Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Artscroll p.30 Maftir p.890 Haftarah p.1208 Hertz p.26 Maftir p.695 Haftarah p.944 Soncino p.34 Maftir p.944 Haftarah p.

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1 21 October Cheshvan 5778 Shabbat ends London 6.42pm Jerusalem 6.37pm Volume 30 No. 5 Noach Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Artscroll p.30 Maftir p.890 Haftarah p.1208 Hertz p.26 Maftir p.695 Haftarah p.944 Soncino p.34 Maftir p.944 Haftarah p.1188 In loving memory of Yaakov Yehoshua ben Ephraim Hirsch Depiction of Noach s Ark on the mountains of Ararat c.1278, North French Hebrew Miscellany And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first (month) on the first of the month, the waters dried from upon the earth; Noach removed the covering of the Ark, and looked and behold! The surface of the ground had dried (Bereishit 8:13). 1

2 Sidrah Summary: Noach 1st Aliya (Kohen) Bereishit 6:9-22 Noach is introduced as a righteous man who walked with God. The people have become thieving and corrupt. Noach is told by God that He will destroy the world with a flood and commands Noach to build a wooden Ark with specific dimensions. Noach and his family are to enter the Ark, as well as a male and female of every non-kosher species of animal and bird. Point to Consider: Noach is described as perfect in his generations is this a positive or negative qualification? (see Rashi to 6:9) 2nd Aliya (Levi) 7:1-16 In addition, seven males and females from each species of kosher animal and bird are to enter the Ark. Noach is 600 years old when the Flood starts. The waters fall gently for the first seven days, then heavily for 40 days and nights. 3rd Aliya (Shlishi) 7:17-8:14 The rising Flood waters cover the highest mountains and wipe out every living creature. The rains strengthen for a further 150 days, after which they stop and start to recede. 10 months after the start of the Flood, the mountain tops become visible again. 40 days later, Noach sends out a raven and then a dove, to test the recession of the Flood. 4th Aliya (Revi i) 8:15-9:7 Upon God s command, Noach, his family and the animals leave the Ark. Noach builds an altar and brings one of every kosher animal and bird as an offering. This pleases God, Who pledges never again to destroy life on Earth. Question: What blessing did God give Noach and his sons upon their leaving the Ark? (9:1) Answer on bottom of page 6. 5th Aliya (Chamishi) 9:8-9:17 God establishes His covenant never to destroy the world with another flood, with the rainbow as its sign. Whenever a rainbow appears, it is a reminder to God to keep this promise. 6th Aliya (Shishi) 9:18-10:32 Noach s three sons are called Shem, Cham and Yefet (see p.3 article). Noach plants a vineyard, eventually drinking its wine and becoming drunk. Cham enters Noach s tent and disgraces his father; Shem and Yefet then protect Noach s dignity. After Noach wakes up, he realises what has happened and curses Cham and his descendants, but blesses Shem and Yefet. Noach dies at the age of 950. Cham and Yefet s descendants are listed, including Cham s great grandson Nimrod, a mighty warrior and conqueror. 7th Aliya (Shevi i) 11:1-11:32 All people share a common language and live in Babylonia. They decide to build a city with a tower that can reach the heavens the Tower of Babel. The Midrash says that, led by Nimrod, they wanted to wage war against God. However, God thwarts their plans, dispersing them around the world and introducing different languages so that they can no longer understand one another. Shem s descendants are listed, up to the generation of Avram (later Avraham) and his nephew Lot. Avram marries his niece Sarai (later Sarah), who is not blessed with children. Maftir The reading for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh is taken from parashat Pinchas and details the additional Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh offerings in the Temple. Haftarah The special haftarah for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh is the last chapter of the Book of Yeshaya (Isaiah). The world is God s throne and footstool. Trying to appease God with insincere offerings will be punished, yet one who is truly zealous regarding God s word will be rewarded. Those who love and are loyal to Jerusalem will enjoy the messianic future in which they will rejoice in the rebuilt city. United Synagogue Daf Hashavua Produced by US Living & Learning together with the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue Editor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor-in-Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis Editorial Team: Ilana Epstein, Michael Laitner, Sharon Radley Available also via US website United Synagogue To sponsor Daf Hashavua please contact Loraine Young on , or lyoung@theus.org.uk If you have any comments or questions regarding Daf Hashavua please rabbigross@theus.org.uk 2

