Parshat Noach - Thoughts From R' Yitzchak Hunter and R' Yaakov Kamenetsky by Rabbi Baruch Taub

all right um we we need this introduction for the piece that I'm bringing from R hutner which is he's saying a tremendous Kish um something that um that I think will a real good take special takeaway for us um so let me just start with a few of these number one Hashem regretted he kind of did chuva and this is the point really that we're going to make we know that there's a mitah in the Torah called IM to imitate God that's a MIT in the Torah just as God is merciful we have to be merciful god is loving we have to be loving everything we do is imitating God there's going to be a tremendous Nuance developed here in terms of chuva that the way we do Chua is really based on the way did Chua which is amazing thing to say even where did do and that's what we're going to discover so this is really the hint God had remorse he had regret that he created that he created Adam that he created man he's talking about Noah right but he doesn't say Noah he says which is interesting right you know he was he was saddened God was saddened right I'm going to destroy man that I created that I created from Adam so really there's a focus here on on Adam arish on on Adam right everything was created right says that I I have remorse I have regret that I created man and I I'm going to destroy the world next p number two he tells no no is good you know no in the last in last week the Torah says that Noah actually Noah and are the same letters right Noah Noah he Noah I like Noah is very special and I'm saving him and eventually when he comes off the ark he tells him I'm going to make a covenant with you right you'll come into the ark they before he goes into the ark rather and a and a t that's very important that the the Covenant was made before when you go into the arc you and your sons and the your daughters-in-law and you now by the way this is a little bit of an aside but an important aside you see the order here is really not right you know he tells Noah you're going in and your sons and your wife she said Noah you and your wife right and your sons your sons and their wives right why is it messed up because really you'll see if you look in the Torah when they come off the the Tava the first time the word mishak is used is in par Noah right until they came off the Tava the the the Torah the world was built upon individuals and the the life of individuals the idea of a mishak of a family took place and that's why the word is for the first time used when they came off the taba because there's a you'll forgive me a watershed moment after the flood right we went from IND idual to families that's why dafa when they went you know when he mentions them coming in the Tava he doesn't mention them in a familial order right that will happen when they come off okay this is just an aside but it's an important aside for us to be aware of number three Rashi right hot at I've established my Covenant now what's the bris what's the bris what's the Covenant that he makes a covenantal relationship is between two people right so here it's kav between and man so what's the so there's different opinions here Rashi [Music] says he made a covenant that the fruit the vegetabl the things that are going to grow will not rot he'll have they'll have food to eat that's one Covenant right shab and they the people evil people will not kill him right so these are Covenant covenantal statements that you're going to exist in other words that's really these are B there's are little bit of elements of the fact that the Covenant is that you will you you'll Thrive the ran in number four mentions something else which is more reasonable to usim more familiar to us actually he quotes he quotes the izra as he often does the ran the sign he told him you're not going to die you're not going to die in the flood right and doesn't say so the beginning you see it much later on in the Torah I will I will I will do good on my promise right um now what is this the last line quoting from the the izra shet the rainbow right which we're not going to really talk about the rainbow today if we have maybe a time at the end we can talk a little bit about it but the ramban brings the Ezra that the Brit the Covenant that he's talking about is the rainbow because the rainbow basically says I will never destroy the world again when you sin right but it's a given you're going to sin and you're going to you know the maybe the world should be destroyed but that's the kit when you see the kit as a reminder that I'm not going to destroy the world right and he says vam the reason of the Covenant it's BR is a covenant with between two people between two here between the ronom K and and man okay so that's these are kind of introductory ideas which will will hopefully help us understand what R hutner is now going to say in number five remember what I said to you at the beginning the MIT the Mitzvah to copy God that every Mitzvah we do really is copying God is emulating the Rabon so he's going to talk about even Chua right somehow that we learn how to do chuva repentance from the Rabon and it's based on on these two in this whole idea okay um this is next week's par right we could have done this next week also but this is the test of Leave Your Land leave your hometown uh leave leave your father's house I'll make your name great and I'll I'll bless you right so first of all just mention something really kind of as as an aside um that I mention usually mention most years that the the order is chronologically backwards right uh leave your country leave your uh your