Reb Leibeleh Eiger and
Mar Cheshvan
(Parsha Noach & Mar
Cheshvan)
By Daniel Nakonechy
There are many opinions – often greatly opposing
opinions – regarding Noach and what kind of person he was, and they're all true...if one really analyzes it as we
should. Nonetheless, too many years ago I heard a d'var
Torah about Noach, and since then Noach's
always had if not a warm certainly a special place in my heart. I think that
that d'var Torah helped give insight
into the difference between intellectual analysis and comprehension and between
understandings of the heart.
The d'var
Torah was a teaching of Rabbi Marcus, the son-in-law of Rav Aaron Soloveitchik,
zt"l. The Torah based itself on a story about Admiral Hyman Rickover
(Jewish), who was the U.S. Navy's
nuclear submarine fleet's first
admiral, and he having the sole responsibility to appoint the commanders of the
boats.
To do so, Admiral Rickover would gather as much
data as he could on a potential commander, and he would study it thoroughly
until he knew the man as well as he could on paper. Then he would invite the
man to visit so that he could get to know him personally. After both of these
were completed, Admiral Rickover would then sit down to weigh and measure,
evaluate and contemplate whether this man would be capable of commanding a
nuclear submarine.
The advent of nuclear submarines was during the
Cold War between the U.S.
and the former U.S.S.R., a period of time that was most serious during the
1950s and 60s when Admiral Rickover served. Because of the escalation in
nuclear armament by both sides, there was serious threat of nuclear war, and
there was general understanding that nuclear war meant large scale if not
worldwide catastrophe. Because nuclear submarines lived underwater, it was
considered that in the event of nuclear warfare that these submarines had the
best chances of surviving a nuclear holocaust.
Against this background, Admiral Rickover had to
choose his nuclear submarine captains. After he had gotten to know his
potential captains as well as he was capable, Admiral Rickover would ask
himself one final question: "Is this man capable of rebuilding the
world?"
In the face all of the various arguments against
and for Noach, regardless of which position is taken there is no question that
this is what Noach was asked to do, 'to
rebuild the world'.
But I don't
want to argue this. It's all laid
out in the commentaries. I think that it is sufficient to realize that Noach
was literally the end of the first ten generations of creation which, on the face
of it, had failed. But, like the 'zohar' - the light in the ark, and like the 'keshet'
- the rainbow in the ominous sky, Noach was the glimmer of hope in the story of
creation.
For whatever reasons, for quite some time I've always looked at the first three parshiot
(sedrot) – Bereshith, Noah, Lech L'cha
– as individual stories of creation. In particular, in Noach I see creation
resumed, where the reins are placed now in man's
hands - man as we know him and not man as man of the celestial dimensions of Adam
HaRishon and those who followed him in parshat Bereshith. There is credence to
this idea because of all the parshiot in sefer Bereshith, Noach is the singular
parsha that does not begin with the letter 'vav' - meaning 'and', which connects and is called the connective 'vav'.
Parshat Noach is literally disconnected from parshat Bereshit and the original
story of creation.
(To give this idea of 'creation
being resumed' some substance, let's consider this. Instead of saying that all of the
water sources of heaven and earth opened and deluged all of creation, if we say
'the waters broke', we have new meaning and insight. The Torah always
gives us what to think about.)
At any rate, however great or not great or even
anti-great Noach was, the Heiliger Levi Yitzhak Berditchev says something
fascinating. "Noach was accused of lacking 'emunah' - faith [in God] but the Torah, itself, calls
Noach a 'Tzaddik' so how could Noach lack 'emunah' [i.e. a Tzaddik by definition has or is 'emunah'
– faith in God]?
Says the Berditchever, "Noach didn't lack 'emunah'. He was absolutely convinced that God was going to
save him, and when God did save him he would save the rest of the world also.
Noach saw absolutely no difference between himself and the rest of the world.
Whatever merit he had they, too, had."
"Because this is so," says Levi
Yitzhak, "Noach didn't take it
upon himself to pray for creation. He didn't
have the 'emunah' in himself that he was 'different' and literally of the stature that he could do such
a thing, and he didn't actualize the
necessity to beseech God to intercede and revoke Divine decrees."
And in truth, the people of Noach's time not only got along with him, but they
actually admired and respected and liked him. Undoubtedly this was mutual.
Maybe it's that Noach was able to
fault what was wrong in society, but he was incapable of faulting people? He
saw them within the glow of the light 'to
identify with' – not 'to distinguish between'.
Could be, huh? Who knows?
And Rebbe Leibel Eiger……Reb Leibeleh, says
something very sweet about Cheshvan, or as some call it Mar Cheshvan and others
Ram Cheshvan and Reb Leibeleh, himself, Marcheshvan.
Reb Leibeleh teaches that parshat Noach always
begins the month of Marcheshvan. It's
the month that follows Tishrei, Tishrei a month that is filled with prayers and
mitzvot and the highest of the high and the deepest of the deep. And
Marcheshvan……Marcheshvan is empty and silent.
Continues Reb Leibeleh, we see that this time of
year is when the world is shutting down. Nature is defoliating and descending
into solitude. For us it's the same.
There is nothing – no mitzvot or obligations in Marcheshvan that elevate us,
that bring light into us or the world. We're
subdued and peaceful. It's all
inside.
Says Leibeleh, inside is the 'shoresh',
the source, everything that is happening is happening there. The heart – our
hearts – is where the quiet rustlings and whisperings are continually at work.
The 'rachashim'
[Hebrew: rustlings and whisperings of the heart] so fill and satiate us during
this time of transition.
That's
why it's called Marcheshvan, not
Marcheshvan but 'M'rachashvan'.
In Aramaic, that it is 'from
rachashim' or the 'waters of rachashim',
and, in simplicity, the time when 'rachashim' overwhelm us.
So deep……so deep……
B'Shalom,
Daniel Nakonechny
Beit El
5 Ram Cheshvan 5767
