The haftorah for parshas Noah
is from the prophet Isaiah (54:1 – 55:5). It has two parts, the first of which
Israel is compared to a barren woman and the second to one who is afflicted, storm
tossed, and disconsolate. Both have sinned, been punished, repented and been
forgiven. In the section between they are told that the wrath and abandonment
were like the waters of Noah which were followed a promise that heaven would
never again be this angry and vindictive. This is the bridge between the
haftorah and the parsha both in language and in theme.
The barren woman is like the
generation of the flood which has no posterity. The storm tossed, disconsolate
victim is like Noah. The blessing that there will not be another desolation is
given after Noah brings an offering of the pure animals to Hashem. The basic
idea is that Noah and his descendants are embracing purity and rejecting the
corruption of the world that has been destroyed. This is the pleasing fragrance
to Hashem that results in His promise not to bring about another flood whose
beautiful sign is the rainbow.
The focus of the haftorah is
the period of turbulence and exile between the destruction of the Temple and
the building of a new Temple. This is what is being compared to the waters of
Noah. The waters of Noah were a period of purification between the destruction
of a corrupt old world and the beginning of a new world which would be better. The
survivors of both are the righteous of the generation from which the new world
will spread out.
In terms of the survivors
especially the righteous they are like the adage in the Jerusalem Talmud that
three persons are forgiven for their past sins: a convert, a person who ascends
to a leadership position, and a person who marries (see Bikkurim 3:3). This is
because they are in a brand new environment. A tzadik can be engaged in bad
things exclusively because it is a societal norm. Once he has abandoned that
society, he is considered as blameless. However it may take some exertion for
him to escape from the corrupt standards. This is the meaning of the exile and
150 days that the water intensified on the earth during the flood.
The next advance in humanity was Avraham avinu. Avraham
separated himself from the rebelliousness and evil of the generation that build
the Tower of Babel. HaKadosh Baruch Hu took Avraham a step further and told him
to leave his land, birthplace, and the house of his father to go to the Holy
Land. The idea is that for Avraham to achieve his potential he had to turn
inwards and be in a place conducive to this. It is also similar to the
expulsion of Ishmael because Isaac could not properly mature if he was under
the influence of a wild and savage older brother.
Parshas Noah is read in the month of Heshvan; the Great
Flood occurred in the month of Heshvan; and King Solomon completed the First
Temple in the month of Heshvan. The word Heshvan חֶשְׁוָן is similar to the word in lashon hakodesh for accounting
חשבון. The implication is that there is
something in the creation that makes this month apt for taking an accounting. It
occurs after over a month of High Holidays, Succos, Slichos, shofar, and
Psalms. Heshvan is unique in that it is empty of Jewish holidays. After all of
these observances is appropriate to ask what have we learned from all of this?
What are the things we should abandon from the corrupt dead old world and how
can we build our own personal Temple to Hashem?
לע"נ, הדוד ,שמואל בן נח ז"ל נלב"ע
ט"ו אב תשס"ט,
Acknowledgements to websites:
תורת אמת, וויקיטקסט, http://dictionary.reference.com/,
http://hebrewbooks.org/,
וגם בדואר אלקטרוני
ניתן באתר http://dyschreiber.blogspot.co.il
Blogger Hebrew http://dyschreiber.blogspot.com/2014/10/94.html
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