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 # 211, Animal
Experimentation. Good Shabbos!
Rash"i's Comment About the Raven Is Not 'One for the Birds'
Towards the end of the flood Noach sent out a raven to see whether the
waters had subsided. However, the raven circled the ark and did not fulfill
his mission of seeking dry land [Bereshis 8:7]. Rash"i informs us (based on
Sanhedrin 108b) that the raven suspected Noach of having "improper
intentions" towards its mate. The raven felt it had to keep an eye on the
situation and therefore just circled the ark so that Noach would not steal
his wife.
I heard a true story on a tape from Rav Wolfson, who is a faculty member at
the Ohr Somayach Yeshiva in Israel. Rav Wolfson met a student who had just
started learning in Ohr Somayach and was a Chozer B'Teshuvah [a recent
returnee to studying and practicing Judaism]. Rav Wolfson asked the student
what material he was learning and how he was doing. The student replied that
he was learning Chumash with Rash"i and everything was fine -- except for
one Rash"i that he found to be 'ridiculous'.
Rav Wolfson asked, "which Rash"i is that?" The student pointed to the Rash"i
quoted above and labeled Rash"i's comment "patently ridiculous!"
At best, this seems to be a strange Rash"i. Rav Wolfson, however, gave the
student a beautiful answer:
The trouble is that we fail to appreciate the distinction between Halacha
[legal texts] and Aggadah [homiletic texts]. The latter are written in a
different style. The words may be the same words, but, in fact, they are
written in code. In order to understand what our Rabbis mean in Aggadah, one
requires the 'keys' to interpret the code. Chazal [Our Sages] are not
teaching us something about ravens here. Chazal are teaching us about human
beings. In the context of the world of Aggadah, they used the raven.
Of course the raven's fear was ridiculous! But why did the raven have such a
ridiculous thought? Because the raven was paranoid! When one is paranoid,
one thinks the most ludicrous and ridiculous things in the world. Certainly
the raven was crazy. But, when a general picks a soldier to go on a risky
spy mission, the soldier can think one of two things: (A) The general picked
me because I am the bravest, the smartest, the fastest; or (B) The general
picked me because he wants to get rid of me. Someone who is paranoid can
come up with the most unbelievable theories in the world.
This is not only true with ravens. Has it ever happened that we are
attending a wedding or other occasion and we see two people talking to
each other at the side of the room -- and as we approach, they stop
talking? What is our reaction? "They must have been talking about me. That
is why they stopped. I wonder what they were saying. What did I ever do to
them?"
These are paranoid thoughts. Really they were just gossiping about someone
else. They were embarrassed to have someone hear them gossiping, so when the
person came over, they stopped. This is the logical explanation. But one who
is paranoid can come up with the most ludicrous of theories.
People are paranoid and think in these terms because they are egocentric.
They think that everybody is talking about them, as if those people have
nothing better to do with their time. A person whose world revolves only
around himself is bound to think like that. Such a person can only view the
world in his own terms.
We tend to analyze the actions or reactions of other people in terms of
ourselves. (Why did that person in the supermarket answer me so coldly? Why
is he angry with me? What did I do to him?) In fact, the reactions of others
are best explained in terms that are related solely to themselves. (He is
upset because he just had a fight with his wife or boss or any of fifty
other reasons. The most unlikely reason in the world is related to the
person who he answered coldly.)
Someone once told me that until age 20 (for any of us who have teenage
children, we know this to be the honest truth,) one is totally preoccupied
with what others think of him of her. From age 20 to 40, when one's ego is
more developed, one's attitude becomes "I don't care what they say about me.
Let them say whatever they want about me. I am my own person -- I'll dress
the way I want, I'll drive the way I want, I'll look the way I want, I am
going to do what I want."
Sometime after age 40 -- I do not know exactly when -- a person realizes
that people are not thinking about him at all. "I don't occupy such an
important place in everyone else's world. People don't even care how I dress
or look or what I drive or what I say."
If we can take the focus off ourselves, we will be less paranoid and less
compulsive and less concerned about what others say. We can then become more
interested in improving our own world.
Sources and Personalities
Rash"i (1040-1105) [Rav Shlomo ben Yitzchak]; Troyes and Worms, France.
This write-up was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tape series on the weekly Torah portion.
The complete list of halachic topics covered in this series for Parshas
Noach are provided below:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from
Project Genesis, 1-410-654-1799.
