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Noach (2025)

Shabbat Noach

Dvar Torah
Last week’s portion, Bereishit, ends on a somber note. The beautiful world God created for man has fallen into chaos and moral corruption. Only Noah remains righteous, commanded to build an ark to save himself and his family from the coming flood. The Torah details the ark’s specifications, including a mysterious Tzohar.

Rashi offers two interpretations of the Tzohar: a window to the outside or a glowing gemstone. We can suggest that these are not merely architectural options but symbolize two essential dimensions of Noah’s experience. Once the flood began, Noah could no longer save the world outside—but he also could not turn a blind eye to its suffering. Awareness of that destruction was part of his moral integrity. At the same time, Noah needed an inner light to sustain hope and goodness amid surrounding darkness.

The Tzohar thus represents the tension between awareness and resilience. Our task as Noah’s descendants is to live in that balance—to remain sensitive to the world’s pain while nurturing an inner light that empowers us to act. Unlike Noah, most of the challenges we face are not lost causes. Our tzohar as a window can move us to action, and our tzohar as a light can help us bring good to the world around us.

Biography
Rashi — Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040–1105) — was one of the greatest of the Rishonim and a foundational figure in Jewish scholarship. Born in Troyes, France, he authored the primary and most widely studied commentaries on both the entire Bible and the Talmud. Renowned for his clarity, brevity, and depth, Rashi made complex texts accessible to all while offering enduring insights for scholars. His works became the cornerstone of nearly all subsequent Jewish learning and remain indispensable for Torah and Talmud study. As the progenitor of the Tosafist tradition, Rashi shaped the course of Jewish scholarship for generations, giving him the title Rabban Shel Yisrael — “the teacher of all Israel.”

Shabbat in/out times
Yerushalayim 17:17/18:33
Tel-Aviv 17:36/18:34
Dubai 17:26/18:18
Zurich 18:04/19:07
NYC 17:44/18:42
Calgary 18:06/19:13
More times

Shabbat Shalom!

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