Our Toldot, Our Legacy

Our Parsha begins:

אֵ֚לֶּה תּֽוֹלְדֹ֣ת נֹ֔חַ נֹ֗חַ אִ֥ישׁ צַדִּ֛יק תָּמִ֥ים הָיָ֖ה בְּדֹֽרֹתָ֑יו אֶת־הָֽאֱלֹ-הִ֖ים הִתְהַלֶּךְ־נֹֽחַ:

וַיּ֥וֹלֶד נֹ֖חַ שְׁלשָׁ֣ה בָנִ֑ים אֶת־שֵׁ֖ם אֶת־חָ֥ם וְאֶת־יָֽפֶת:

These are the generations of Noah, Noah was a righteous man he was perfect in his generations; Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

These verses beg for further elucidation. After the Parsha opens with “these are the generations of Noach” we would expect the Torah to immediately list his children. Why does the Torah seem to go on a tangent and describe Noach the man after promising the reader to list his generations?

Ibn Ezra and Radak suggest that “Toldot” here does not mean descendants, but rather it means “the progeny of time” ie a person’s own history. According to this interpretation, the Torah first tells us about Noach’s spiritual accomplishments and then lists his descendants.

Rashi explains that by describing Noach’s virtues before his descendants, the Torah is teaching us an important lesson:

Another explanation [for why the names of the children are not mentioned immediately following “These are the generations of Noah”]: To teach you that the main generations [progeny] of the righteous are good deeds.

Malbim explains that a person produces three kinds of "progeny". These parallel the three different parts of human identity: the animal (as part of the natural world), the human (chai-medaber, the living speaking being), and the Divine. Whereas the animal side of man produces physical children as do the animals, the human side of man produces acts of kindness and justice in society. Finally, the "progeny" of the divine side of man is his study of Hashem's ways, true beliefs and other Torah concepts. These three kinds of "toldot" produced by Noach are mentioned by the Torah: "These are the progeny of Noach: 1) Noach was righteous (alluding to his acts of justice and kindness in his interpersonal relations), 2) Noach walked with G-d (referring to his study of Divine concepts), 3) Noach bore three children... (denoting his physical descendants)".

It is a tremendous credit to an individual, when s/he not only creates “toldot” through their interpersonal good deeds and Torah study, but also leaves children who have followed in these righteous ways. There are no guarantees that children will emulate their parents’ positive traits. Nonetheless, parents are not exempt from doing all that they can to not only do good deeds, but be a role model and encourage those behaviors in the next generation, so that their children perpetuate their legacy.

Parshat Noach gives us a lot to think about in terms of what legacy we leave and how we go about shaping that legacy. It is therefore appropriate that we have designated this Shabbat as our Life and Legacy Shabbat. This Shabbat is the kickoff to our effort to inform, educate and invite the community to commit to after-life giving to ensure the future of our shul, as well as a strong future Jewish community in Broward County. Young Israel of Hollywood-Ft. Lauderdale has been accepted by the Jewish Federation of Broward County to take part in a 4-year partnership program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF) that will assist our Broward County community to promote after-lifetime giving to benefit Jewish day schools (including Brauser Maimonides Academy), synagogues, social service organizations and other Jewish entities.

Through training, support and monetary incentives, LIFE & LEGACY motivates Jewish organizations to secure legacy gifts, steward donors and integrate legacy giving into the philanthropic culture of the Jewish community. But what makes Life and Legacy especially appropriate to launch on Parshat Noach is that a legacy gift is not only a gift, but a statement. It is a statement to our children and our community of our priorities, ensuring that our legacy is a proud and noble one.

Commitment

When I was a graduate student at Wurzweiler School of Social Work I took a course titled “Jewish Social Philosophy.” The course explored the Jewish underpinnings of this helping profession. As part of the course, I had the privilege of learning Rav Soloveitchik’s Essay “Lonely Man of Faith” from Dr. Norman Linzer, father of our Dr. Dov Linzer, who had created the course many years earlier.

        In that essay, Rav Soloveitchik notes that the story of the Creation of mankind is recorded twice in Parshat Breishit. Rav Soloveitchik maintains that the two narratives in Breishit refer to two different Adams, Adam I and Adam II; they speak of two different aspects of the human condition, two different elements of our relationship with God, and two different responsibilities that we seek to carry out in fulfillment of our purpose.

