Noach 5782

The Midrash Rabbah (B"R 23:7) discusses the root "hey-chet-lamed" as it appears in various places throughout the first two parshios. R' Simmon explains that the root's implication is to rebel in the following three places: 1)"az huchal likro b'shem Hashem"; 2)"ki heicheil ha'adam"; 3)"hu heicheil lihiyot gibor". The Eitz Yosef explains each of the three verses. Verse 1) refers to when Mankind began serving idols and straying from Hashem. Verse 2) introduces the story of the Bnei Elohim, which many commentators describe as a time when sexual immorality was rampant [see Bereishit 5782 for more]. Verse 3) is the Torah's description of Nimrod, the fierce hunter (10:8); he began to convince everyone to rebel against Hashem and promoted murder with his strength. Each of these are considered rebellions against Hashem and represent the three cardinal sins in Judaism. 

Noach 5779

There is a misconception regarding Noach's curse to his grandson, Canaan. After Noach awakes from his drunken state, he realizes what Ham did to him; he decides to curse Ham's son, Canaan. He is to be a slave to his brothers, Cush, Mitzrayim and Put. However, states the Ibn Ezra, many people claim that this explains why African nations, originally from Cush, became slaves. He points out that the very first king after the flood was Nimrod, Cush's son. If there really was a curse on them, how could they become leaders of their land? Therefore there is no justification for the formation of slavery during colonial times. The curse was for Canaan, not Cush's.

Noach 5778

The Kli Yakar suggests that the people who built the Tower of Babel had the right idea to do so. They were worried that if they separated into different communities, they would wage wars with each other. However, they erred in saying that they wanted to make a name for themselves as well. Everyone had their own way of doing so; some wanted to become rich while some wanted to have all the food in world. G-d knew that bringing wicked people together would only split them apart, as they would attempt to rule over each other and engage in a civil war. They would be more united if there was a bit of separation between them.

This is based on the Talmud in Sanhedrin (71b) that says a gathering of wicked people is bad for them and for the world while a gathering of righteous people is good for them and good for the world. Righteous people have only one mission and can therefore join together in the service of G-d. However, there are many ways to be wicked. G-d's punishment of dispersing them was really a blessing in disguise.

Noach 5775

There are thousands of types of animals and birds in the world. Additionally, such an amount of creatures would require an incredible amount of food and space in order to multiply. The Ramban explains that it was a miracle that the ark was able to hold everything; the small was able to hold the large. Why then was the ark as big as it was? Why not make a smaller one and rely on the miracle? The Ramban goes on to say that the way miracles in the Torah work requires man to do whatever he can and the rest is left for Hashem. It is important to lead an active life and not to sit back and wait for things to happen. Hashem rewards those who put in effort.

Noach 5774

The Midrash says that Shem merited a Tallis when he covered Noah in a cloth. However, Chazal say that Avraham merited techeiles on his tzitzis. The Kli Yakar explains that there is no contradiction here; these two actions work as a tag team. Shem's actions saved Bnei Yisroel from immorality while Avraham's actions saved Bnei Yisroel from poverty (he refused to take any money from the king of Sodom because he was happy with what he had). The mitzvah of tzitzis provides protection from both: it saves a person from immorality which in turn saves a person from poverty.