Navigating with Noah

 Parashat Noach
Genesis 6:9-11:32

Throughout the first stories of the Torah, people begin to learn about the responsibilities and boundaries of their relationship with God. In last week's parsha, Parshat B'reishit, we see Adam and Eve punished for disobeying God's rules and learn the lessons involving familial responsibilities taken from the experiences of Cain and Abel. 

In this week's parsha, Parshat Noach, we skip forward ten generations. The world has gotten so bad that God decides to start anew. Luckily, there was a man named Noah, a tzaddik, someone whom the Torah calls "righteous," which apparently goes a long way in a world filled with murder, meanness, and people generally not treating each other appropriately. It was such a good thing that God tasks Noah with building an ark and saving his family and a whole bunch of animals - seven pairs of "clean" (kosher) animals and one pair of "unclean" animals (B'reishit 7:2). Once the flood waters recede, it is up to Noah's family and passengers to repopulate the world.

Unfortunately, while Noah's righteousness saved his family from the devastation of the great flood, it did not seem to pass through the subsequent generations. By the time we get to the story of Babel, located towards the end of Parshat Noach, humans have grown proud and try to build a tower that will reach the sky. God disapproves, the tower comes crashing down, and humans are left with a number of different languages, unable to communicate effectively.
Some questions to ponder (perhaps at your Shabbat dinner table):

• How does the Torah describe Noah? What types of character traits do you think Noah had? How was he different from the other people around him?

• In several of the stories in the first part of B'reishit, people are punished for trying to be like God - give some examples of how it can be good to try to be like God. What are some things God can do that you are unable to do?

• How many of each animal does God instruct Noah to bring on the ark? Why are there different numbers? Are there animals you think should have been left off? Why?

• Noah's family was stuck on the ark together for a very long time - how do you think they felt at the end of their boat ride? Has your family ever taken a long trip together? What was that experience like?

• The last story in this parsha has a lot to say about communication - what are some ways your family can communicate better?

Just for fun, here is a quick animated look at Parshat Noach, courtesy of BimBam.

Wishing you and your family a Shabbat Shalom.

It's the Beginning, All Over Again!

 

Parashat Bereishit

Genesis 1:1-6:8

One of the most beautiful things about Torah is that every year, we get to rediscover each story, lesson, and law. After Simchat Torah, once we have gone through the arduous task of rolling and rolling the scrolls and parchment from the end of D'varim all the way back to the beginning of Bereishit, we start anew. After all of the experiences of the year that has ended, we begin to read the parashot, the weekly Torah portions, with eyes that have changed just a bit since the year before.

This Shabbat we start again with Parshat Bereishit, the first parsha in the first book of Torah. Like many of the parashot in the first two books of Torah, Bereishit contains a number of pretty seminal Biblical stories. We have the story of Creation, human beings are created and given the task of protecting the Garden of Eden, the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the story of Cain and Abel (are we our siblings' keepers?), and the birth of Adam & Eve's third son, Seth. Torah lists the ten generations between Adam and Noah, and the parasha concludes with God's sorrow over human wickedness.

Some discussion questions:

• Each time God creates something, Torah says that it was "good" - what do you think this means?
• Why do you think God names things? What is the importance of a name?
• In Jewish tradition, Shabbat and holidays begin at sundown - what clue in these first verses explains why this is?
• What does it mean to be your "brother's keeper"? What are your responsibilities to other people in your family?

Check out this quick cartoon of Parashat Bereishit:

I will leave you this week with something a little fun - Torah in Haiku. This comes from The Torah in Haiku and was written by Ed Nickow of Temple Chai in Long Grove, IL.

Cain's question to G-d:
"Am I my brother's keeper?"
The right answer? "Yes"

The Penultimate Parasha

Parshat Ha'azinu
Deuteronomy 32:1-52

A poem was introduced in the last line of the previous portion and is recited by Moses at the start of Ha'azinu.  Moses calls upon heaven and earth to witness his words.

Moses begins by praising God and describing the special care God has given Israel.  In response, the people have spurned God and God's laws.  Because of Israel's unfaithfulness, they will suffer God's wrath.  Ultimately, God will show mercy to the Israelites and deliver them from their enemies.

Moses tells the people to take the warning he has recited very seriously.  Israel's observance of God's laws is no trifling matter.  These laws are the essence of their lives.

The portion closest with God directing Moses to ascend Mount Debo and to look at the land promised to the Israelites.  Moses is told that he will die on the mountain.

Synopsis courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden

For your Shabbat table:

1. Do you think using poetry would be an effective way to get a message to a large group of people?  Why or why not?  Why do you think the Torah uses poems for important announcements?
2. Even though we are still in the fall holidays, the rabbis took some of the text in Deuteronomy 32:7 to serve as a basis for us being obligated to light the Chanukah candles.  Which Jewish obligations do you carry out in your family?  What observances do you hope future generations will maintain?
3. Another connection to Chanukah is that God is called HaTzur, the Rock, six times in this portion.  What symbolism do you see in calling God HaTzur, the Rock?