Parashat Noach: What Separates Man And Animal?

0:01When a person commits a sin, he descends from the status of being Adam to being a behemah. Jews are called Adam. But when he commits a sin, he loses that status, and he becomes a behemah until he does teshuva. The Gemara continues and says, in the name of Rebbi HaKadosh, Rebbi says, an Am Ha'aretz is forbidden from eating meat. it's stated in the Torah: this is the Torah, meaning the law of the animal and the bird. The verse teaches us; this verse from the Torah teaches us that... Whoever occupies himself with the study of Torah is allowed to eat the meat of an animal or bird. However, anyone who is not engaged in the study of Torah is forbidden from eating the meat of an animal or a bird. Now, some say, in the name of the Maharsha, it's because if he doesn't learn Torah and he just prepared you a meal, how do you know it's kosher? Why? He bought the meat from a kosher market.

1:28Okay, he bought the food from a kosher market, but if he doesn't learn Torah, how does he know that he's not allowed to put certain ingredients in there? How do you know there's not dairy in there? How do you know there's not fish in there? How do you know all the other ingredients are kosher? If he does not know the halacha, you can't eat his meat. You can't eat his food. You cannot eat his food. Needless to say, if he's Mechalel Shabbat, you can't eat his food. But even if he's an Am Ha'aretz, you can't rely on his food. But some say even more. Some say, in the name of the Maharal, the Gemara is literally teaching us that when a person, when a Jew forsakes Torah study, he has now become inferior to the animal, and therefore he's not allowed to eat it. Why? Because the animal, the behemah, is fulfilling God's will. It's being a behemah. It's being an animal. But he, that person who has forsaken the Torah, is not fulfilling God's will, so therefore he's not superior to it. Now there's a write-up from about five, six years ago, in 5778, during Parashat Noach.

2:49He brings some interesting insights about the word "behemah," and he teaches us that when a person makes a sin, he descends from the status of being an "adam" to being a "behemah." Jews are called "adam." But when he makes a sin, he loses that status and becomes a behemah until he does teshuvah. This is why the Maharsha says, that in the name of the Gemara, Masechet Shabbat, it talks about how wild animals only prevail over a man that resembles a behemah. The Maharshal says this is because the wild animals fear man when he looks to them like a man because they can see things that we can't see. They can see the aura, they can see the image of what a man really is, what a righteous person really looks like. But when this aura looks like the aura of an animal, of a behemah, then the animals recognize this difference and the fear they naturally have dissipates. This understanding emphasizes the spiritual aspect and elevated status of a true tzaddik, which wild animals can instinctively perceive.

4:05Looks like prey to them. So they'll attack. Who are they going to attack? They're going to attack the person that's an Am Ha'aretz, a secular person, someone against the Torah. They're not going to attack the righteous people. This is why in the Gemara, in Masechet Sanhedrin, and in many other places, there are different stories. The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh, Daniel, these are individuals who were thrown into a place full of lions, lions that were starving, and those lions were too scared to even roar at them. Multiple times different chachamim were thrown into a cage full of lions and different animals, and the animals were scared of them. And this is not like one or two or three stories; there are literally dozens of stories of different holy chachamim that showed the world how holy they are without doing a thing. The wicked people of the world thought they were punishing them by throwing them to be food for the animals, only to realize...

5:05The animals are too scared to even roar at these holy people. Now, the Arizal says, and it's also mentioned in this write-up, that one of the things we had to do at the time of the Beit HaMikdash was to bring korbanot, to bring sacrifices, if you committed an accidental sin. Violated Shabbat accidentally, not on purpose. If it's on purpose and there are two witnesses and they warn you and you still do it, then there's a death penalty. You go to the Sanhedrin. They ask the witnesses a series of questions; they confirm everything. Everything is confirmed, okay? They take this guy and they give him the worst death penalty in the Torah. As the Gemara on page 49 says, there are four different death penalties: there's the stoning, there's the burning. There's the beheading and then there's the strangulation. Which one's the worst? The whole sugya talks about which one is the worst. There's a debate between the sages and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Long story short, stoning is considered the worst death possible. Mechalel Shabbat, idol worshiper, blasphemer—they receive the stoning, the death penalty.

6:26Throw him off of a two-story building, throw a boulder on him, more rocks, horrible, horrible thing. Now, that's on purpose. If he did it accidentally, there's no stoning; if he accidentally violated Shabbat or accidentally did something that's not allowed, you have to bring a korban, bring an animal. So people always ask, what did the animal do to deserve this death? In the time of Eliyahu Hanavi, when Eliyahu Hanavi was contending with all the nevi'ei hasheker, the false prophets, it was Eliyahu Hanavi versus 450 false prophets. The 450 false prophets bring their sacrifice, and there is no fire, no response; it doesn't work. Eliyahu Hanavi mocks them in front of all of Am Yisrael. Then, Eliyahu Hanavi brings his two cows. And a cow starts talking to Eliyahu HaNavi. Why do I have to do it? How come I have to be a sacrifice for these wicked people? I don't want to be. It's not fair. Eliyahu HaNavi says, no worry. Hashem's name will be sanctified even more from you than from your brother. It was twin cows talking to Eliyahu HaNavi. Now, this cow

7:48And any other cow or korban that was brought to the Beit Hamikdash, it's not leaving alive. It's going to be slaughtered; it's going to be killed. Why? Now, I understand you could say, yeah, but the animals were created to serve man. And you're right. But at the same token, that is a gilgul, a reincarnation of a previous neshama. A person that made the same exact sin and did not repent for it. Therefore, through the sacrifice, both the person that brought the sacrifice and the animal itself that is the sacrifice, repent for that sin. Therefore, HaKadosh Baruch Hu brings His mercy in different ways. You stop bochein Melech Elyon. a person that made the same exact sin and did not repent for it. Therefore, through the sacrifice, both the person that brought the sacrifice and the animal itself that is the sacrifice repent for that sin. And therefore, HaKadosh Baruch Hu brings His mercy in different ways. You stop b'hakadosh baruch Hu.

