Rabbi Frand on Parshas Noach
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi
Yissocher Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion:
Tape # 118, Suicide: Is It Ever Permitted? Good Shabbos!
First A Mensch, Then a Tzadik Tamim
This week's parsha begins with the words "These are the chronicles of
Noach. Noach was a righteous faultless man (Ish Tzadik Tamim) in his
generations" [Bereshis 6:9].
Rav Giftar once visited Ner Israel for Parshas Noach and made the
following observation:
We see from this pasuk [verse] that Noach possessed three qualities.
He was a Tzadik (righteous person). He was a Tamim (a completely
faultless person). And he was an Ish (a 'person'). However, notice
that the sequence of the adjectives is Ish, Tzadik, Tamim. We thus
see, said Rav Gifter, that before a person can be a Tzadik or a
Tamim, he first has to be an Ish -- a Mensch (one who acts like a
proper and dignified man).
Rav Gifter told an interesting story. Rav Yisrael Salanter had a
son-in-law who was about to take for himself, his own son-in-law.
The future son-in-law was a tremendous scholar and Rav Yisrael's son-
in-law was so impressed with him that he sent a notebook of the young
man's Torah insights to Rav Yisrael Salanter, so that Rav Yisrael
could see who his granddaughter was marrying.
Rav Yisrael read the Torah insights and he sent back to his son-in-
law, "Yes. You've showed me that this son-in-law that you are
considering is in fact a Gaon, but the verse does not say 'I gave my
daughter to this Gaon'; it does not say 'I gave my daughter to this
illui'; it says 'I gave my daughter to this man' [Devorim 22:16]. It
is nice to be a Gaon and a Talmud Chacham, but first you must impress
me that he is a Mensch."
(This future grandson-in-law whose chiddushei Torah impressed Rav
Yisrael Salanter was none other than Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzenski).
"In His Generation" -- Rash"i is Misunderstood
A famous Rash"i on the words quoted earlier "...in his generations"
quotes two opinions. "There are those of our Rabbis who interpret
favorably -- certainly if he had been in Abraham's generation he
would have been more righteous (he would have had Abraham as a role
model). And there are those who interpret unfavorably -- had he been
in Abraham's generation he would not have been considered anything
special."
The common understanding of this Rash"i is that there is a
disagreement between the two opinions. According to the first
opinion if Noach lived in the time of Avraham he would have been more
righteous, according to the second opinion he would have been less
righteous.
Rav Yakov Kaminetsky, z"tl, says the common understanding of Rash"i
is erroneous. Rav Yakov claims there is no dispute between the two
quoted opinions.
Everyone agrees that if Noach lived in the generation of Avraham he
would have been a Tzadik -- just as righteous as he was in his own
generation. The second opinion just adds that this righteousness of
Noach would not have been considered anything special had he lived in
Avraham's generation.
The reason is that Avraham worked on the wicked of his generation, to
make them better and Noach did not work on the wicked of his
generation to make them better.
However, this seems to contradict the Medrash that Noach did go
around and try to convince people. He would tell them -- "You
abandon the One Whose voice breaks the Cedars and you worship wood
and stone! How can you be so foolish?"
The Medrash however goes on to say that while Noach did in fact
chastise his generation and did care about the spiritual fate of
these people, he made a mistake. He thought people were 'in to'
Idolatry and consequently he would argue with them about that. In
fact the people knew that Idolatry was meaningless. They actually
lusted for sexual immorality. They needed a 'heter', so they started
worshipping these things, so they could then feel justified in
adopting a looser moral code. Noach chastised them about the wrong
thing.
By putting the Medrashim together, we see that if Noach were in the
generation of Avraham, he would not have been considered such a
Tzadik because he chastised the people about the wrong things.
However, Rav Yakov asks, maybe Noach would not have been a Chochom
(wise person), but he would still have been a Tzadik (Righteous
person). Was his mistake one of piety or was it one of astuteness?
