Rav Avigdor Miller z"l ......From Parshas Shoftim

 The following is from Rabbi Avigdor Miller z”l in Parshas Shoftim, entitled “Joining In”. [one should NOT join in with the evil-doers but only with 

TWO important facts to understand in our Geulah. First, that it was ONLY SHEIM that picked up the blanket to cover his father; and that Persia comes from Yefes!

This makes a big difference in explaining what is going on now in the Geulah process between Eisav and Yefes (Persia, Iran). Also, that it wasn’t “bad” that Noach planted grapes, in order to make wine, in order to give Todah to HKB”H.

An interesting perspective on Noach after leaving the Teiva:

Now this is such an important principle, such a valuable lesson, 

that Hakodosh Boruch Hu didn’t wait until Parshas Shoftim to 

teach it to us; it was taught to us way back in the beginning 

of the history of the world.

An episode took place in the span of only a minute or two and yet it

caused a tremendous change in the course of the history of nations. 

So let’s study that story for a few minutes in order to make this

idea more convincing.

Everyone remembers what happened with Noach and his children

when they finally exited the teivah. After being saved from the mabul,

Noach understood that it was appropriate to give thanksgiving to

Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And so he did it over a little mashkeh. That’s 

the way to do it.

When you say praise to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, you do it by means 

of drinking wine (Brachos 35a). We drink a little bit to give some 

fuel to the gratitude, so that you’ll open your heart and open your 

mouth a little wider and sing to Hashem.

That’s why we make kiddush over a cup of wine. At a wedding, under

the chuppah, we drink wine. At all important occasions, at a bris too,

you make a borei pri hagofen; in order to thank Hakodosh Boruch Hu,

we utilize wine. And so Noach drank wine as a means of igniting his

gratitude to Hashem.

AND ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON:

What does the Torah tell us about what Sheim and Yefes did when

Cham came to them and opened his big mouth? – 

Sheim and Yefes took hold of a blanket and they went in to cover up

their father (Bereishis 9:23). But we have to pay close attention to the

first word in that possuk: is written in the singular and that’s the

wrong word – it should say …., plural, they took. ……means 

he took it.

And the answer is, Sheim picked up the blanket — that’s the

way to read the possuk. Who took it? Sheim. That’s it. Sheim 

picked it up by himself and was walking with a blanket to 

cover up his father. And he didn’t need his brother. 

How much does a blanket weigh already? 

What happened next? – and Yefes saw Sheim doing the mitzvah 

and he said, “Me too!” And he grabbed on to the end of the

blanket. That’s why it says, singular; because Sheim is the one who

took it. Only that Yefes saw what was going on and he grabbed the

corner — he joined in to do a good thing.

Now, what happened at that moment was an earth-shattering event;

at that moment Sheim and Yefes changed the fate of their descendants

forever. Because later when Noach discovered what had happened, he

said the following prophecy. …– Where will Hashem dwell?

– only in the tents of Sheim. 

The generosity of the soul of Sheim came forth at that moment 

and that’s why he was zocheh forever and ever.

The Am Yisroel would come forth from Sheim and when they made

the Mishkan,. Hashem put His residence only in Sheim — nowhere 

else. The die was cast; nothing will help –  Forever and ever 

Hashem dwells among the seed of Sheim, on the Am Yisroel.

And what about Yefes? What did he get for tagging along? About

Yefes, Noach foretold the following: – “Hashem will give wide 

dominion to Yefes.” Yaft is from the word paso, which means

to open up wide, like a pesach, a doorway.

Because Yefes joined in to take part in a good thing, Noach said,

“You’ll be blessed with great power that will spread to the ends of the

earth.” 

From Yefes came Persia who ruled the whole world at one time;

Greece too ruled the world at one time. Yefes was Rome and all the

nations of Europe that conquered all the continents. 

If you want to know why the white race has covered the face of 

the earth; if you want to know why civilization — literature, 

culture, dominion — has been only in the hands of the Caucasian 

races, then you don’t have to look any further than this word, 

Va’Yefes – And Yefes also grabbed onto the blanket.

Now he didn’t do anything; Sheim didn’t need him. But that didn’t

matter to Yefes; when he saw something worthwhile being done, he

said, “Me too.” And because of that, history was changed. Because of

that little bit – at least that’s what it seems like to us – Yefes blessed

himself and his children for many generations

JOINING IN YOUR GENERATION

THE ATTITUDE OF “Me Too”, JOINING IN WITH ….

Thank you Hashem for placing my lot with the frummeh. 

Boruch Hashem, my lot is with the frummeh, the tzadikim 

of Klal Yisroel”

You’re joining in with frum Jews, with all people who learn

in yeshivos, all the kollel people, all the baalei batim who learn 

Torah intheir free time and you’re identifying with the whole 

nation of ovdei Hashem. Who is the frum community? 

All the shomrei mitzvos. 

There are all kinds of shomrei mitzvos. There are Sefardim; 

and Sefardim include the Lebanese and the Syrian and the 

Egyptians – others too. And there are Ashkenazim; 

chassidim and misnagdim and German Jews and others.

As much as possible we try to be, to those who are doing 

good things; we seek to sympathize with their ideals and their

attitudes. And even though we perhaps may not be so busy 

with mitzvos, we ourselves sometimes might be far away 

from their perfection, nevertheless, we approve of them, 

our heart is with them and by means of our minds we 

become one with the ovdei Hashem in our generation.

I want to tell you a little scene from our history. Josephus describes

at the churban Beis Hamikdash when the masses of Jews, plain Jews

were captured by the Romans and were taken for torture in public

hippodromes. And Titus HaRasha was traveling home, he took along

tens of thousands of captives. And he marched from town to town.

Now in each town, he made a demonstration in hippodromes, big

theaters, stadiums where people came and watched and the Jews were

put there to torture and they were supposed to say, “We don’t believe in

our Torah anymore.” Otherwise, they would be tortured. And the Jews

refused to say that, plain Jews. They refused to say, “We don’t believe in

our Torah.” And they were tortured to death with every kind of cruel

death and they all refused!

Josephus writes that. He said, “The nations were amazed at what

they saw.” That’s how great the hamon was, ordinary people. Not to

become apikorsim and bow down to idols. No! Just to say something

against the Torah. Even one word against their Torah they wouldn’t say.

And for that they were willing to suffer terrible tortures. That’s how

great our nation was in the days of old.