Rabbi
Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi,
Kehillat New Hempstead
Social
Worker, Yeshiva Bais Hachinuch/Ashar
STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS
NOACH 5773
“WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN”
The following stories are just a
few of the experiences that my Bubby, Rebbitzin Fruma Kohn related to me from
her personal experiences as an adolescent in Siberia during World War II:
“It was freezing in Siberia
during the winter; at times it reached forty degrees below zero. They made us
do grueling work to fill impossible quotas. If we didn’t we wouldn’t receive
our meager rations of bread. Yet men would wake up early to daven shacharis
with a minyan.
“On Yom Kippur, a group of men
secretly gathered in a secluded room to recite Kol Nidrei, and whatever prayers
they could remember by heart. A fellow Jew, no doubt trying to prove his
loyalty to the accursed communists, ratted on them. In the middle of their
prayers, soldiers burst in to the room and took them to jail.
“As the spring approached and the air
began to get warmer, we began to think about how we could possibly have matzos
in Siberia. Normally even entertaining the
thought was ludicrous. But just before Pesach the ‘bakery’ burned down and they
could not provide us with bread. Instead they gave us raw flour. We constructed
an oven out of iron and divided it with the Poles who were prisoners with us.
They baked bread on their side of the oven and we baked kosher matzos on the
other side. On the night of Pesach we conducted a Seder while the Poles kept a
sharp lookout for soldiers. Then when it was their holiday, we would keep a
lookout as they would celebrate.”
The unwavering dedication that was
displayed for Torah and mitzvos boggles the mind. What wouldn’t these Jews do
to serve G-d even in the bleakest of times? The myriads of stories of Jews
standing on long lines in death camps to shake a Lulav, those who sang ‘Ani
Ma’amin’ on their way into the gas chambers of Aushwitz, those who gave up half
their meager bread ration to don a pair of tefillin for a few moments in
Treblinka, those who would not entertain the possibility of converting to
Christianity even in the face of persecution of the Auto-da-fe, etc. are all
testaments to our unyielding dedication to our mission and destiny as the
bearers of the Torah and G-d’s ambassadors to the world.
One thousand years had passed since
the creation of the world. G-d decided that the world had to be eradicated and
started anew. Noach was chosen to sustain the remaining minority of the world
while the rest of the world was completely flooded.
When the rains finally subsided and the
land was dry enough to replenish new life, Noach opened the door of the ark and
all of its inhabitants departed to repopulate the world. Immediately Noach
decided to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Hashem.
The verse (8:21) states, “G-d smelled the
pleasant odor (of Noach’s sacrifice) and He said to Himself, ‘I shall no longer
curse the land because of man, for the inclination of man is evil from his
youth and I will not continue to smite all the living beings which I have
created’.”
Why was the sacrifice of Noach so
potent? What was it about its smell that caused G-d to immediately vow that he
would never again destroy the world?
The greatness of Noach’s sacrifice was
that Noach had to make the greatest self-sacrifice in order to bring them.
One can only imagine what it was like
to be inside the Ark
during the flood. If one has ever smelled horse’s stables they can only imagine
how much more magnified that smell was.[1]
Every single type of bird, amphibian, mammal, reptile, fish, fungi, protozoa,
bacteria, algae, and plant life (not to mention demons and spirits) had to be
nourished and sustained for the duration of the flood. Noach and his family did
not have a solitary moment of rest from the moment he sealed the ark until he allowed
the animals out. The one time he came a moment late to feed the lions, he was
rewarded with a sharp strike in the leg that caused him to limp for the rest of
his life.
Noach emerged from the Ark a tired man[2].
The sight that greeted him when he opened the door of the Ark must have been terrifying. When he
entered the Ark and G-d sealed the doors as
the rain began to fall, Noach saw myriads of people amassed near the Ark menacingly. In the
distance were buildings and society. Now he saw nothing but the utter silence
of desolation.
The
animals Noach and his family had cared for in the Ark were sustained with every last ounce of
their energy and dedication. He had nourished each animal individually with
precision. Now Noach took from those animals and slaughtered them in
appreciation of G-d’s salvation. That was the ultimate sacrifice.
Normally when one wanted to offer a
sacrifice to G-d he went to a local farmer to purchase the animal. He then ascended
to Jerusalem
where he commissioned a Kohain to offer his sacrifice upon the Altar. Here
however Noach took an animal that was only alive because of his own herculean
efforts and offered it to G-d. That was true sacrifice. It was the odors of
those sacrifices which prompted G-d to pledge to never destroy the world
again.
