Showing up — every night, every sunrise, rain or no rain.
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A whole year in the ark — and not one night off.
Rabbi Dovid Kaplan — has taught at Yeshivas Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem since 1987
Somebody has to feed all of them, and clean up after all of them, and do it again the next day, and the next, for a year, with no day off, because the animals don’t care that you’re tired. That somebody was Noach. [The Midrash] says he barely slept the entire year. He was on his feet at every hour of the day and night, hauling food, and one time — one time — he was a little late getting to the lion. The lion took a swipe at him and left him limping for the rest of his life.
Anyone who has ever walked a screaming baby at two in the morning, night after night after night, with nobody coming to take a shift, knows a small corner of that year.
“The hard year was the point, not a side effect of it.”
Rabbi Dovid Kaplan, Parsha Impact!, “Call It a Challenge”, pp. 19–20. Sources: Midrash Tanchuma, Noach 9; Rashi, Bereishis 7:23.
Tefillah
“R’ Yehuda Tzadka, the Rosh Yeshiva of Poras Yosef in Yerushalayim, was particular to wake up at midnight for Tikun Chatzos, and to daven right at sunrise as well. He used to say, “The pasuk says, ‘Eileh toldos Noach, Noach ish Tzaddik.’ The first Noach (spelled nun ches) stands for nekudas chatzos, exactly midnight. The second Noach stands for netz chamah, sunrise. Thus, one who keeps “Noach Noach” is called an ish tzaddik, a righteous man.”
Rabbi Nachman Wilhelm, Prayer Points, p. 14
This week: 7 Cheshvan
From Maariv this Motzei Shabbos, Eretz Yisrael asks for rain: Ashkenazim add “v’sein tal u’matar livracha”; Sephardim change “Barchenu” to “Barech Aleinu.” Outside Eretz Yisrael: from Maariv, 4 December.
The Bas Ayin came to Tzefas late in life, found it too hard, and decided to leave.
“One day, as he was walking to shul for Mincha, he heard noises coming from the surrounding rooftops. Upon inquiring, he was told that in Tzefas, they performed household chores on their flat roofs in addition to using the roofs for storing food and supplies. The ruckus he heard was caused by the women scurrying about, removing everything from the roofs so that it wouldn’t get ruined by rain. Looking up at the clear blue sky, he muttered that it certainly didn't look like rain was coming. But tonight will be the seventh day in Cheshvan, he was told, when we begin saying v’sein tal u’matar l’vracha so rain will surely come. The unquestioning faith of the people there affected him so deeply that he decided to stay in the Holy Land.”
Rabbi Yehoshua Alt, Extraordinary Insights, p. 76
At the table
Who takes the two-in-the-morning shift in your home? Thank them before Kiddush.
For the children: spot the differences
Seven things changed in the second picture. Can you find them all?
Answers
the elephant’s hat; the barrel; the puppy’s cushion; the turtle; the snail on the post; a rung of the ladder; the lion’s bowl.
This week’s question
Which bird did Noach send out of the ark first? Send your answer after Shabbos to info@yampolskys.com. One correct answer, drawn at random, wins a dedicated sefer.
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This week’s Shabbos Minute is available for dedication — l’ilui nishmas, in honour of, or in thanks. Dedications: info@yampolskys.com · +41 76 233 56 32
The Shabbos Minute for Parshas Noach — also written Parashat Noach, Parashat Noah (פרשת נח). A one-page sheet for the Shabbos / Shabbat table.