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Our Mitzvot Are Our Offspring - Parashat Noach 5766 - October 16, 2015

We are all dismayed by the daily reports of random violence against Israeli citizens and military personnel and concerned about the victims and their families. Let us continue to pray for the speedy recovery of these victims and for the end to these heinous acts.

This week’s parsha is Noach. The sedra opens with, “these are the generations of Noach. Noach was a perfectly righteous man in his generation. Noach walked with Hashem”. Rashi seems to be bothered an apparent redundancy – the Torah had already introduced us to Noach and his children in last week’s parsha. In fact, last week’s sedra concludes with the pasuk, “and Noach found favor in Hashem’s eyes”. Why does the Torah find it necessary to reintroduce us to Noach’s offspring and say, “These are the generations of Noach”?

Our Rabbis teach that the good deeds of righteous people are considered their offspring. Rashi explains that the generations of Noach referred to in this week’s parsha are not his children but rather his good deeds. This explanation seems to be evident from the pasuk. The discussion of Noach’s offspring flows into a statement about his righteousness.

In his sefer, Darash Moshe, Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l, elaborates on one implication of the comparison of a righteous person’s good deeds to offspring – a person should love good deeds and mitzvot like a parent loves his or her child.

  • A parent loves his or her child graciously and unconditionally. A person should also love to perform mitzvot even when it is difficult to do so.
  • A parent loves his or her child despite the child’s fault and shortcomings. A person should also perform a mitzvah even when it does not seem to be so important or great.
  • A parent toils to provide every resource for the growth and development of the child. A person should also toil to ensure that each mitzvah that he or she performs is done as beautifully as possible.
This is a wonderful lesson for us and for our children. Often it is difficult to perform mitzvot. Often it seems that the net effect of a mitzvah is negligible or non-existent. Often it is difficult to make a serious investment of energy and resources into the performance of mitzvot.

Each righteous act is important and we cannot know the effect that it can have. Who knows what impact a kindness can have on another person? Who knows what impact Torah learning can have? Who knows what growth can be achieved by the punctilious observance of Shabbat or kashrut? Rav Moshe teaches that by considering each mitzvah as we do each of our children, we can improve the quality and impact of our good deeds.

Shabbat Shalom.

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