"And G-d remembered Noach" (Genesis 8:1) Tishrei 30, 5785/November 1, 2024 "And G-d remembered Noach" (Genesis 8:1) are perhaps the most spine-chilling words in the entire Torah! If "G-d remembered Noach" nearly two hundred days after He opened up the heavens and brought upon all living creatures the great flood, does that not imply that up to one moment before "G-d remembered Noach" that He had actually forgotten Noach? And is that not the most frightening thing imaginable? Can G-d forget? More than once the psalmist pleaded with G-d not to forget him. Whether or not G-d can forget, the fear that rises in our hearts when we feel that G-d has forgotten us is overpowering. To be forgotten by G-d is to no longer be of purpose to G-d or to His creation. To be forgotten by G-d is to not exist.
Whether or not G-d can forget is a question for the philosophers to wrestle with. But what is even more distressing is that Noach, himself, stranded upon an endless, tempestuous ocean, with no land nor end in sight, did not cry out to G-d. We read much later in the Torah's history of mankind that "the children of Israel sighed from the labor, and they cried out, and their cry ascended to G-d from the labor. G-d heard their cry, and God remembered His covenant with Avraham, with Yitzchak, and with Yaakov. And G-d saw the children of Israel, and G-d knew." (Exodus 2:23-25) Israel did not wait for G-d to remember. Israel cried out and reminded G-d, and then G-d remembered and thus began the long process leading from slavery to liberty, from oppressed masses to a free people. It seems positively astonishing that Noach never thought to cry out to HaShem. Was it a sign that his faith was so strong that he was willing to endure in silence his terrifying fate? Or was simply incapable of opening his mouth. When we read carefully the story of Noach, from beginning to end, he never talks! G-d has plenty to say to Noach, giving him very specific and technical instructions for constructing the ark and taking aboard all the creatures that walked the earth, two by two. And Noach, "a righteous man; perfect in his generations" (Genesis 8:1) fulfilled every word of G-d's instructions. Yet he never asked why, he never questioned or challenged G-d's intentions. The very first time Noach opened his mouth, long after the flood waters had abated, was when he opened his mouth and got drunk on wine. The second time Noach opened his mouth, and the first and only words he spoke, recorded by Torah, was when he cursed his grandson Canaan, the son of Ham.
It is often pointed out that the difference between Avraham, the man G-d chose to spread the knowledge of His name in the world, and Noach, is that Noach, having been informed by G-d one hundred and twenty years in advance that a devastating flood would wash away a sinful generation, made no effort to approach the sinners and try to convince them to change their ways before it was too late. Noach, righteous and perfect, was passive in his relationship to G-d, to his fellow man and to creation itself. He did what he was told, and nothing more. No wonder that the one time he did express his gratitude to HaShem by building an altar and making an offering, HaShem was delighted, taking in the "sweet savor" of Noach's gesture.
Nevertheless, we know that G-d did not want man to be alone. He wanted man to speak up, to converse, to share his thoughts and passions, his hopes and dreams with one another, and just as important, to open up and talk to G-d. G-d wants us to cry out to Him when we are hurting and to express our gratitude when we are consoled. G-d may not need us to remind him that we are suffering, but we need to remind G-d for our sake. We must not take G-d for granted, neither in good times nor in bad.
Our ability to speak, to form words, to communicate ideas is the greatest gift G-d has blessed us with, and it lifts us high above all other creation. It is incumbent upon us to utilize that gift to its fullest. When we look at the life of Avraham we see that he talked to everyone. He talked to Sarah. He talked to Hagar. He talked to Lot. He talked to Pharaoh and Avimelech and Melchitzedek. He talked to the warring kings. He talked to Eliezer, to Yishmael and to Yitzchak. He talked to wayfarers and to angels! He talked to G-d! He questioned G-d. He beseeched G-d. He challenged G-d and engaged G-d in a type of negotiation concerning the fate of the people of Sodom. Avraham was completely engaged in the world around him. He faithfully fulfilled G-d's will, but he did not do so blindly. Walking with HaShem sometimes caused Avraham great pain, but he never wavered. But he did always speak up. He took full advantage of the gift of speech to try to better understand G-d and to share his relationship with G-d with all whom he met.