city and leave your father's house this particularly cogent for people who have made Aliyah right he's talking psychologically the test of leaving was was a psychological there not a physical test pack he packed his bags and he left that's all it was it was much harder there was an emotional thing so the first thing the easiest thing to leave is your country right you're going to have to leave your country so person has an allegiance to his country right at one time it was worthwhile having an allegiance to certain countries in the west I don't know if there's any country today that is worth having an allegiance to I I never really in my mind I never thought what happened to Rome and what happened to Spain what happened in America or North America the imploding of societ I never thought it would happen and it's we know we know it's happening right um in any case the easiest the easiest allegiance to leave is the your your country the next easiest the next difficulty is your hometown right a person has a certain Affinity to his hometown umor in s actually d m the gamorra actually mentioned not about ER person has a certain Affinity to where he lived where he grew up the house that he you know I I remember when my kids were younger I took them to where the house where I grew up where where I was born you know you have that everybody has that right so but that's okay you get over it but then B A to leave your father's house that's the most difficult that's the most challenging so that's the order of the going out okay that's not what we're going to talk about he's going to ask another question here and I'm going to make you go get dressed get your family together uh pack your bags leave your leave your country leave your town leave your home I'm going to make you a great person I'm going to bless you and I'm going to make you a very I'm going to make you famous I'm going to make you rich and famous so this is the first of the 10 tests of right and in this test there's a uniqueness to this test he says from all the other tests that he was tested with in this that he was given over the reward he was told what his reward would be before it happened he was promised what the future is going to be for him before he did it right by the right The Binding of he says to your children will inherit the gates of your enemies right this was after the aada was over he he he benched Abu and rewarded him and promised him that he's going to grow and have success right AB ainu is going to be abam ainu in in the fullest sense but that but that reward was given afterwards but when he commanded him take up your son your only son Y and give him as a sacrifice to me he didn't tell him about any reward so this is you know that the reward is given to him he's told the the reward before he even does the right that's his question okay what's that all about next paragraph bit this unique idea G in this question is hidden a tremendous foundational point in Yus this is actually something that I spoke spoke about rev hutner writes uh for those of you who the first time here you don't know rev hutner rev hutner was one of the greatest BAL makova of Our Generation he was the rash Berlin in New York uh he was in his early years at 16 already he was writing letters which we have the letters he wrote at 16 which were so poetic and the EV was was incredible KES he was in yush and he was became very close with r and with rosf kenfeld r yosf zeld was the Rob of Thea the old community and R cook was the Rob of Y he was close with both with both of them extremely close with them um in fact in his early years when he came to America he had two pictures in his in his Suka one was Ram H and the other was ruk um ruk wanted him to be the rashash Shiva of the new Yeshiva he was making the central Yeshiva of sh I AKA America a r but R hutner had other other plans and other dreams he came to America and he built kin into an extraord tremendous talim and then at the age of 70 he went to Isel and built he wanted he built a yes he wanted to have a Bas medish in yush which is here in yush today P run by his son-in-law Ronis and David rutner had one child uh Robertson breweria David uh who some of you know who she is she was Dr Ritson Brewery David she was the dean of BJJ bakov which is really the um I would say the Harvard of bakov seminaries in in Israel fascinating family rutner was a tremendous that's just a little bit of who he is who he was and his he lives with us today through his teachings um so now this he's this idea this question that I ask he says is the foundation the Cornerstone of a very important thing M and he says I I wrote this in somewhere else now by the way the what I'm quoting you from is this m is these were published postumus from his writings things that he had not yet published and that there's a footnote here which I didn't put in that they couldn't find this particular essay that he's referring to but it's not not no G what we're talking about is here Brit the idea of a Brit of a covenant that there's such a thing as a bris with God from above shall of of remorse and correction and correction for the future ala shalar right this is this is news right we know that chuva has two basic components one is remorse on the past and the other isal that I make a commitment for the future you have to have both those things but we're seeing here that this emanates from a situational ethic with Theon right when a says I have remorse that I created him that means he's doing Chua I have regret I have I'm leaving the the sin I'm I have remorse for what I did that's the first stage of chuva in other words this