        In Chapter 1, the Torah portrays mankind as created B’tzelem Elokim, in the image of God. Just as God is creative and constructive so, too, do we strive to follow suit. This is what the Rav referred to as majestic man. Majestic man seeks to understand the world around him/her and conquer it, manipulate it, achieve through it. Adam I is completely utilitarian in motivation, and boldly aggressive in approach.

Chapter 2 speaks of man being created from the dust of the earth. According to the Rav: Adam II “speaks of defeat instead of success, of accepting a higher will instead of commanding, of giving instead of conquering, of retreating instead of advancing, of acting ‘irrationally’ instead of always being reasonable.”

        Adam I seeks dignity, while Adam II seeks redemption.  Dignity is a social quality of the surface personality; redemption is an existential state of the inner personality. Redemption is attained by control over oneself, dignity by control over one's surroundings. Redemption expresses itself in surrender to God, dignity in defiance of nature. Redemption is characterized by retreat, dignity by advance. 

        Both Adams, both aspects of the human condition, seek out religion - but for two entirely different reasons. Adam I is “not searching for faith… but for religious culture. He seeks not the greatness found in sacrificial action. But the convenience one discovers in a comfortable serene state of mind…”

        The religion of Adam II is one which “requires the giving of one’s self unreservedly to God, who demands unconditional commitment, sacrificial action and retreat.”

        The key word is commitment. Adam I practices a religion of convenience. Adam II’s religion is one of commitment.

        This reminds me of the story about the chicken and the cow. A cow and a chicken are walking down the road. The chicken says: "Hey (cow), I was thinking we should open a restaurant!" Cow replies: "Hmm, maybe, what would we call it?" The chicken responds: "How about steak-n-eggs?" The cow thinks for a moment and says: "No thanks. Because in that business, you’d be involved, but I would be committed!”

        Though commitment may be demanding and limiting in many ways, it is what gives religion its status and its meaning.  Today many people have become averse to commitment, and society has allowed us to do so with limited consequence. The paradox is that when commitments are de-emphasized in religion we would expect an increase in those willing to affiliate, and yet the opposite has occurred. We have more excuses today not to commit than perhaps ever before in history.

        The basic building blocks of society simply erode without commitment. Commitment is the very essence of relationships: both with Hashem and with our fellow human beings.

 

Starry Night

The Halacha is very clear that a sukkah is kosher only if the schach blocks out a majority of the sunlight- Tzilta Merubah Me’Chamta- which means that inside the sukkah there must be more shade than sunlight. Chazal have attributed many philosophical meanings to this legal requirement. Sitting in the sukkah is supposed to remind us of the ever-present protection that we experience from Hashem. The Zohar teaches that when we sit in our sukkahs we should try to experience, or at least appreciate, the Tzila D’Hemnutah, the protection that G-d provides that in return strengthens our faith in Him. It is interesting to note that just as shade symbolizes G-dliness, sunlight can represent the antithesis of G-dliness. According to Maimonides, the sun was the first being other than G-d that was worshipped by human beings. The worship of the sun began a downward spiral that ultimately led to a decrease in recognition of Hashem among all humans. As we sit in our temporary and flimsy huts we are reminded of our dependence on Hashem and therefore are careful to minimize the presence of sunlight.

            However there is another Halacha associated with our schach. Just as it can’t be too thin, it also shouldn’t be too thick. The Halacha states that one should be able to see the stars through the schach. Some poskim understand this requirement to mean that one should be able to see the stars from at least one vantage point in the sukkah. Q: What is so important about the stars that they are required viewing from our sukkahs?

            One of the most famous paintings in the world is “Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh. In describing his inspiration for this painting Van Gogh wrote “When I have a terrible need of- shall I say the word- religion- then I go out and paint the stars.” Although van Gogh was mentally ill, this statement has a lot of truth to it. Stars, both their physical existence as well as their symbolic meaning, have been fertile ground for religious interpretation and inspiration.

            Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto in his philosophical work Derech Hashem writes that the stars serve as the pipeline through which heavenly influences are brought into the physical world. Nevertheless, stars are far removed from our reality. The closest star to our planet is four light years away. In Parshat Breishit, the pasuk tells us about the creation of the stars only after emphasizing the creation of the sun and moon. Rav Hirsch comments that the importance of stars for the earth is less recognizable. Stars play a much more central role as a Jewish symbol and in our own imaginations.

            According to Rav Soloveitchik we must be able to see the stars from our sukkah in order to keep our horizons broad. The Rav explained that man's problem is that his personal schach obscures his vision. It prevents a person from seeing the world, from seeing the full grandeur of Hashem. Each person believes that he has discovered the world's deepest secrets and fancies himself all knowing and all capable. Each of us sits in his or her own tiny booth with such thick personal schach that we cannot fathom the existence of stars, of something beyond our own worldview. By looking at the stars, we remind ourselves that there is a whole universe out there full of possibilities and promise.

Jewish Unity: A Focus of This Season

In Parshat Haazinu we read:

הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעֳלוֹ כִּי כָל דְּרָכָיו מִשְׁפָּט אֵל אֱמוּנָה וְאֵין עָוֶל צַדִּיק וְיָשָׁר הוּא:

The deeds of the [Mighty] Rock are perfect, for all His ways are just; a faithful God,

without injustice He is righteous and Yashar – upright.

The Avot, patriarchs, are often described as Yesharim, and Chazal occasionally refers to Sefer Bereishit as "Sefer Ha-yashar."  The Netziv explains that Yashar denotes proper interpersonal conduct – when integrity and respect are shown even to those whose lifestyle we disapprove.  For instance, Avraham prayed on behalf of the corrupt city of Sedom, whose values and conduct ran in direct opposition to everything he stood for. Yitzchak responded forgivingly to the leadership of Gerar even after they drove him from the city.  The patriarchs were Yesharim because they acted in a dignified, respectful manner even towards those with whom they profoundly disagreed.

            The Netziv goes on to explain that in this pasuk in Haazinu, Moshe foreshadows the destruction of the Second Temple, a calamity that God brought upon the Jewish people on account of the baseless hatred they displayed towards one another.  That generation consisted of many distinguished scholars who were otherwise tzadikim, but they quarreled bitterly with one another.  Every disagreement immediately bred mutual accusations of heresy, and the disputants treated one another with ruthless hatred.  Moshe here declares that God is Tzadik ve-Yashar, He demands both spiritual piety (tzadik) as well as respectful manners (yashar).

This message contained within our Parsha is especially timely and relevant in our highly polarized culture.

It’s okay to disagree, even passionately. But when doing so, we must be careful to do it in an agreeable manner. We should listen to what the other side is saying, for it can help us understand them and even ourselves better. We should not impugn the other side’s motives. And we should think about “the day after”; how we plan on living together and working together going forward with those whom we share many values, while disagreeing on certain issues.

One of the names for the Jewish People, utilized in this morning’s Parsha, is Yeshurun.

Ibn Ezra suggests that the name “Yeshurun,” is derived from the Hebrew word Yashar – “straight.”  It refers to the Jewish People in our ideal state, when we represent to the world a path that is passionate and opinionated and maybe argumentative, but always done in the spirit of Yashar. Let us learn from Hashem’s model of Tzadik V’yashar to engage in debates within the Jewish community from a spirit of civility, good will and unity.

On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in each Amidah we ask Hashem:

וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְפָנֶיךָ כָּל הַבְּרוּאִים. וְיֵעָשׂוּ כֻלָּם אֲגֻדָּה אֶחָת לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנְךָ בְּלֵבָב שָׁלֵם.

to create a scenario in which “all of creation will worship You, and they will be bound together as one, to carry out Your will with an undivided heart.”

The theme of Jewish unity continues into the holiday of Sukkot, when we bring together the four species to fulfill the mitzvah. Each one is different, and each one represents a different type of Jew with different perspectives. And yet when it’s time to fulfill the mitzvah, they put aside their differences and join forces in order to fulfill the Divine plan. Let us heed the lesson of this time of year by never losing sight of Jewish unity, and living up to our name as Yeshurun and Yesharim.