STAM TORAH
PARSHAS NOACH 5781[1]
“WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN”
“It was freezing in Siberia during the winter; at times it dropped to forty degrees below zero. The soldiers forced us to fill impossible quotas of inhumane labor. If we didn’t fill our quota, we wouldn’t receive our meager rations of bread. Still, despite all that, many of our men would wake up early to daven shachris 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 them out. In the middle of their prayers, soldiers burst into 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 give us bread. Instead they gave us raw flour.
We constructed an oven out of iron and divided it with the Poles who were inmates 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 celebrated."
These are a handful of the recollections my Bubby a”h shared with me from the months she spent in Siberia with her family during the War. The unwavering dedication for Torah and mitzvos is incredible. It fits with the endless stories of Jews standing on long lines in concentration camps to don a pair of tefillin for a few moments, of those who sang ‘Ani Ma’amin’ as they knowingly walked to their deaths, and of those burned at the stake because they refused to recant their faith.
After fifteen hundred years
since creation, Hashem was not happy with the world He created. Mankind had
become culturally sinful and hopelessly selfish and iniquitous. Hashem decided
the world had to be started anew.
Noach was chosen to sustain the remaining minority of the world while the rest of the world was flooded. Noach was instructed to construct an Ark and gather the remnants of civilization onto the Ark for the duration of the flood.
When the rains finally subsided and the land was sufficiently dry and able to replenish new life, Noach opened the door of the Ark and the world began to repopulate.
Noach decided to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Hashem. The pasuk (8:21) states, "And Hashem smelled the pleasant smell (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 the smell of his sacrifice that because of it G-d vowed never to destroy the world again?
The greatness of Noach’s offering was in the incredible selflessness it entailed for Noach to bring them as offerings. We can hardly imagine what it was like inside the Ark during the flood.[2] The entire remnant of the world was inside the Ark sustained by Noach and his family. Noach did not have a solitary moment of rest from the moment he sealed the ark until he let the animals out. The one time he came a moment late to feed the lions, he was given a sharp strike in the leg that caused him to limp for the rest of his life.
When the flood began, Noach was six hundred years old. He emerged from the Ark a tired man. The sight that greeted him must have been frightful. He saw desolation and the stillness of a world that had been vibrant and filled.
Those animals that Noach had worked so selflessly to sustain for a half a year in the Ark were now returning to the world. Yet Noach took those animals and slaughtered them in appreciation of G-d’s salvation. That was the ultimate sacrifice. Noach was offering animals that he had kept alive through his sweat and ceaseless efforts. When Hashem saw the selflessness of such offerings, He vowed never to destroy the world again.
The Mishnah[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."
We often think that there is a point system for mitzvos. Certain mitzvos must be worth more than others depending on that mitzvah’s importance. However, the truth is that each mitzvah is as precious as the effort expended in its performance. Two people can perform the same mitzvah, yet one will receive far greater reward for it. In fact, an individual himself can invest more in the performance of a mitzvah on one occasion than on another occasion.
This is the message Rebbe is conveying: Do not think one mitzvah is minor or major, because every mitzvah depends on the investment of the one performing it.
It’s been said that the real
test of a relationship is when things are challenging and difficult. During
difficult times it becomes apparent how dedicated and committed each side is to
the marriage.
So too, our dedication to Hashem is not proven when it is easy to observe Torah and mitzvos. It is when things are more challenging, and one must invest effort to maintain his observance that he demonstrates true dedication to his faith.
The greatness of Noach’s sacrifice after the flood was that he was willing to give up the fruits of his greatest efforts for Hashem. That is the ultimate sacrifice and proof of his love and dedication to Hashem.
“Hashem smelled the pleasant smell”
“For you do not know the reward for mitzvos."
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