…and only one man, Noach, found favour in God’s eyes. After the Flood, God made a covenant with Noach, and through him with all humanity, but after the hubris of the builders of the Tower of Bavel, God chose another way. Having established a basic threshold in the form of the Noachide Laws, He then chose one man, one family,…
…And it was their son Seth whose descendants eventually led to Noach who saved humanity, and then to Avraham, who reintroduced spirituality to the world. The new series of Covenant & Conversation: Family Editions features one new voice each week. We hope that this will further illuminate the ideas of Rabbi Sacks and encourage others to continue these conversations with…
…had already made one with all humanity through Noach, and another with Avraham. But those were not fully reciprocal. God did not ask for Noach’s agreement, nor for Avraham’s. The brit at Har Sinai was different. For the first time, God ensured the covenant was entirely mutual and fully accepted by Bnei Yisrael. The point is important. God wants to…
Amid all the drama of the impending Flood and the destruction of almost all of creation, we focus on Noah building the Ark, and hear one detailed instruction: Make a tzohar for the ark and terminate it within a cubit of the top. Gen. 6:16 There is a difficulty understanding what “tzohar” means, since the word does not appear anywhere else…
…is permission,’ as it is said [Then God said to Noah,] ‘Come out of the Ark.'” Rabbi Yehudah bar Ilai said: If I had been there I would have broken down the Ark and taken myself out. (Tanhuma, Buber, Noach, 13-14) To understand this Midrash one has to read the story of the Flood carefully, with an ear to the…
…means ‘harden,’ the second, ‘strengthen,’ and the third, ‘make heavy.’ [2] Maimonides, Hilchot Teshuvah 6:3. [3] Albo, Sefer Ikkarim, IV, 25. [4] See Ovadiah Sforno’s Commentary to Ex. 7:3. [5] On Enron, see Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron, New York: Portfolio, 2003. [6] See Beyond Nature, a Covenant & Conversation piece on parshat Noach. [7] Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence, New York: Bantam, 1995. [8] Stanley…
…be nothing in the Torah’s description of his early life to give us a hint as to why he was singled out to be the founder of our faith. This is very strange. The Torah leaves us in no doubt as to why God chose Noach: “Noach was a righteous man, blameless in his generations; Noach walked with God.” It…
…the plagues – as in God’s covenant with Noach – is the principle of reciprocity: ‘As you do, so shall you be done to.’ Those who harm others will themselves be harmed. Nations that begin by depriving others of their liberty in the end destroy themselves. Historically, this was so. Egypt never again recovered the greatness it had enjoyed in…
…God’s partner in the work of creation. Lessons in Leadership – Bereishit: Taking Responsibility Core Questions What leadership failures can you see in the stories of Adam and Chava, Kain and Hevel, and Noach? What are the differences in leadership style between Noach and Avraham? Which model does Moses fit in to? What values can you conclude are central to…
…question has been adapted from Torah IQ by David Woolf, a collection of 1500 Torah riddles, available worldwide on Amazon. For the answer, please head to the Education Companion section (directly below, in grey). Educational Companion Torah Trivia: this week’s answer There are three parshiyot with just two letters their title. Noach – נח Bo – בא Tzav – צו…