1) Rav Shaul Yisraeli makes a great point with respect to the difference between Avraham and Noach. Putting Midrashim aside, we have no indication as to who Mrs. Noach was or what role, if any, she played. Sarah is very much front and center in Avraham's life story. The reason we have Avos is because we also have Imahos. Noach was not blessed in that way, and therefore his contribution did not match that of Avraham.
2) We are introduced to Nimrod in our parsha, and we are given the following description (10:9)
הֽוּא היָ֥ה גִבֹּֽר־צַ֖יִד לִפְנֵ֣י ה׳ עַל־כֵּן֙ יֵֽאָמַ֔ר כְּנִמְרֹ֛ד גִּבּ֥וֹר צַ֖יִד לִפְנֵ֥י ה׳
Ibn Ezra comments:
שהיה בונה מזבחות ומעלה אותם החיות עולות לשם. וזו דרך הפשט, והדרש (בבלי עירובין נ״ג.) דרך אחרת
Sounds like he was an oveid Hashem. Nimrod would catch animals and offer them as korbanos.
Ramban reacts sharply to this portrayal of Nimrod as a nice guy:
ואין דבריו נראין, והנה הוא מצדיק רשע, כי רבותינו ידעו רשעו בקבלה.
The Beis Yisrael quotes from R' Bunim m'Peshischa that we cannot fathom the great yiras Shamayim of the Ibn Ezra, and therefore the Chidushei haRI"M would work hard to understand perplexing comments of his comments like this one. To explain this Ibn Ezra the Ch haRIM gave the following mashal: There was a king who was very enamored of one of his officers who served him with great fidelity and mesirus nefesh. This one officer became the king's special confidant. In turn, this officer decided that he wants to do something special to show the king just how much he values their relationship. He decided to bake the king a special cake, with lots of layers and of course,rich chocolate frosting, etc. The king could have any cake he wanted any time he wanted, but he understood that, "It's the thought that counts," and he appreciated this particular cake and the emotion it expressed.
The other officers and servants were, of course, very jealous of this one officer, and so when they heard about this cake, they decided that they would do the same. They went out and found the best bakers, the most delicious recipes, the finest ingredients, so that they could deliver their own cakes. The whole purpose of their cakes was not because they loved the king so much, but simply because they wanted to upstage the other guy and knock him down a peg, as if to say he is not so special and his gift is not so special -- anyone can do the same.
Says the Ch haRI"M, right after the mabul Noach built a mizbei'ach and offered korbanos to thank Hashem. Hashem in turn promised to never bring a flood again. It was like the special cake from the king's confidant. Noach restarted the process of bringing kvod Shamayim into the world. Avraham continued in the same vein of offering korbanos to serve Hashem. This bothered Nimrod. Nimrod offered his own korbanos, like the Ibn Ezra says, שהיה בונה מזבחות ומעלה אותם החיות עולות לשם, not because he wanted to be an oveid Hashem, but aderaba, because this was his way of knocking Noach and Avraham down a peg, knocking avodas Hashem down a peg. Anyone can bring the king a cake, anyone can do what Noach did -- it's nothing special. Avodas Hashem is nothing special.
What the Ch haRI"M is driving at is that there is the real thing, real avodah, with sincerity, that gives Hashem nachas ruach, and then there are lots of knockoffs. I was trying to think of a good example, but just about every example I thought of is going to get me in trouble if I say it. Let me try this one: there are those who learn authentic nistar, and then there are knockoffs like the Kabbalah Center that pretend to be the real thing, give people the impression that they are the real thing. As a result, they cheapen and debase the real thing, especially to those too innocent to tell the difference. That was Nimrod, and unfortunately, there are lots of Nimrods still out there. Don't settle for an imitation of the real thing. Not all cake is the same.
The Beis Yisrael said that the Ch haRIM as fond of this pshat and "mitzvah l'farseim." I've done my part in posting it; you can say it over to someone and do yours : )
Thank you. I spend hours scrolling, looking for clever and novel ideas I could turn into questions, and all I get is puffed up platitudes and two dimensional vertlach. Stuff usually seems like more than there is really there. Yours is the opposite. Your ideas always just ask be expanded. #1 reminds me of the ibn Ezra's contrast between Moshe and Aharon, that famous line "ואין לדבר על משה אדוננו, כי בורח היה ומי יתן לו עברית." I happen to already have material for my granddaughter's shabbos SB tomorrow, on the topic of miktzas shvacho, but this might find its way in there.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could take credit, but it's the Beis Yisrael (likutim), which was just recently uploaded on hebrewbooks.org on Braishis, Shmos, and VaYikra.
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