9:02That's why HaKadosh Baruch Hu told you to bring the behemah. Not because the behemah is just a behemah, but because the behemah has a neshamah in it that needs to do teshuvah. It needs to do teshuvah. Now, the Rav, Rav Friedman, elaborates further, and he says, Noach was in the teivah for 12 months. And really, it was a punishment on Noach. It's a punishment on Noach. Why? Because for 12 months... He has to be cleaning the fecal matter, the excrement of all of these animals. And he couldn't sleep. He couldn't rest all day. He's either feeding them or cleaning their excrement. And he cried to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, "Please, I'm tired of the stench of the lions, of the bears, of the tigers. Get me out of here." So what's the significance of 12 months? Chazal says wicked people go to Gehinnom for 12 months. Many of the truly wicked people of our generation who distort the Torah say, "Oh, see, wicked people receive a maximum sentence of 12 months." No, habibi! If you look at the Gemara, it talks about what is a real wicked person. At the end of the Gemara, the wicked person they are referring to is not someone who is driving on Shabbat, stealing from people, or charging them interest of 80%. That's not the wicked person the Gemara is referring to when it mentions only 12 months.

10:31Those people do not have a share in the World to Come. When referring to wicked individuals, it means people who have committed several sins but are still considered righteous. According to the law, they have made a few mistakes. An example of this is Noach. Noach was a tzadik tamim, a perfectly righteous man. Despite this, when he was in the Teva, HaKadosh Baruch Hu judged him as somewhat wicked. Why? Because Noach did not rebuke his generation properly. He was too soft on them. If they came to him, he would tell them, "Listen, you should do, you know, that's why I'm building the Teva, you should do Teshuva." He didn't go after them. He didn't give them hard Mussar. He didn't give them the full truth. That's what the Chachamim say. He was too soft on them. That was his disposition. That's why when he had to be reincarnated as Moshe Rabbeinu many years later, Moshe Rabbeinu talks to HaKadosh Baruch Hu for a whole week, saying, "Don't use me as the messenger. I'm not a good speaker, and I wasn't yesterday or the day before," says the Arizal (Rabbi Isaac Luria). What do you mean he wasn't a good speaker yesterday or the day before? If he's not a good speaker now, surely he wasn't yesterday or the day before.

11:38Arizal says that's what he means. In his previous incarnation, or the incarnation before that, when he was Noach, when Moshe Rabbeinu was Noach, he wasn't a good speaker even back then. So now you're going to tell me, oh, I want you to do, why? Because you have to do, this is your tikkun. This is your tikkun, you have to go rebuke Am Yisrael. That's what the Gemara, Masechet Megillah, says. HaKadosh Baruch Hu cried when Moshe Rabbeinu left this world. He took him out of this world. Why are you crying? Who's going to rebuke my people like Moshe Rabbeinu? That completed his tikkun to perfection. But Noach had to stay in the Teivah for 12 months. Why 12 months? Why not 13? Why not 10? Why not 5? Why not 17? Why not 50 years? Why? Because 12 months is for these types of resha'im. They're not real resha'im. Resha'im in the standards of the tzaddikim. They have a few sins they have to clean up. You did a rebuke. You did half a job. Okay, you have to suffer for a year. A year you have to clean up through these animals. And then eventually, you have to bring some of these animals as sacrifices. You kept them for a year just to kill them. Why? Because some of the neshamot have to reincarnate in these korbanot, have to reincarnate in these animals. So they could fix which neshamot? The neshamot of the good ones. Of the good ones. So you see, Rabotai, if a person looks at the words of the sages,

13:04sees beauty in there and says this is the greatest gift that could ever be, and surely studying it in itself is a reward. Certainly, it's a kudos, but who will provide? When I study his Torah, more than just my Intellectual stimulation and spiritual elevation are surely priorities. If you have always given me Torah-based guidance and you are on the right path, and if you find somebody who wants to marry and is also in the same mindset, by all means, they are also on the right path. However, if you find somebody who doesn't think like that, and you find someone who thinks, "No, no. In order for you to make money, you have to go work and you have to be in commerce," then you may be facing a challenge. You have to choose between commerce or learning Torah. You have to go to commerce first. That's priority in life because we have to buy a big house. We have to get a car. We have to do this. That's a person you should not marry. In fact, the Gemara says it's forbidden to marry them. Why? They're beheimah. You'll be marrying an animal and being intimate with an animal. We are meant to be a light unto the nations, not to follow their misguided practices. Remember, every Jew has to remember.

14:16that he's a Jew and she's a Jew. We don't celebrate non-Jewish holidays, even if they seem harmless. It's a zilzul, a disrespect to the Torah, and could lead to chilul Hashem.