3 The Names of Noach's Sons by Rabbi Zvi Cohen, Kingsbury United Synagogue Our sidrah begins with the introduction of Noach and his three sons Shem, Cham and Yefet. This seems repetitive, as they had already been mentioned at the end of last week s sidrah. Why are they reintroduced? The Ramban (Nachmanides d.1270) explains that the Torah is emphasising that unlike his predecessors who all fathered many children, Noach (at that point) only had these three children and no more. They were saved from the Flood in his merit and the world would be rebuilt through them. Names can be chosen for a number of reasons; after loved ones we wish to recall and honour and after great people we wish our children to emulate. They can relate to the Land of Israel or are chosen just because we like how they sound! Sometimes a name is given to send a message. For example, the Biblical prophet Hoshea was instructed by God to marry and then name each of his children in a way that would warn the Jewish People in the Northern Kingdom of Israel of their impending punishment. Rabbi Yosef Feimer (d.1864) suggests that Noach named his three sons to convey a very specific message. His children s names would constantly serve as a rebuke to the people of his generation, who were involved in some of the worst sins possible, namely idol worship, murder, and forbidden relations. Violence and theft were also rife, leading to a total breakdown in society. worship, as we see later on in the sidrah when the people built the tower of Babel to make a name for themselves (Bereishit 11:4); Rashi (d. 1105) comments that this is a reference to an idol (see Rashi to Job/Iyov 1:1). Cham means hot ; it hints to those violent crimes that are committed in the heat of the moment, murder and theft. Yefet means beauty, alluding to those drawn into forbidden relationships. With the names of his children, Noach was thus exhorting his generation to rise above their base nature and withstand these tests. However, the people did not heed this lesson and continued in their ways. They were destroyed in the ensuing Flood, leaving Noach, his three sons and their wives to rebuild humanity. Perhaps we can suggest that, after the Flood, their names became reminders of what had led the previous generation astray and encouraged them to build a new world avoiding those pitfalls. Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Ferber (d.1966) writes that each son played a unique role in the reconstruction of the world. Shem would teach about the existence of God and how to behave ethically. Cham had expertise in building and planting and Yefet was a master of invention and innovation, developing the world with his wisdom. Noach stepped into this environment of degradation with a message for the world, that their way of life was wrong, which he publicised through the names of his sons. Shem means name ; it is used here as a reference to idol In memory of Mordechai Avraham ben Nechemia 3

4 Bein Adam Lechaveiro Part 16: Tzedaka III by Rabbi Daniel Fine, Community Rabbi, Stanmore & Canons Park United Synagogue We learnt last week that tzedaka has two components to it. The first is the actual receipt of the money by the poor person. The second is that the act of giving acknowledges that God has given us our wealth; we are happy to utilise it to follow His command, emulating His trait of kindness. Thus, a poor person must also give (some) tzedaka they are also part of this second component. The Rambam (Maimonides d. 1204) adds that God will reward those who emulate His trait of kindness by giving them extra wealth. The Ben Ish Chai (Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, d. 1909) related a parable about a fool who came to the post office with a parcel to send, to be told that since the parcel weighed a certain amount, he needed to buy a particular stamp. But if I buy a stamp it will only make the parcel heavier! the man complained. This, said the Ben Ish Chai, is the fallacy of those who refuse to give tzedaka they do not realise that giving money to charity, like the postage stamp to the parcel, causes success rather than hindering it! mitzvah. Given that the positive mitzvah of giving has an upper limit of a fifth, its supporting prohibition is similarly limited. Furthermore, the Minchat Chinuch (written by Rabeinu Yosef d. 1874) writes that the rule of spending all our money to avoid a transgression only applies to prohibitions which are performed via an action (for example physically injuring someone). This prohibition, in contrast, is transgressed by being inactive, and thus does not carry the same rule. Finally, one of the heads of the House of Rothschild was asked how much money he had amassed. He reached into his drawer, saying only the figures in my charity book record what is really mine. This I am worth; this nobody can take away from me. Another point to ponder is why one is not obligated to give away all of one's money to charity. To explain this question, there is a general rule that whilst one is not to spend over a fifth of one's wealth on a positive mitzvah, one should spend all of one's money rather than transgress a prohibition. Given that as we saw last week there is a prohibition to withhold funds from the poor, why do we not have to give away all our money to avoid this prohibition? Aside from the very suggestion of becoming poor in order to help the poor being counterintuitive, the answer is that the negative prohibition extends only as far as the positive In memory of Tzemach ben Yisrael 4