Noach saved humanity from extinction, and he did so silently. Avraham caused mankind to flourish and to do so he was obliged to speak out at every occasion. Cry out for justice. Speak peace and pursue it. Teach and preach and share G-d with the world. Cry out to G-d when you are hurting and sing His praise when you are glad. G-d wants to hear us. G-d wants to hear from us. We are all grateful to Noach, the righteous, perfect man who withstood the corrupting offenses of a failing generation, and did so in silence. By the hands of Noach, the man who found grace in G-d's eyes, we are here today. But the era of the silent servant has passed. We today need to cry out to G-d and remind Him, and ourselves, that we exist and each have an essential part to play in G-d's plan and purpose for creation.
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| Tune in to (last) week's Temple Talk, as Yitzchak Reuven talks about Noach, the speechless Tzadik,about Genesis' journey from before the beginning to the end of mankind, (almost), and G-d's first two questions of man! G-d's greatest creation and His most troublesome creation is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, man. It took the pure and righteous Noach to cause G-d to give man one more chance to live up to G-d's expectations. |
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Help To Build The Holy Temple In Our Time! Donate Generously To Help The Sacred Work Of The Temple Institute! Every contribution helps to rebuild the Holy Temple in our Time! |
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| Shame! It's an overwhelming emotion that affects us all. It can cause us to shut down and shy away from others. It can also cause us to lash out and blame others for something they are completely innocent of. Noach, the great helmsman of humanity, chose the latter path to express his shame.
Noach (Genesis 6:9 - 11:32)
Parashat Noach is read on Shabbat:
Rosh Chodesh MarCheshvan, 5785/November 2, 2024 |
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| Haftarah For Shabbat Parashat Noach/Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
When Rosh Chodesh occurs on a Shabbat, the following haftarah, from Isaiah 66:1-24;66:23, is read:
"So says HaShem, "The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool; which is the house that you will build for Me, and which is the place of My rest? And all these My hand made, and all these have become," says HaShem..."
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| Rosh Chodesh: The New Month Of Marcheshvan
Tonight, (Thursday evening) begins a two day Rosh Chodesh (new moon) celebration, welcoming in the new month of MarCheshvan! MarCheshvan is also referred to as Cheshvan, and one popular understanding is that the Hebrew word mar, which means bitter, (as in maror, the bitter herb eaten on Passover), is attached to Cheshvan because there are no holidays in Cheshvan, making it a "bitter" month. However for many, after the holiday filled month of Tishrei, the quiet month of MarCheshvan is very welcome!
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| Death Of Shimon Hatzadik (Simon The Righteous)
Today, the 29th of Tishrei is the day traditionally marked as the day of the passing of Shimon HaTzadik, the 4th century BCE Kohen Gadol (High Priest), who, among other events and miracles attributed to his righteousness, met Alexander the Great as the Greek conqueror entered into the land of Israel for the first time, leading his army toward Jerusalem. Fearful of what might happen next, a delegation of kohanim and Jerusalem notables, led by Shimon HaTzadik, (who had made the unprecedented decision to wear his priestly garments outside of the Temple complex), made their way toward Alexander and his army.
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| Parashat Noach: The Tower Of Bavel
"Everyone on earth had the same language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them hard.” Brick served them as stone, and bitumen served them as mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for ourselves; else we shall be scattered all over the world...”
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| Video: Last Week's Water Libation Reenactment!
We are sharing a video of last week's Water Libation Reenactment, prepared by Temple Mount activist and Israeli journalist, Arnon Segal.
The reenactment which took place during the intermediate days of Sukkot was led by the Temple Mount. Kohanim led the assembled crowd down to the Shiloach (Siloam) spring at the foot of the City of David, where a kohen gathered up water in a golden flask and brought it back up to the Davidson Center Archaeological Garden at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount, where the reenactment was performed. The Temple Institute's Levitical choir performed at the event.
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| Parashat Noach: "Hashem Smelled The Pleasing Odor"
"Then Noach built an altar to HaShem and, taking of every pure animal and of every pure bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. HaShem smelled the pleasing odor, and HaShem resolved: “Never again will I doom the earth because of humankind, since the devisings of the human mind are evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living being, as I have done. So long as the earth endures, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Summer and winter, Day and night Shall not cease.” (Genesis 820-22)
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| All Of Humanity Has A Place At The Holy Temple!
