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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Noach
Yet the very first pasuk in the Sedra is filled with several superlatives about Noach: He is called an "Ish," (read: Mentsch); Tamim ("Perfect!"); one "who walked with G-d" & above all, a Tzadik. Pretty high praise, if you ask me.
And there is yet another compliment neatly hidden away in this first verse – do you see it? The Parsha begins: "Eyleh toldot Noach, Noach…." Noach’s name is repeated! Say the Rabbis: Anytime a name is doubled in the Torah, it indicates a very exalted, elevated Neshama. Clearly, Noach is in very good company, as we see this same name-doubling by Avraham (BR 22:11), Yakov (46:2), Shmuel (Shmuel I, 3:10), among others.
The idea represented here, by a name being repeated, is that there are actually two of each of us: The person we are, & the person we could be, if we utilize all the strengths & gifts which Hashem gives us. Indeed, says the Zohar, when we die & face the Heavenly Tribunal, we’ll be shown two pictures, or videos: One of the life we lived, & one of the life we could have lived, with all its many accomplishments, if only we had fully realized all our awesome potential. When we view that second video, says the Zohar, our neshama lets out a scream that reverberates across the Heavens.
When a person’s name is doubled in Tanach, it indicates that his actual self reached the level of his potential self, that he reached his very highest level of accomplishment; high praise, indeed. Thus Noach is in very rarified territory.
The story is told about the Netziv (Rav Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin) who confessed one day to his students, in a Musar schmooze, that he was a very difficult child, constantly in trouble at school. One day he overheard his parents saying that they were considering pulling him out of Yeshiva & putting him into carpentry classes, to learn a skill. Crying, he begged for another chance; he then proceeded to mend his ways & became a great student, scholar & author of many great S’forim.
One of the boys listening asked the Netziv: "Rebbe, would it have been so very terrible if you became a carpenter?! After all, the world needs skilled carpenters to make furniture!"
The Netziv replied: "You’re right, of course.; it would not have been no disgrace if I learned a trade But I was afraid that when I reached the next world, the angels would hold up a copy of the Emek Davar & ask me, ‘Naftali, did you ever read this book?’ And I would answer, ‘No, I’ve never even seen that book!" And they would say, ‘That’s because you were supposed to write it! But you became a carpenter instead, & so it never was written and all of Jewish history was deprived of it!"
Hashem & the angels will someday ask each of us, "Did you fulfill your potential? Did you use the power I instilled in you? Which You were You?"
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 3
The second speaker invited to convince the Khazar King is the Christian, who presents their beliefs. Even before the questions of the King, "between the lines", the author R. Yehuda HaLevi already begins disproving them.
Ein Aya "Intimacy: Love, Life & Giving or Egocentric Taking & Expiration"
Today, many confuse between intimacy in marriage, based on love, giving and life which are diametrically opposed to empty "sex", pornography and prostitution which destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. The practical importance of clarifying this topic in today's western society is obvious, especially for young adults.