is the way it was in the's World in heaven right right this is the beginning of chuva God is doing chuva is actually doing chuva right I regret what I did the sin that I did right many people are going to hear this and they're going to make a big mistake they won't they won't understand what's going on here it puts in Yiddish but I'll just translate you're missing out the main point here I I've actually given away the main point here what he's saying here and it's incredible is that the regret in the past requires a future commitment as well that's what's happening here over the page see it it'll become clear in a second it's going to answer his question G let me explain we know chuva is not enough to say I'm sorry Kata on the past right uh it's you know I'm not going to do it's you have to have you have to make a commitment for the future if someone says I'm not going to do this sin anymore right believe but I'm not saying I won't do it again right that's definitely an act of serving God that's definitely person who says I won't sin again that's definitely it's you're a God-fearing person that's not Chua it's not Chua until you take that next Quantum Leap I won't do it again cabala I make a commitment for the future so not only will I I remorse for the past but I will make a commitment for the future this is the general rule cha to that Chua requires at the beginning when you start out chuv is not chuva if you don't have remorse and at the same time I will not do it again in the future right and of course the ramam says this this is the har of Chua by the way as we know and the ramam in fact says so who's going to decide himself will decide he knows what's going on in our in our heads in our hearts the same way it is with us here in this world with cha that's the way it is with Theon Theon is saying I'm sorry about doing something at that same time he's got to make a commitment for the future in order for what Theon is doing to be called it has there has to be a symbi symbiotic relationship there has to be a synthesis between that acceptance of the past and a commitment for the future at that moment and that commitment for the future he this is the announcement from the beginning declaration from the beginning Al this is the Covenant those two things is the Covenant to repair the situation Kem that God is saying I have to correct the man that I created first arish I created Adam without a covenantal relationship without a covenant and I failed keep this in your mind all the covenants that in every generation with us they are all rungs on the ladder in his original commitment to to repair in the future that that Adam and Eve that were created Brit without a Brit I have to now make the second stage of man is a man with a covenant right odam right the new I regret I created Adam mean right so now where's the what's that all about now so if you haven't guessed when the says that's the beginning this is the beginning the first stage the beginning of his Chua Theon Chua on that he created I have regret I have remorse that I created him so it's ch so therefore there has to be an immediate mention of the future at that moment the chuva to mean anything it's not only that I regret what he did but I got to tell you what I'm going to I'm not going to do in the future I'm going to not make that mistake in the future there's a reward scar is a bad word he says it's not a reward what he tells him I'm going to make you a great person this is not this is not a reward elor cabal this is I'm making a commitment that I'm making you a great person this is part of my commitment I have chuva I have remorse that I created man this way I'm going to create him this way this way means he will be great he'll be something special right was saying accept upon myself to do so and so in the future I'm going to make you a great person your name will be great you'll be famous this is not reward I'm just telling you this is my Chua that this is the new man the new man has a future you're going to be great people with a coven covenantal relationship with me the ti the repair has to come out with a mik that it's a it's a real breit there has to be a commitment to the Future that's why therefore this is this is attached This Promise is attached to the Commandment go you have to go that's that's part of the the Mitzvah right that you go and you get a reward and he has to at the beginning he has to do this at the beginning everything that's going to happen I everything that's going to happen now to Abu and to CLA Israel and in throughout Jewish history is a result of this Covenant promised cha the cha of Theon Brit Mish even though by the way you don't see an actual BR right um because again he's he's not referring to the the examples that were given by Theon that I mentioned but the later Covenant that he makes with Abraham in a few weeks right the Covenant between the pieces which we'll read about in a few weeks this is a this is a uh is a continuation from here right okay so here it's an amazing idea it's an amazing idea the whole concept of Chua the basic elements of Chua being on the past and cabal for the future is is is copying God because this is what did but let's finish off what he says move on now we understand when he tells him the first the first commandment the first test so from the first from the GetGo he immediately mentions this by the which is later on that's a reward that's real that's a reward because of what you did right so that's mentioned at the end you don't you know you don't reward the child you know put the star on the refrigerator before he does what he's supposed to