only born in year 1948, which makes Nimrod two hundred years older than Avraham and from Seder HaDorot it appears that Avraham was not alive yet when the story of the Tower of Babel took place.

 

It is not easy to reconcile the age difference between Nimrod and Avraham. Nimrod was the 3rd generation after Noach (Cham, Kush, Nimrod). Avraham was the 10th generation after Noach (Shem, Arpachshad, Shelach, Ever, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nachor, Terach, Avraham). That is a gap of seven generations!

 

The timeline of Seder HaDorot also conflicts with opinion of the Radak (בראשית י, א) who says that Avram at the time of דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה was 45-years-old. I do not know the Radak's source for this. Perhaps the Radak is basing himself on the premise זֶה לְעֻמַּת זֶה עָשָׂה הָאֱ-לֹקִים (קהלת ז, יד) and that if Nimrod died at the same time as Avraham, he must have also been born in close proximity. Also, the Seder Olam Rabba (פרק א) which precedes the Radak, says that Avraham was 48 years-old at the time of the Tower of Babel, which took place 340 years after the flood, not 135 like Seder HaDorot says.

 

Since the Seder Olam and the Radak precede Seder HaDorot by over 500 years, I am inclined to respect their seniority and go with the opinion that both Nimrod and Avraham were alive during the episode of the Tower of Babel.

 

Nimrod and Avraham were arch-rivals and of equal intelligence. We tend to think of Nimrod as some kind of barbarian, but the Zohar (פרשת נח) says that just as we have the Sefira of בִּינָה in the Ten Sefirot, there is something called the קְלִיפָּה דְּבִּינָה which is the counterpart in the כֹּחַ הַטֻּמְאָה.

 

While Nimrod was perpetuating idol worship, you have Avraham on the opposite side of the scale disseminating the message of HKB"H in a predominantly idol worshipping world. This is why he is called אַבְרָם הָעִבְרִי – because כָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ לְעֵבֶר אֶחָד וְהוּא הָיָה לְעֵבֶר אֶחָד (פסיקתא רבתי פיסקא לג, "אנכי אנכי").

 

We tend to think of the generations of דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל and דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה as "primitive" civilizations, but the opposite is true. Archeology is only now discovering technologies from these periods that surpass even modern technology. If they were so technologically advanced, it is likely that they were equally intellectually advanced.

 

After that background, we can now begin to dive into the story of the Tower of Babel and understand its essence.

 

To understand this episode according to the shita of literalists like Rashi, for example, who say that the tower was a "countermeasure" to the flood is problematic. According to this shita, this generation witnessed the aftermath of the flood and wanted to protect themselves from it, so they built a tower to rise above the water level so they would not drown if another flood occurred, or according to Breishit Rabba, to "prop up" Heaven, so that the Heavens would not "fall" again and wipe out the earth with another flood. The problem with this shita is if that was the case, why did they build the tower in a valley and not on top of the highest mountain they could find? וַיְהִי בְּנָסְעָם מִקֶּדֶם וַיִּמְצְאוּ בִקְעָה בְּאֶרֶץ שִׁנְעָר וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׁם (בראשית יא, ב). Did they honestly think they could "prop up" Heaven with a man-made structure and "control" the weather? These were people of super intelligence!

 

The דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה, like the דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל before them indeed had superhuman powers, but they both used them to rebel against HKB"H.

 

The generation of the flood had superhuman strength and intelligence, but they could not overcome their תַּאֲווֹת, their physical desires. Instead of living their lives in constant battle against their yetzer hara, as HKB"H requires from mankind to do, they succumbed to their yetzer hara. In the resulting conflict of guilt between what they desired and what HKB"H permitted, they eliminated the guilt by rejecting HKB"H completely and removing Him from the equation. Anything goes, no inhibitions. 

Whatever you feel - you do. Same sex marriages, no problem. Marriages between humans and animals, no problem. Extramarital sex, no problem. Genetic engineering (actually, more like Dr. Mengele יש"ו style experiments of trial and error) between species, mating one species of animal with another, humans with animals, plants with other species of plants. Stealing other peoples' property, etc. 