5 Every Little Counts by Raisel Freedman, Participant on the Ma ayan Programme This week s sidrah details the one man and his family who were chosen to be saved when God destroyed the world with a flood. What had gone so wrong that God chose to respond with a complete reset? The verse describes the state of the world at that time: the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with chamas (Bereishit 6:13). The word chamas in this context is generally understood to be violence, cruelty, injustice or idolatry. However, when I was a young child learning about the generation of Noach, I was taught what chamas meant through the following story: A person would leave a bowl outside his window, piled up high with lots of peas. The people of Noach s generation would walk past and take just one pea each. Within no time, all the peas had gone and the person who had placed the peas outside cried and wailed about the theft of his peas, to whoever would listen. This is how Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch (d. 1888), drawing on a Midrash, explains the word chamas. He describes it as a theft in which the original owner has been harassed so slowly or in such minute amounts that it is not retrievable before the courts. This was the final straw that sealed the fate of the world, such that it now had to be reset. injustice they had suffered. This is referred to as chimus devarim, meaning tough talk. This is another dimension of the word chamas. The unethical behaviour in Noach s generation was not only rife in their actions but also in their reactions. This is how the situation spiralled out of control to such an extent that the earth had to be reset. Unfortunately, remnants of this behaviour are sometimes seen in the actions of individuals in our generation. In today s culture of social media, it is so easy and tempting to respond to something in the blink of an eye with a harsh post or a 140 character comment, which, when unjustified, could be a modern resemblance of chimus devarim. The sidrah encourages us to remind ourselves to think before posting and think before we react to an issue in the heat of the moment. We need to ask ourselves: is this a measured response or is this akin to the chamas of a generation long gone? The Chief Rabbi's Maayan Programme is training ten women as community educators with expertise in Taharat Hamishpacha. They will graduate in Spring The lawlessness in the generation of Noach was further exacerbated by the response of the victims to these crimes. Rabbi David Silverberg (of Yeshivat Har Zion) quotes another Midrash which states that instead of figuring out a reasonable and logical way to resolve their situation, the victims responded to crimes with rage, insults and deafening shouting, to tell everyone about the In memory of Moshe ben Avraham Zarach 5

6 Insights into Jewish History Part 83: Judah the Maccabee by Rebbetzen Ilana Epstein, Cockfosters & N Southgate United Synagogue; Head of Project Development, US Living & Learning As Judah the Maccabee surveyed the Temple from the hills outside of Jerusalem, one would imagine that what he saw would have been heartbreaking. Just a few years before, spurred on by his father and with the aid of his brothers, he set out to liberate Judea from the Seleucid Greek overlords. Those Greeks had denied the Jews the right to practise their religion freely; every breach of the Gezeirot (evil decrees) of the Greeks had been met with a cruel death sentence. Three years after the war had begun, Judah and his brothers reclaimed the Temple and reinstituted its services, and yet peace was elusive. As the traditional Jews attempted to bring offerings to the Temple, they encountered physical opposition from both the Hellenised Jews and from the Greeks still ensconced in the Accra Citadel located just below the Temple in the south of the city, which was the stronghold of the Seleucid army. Yet this was not Judah s main predicament. Antiochus (most probably the son of the original Antiochus) offered the Jews religious freedom, as he could not spare troops to deal with the infighting in Jerusalem. Antiochus had the Hellenised Kohen Gadol Menalaous assassinated, in his place the moderately Hellenised Alcimus was instituted as the Kohen Gadol. The traditional Jews, who had lost the will to fight after so much intense warfare, accepted this leader. The Hellenised Jews of the citadel were content with the compromise. However, this weak peace was short lasting. A coup d état in Syria removed Antiochus from the throne and the new King Demetrius returned Judea to its previous state, with no freedom of religion for the traditional Jews. He offered greater power to Alcimus to act as he pleased. Alcimus soon returned to the corrupt dealings of some of the past High Priests, especially high tax collection for his personal use. After a whole new set of decrees was issued by Alcimus, Judah the Maccabee could stand by no longer. He entered into battle to once more rid the Temple of the Greek overlord and his influence. In turn, Demetrius sent his finest general into battle; Nicanor. Yet when Nicanor entered the Temple, the corrupt Kohanim did not attack, rather they welcomed him. Nicanor told them to give him Judah and he would leave the Temple be. By now, Judah had once more amassed an army. On 13 Adar (as noted in Megilat Ta anit, an Aramaic document quoted in the Talmud), Judah defeated Nicanor. Nicanor himself was captured and his thumbs and head were hung outside the Temple gates. This was the final largescale battle of the Maccabean wars, though the skirmishes continued for the next 25 years. In the next article, we will discuss the newest friend and enemy that Judah invited into the Jewish camp. Drachma coin depicting Demetrius I Answer: That they would be "fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. In memory of Chaya Rachel bat Moshe Ben-tzion 6

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