Parsha No’ach 5766: The Lesson of Expulsion, Learning that “Line of
Gemora” and Reaching Beyond
by Moshe Burt
Had an interesting conversation at Night Seder the other night with a friend from Shul.
While talking with me about the Matzav we all face, he drew a contrast between himself and me. Being a musician, he asked me if I knew how to read a musical score. I said no. He complimented me at being so good at what I do; activism, fighting for Eretz Yisrael, understanding the “politics”, etc.
My friend then said to me that he understands little of activism, of Manhigut Yehudit, of the political end. His accomplishment is when his students understand the posuk of Gemora that they had just learned. And I brought up an example, the one we have been struggling against for this past couple of weeks [President Katzav’s Possible Signing of Agreement gving Mt. Zion over to the Vatican]. He also said that just as Hashem wanted us out of Gush Katif because we didn’t merit it, if Hashem wants to take a Mt. Zion from us, he will.
I responded to my friend that we have freedom of choice and that Hashem was testing us with the Expulsion and is testing us now via Mt. Zion, Dovid HaMelech’s Kever. Hashem, ka’v’yochel wanted to see how much we would cleave to the land, how much we would put our lives on hold in August, Mesirut Nefesh for our brethren and now for the Kever. Hashem even tried to make it easy for us by delaying the actualization of the Expulsion until after Tisha B’av and during the peak of the vacation season. IMHO, Hashem hoped that there would be such an outpouring of Mesirut Nefesh from B’nai Yisrael on behalf of their brethren, i.e. using their summer vacations to support their brethren in all ways possible in fighting to save Gush Katif and the Shomron towns that it would be compelling to briing about Redemption, or at least to quash the Expulsion.
I sincerely feel that, because Am Yisrael came out enmass to pray, but when Yom Pakuda came and Am Yisrael, for the most part, didn’t skip a beat in going about their daily lives “business as usual”, we failed a divine test. Therefore Gush Katif and the Shomron towns are for now no longer accessible to us.
The same now holds true for Mt. Zion — Dovid HaMelech’s Kever. Apparently, fortunately, we’ve had more success, for it appears as if sufficient pressure from a lot of sources in Israel and from overseas was brought to bear on President Katzav and so he and the Papal representative in Jerusalem now deny the reports in the Vatican Media that a deal [Mt. Zion, Dovid HaMelech’s Kever swap for a Synagogue in Toledo, Spain] is to be signed during President Katzav’s trip to Rome in mid-November. But we will watch and observe the news and assert our claims to what is ours — Mt. Zion.
Here is where parallels and contrasts come in. We read in our parsha that “These are the generations of No’ach: No’ach was a righteous man and perfect in his generations, and No’ach walked with G’d.” (Sefer Breish’t, Perek 6, posuk 9.) The Imrei Shefer comments on the Midrash regarding the words; “These are the generations of No’ach …” that the flood was directly attributable to No’ach’s behavior. According to the Midrash, “he [No’ach]… caused the flood by not protesting against the corrupt actions of the members of his generation.” (Torah Gems, Aharon Yaakov Greenberg, Sefer Breish’t, page 56)
The Alshech refers to No’ach with the yiddish expression,”‘Tzaddik in peltz’ — ‘a righteous man in a fur coat.'” He was commanded by Hashem to build an ark which he built board by board and nail by nail for 120 straight years. It never occurred to him “… that there might be a way [tefillah – prayer as Avraham Aveinu prayed before Sodom — MB] to avert Hashem’s decree and to save the world from destruction.” (Torah Gems, Sefer Breish’t, page 57)
R’ Menachem Mendel of Kotzk explains the “Tzaddik in peltz” this way; “When one is cold at home, there are two ways to keep warm — … heat the home or get dressed in one’s fur coat or other warm clothes. The difference between the two is that in the first case the entire home is warm and everyone feels comfortable, whereas in the second case only the person wearing the coat feels warm, all the other people continue to freeze. There is the type of righteous man who, when he sees that Jewish observance is “cold”, does everything possible to warm up the entire area. On the other hand, there is the righteous man who closes himself up within his own little space so as to ensure that at least he doesn’t get swept away by the stream.” (Torah Gems, Sefer Breish’t, page 57)
Translated to our modern-day matzavim, there is the Yid who learns his Gemora or whatever Sefer he is learning each evening at Night Seder, or whatever time he sets aside each day for learning, gives of himself for his Shul Kehilla, for his neighborhood but doesn’t reach beyond. And there is the Yid who does all of the above and reaches beyond, [“outside the box”, if you will], who puts aside comfort, vacation, entertainment, trips to Chutz L’Aretz, 5 Star Hotel Accomodations in order to fight for his brother [who he may have never previously met] and for his beloved Eretz HaKodesh.
The Land of Israel activists fought and are fighting the tyrannical regime on behalf of their Jewish brethren, for Kol B’nai Yisrael, doing — “…everything possible to warm up the entire area.” In turn they need the help, support and swelling of the ranks of all who support Jewish survival in our divine legacy, Eretz Yisrael and who are inspired by the heroism of these activists against our generation’s despotic government leaders.
May it be in this new year and beyond, that our brethren — the refugee families from Gush Katif and the Shomron as well as our dear brother, Jonathan Pollard are central in our thoughts, prayers, chassadim and actions.
B’Ezrat Hashem, may we soon know the day when Torah is the law of the land, when we pray thanks to Hashem for the Ge’ula Shlaima and for the restoration of our Brethren, expelled by the evil regime from Gush Katif and the Shomron towns to bigger and more beautiful homes and neighborhoods, Bati Knesset, Yeshivot in Gush Katif and the Shomron and only happiness and success for all time. May this abominable period of history called hitnatkut be as a bad dream. And may we soon see freedom and long life in Eretz Yisrael for Jonathan Pollard.
May we be zocha in this coming year take giant steps toward fulfilling Hashem’s blueprint of B’nai Yisrael as a Unique people — an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with “the nations.”
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Moshe Burt, an Oleh, is a commentator on news and events in Israel and Founder and Director of the Sefer Torah Recycling Network. He lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh.