Community Magazine October 2014

20 Community magazine interruption, subsisting on water and carob. Perhaps more so than any of the other sages, Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai reached the greatest heights of intensity in study, and he, too, received Gd’s miraculous protection, and he was saved from the Roman authorities who sought to kill him. For this reason, there was no need for a rainbow during these two unique historical periods. Gd proclaimed through the prophet Yirmiyahu (33:25), “If not for My covenant of day and night, I would not have placed the laws of heaven and earth.” The sages explain this to mean that the “heaven and earth” endure due to the “covenant of day and night” – the “covenant” of Torah study, an obligation which requires us to learn each day and night. Alongside the covenant of the rainbow, there is also another covenant – the covenant of Torah. In a generation of intensive Torah learning, such as the times of Hizkiyahu and Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai, the world can survive despite the wickedness that prevails, even without the covenant of the rainbow. And thus during these periods of Torah resurgence, the rainbow never appeared. Shedding New Light on the Rainbow Upon closer examination, however, this insight needs a bit of tweaking. In a startling passage, the Zohar casts the blame for the Flood on the one individual who was rescued from it – Noah. Hard as it may be to believe, according to the Zohar , the Great Flood was Noah’s fault. The Zohar makes this comment to explain the verse in Yeshayahu (54:9) where the Flood is referred to as “ meh Noah – the waters of Noah.” This catastrophe is named after Noah; we might call it, “Hurricane Noah.” How could it be that Noah – the one righteous person of the generation, in whose merit mankind continued to exist – is to be blamed for this disaster? The answer, the Zohar explains, is that Noah should have made some effort to teach, guide and inspire his generation. Facing the widespread depravity and corruption and prevailed during his time, Noah despaired. He concluded there was no hope for change, the people of his time would remain forever sinful, and there was thus nothing to be gained by trying to teach and instruct. He thought it would be preferable to separate himself from his corrupt contemporaries, so he could serve Gd without the risk of being exposed to negative influences and elevate himself to the greatest heights, leaving everyone else all the way down below in the depths of spiritual ruin. But this was a terrible mistake. There is no such thing as despair. No matter how far a person or group of people – or even the entire world – has strayed, change is always possible. We must never give up on anybody. As the Hatam Sofer taught, Gd does not want tzadikim to withdraw from society, to live alone and separate, to work solely on elevating themselves without trying to bring others with them. He does not want righteous people secluding themselves so they could grow without being tainted by the outside Fixtures Faucets Hardware accessories 1663 coney island avenue Brooklyn NY 11230 Monday–wednesday 9am–5:30pm thursday 9am–7pm sunday 11am–5pm Valet Parking appointments welcome 718.787.1000 www.homeandstone.com Home & stone