He was a Tzadik! He tried, but he made a mistake. That is not a
lack of righteousness. That is a lack of understanding one's
generation.
Rav Yakov points out that we see an unbelievable thing from this
Chaza"l: A lack of wisdom is a lack in righteousness. Wisdom is
seeking the Truth. If a person wants to know the Truth and he seeks
the Truth with his entire heart and soul, he will merit achieving the
Truth. If he does not reach the Truth, it reflects not a lack of IQ;
it reflects a lack of motivation.
Chaza"l are telling us is that if Noach was fully motivated he would
have achieved the Truth. He was not lacking in intelligence. He was
lacking in achieving the Truth, which stemmed from a lack of
motivation and ultimately from a lack of total Righteousness.
The Flood Comes When the Illegitimate Becomes Legitimate
There is a uniquely insightful Medrash relating to a verse in this week's
Parsha. On the verse "...for all flesh has corrupted their way on the land"
[Bereshis 6:12]" the Medrash [Vayikra Rabba 23:9] elaborates: "Everyone
and everything became amoral. Even animals became so morally corrupt and
decadent that one species mated with another species -- dogs with wolves,
horses with donkeys, snakes with birds. The Generation of the Flood was
finally wiped away when they started writing songs [according to one
interpretation of the expression in the Medrash "...ad shekasvu Gumasiyos"]
extolling cohabitation of males with males and males with animals."
For years and years immorality was rampant, but the final straw in
G-d's eyes was when songs praising homosexuality and bestiality made the
"Top 40 Countdown." When the rock artists of Noach's time started writing
songs about male with male and male with animal -- then the generation was
eradicated.
What does this mean? Until that point, although people were immoral, and
animals were immoral, there was still at least a semblance of feeling that
"what we are doing is illegitimate".
"Sure, it's wrong, but we'll do it anyhow... behind closed doors. Sure,
it's corrupt, but I don't go around bragging about it."
Society legitimizes something when art imitates life. When art can extol
the merit of immorality, then it goes from illegitimate to legitimate.
That's when G-d says, "Enough!". As long as there is a "Victorian Age"
where everyone is immoral -- male with female and male with male -- but
people know it is not right, that can still be temporarily "tolerated" by
G-d. But when it becomes an "alternative life-style," a different form of
normal life, when it becomes a subject for music and poetry, that's when
G-d can "take it" no longer.
Another interpretation of the expression in the Medrash "...ad shekasvu
Gumasiyos" is that they wrote marriage contracts between males. When they
went down to City Hall and started taking out Marriage Licenses between two
men, when they starting debating about making City Ordinances legalizing
marriage between two males with all the rights of fully married couples,
that's when Chaza"l say the fate of the Generation of the Flood was finally
sealed.
Up until that point, it was at least looked down upon; people knew that it
was wrong. But when they went ahead and proclaimed that it was an
acceptable alternative life-style, then unfortunately the Flood came.
Personalities & Sources:
Rav Mordechai Gifter - Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe Yeshiva, Cleveland.
Rav Yisroel Salanter -- (1809-1883), founder of the Mussar Movement.
Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzenski (1863-1939) -- World-renowned Torah scholar
and community leader; Vilna.
Rash"i -- Rav Shlmol Yitzchaki (1040-1105); France. Foremost Bible
and Talmud commentator.
Rav Yakov Kaminetsky (1891-1986) -- Rosh Yeshiva of Mesivta Torah
Vodaath, New York. Chumash commentary contained
in Emes L'Yaakov.
Glossary:
Mensch -- (one who acts like a proper and dignified) man
Gaon -- Genius (in Torah learning)
Illui -- young Genius
chiddushei Torah -- novel Torah insights
heter -- lenient Halachic ruling
This week's write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi
Yissochar Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah
portion (#118). The corresponding halachic portion for this tape is:
Suicide: Is It Ever Permitted? The other halachic portions for
Parsha Noach from the Commuter Chavrusah Series are:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