A total lack of inhibition – no limits, and … no guilt. The דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל was a "meltdown of morality", but in a physical sense. Since HKB"H punishes מִדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה, this generation was physically punished, in this physical world, by being wiped out in the flood. Everything that they managed to pervert, animals, plants … it too was wiped out and the slate wiped clean.

 

The דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה was the generation "post flood". They were all descended from a Tzaddik – Noach! They all spoke one language וַיְהִי כָל הָאָרֶץ שָׂפָה אֶחָת, Lashon HaKodesh. They were the קְלִיפָּה דְּבִּינָה, they possessed the knowledge of using the 22 letters of Lashon HaKodesh to create things (Avraham later recorded this knowledge in Sefer HaYetzirah) which supersedes even modern technology. These were not the diabolical "scientists" of the דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל who conducted wild experiments of trial and error. 

These were real scientists who developed new, advanced technologies through rigorous study of the natural laws and their properties, empirical experimentation and implementation. However, instead of using their knowledge to strengthen their bond with HKB"H, they used it to rebel against Him.

 

וַיְהִי בְּנָסְעָם מִקֶּדֶם וַיִּמְצְאוּ בִקְעָה בְּאֶרֶץ שִׁנְעָר וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׁם, what does בְּנָסְעָם מִקֶּדֶם mean? The Yalkut Shimoni (ibid.) says הִסִּיעוּ עַצְמָן מִקַּדְמוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם. They repeated the sin of Adam HaRishon. Just like Adam believed the lies of the נָחָשׁ who said that the Tree of Knowledge preceded HKB"H and if you eat from it you will become like Him and be able to create worlds - the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה also believed that there was a reality that preceded HKB"H and if you dig deep enough you will eventually find it. They spent their lives studying the natural world and trying to discover this "source".

 

HKB"H created our natural world for one purpose – that if you dig deep enough, you will eventually discover the One true Source - HKB"H, the "center of focus" out of which everything else emanates. If you indulge in "science" from this perspective, then science will eventually lead you to realization of HKB"H.

 

However, if you flip things around and make yourself the focus out of which everything else emanates, then anything you cannot see or understand "does not exist". If you are the focus, then reality becomes a projection of your human limitations - which leads to a denial of anything beyond your comprehension. This was the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה.

 

It began with Nimrod, (which literally means "we will rebel" against HKB"H) who observed the cause and effect of wearing Adam HaRishon's כָּתְנוֹת עוֹר. Instead of being a true scientist and delving deeper to discover the true source of the power of this garment, Nimrod preferred to make himself the center of focus, attributed the power to himself and became a self-declared deity.

 

Nimrod was not an imbecile, he knew that HKB"H existed – he personally witnessed the aftermath of the flood. However, his ego (like Pharaoh's) drove him to rebel against and defy HKB"H, by doing the very antithesis to what HKB"H requires from us. הַכֹּל בִּידֵי שָׁמַיִם חוּץ מִיִּרְאַת שָׁמַיִם, Nimrod tried to battle with HKB"H by making as many people as he possibly could - rebel against HKB"H.

 

Nimrod was super smart. He learned the lessons of the flood. To his way of thinking, the failure of the דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל was not their hashkafa, but the way they went about it. Instead of all working together to rebel against HKB"H, the דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל was the antithesis to unity, they were a fragmented society. Everyone was stealing from everyone else, killing each other, sleeping with their neighbors' wives (or animals). Nimrod thought - the only way to wage war against HKB"H is through the strength of unity. How does one foster unity? You rally people around a common, noble cause and make them all feel wanted/needed.

 

Nimrod proposed the establishment of an idyllic society, a united society centered around the "search for truth" and "betterment of mankind", in which each individual is equally valuable and part of the collective. וַיְהִי כָל הָאָרֶץ שָׂפָה אֶחָת וּדְבָרִים אֲחָדִים. The foundation principle of this society is the elimination of HKB"H as the center of focus and making the collective the center of focus. Everything that HKB"H wants us to do, we will do the opposite.

