“Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean (Anenu tahora) animal, a male and its mate”. (7:2) Why did the Torah use the language of Anenu Tahora when the simpler “Tameh” could have been used*? [The Torah usually prefers terse language.]… Continue reading Noach- Speak Softly
Category: Noach
What the Destruction of the World Can Teach Us About Human Relations
The passuk at the beginning of parashat Noach tells us: ויאמר אלהים לנח, קץ כל בשר בא לפני — כי מלאה הארץ חמס, מפניהם והנני משחיתם, את-הארץ. (בראשית ו:יג) And the Lord said to Noach, “The end of all flesh comes before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold I… Continue reading What the Destruction of the World Can Teach Us About Human Relations
Tower and Technology
The episode of the tower of Babel is a curious one. It’s one of the 4 major stories preceding Abraham, together with Adam and Chava’s sin, Kayin’s murder of Hevel and the Flood. Nevertheless, the entire story is very short – only 9 pasukim recount the entire sequence of events from beginning to end –… Continue reading Tower and Technology
Who are the people in your neighborhood?
This week’s parsha starts with the famous description of Noah (Bereishit 6:9): אֵלֶּה, תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ–נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה, בְּדֹרֹתָיו: אֶת-הָאֱלֹהִים, הִתְהַלֶּךְ-נֹחַ These are the generations of Noah. Noah was in his generations a man righteous and whole-hearted; Noah walked with God. Rashi notes that the word בְּדֹרֹתָיו (“in his generation”) at the end of… Continue reading Who are the people in your neighborhood?