We have shared three posts over the past week, one with a picture and description of Adam and Eve making an offering to HaShem, thanking G-d for the wonder of creation and expressing remorse for eating from the Tree of Knowledge; one with a picture of Cain and Abel and their respective offerings to HaShem; and one depicting Noach and his family at the altar the he built following the great flood. Midrashic tradition holds that all three of these offerings, as well as the binding Yitzchak by he father Avraham and his ultimate offering of a ram upon the altar, of which we will be reading in a few weeks, were performed in the very same spot; Mount Moriah, the place of the Holy Temple.
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| This Week: Parashat Noach, "“And Noach Built An Altar To Hashem"
The waters of the great flood have receded, and Noach and his sons make their way to Mount Moriah to bring a special offering to HaShem. They sought to express their thanks to HaShem, as the Torah states: “And Noach built an altar to HaShem, and he took of the pure animals… and offered them as burnt offerings upon the altar.” (Genesis 8:20)
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| Jewish Prayer & Presence On The Temple Mount, As The Arabs See It
We have shared a number of posts over the past month with photos, videos and text descriptions of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount over the Tishrei holidays. Local Arabs have also taken note of the increased Jewish presence and freedom of worship on the Temple Mount, and they are not pleased. These images, (with English text), which first appeared on an Arabic language Facebook page, present the joyful Jewish presence on the Temple Mount from the local Arab perspective. |
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| From Last Week's Parashat Bereshit: The Offerings Of Cain And Abel On The Altar
We are all familiar with the story of Cain and Abel and their respective offerings to HaShem.
According to ancient Midrash, Cain and Abel brought their offerings on the second Rosh Hashanah in the history of the world, atop the altar that their father Adam had erected on Mt. Moriah. (Midrash also maintains that Mount Moriah, the place of the Holy Temple, is located precisely where the Garden of Eden originally existed.) Abel offered “from the firstlings of his flock and from their fats” (Genesis 4:4), and it was accepted. Cain, on the other hand, brought “fruit of the ground” (ibid. v. 3) – seeds of flax, the Sages teach – and HaShem rejected his offering.
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| Mikdash Monday The Mikdash (Holy Temple) is not mentioned many times explicitly in the Torah and seldom in the Prophets and Writings. However, we do find it mentioned many times, in subtle ways, under different terms. In this series, we will be exploring all the ways the Holy Temple makes an appearance.
Rashi, the 11th century commentator, will be used to deepen our understanding of each verse.
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| 5,928 Jews Prayed On The Temple Mount During The Holiday Of Sukkot!
This Sukkot witnessed a modern day record number of Jews who ascended the Temple Mount to celebrate the Torah mandated pilgrimage festival. As Jews slowly regain their rightful freedom of worship on the Temple Mount, the number of Jews who ascend the Mount is increasing, and as the numbers increase greater pressure is exerted on the government of Israel to continue to expand Jewish rights of prayer and access to the Mount.
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| Mashiv HaRu'ach uMorid HaGeshem!
On Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah, which we celebrated last Thursday, a special prayer for rain is said. Israel is a land with limited water resources and adequate winter rainfall is a necessity. This remains true today even with the development of desalination technology and access to underground aquifers. Modern Israel is the world's leader in water recycling, mainly for agricultural purposes.
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| Shavua Tov From The Temple Mount!
The month of Tishrei holiday season has ended on a high note as thousands of Jews ascended, prayed, sang, bowed down, brought their Sukkot arba minim (four species), and were blessed by kohanim on the Temple Mount, unlike any holiday season since Israel liberated the Temple Mount in 1967!
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| Build a House for HaShem!
"Be strong and have courage! Build a House for HaShem!" In this scene from a film soon to become an integral part of the Temple Institute's Jerusalem based Visitors Center experience, the prophet Samuel charges King David with the task of building the Holy Temple! |
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| The Glory of this Last House Shall be Greater than the First! "The Glory of this Last House Shall be Greater than the First!" In this scene from a film soon to become an integral part of the Temple Institute's Jerusalem based Visitors Center experience, Zerubavel from the house of David and Kohen Gadol (High Priest) Yehoshua consult with the prophet Haggai who instructs them to waste no time in rebuilding the Holy Temple! |
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| Interested in Ascending the Temple Mount? Contact us via our website, email us at infotempleinstitute@gmail.com or via our Facebook page. Click below for more information on ascending the Temple Mount in purity. |
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Blessings from the holy city of Jerusalem!
Yitzchak Reuven
The Temple Institute
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