The Mishna[3]
states, “Rebbe said…Be as scrupulous in performing a minor mitzvah as in a major
one, for you do not know the reward given for the respective mitzvos.” I once
heard the Mishna explained in the following manner: We conceptualize there is a
‘point system’ for mitzvos. We think Shabbos must be worth a lot of points
while standing up for an old man is probably worth much less. In truth however,
one mitzva is not greater than another[4].
The value of a mitzvah is wholly dependent on the effort invested in its
performance. Two people can perform the same mitzvah, yet one will receive a
far greater reward for it. What really matters in the celestial courts is the
feeling and motive one had when performing a mitzvah. This is the message Rebbe
is conveying to us: Do not think one mitzvah is minor or major, because in
truth every mitzvah is major; it just depends how much you put into it.
Any person involved in a serious
relationship knows that the durability of the relationship can only be seen
from how they are able to manage and deal with challenges and difficult
situations. When things are going well and everyone is happy, any relationship
can prosper. It’s not a true measure of marital success to see a bride and
groom blissfully happy with each other. But if things become difficult and
there is pressure involved and they are able to steer through those difficult
times together, that shows that the relationship is concrete and solid.
On a deeper level the same holds true
in regards to our relationship with our Creator. Our dedication to G-d is not
proved when it is easy for us to keep the mitzvos. Rather it’s when the chips
are down and one doesn’t feel that same sense of spiritual bliss that he felt
during the holidays. Is he still able to produce and maintain his values and
spiritual commitments?
The greatness of Noach’s sacrifice
after the flood was that he was willing to sacrifice the fruits of his greatest
efforts out of love for G-d. That is the true measure of righteousness and
dedication.
“G-d
smelled the pleasant odor”
“For you do not know the reward given”
[1] A friend
once described it as a floating Bronx Zoo without a proper sewage system.
[2] Not to
mention that he was six hundred years old.
[3] Avos 2:1
[4] To be
sure, there are unquestionably certain mitzvos which carry greater
significance, precedence, and value than others.
___________________________________________________________________
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Noach
3 Cheshvan 5773/October 20, 2012
“C is for Cookie, that’s good enough for me.” He’s blue, furry, googly-eyed,
and can’t get enough cookies. He’s a legend in America and has been
inspiring children everywhere for decades. He’s the one and only Cookie
Monster!
But in recent years his inspiration has been called into question.
Child psychology experts and parents throughout the world have begun
to wonder whether Cookie Monster is playing a role in the obesity epidemic
ravaging Western Society.
Innocent children are being exposed to this beloved puppet who can eat as
many cookies as he wants without compunction. What’s more, he eats
his cookies with animalistic and crazed fervor and like a complete slob,
sending crumbs flying in all directions. How can we expect our children
to grow into fine, decent, health-conscientious, productive members
of society with such terrible role models like Cookie Monster?!
And so in their brilliance and foresight, the creators of Sesame Street
have added vegetables to Cookie Monster’s diet. Yes, he still enjoys
a tasty cookie. But he also enjoys a good piece of carrot and broccoli.
His new song is “A Cookie is a sometimes food”.
Kudos to the experts who have come to the conclusion that children’s eating habits can be influenced
by television, even by a Muppet-monster that every child knows isn’t
real. The fact remains the same: children are very impressionable.
At the same time it’s fascinating to note the increase of children
exposure to television. And the television of today is very different
from that of the past. Hardly a commercial doesn’t have an innuendo,
and hardly a show on TV doesn’t have scenes of relationships that
any decently moral person would be disgusted by, or a scene of violence
depicting shootings and blood that we would be horrified to ever see
in real life.
I read recently that if an average child/adolescent is asked to guess
how many times he/she thinks a police officer fires off a gun during
his career on the force, most would answer upwards of 50. In truth the
overwhelming majority of police officers NEVER fire their gun throughout
their career. The fact that police officers are almost always drawing
their guns on TV probably has absolutely no bearing on that mistaken
idea.
The effects of continued TV exposure have been shown to increase anxiety,
social withdrawal, social incompetence, and attention deficits, to name
a few. This is all based on studies done in the general society. As
Torah Jews we have other vital concerns to contend with as well.
So in conclusion I just want to express my happiness that Cookie Monster
has realized the need to include salad in his diet. Let him go back
to eating only cookies and parents all over America may decide that
it’s time to pull the plug on the blue beast. But let Cookie Monster
shoot someone who tries to steal his cookies (with the salad on top),
and that would seem to not be as much of a concern. After all, that
type of stuff is entertainment, and what could be wrong with a little
entertainment?
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
720 Union Road • New Hempstead, NY 10977 • (845) 362-2425
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