יום שישי י"ט באדר ב תשפ"ד 29/03/2024
Search
  • The Mission Continues

    As in the past so it remains today - we were and still are under the selfsame commitment to adhere to the directions of the Gedolei Yisrael, who stand guard against breaches of purity threatening our camp. When we were required to ask – we asked. When we were instructed to depart – we left. The moment we are summoned back to raise the flag, every other consideration is pushed to the side and we answer: We are ready!

    Read More...

בראי היום

  • Harav Yisrael Friedman zy”a, the Rebbe of Husyatin

    מוטי, ויקיפדיה העברית

    The ancestral chain of Harav Yisrael Friedman, the founder of the Husyatin chassidic court, originates with the holy Baal Shem Tov. The Husyatin chassidus has its roots in Galicia and eventually came to Tel Aviv, during the turbulent years between the two World Wars.

    Read More...

Place

  • Maccabi'im Gravesite

    In honour of Chanukah, we will discuss a fascinating, ongoing investigation attempting to establish the place of burial of Mattisyahu Kohen Gadol and his family.

    Read More...

Join Our Mailing List!

Please add a Valid Email Address
Join
Thanks!

In Weekly Parsha

No Lost Time

“Noach was six hundred years old at the time of the Great Flood...” (7:6).

Yosef Tropper 23/10/2009 08:41
When calculating the lifespan of Noach, a noteworthy discrepancy emerges. The Torah tells us explicitly that he lived to the ripe old age of 950. He lived 600 years before the Flood and 350 after. There is one problem here. The flood itself took place during the course of one entire year (1656 [2104 B.C.E.]). Noach thus really lived for 951 years! Why does the Torah not count one entire year?!

There is an important lesson here. Hashem grants us life. We are entrusted to use life to its fullest. Part of that job is to study Torah and practice the Mitzvos and pursue that which brings us closer to Hashem. Another aspect of this world revolves around our interaction with other people. We have the ability to share with and care for others. We can give of our own time, energy and money to help them! This is called chessed, performing kindness.

Hashem states that anyone who cares for others, will be cared for by Hashem. Now, sometimes people extent much time and energy in their assistance of someone in need. The Torah’s outlook on this is that it should not be considered wasted time. When you give of your time to others, you are not losing!

Noach and his family spent an entire year reestablishing the foundations of the world. Hashem brought the Mabul (Flood) because the people were doing every sin known to mankind, with the climax being stealing and disregarding others. Noach spent an entire year caring for and nurturing the animals in the Ark. It was a year of supreme chessed!

Noach had an allotted 950 years to live. Instead of Hashem counting off from that the year in the Ark as part of Noach’s lifespan, He gave it to him for free! That year did not subtract from his portion. because it was lived only for others!
If you think that this explanation is an exaggeration or not accurate, I will bring two proofs to support it, one for the concept and one for this specific case.

1- See Bereishis Rabbah 32:6, “the year of the Flood does not count”!

2- The Gemara Rosh Hashana (18a) states that the descendants of Eli HaCohen were cursed that as a punishment they would die before the age of 18! The only way to spare oneself was to learn Torah and do chessed. Rabbah excelled in Torah and lived to age 40; Abayeh excelled in Torah and performed tremendous amounts of chessed and thus lived to 60! I believe that the reason that Abayeh lived longer was because Hashem paid him back for all of his time spent doing kindness.

We now see that the great benefit of extended life can be gained by caring for others! Let us all merit long lives!

Yosef Tropper
closetorah.com