Hava Ned ber keit Noach And H'amabul
By NIRA LEV
Seepur Noach and Ha'mabul,
like most of the seepurim in sefer
Bereshit, expresses profound
teachings of the Tanach, and
communicates universal moral
truths. Seepurim at mabul were
widespread ba'olam ha'atik but
seepur ha'mabul in the Torah is
unlike any other account in the
messer it conveys.
Seepur Ha'mabul in the Torah
is the only one where hashkafat
ha'olam is thoroughly monotheistic.
Ha'shem created our olam and the
crowning point of bree'at ha'olam
was Bree'at Ha'adam. Hashem was
pleased with His bree'ah and He
gave Adam and Chavah his bracha
and havtacha to be fruitful and
multiply and fill the earth.
Ten generations later, when
Hashem saw that "ha'aretz mal'ah
chamas," and mankind, "kol
basar" was corrupt, He decided to
wipe out the whole "yekum."
However, in the midst of the
corruption there was one tzadik
named Noach and Hashem
decided not only to save him, but
also to make him the av and the
molid of the new enoshut, the new
olam.
Noach followed the hora'ot
Hashem gave him and built the
tevah that would save him, his
mishpacha and representatives of
"kol ha'chay" in the world. When
Noach completed his task, "mey
ha'mabul" came "al ha'aretz" and
all earthly existence was blotted out.
Ha'mabul, however, is only one
part of the tochnit Hashem had for
his bree'ah. When mey ha'mabul
dried out and Noach finally
disembarks, he promptly builds a
mizbe'ach and offers korbanot to
Hashem. The relationship between
Hashem and His olam is renewed
with the brit that Hashem koret
with Noach and his banim and with
all mankind. The brit implies a
relationship, hav'tacha and
hit'chay'vut. Hashem nishba not to
bring another mabul al ha'aretz.
He renews the bracha that
Adam was given "Pru ur'vu u'mil'u
et ha'aretz." This bracha is part of
the brit since it has the element of
hav'tacha in it. Hashem realizes
that, "Yetzer lev ha'adam rah
min'oorav," namely, man has a
natural inclination to sin, but
Hashem accepts man's weaknesses
and decides not to repeat the
severe onesh that destroyed the
olam that He created.
The brit also obligates Noach
and the new enoshut to follow the
basic moral rules that Hashem has
set for his olam, especially the
eesur against sh'feechut damim —
shedding human blood. Ha'adam
nivrah in the image of God.
Therefore sh'feechut damin is an
act against Hashem. The brit
between Hashem and the enoshut
implies a moral order in our olam;
an olam where there is sachar
va'onesh, where those who act
against His rules will be punished.
The ot of the brit is "keshet
be'anan" — a rainbow in the cloud.
When ananim will appear in the
ge &si t Giving People A Tsvayter Gelegenheit
Doi iso`
By MARY KORETZ
It is commonly gegloybt that
good people should be rewarded for
their gutskeit. Virtue being its own
reward hardly seems reward genug.
Conversely, we believe that shlechte
people should be bashtroft for their
transgressions.
As a matter of fact, the opposite
situation frequently zet oys to be
true. Bad people who are "them"
often experience good mazl, while
good people who are "us" suffer
misfortune. One might feel az life is
a crap-shoot, our goyrl being
dependent upon the numbers that
appear ven the dice roll from our
hent.
There is a type of wickedness
vos results fun being unforgiving, of
refusing to give tsvayter gelegenheit
to those who have erred. This
constitutes omgerecht piled upon
wrong, as is illustrated in the
biblical story of Jonah.
Jonah, as it is geshribn, heard
the voice of God telling him to gayn
to the shtot of Nineveh and tell the
people there "who are wicked to
oyfirn zich better or I will destroy
their city."
Jonah hot nit gevolt to do this
veil the people of Nineveh were the
enemies of the Jewish folk. He
would have preferred that the
people of Nineveh voltn be
destroyed. To avoid letting the
people of Nineveh visn how to save
themselves Jonah boarded a ship.
God countered with a storm
that threatened the ship's
destruction. The captain of the
vessel ven informed of the cause of
the shtorem threw Jonah into the
yam. Then God sent a groys fish to
swallow up Jonah.
Consequently, God had the fish
throw Jonah up on truken land.
However, Jonah had not changed
his farlang to hurt the people of
Nineveh. God spoke to Jonah vider
amol, pointing out how Jonah had
cared for a plant and "yet you have
no pity for the thousands of people
of Nineveh."
There is something I don't
farshtay. I don't understand why
God could be so forgiving of wicked
mentshin and why this kindness
doesn't always spill over to good
people. If fortune, gut or bad, is not
a crap-shoot, it sure zet oys azoy.
Vocabulary
gegloybt
gutskeit
genug
shlechte
bashtroft
believed
goodness
enough
bad
punished
zet oys
mazl
az
goyrl
yen
hent
vos
fun
tsvayter
gelegenheit
omgerecht
geshribn
gayn
shtot
oyfirn zich
hot nit gevolt
veil
folk
voltn
visn
ven
shtorem
yam
groys
truken
farlang
vider amol
farshtay
mentshin
gut
zet oys azoy
appears
fortune
that
destiny
when
hands
that
from
second
chance
wrong
written
go
city
behave
did not want
because
people
would
know
when
storm
sea
big
dry
wish
again
understand
people
good
looks like it
Mary Koretz of Oak Park has taught
both children's and adult classes in
Yiddish at Workmen's Circle.
shamayim, people should not fear
that another mabul is coming. The
keshet is a semel of hope, faith
and trust that the brit we have with
our boreh instills in us.
Meelon (Dictionary)
The Flood
Ha'mabul
a story
seepur
a book
sefer
the Bible
The Tanach
ba'olam ha'atik . in the ancient world
world
olam
message
messer
.the world view
hashkafat ha'olam
the creation of
bree'at ha'olam
the world
bracha a blessing
Adam and Chava ...Adam and Eve
havtacha a promise
ha'aretz mal'ah chamas ..The earth
filled with violence
flesh, all human
"kol basar"
beings
universe
yekum
father
av
one who begets
molid
mankind
enoshut
instructions
hora'ot
the ark
the tevah
all living things
"kol ha'chay"
the water of
"mey ha'mabul"
the flood
on the earth
"al ha'aretz"
creation
bree'ah
an altar
miz'be'ach
sacrifices
korbanot
covenant
brit
signs a covenant
koret brit
sons (ben=a son)
banim
a promise
hav'tacha
a commitment
hit'chay'vut
takes an oath
nishba
on the earth
al ha'aretz
Be
Pru ur'vu u'milu et ha'aretz
fruitful and multiply and
fill the earth.
impulse, drive, instrinct
yetzer
bad
rah
from the time when
min'oorav
he is young
punishment
onesh
mankind
enoshut
a prohibition
eesur
bloodshed
sh'feechut damin
was created
nivrah
reward
sachar va'onesh
and punishment
sign
ot
rainbow
keshet
cloud
anan
clouds
ananim
sky
shamayim
symbol
semel
creator
boreh
Nira Lev is director of Hebrew
Interactive Learning Center, Agency
for Jewish Education: Director of
Hebrew Department, Community
Jewish High School; Associate
Professor, Midrasha College of
Jewish Studies.