 

HKB"H likes "mountains". He let the Ark land on Mount Ararat. He gave the Torah on Har Sinai, He told David HaMelech to build the Beit HaMikdash on Har HaMoriah, etc. So, if HKB"H likes mountains, we will do the opposite, we will establish our society in a valley וַיִּמְצְאוּ בִקְעָה בְּאֶרֶץ שִׁנְעָר וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׁם. Instead of settling in Eretz Yisrael which is the epicenter of טָּהֳרָה in the world, we will settle in שִׁנְעָר (which was later named Bavel) the place where all the corpses of the דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל were concentrated under layers of sediment שֶׁשָּׁם נִנְעֲרוּ מְתֵי דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל (ב"ר, לז, ה), the epicenter of טֻּמְאָה in the world.

 

Instead of using materials provided by HKB"H and nature for building our society, we will eliminate HKB"H from the equation and create our own building materials הָבָה נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים וְנִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה וַתְּהִי לָהֶם הַלְּבֵנָה לְאָבֶן וְהַחֵמָר הָיָה לָהֶם לַחֹמֶר. Our society will not be established on anything that is G-d given, it will be only our own creation, כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי.

 

 The Ramban says that this generation הָיוּ קוֹצְצִים בַּנְּטִיעוֹת. What does this mean? It means that they "chopped down the 'tree' which was the source of their being". Just like Adam HaRishon thought that the Tree of Knowledge could provide something missing that HKB"H could not (or didn't want to), so too did דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה think that their own human intellect could replace the infinite "intellect" of HKB"H.

 

Did the "sales plan" work? Indeed it did, it galvanized a lot of people to join the enterprise, but it did not live up to its hype. Instead of being an idyllic society with the individual as the center of focus, it became a society where the idea was the deity and the individual was dispensable. If during the building someone fell to their death, they would not mourn for them. But if a brick fell and broke, it was a national tragedy. It failed on both ends – it angered HKB"H and it contradicted the humanistic ideal that it proposed.

 

Unlike the דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל whose sin was "physical" and were punished with a physical punishment, the sin of the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה was "metaphysical" and they were appropriately punished מִדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה. They were allowed to continue living physically in this world, but they were denied עוֹלָם הַבָּא (Sanhedrin 109a).

 

There was only one "positive" thing that permeated this debacle and that was a sense of unity. This was the only thing Nimrod had right – there is strength in unity, HKB"H appreciates unity even if the cause is unjust. As a result, HKB"H did not kill them like He did דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל, He spared their lives, but He dissolved the unity between them, by demolishing their common thread – communication.

 

This is the essence of the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה.

 

Why is it then that this is not openly discussed in the psukkim in plain language, why is it "veiled" behind hidden meanings and hints?

 

 The answer is because the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה was not a one-off event in the beginning of history, it is an event that will repeat once more … at the end of history. The second manifestation of the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה is a precursor to the era of Mashiach.

 

Now that we understand the essence of the sin of the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה above, I am going to describe another reality to you and see if you recognize any similarities.

 

Something monumental began in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is called the Renaissance. It was a massive departure from the dogma of classical antiquity (וַיְהִי בְּנָסְעָם מִקֶּדֶם) and an "explosion" of new thought, in the areas of art, literature, architecture, politics and most notably … science. There was a major paradigm shift in the way we understand the natural world which resulted from intense research and discovery by notables such as Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Gutenberg, Van Leeuwenhoek, Pasteur, etc. This scientific revolution accelerated exponentially in the 20th and 21st centuries giving rise to technologies unprecedented in the annals of mankind. There has been more technological advancement in the last century alone than in the 3000+ years preceding it.

 

This revolution gave birth to a new "religion" – science. In addition to all prior existing religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. this new "religion" took root in Europe and spread to the "colonies", north America, Australia, etc. This "religion" is in fact anti-religion, atheistic, and based on the premise that if you cannot scientifically prove something - it doesn't exist, i.e. unless you can prove that HKB"H exists, then He doesn't exist (Rachmana litzlan). This school of thought is basically another version of קִצּוּץ בִּנְטִיעוֹת and placing the center of focus on us humans, rather than on the Creator of us humans.