do right the reward comes afterwards that's a regular reward right all reward comes at the end but this reward quote unquote comes at the beginning because it's not really reward it's a it's a commitment for the future number now we understand push that now by Noah by Noah because Noah is part of this this this promise he made by Noah right it's going to be ultimately ainu but it starts with Noah the new man after Adam marish right there were 10 Generations from Adam to Noah Noah is now not rather to to AB but no is is kind of the be the first into the into Aram right he he's not wasting time therefore therefore when he goes into the ark before he takes off right I'm making this bris with you now you can go into the T in other words he's promising the future right when he does the remorse for the past the generation of of Adam the generation of Noah the terrible generation ofas whatever was going on there right but the promise that I'm not going to reproduce that man I'm going to create another man but I have to give you a promise for the future I'm making a CO going to make a covenant with you right he tells him before he goes off on his on his Cruise right hell there was no Brit yet bre M what what are we talking about what are we talking where's the breit right so again again you have these are all futuristic things that the Rishon told us Rashi and the ramban right it's future right your crops will grow the rainbow God will never but that's all future right so that's his final paragraph omap the depth here is this is the quoting the ran here that this is the rainbow a l even though he's talking about the rainbow but there's no rainbow yet but he's promising you there's going to be a rain there's going to be a Brit I prom there's going to be a Brit right doesn't mention it that's exactly what we're saying Noah was was found to the was the first rung on the ladder in the repair in the creation of man so with no also it's not enough I'm sorry I'm sorry saying right but I'm making a Caba for the future as you get on I'm telling you you're going to have something very special before he gets into the ark I I I I promise you even before he gets onto on onto terrafirma right Mish really okay so this is as I say I think you will agree classic idea for us that the whole idea even of Chua is something of uh imitating a okay second piece I have um is a little bit lighter certain sense this is from um rakab kineski right for those of you are joining Rak kineski was the rash OFA Tas in in New York one also one of the great kolm atment of the AL slatka in in slabodka many of the Great Russia shivas in America such as rutner as well were students in in slot yiva rakov actually was a ro in Toronto for five and a half years before he was taken as the rashash Shiva in tadas rakov ketki we're doov in fact I'll tell you interesting when he came to be the rashash Shiva so you know he gave a sheer and he gave a Shear like he said gamor rash he didn't he didn't quote you know he didn't bring all the set a blood share and the bck were not enamored with him you know Rabbi was a Rabbi Inon becomes a rashash Shiva he's just saying the gamorra over with Rashi one day he came to she and he said everything on the on the on the duff he was quoting fromon all over the and the guys were hopping they said said Reby this was fantastic what happened so he said yeah I'm not going to imitate the way he spoke he spoke very soft he said I I I had a wedding last night and I didn't have time to prepare right true story okay so now this idea from ribakov is really a um it's a diamond in the sense that it's um you know it's nothing new um to quote the L in his introduction to he says whatever I present to you is I'm not teaching you anything new I'm just going to review things that everybody knows right now it turns out that Miss according to the villon was written with r KES lato was actually put in he had to run away with until 200 years later lat's writings were were discovered and and the gone said what they were and the villon said I would walk all the way to Italy if he was alive by foot to to to hear his Torah anyway he said that's what he says in the introduction to missar everything I say now is nothing new it's just I'm want to review something that is welln and that's in a certain sense what Rak presents to us now okay in the par we know the terrible Misa that that to his CH two of his children they they they desecrated um um their father Noah right and uh they abused him and Son Canan right is was sort of part of this according to one opinion he was actually part of the played part in the role of revealing his no nakedness whatever they did right but Canan was cursed now Canan is cursed and he's he's going to be a EV it's going to be servant forever many of the are our enemies in the nations of the world anti-semites they the Jewish people is a very appropriate idea for today by the way as you'll soon see um we're racist we're a race the Jews are a race right Shahar Toro Merit Torah says that Canan is cursed they'll be our servants so the of Canan was made into a servant a slave and so we you know it's not true the Torah rails Against Racism Torah rails Against Racism I discussed this in a previous chapter from a mish in son hrin and It quotes the why is well-known mishna why was Adam created one like you don't have that like the animals the animals were not created one they were created two right why wasam created one it's Unique a person shouldn't say my father's bigger than your father right greater than your father necessarily in the creation of man from all the other creatures that he