In Berditchev, a small town just outside of Kiev, there lived a Jew who did not believe in G‑d. From time to time he would meet the holy Berditchever Rebbe, Reb Levi Yitzchak, and they would talk. Once the Rebbe told the nonbeliever, “you know, that G‑d that you don’t believe in, I don’t believe in either.”
Of course, the Rebbe believed in G‑d. What he was telling the nonbeliever is that the nonbeliever’s lack of faith was due to an underdeveloped conception of who G‑d is. No one would want to believe in such a deity. Were he to expand his awareness and reach deeper within his soul, he would discover a G‑d that he could and would desire to relate to.
Judaism Today
This illuminates, also, the unique contribution of the Rebbe. When he assumed leadership, many questioned the place of Judaism in contemporary society. And to them, the Rebbe said, “yes, if you look archaically at Judaism then it has no place. But who says Judaism has to be archaic?! Open your eyes and see how rich and contemporary Judaism can be.”
Moreover, the Rebbe didn’t allow us to remain content with our own understanding and relationship with G‑d, he pushed us to open ourselves up to others and share our understanding with them.
Must Work in the World
The beginning of this week’s Torah reading, Noach, relates how G‑d tells Noach that because he was righteous, he and his family would be saved. Although all mankind would be punished for their wickedness and annihilated in a terrible flood, Noah and his descendants would not perish.
For that purpose, Noach built an ark according to G‑d’s specifications and when the rains came, he and his family entered. But theirs was far from a pleasure cruise. For together with Noach and his family were gathered into the ark one pair each of all the existing nonkosher animals and seven pairs of each of the kosher animals.
What did Noach do for the entire year he was in the ark? He brought food for the animals, cleaned their stalls, and took care of their needs. Nor were the animals particularly appreciative. Our Sages relate that once when Noach delayed bringing food to one of the lions, the beast took a swipe at him and wounded him. Is this a befitting reward for a person whom G‑d told was righteous?
Herein lies a fundamental lesson. No person exists for himself. We were created for service. The Jewish ideal is not a world where “the righteous sit crowned with their knowledge.” That is a description of the World to Come, the afterlife, where the souls bask in Divine light. But until a person reaches that state, he must work.
Our Mission
We have all been given a mission — to prepare the world to be a dwelling for G‑d. And to be complete, that dwelling must encompass every element of creation. Therefore, every element of our environment is important and deserving of our concern and attention.
Simply put, a person cannot seclude himself in a synagogue or a house of study and claim that he is creating G‑d’s dwelling. For if all G‑d wants is prayer and study, He would not have created a physical world. He would have made us spiritual beings with heightened intellectual potentials.
He did not do this. Instead, He made us mortals and placed us in a material environment. As such, our lives should be dedicated to the above mission, caring for every entity created within the world and revealing the G‑dly spark it contains and the intent for which it was created. Man’s task in life is to take that abstract ideal and make it actual.
Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, from Keeping in Touch, reprinted with permission from Sichos in English. From our Sages reprinted from LchaimWeekly.org - LYO / NYC
Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generation; Noach walked with G-d (Gen. 6:9)
The Torah goes into such detail to describe the righteousness of Noach to show that he was meticulous in observing both categories of mitzvot, those that involve serving G-d, and those that involve our responsibility to our fellow man.
"Perfect in his generation" refers to the proper way that Noach treated every human being, and "with G-d Noach walked" refers to the fact that Noach served G-d diligently.
(Pardes Yosef)
Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generation; Noach walked with G-d (Gen. 6:9)
A righteous man, a tzaddik, is a person who "walks with G-d," so the above verse appears to be redundant. The Torah is showing us just how great a person Noach was.
He was indeed, "perfect in his generation," acting in a righteous manner when he was out among the people of his generation. Yet even when "he walked with G-d," alone, with only G-d to witness his actions, he still behaved in a righteous manner.
(Yalkut Hadrush)
All flesh has corrupted his way on the earth (Gen. 6:12)
In the days before the flood, the moral situation had deteriorated to the point that even those who by their nature recognized the difference between right and wrong lost that sensitivity and began to sin without feeling a sense of guilt and wrongdoing.
(Baal HaTurim)
G-d said to Noach, "Enter, you and all your family, into the ark." (Gen. 7:1)
Every detail in the Torah contains eternal lessons that we can utilize even in our times. The Hebrew word for "ark," teiva, also means "word." G-d is commanding every one of us to "enter" the words of Torah, to read each word with feeling and understanding.
(the Baal Shem Tov)