 

I would like to make a distinction between the "scientific method" and the "scientific religion". The former is a means to an end, a search to discover the truth. The latter is an end in itself - the "method" has become the "deity".

 

Not surprisingly, with the advancement of the scientific revolution, we have seen an increased departure from faith in G-d and some of the greatest atrocities perpetrated against mankind in history, two world wars in one century, nuclear proliferation with the threat of destroying mankind in its entirety.

 

The premise is idealistic – the betterment of mankind. To be sure there are things that modern technology has contributed to the betterment of mankind. Longevity for one, increased ability to save lives by combating illness and disease, facilitating instant communication on a global scale, unifying the world in a "global village", under the "Cloud", run by AI, etc. The question is if the ideal lives up to its hype? Is the value of human life greater today than it was 600 years ago? Or have we just found new and better ways to kill and repress each other? This is the modern manifestation of the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה.

 

In the last century another revolution has begun, called the Progressive Revolution. It began with lofty ideals of improving society and mankind. Identifying "faults" in society and eliminating/repairing/improving them. Social injustice – balancing "haves" and "have-nots" and equalizing societal opportunities. Eliminating discrimination and repression of minorities. Reducing violence against weaker elements in society, etc.

 

Noble ideals, but let us examine the "aftermath" of the application of this revolution in our modern age, to date. The center of focus has shifted to the individual, the individual's rights. Whatever the individual wants he/she/it is entitled to have. Anything goes. You are what you think you are, not what you physically are. If you think you are a woman, you are a woman, even if your biology doesn't corroborate your feelings. If your biology doesn't correlate with your self-image, change the biology by surgery or chemicals. 

If a man wants to marry a man, no problem. A woman wants to marry a woman, no problem. A woman wants to marry a dolphin, no problem. In fact, why bother with the terminology man/woman at all – let's rather make it parent 1, parent 2, 3, 4, etc. Equal opportunity in everything, in the workplace, in the bathroom, in the military, in the Olympic stadium, on the tennis court, in the boxing ring. 

Men calling themselves women competing in women's sport (interestingly we don't find much of the opposite??). If anyone tries to resist this societal reorientation they are cancelled. By improving the individual rights of the minority, we have begun to trample the rights of the majority. It is simply reverse repression and violence. This is the modern manifestation of the דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל. Have you noticed that the symbol of the progressive LGBT movement is a … rainbow?

 

What is the common denominator between these two "revolutions"? Their departure and disassociation from G-d, וַיְהִי בְּנָסְעָם מִקֶּדֶם. The "science religion" does not believe in G-d and the "progressive religion" cannot coexist with G-d, so they both try to eliminate Him.

 

"Hang on", you are saying to yourself, "The chronology here is in reverse. In the Torah it was first the דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל and afterwards the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה. Here we have first the science revolution and afterwards the progressive revolution. The order is switched around?" The answer is simple - the end of history is a mirror image of the beginning of history. As we count down to the era of Mashiach we are going to witness a gradual reset of the world to its original state in Gan Eden, in the reverse order of its deterioration.

 

Have you noticed that the above revolutions (scientific/progressive) have proliferated predominantly amongst the descendants of Yefet (Europe and the "colonies") and that recently the descendants of Cham (the Middle East) are waging war on the descendants of Yefet and slowly but surely enslaving them, like what happened in the generation of Nimrod?

 

Did you notice the name of one of Yefet's descendants – מָגוֹג. What does that remind you of?

 

We are in a countdown.

 

We are neither the descendants of Cham nor Yefet. We are the descendants of Shem, of Avraham and we have not changed for 3838 years (since the birth of Avraham). We have been repressed, trodden upon, assimilated, annihilated … and we are still here, unchanged, still with our focus on the true center – HKB"H and our redemption is approaching.

 

HKB"H is moving the entire world like pieces on a chess board, for the final showdown and the big "reveal". We can try to facilitate and participate in it, or we can hamper it and be left out. The choice is ours.   

 

Shabbat Shalom

Eliezer Meir Saidel

Machon Lechem Hapanim

www.machonlechemhapanim.org