Parsha Noach 5767: Contrasting Noach and Avraham Avinu…

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 Avinu 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)

And so, the commentators contrast Noach and Avraham Avinu.

Shem Mishmuel writes;

“Noach was a Tzaddik; it was built in [as was the circumcision he bore at birth], and nothing he did changed or developed in any way. Avraham was a totally self-made man. His origins were idolatrous; indeed his father, Terach was an idol-seller! Everything about Avraham’s origins was sordid….Through Avraham’s own efforts and tenacity, he achieved tremendous greatness and was able to pull down kedushah from Hashem to himself and his family.”

Shem Mishmuel brings a midrash on a posuk from Tehillim 65:5;

“Happy is the man whom You choose and cause to approach You” — happy is the man whom G’d chose even though he did not draw near. And happy is the man who drew near even though he was not chosen. Who is this? It is Avraham…but he wasn’t drawn near; rather, he drew himself near.” (Bamidbar Rabbah 3:2)

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 [whereever he is and who he, in all probability has 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 year and in all future years, that our brethren — the refugee families from Gush Katif — many still seeking their places, our brethren in the North who have had their lives disrupted, been displaced from their homes, their property in many cases destroyed by Katushyas, as well as our dear brother, Jonathan Pollard and the lives of the 3 captive Chayalim are central in our thoughts, prayers, chassadim and actions. May this abominable period of history called hitnatkut be as a bad dream, be retified — our brethren made whole and may hitnatkut be expunged from collective consciousness yet it’s evil never forgotten.

May we be zocha in this coming year to 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” and may we be zocha the Moshiach, the Ge’ula Shlaima, “Yom Hashem V’Kol HaGoyim”, the Ultimate Redemption, bim hay v’yameinu — speedily, in our time”, — Achshav, Chik Chuk, Miyad, Etmol!!!