created he only created one single man so people would not come to this this lowly concept of racism therefore according to this we have to understand you know the idea that he put him down as an lower than any other man this is this is a case of clearcut racism right also we have to understand right between the lines of what he's going to say is that the tremendous one of the great foundations of anti-Semitism is is the jealousy the that we that the world has for the Jewish people because of their achievements and they really right you know and and the hatred because we think we're we think we're so great we think we're so great you know 2% of the American population I think right and 37% of of the Nobel pre prizes go to the Jews right everything is I mean this we see what's going on today right um so let's see what he says so why what what's going on second paragraph nothing to do with racism that was put down the Gan the definition of racism that one race there's a superior race and an inferior race because of his birth because of his pedigree right there's a certain genetic uh superiority right in in in physicality right uh blonde and blueeyed right you know right as if he was created from a different a a superior physicality much better the reason why there's a distinction between made a distinction it was because of the the low mid the character the low character traits of Canan and and right these mid these negative character traits they were given over to his children right uh it was they were inherited quoting of gorra here you know this Kanan was there was an institution right that Kanan taught his his children five things Love Robbery love sexual perversion and hate God and don't speak the truth right can't get lower than that right so that's what they were all about this was their Credo this was their their constitution right saw these character traits by the family of can at that point he cursed them they should remain as you know no no they should not allow have any ability to contribute to society they should be servants they should not join into the Jewish people therefore now that's the other side of the coin we say we say we just went through y we said this many times in we're the chosen people you chose us from all the nations in the world is the anti-sites they sayu that they say that we think we're better better than it Superior than anyone else right right right and and the world today it's not getting any better I don't have to tell you right you read you read what I read this woke philosophy was happening it's not getting any better um I I just saw yesterday in the news you may have saw this morning in Chicago there was a mice said recently that a Jew coming over from shul was shot saw that right yesterday yesterday and there was no no statement from the mayor but they said it was nobody said it's a terror thing yes they some M there was a attack of a Muslim and he came out with a whole statement against the Palestinian right but this is this is what we're living in this is what's going on today this is the reality it's frightening right okay we don't know what hasem wants but we have to D we have to do what we're supposed to do right we can't ask why right the bam is doing what he's doing but he want expects us to do what we're supposed to be doing we're supposed to be doing what we're doing here right now learning Torah doing Mitzvah we have to do what we do that's what he wants us to do and and things are going to are going to get better and he'll do what he has to do what he's always done throughout Jewish history right the anti-sites say I'm repeating myself we're Superior race this has God forbid this is not we're a r we're not a race we're not a superior race it has nothing to do with our physicality nothing but we say that we inherited spiritual energy proper mid from from the great from we received all of these the spiritual energy and we stood at we receive the Torah therefore therefore we are superior because because of the Torah because of our responsibility right and if we don't keep the Torah we're you know in fact the the gor so you can say like if we're so good what do we need what do we need the Torah for right we need the Torah the gor says because Israel is we're the worst of the worst right if we didn't the Torah we would be worse than and right so we need the Torah to keep us in line right we beautified ourselves with with proper mid embracing anybody out there anybody out there that wants to and to join us even the G can say the righteous convert you chose me from all the other nations you can't say that nobody you know nobody joins up with them right and that's what we say you chose us from all the other nations and we say the same thing in you chose us from all the other nations even though not withstanding we say but what do we what have we been saying in the last few months right we're the worst like the gorah says we're the worst from all the nations it's a contradiction how can we say we're the best yet we sin more than anybody else but that's what what what what this is what we've been saying here uh uh um that we're saying since we sinned we didn't keep the Covenant the bigger the person is the worse is sin right that's right that's what we that's what the gorah says right that's why the Jewish people have to have the Torah if we didn't have the Torah we would be we would be the worst the worst Nation so as I say this this piece from rakov is like the like the sat says I'm just giving you over things that we already know and but I think it's worthwhile hearing it the way rakov said it okay thank you all [Music]