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Shabbat Parashat Noach 5779

Noach | 4 Cheshvan 5779 | 13/10/2018

Parashat Hashavua: Behind Every Great World Leader …

The midrash (Bereishit Rabba 30:9) says on “in his generations” (Bereishit 6:9) that according to Rabbi Yehuda, if Noach would have been in the generation of Moshe or of Shmuel, he would not have been considered a tzaddik. According to Rabbi Nechemia, in those generations it would have been even clearer that he would have been a tzaddik. Let us explain the matter by looking more closely at the comparison to Moshe and Shmuel. The approach of these two great men was very different from that of Noach. Noach’s whole generation was corrupt, and he and his whole family remained on a high spiritual level, as we see that all of them received a prophetic message (see Bereishit 9:8). In contrast, Moshe and Shmuel sacrificed themselves for their nation, but Shmuel’s sons did not follow his path (Shmuel 8:3) and Moshe’s sons did not come close to his level. The midrash [editor- we did not find the exact source] attributes the failure of Shmuel’s sons to the fact that Shmuel was so occupied with the needs of the public, and it is likely that the same is true of Moshe’s sons. Thus, we are talking about a sacrifice of leaving one’s children largely “unattended” in order to save the generation. In the case of Noach, while

Ask the Rabbi: The Nature of the Fulfillment of the Mitzva of Mezuza

I will be moving into a home that already has mezuzot. If I just leave them there, do I fulfill the mitzva of mezuza, or must I remove and/or replace them? In general, when/how does one fulfill the mitzva: by affixing them, by having them in the house, by kissing them, or by thinking about them?

Ein Ayah: Different Ways to Connect the Holy and the Mundane

Rav Huna says: If one is walking on distant routes or is in the desert and he does not know when Shabbat is, he counts six days and then observes one day as Shabbat. Chiya bar Rav says: He observes one day as Shabbat and then counts six more days [of presumed weekday]. What is the basis of their argument? One opinion follows the creation of the world, [which started with six days and ended with Shabbat]. The other opinion follows Adam, [who, being created on the sixth day, observed Shabbat right away and then had six weekdays].

P'ninat Mishpat: Pay for the End of the Employment Period – Part I

The defendant (=def) is a company that advises those seeking home mortgages; def employed the plaintiff (=pl) for several months as spelled out in a written contract. Hourly pay was minimum rate but there were bonuses per case handled. Def provided its workers with extensive training about real estate, which, def reasons, justifies their clause restricting employees from working elsewhere in the field for three years subsequent to employment at def. Shortly after pl started working, def stopped paying salaries on time, with the claim of extreme illiquidity. They met with all the workers and tried to arrange an installment pay plan. This did not sit well with pl, who shortly thereafter sought alternative employment. Pl is suing for his last two months of salary (April-5795 and May-5457 shekels), for overtime and bonuses not received, and for withholding of pay up to the time of the beit din ruling (34,151 shekels). Def responds that they do not give overtime because they grant breaks during the workday very liberally. The bonuses not given relate to cases which pl did not see the matter through until receipt of mortgage. Def are countersuing for pl’s refusal to follow def’s instructions on helping the client, which they claim caused the loss of several clients. They also claim that pl gave a false report of hours for the last month. They also demand a return of the cost to def of the courses pl took, especially since pl is working elsewhere within the field (pl denies this).

We daven for a complete and speedy refuah for:

Leah Rachel bat Chana

Meira bat Esther

Rivka Reena bat Gruna Natna

David Chaim ben Rassa

Lillian bat Fortune

Yafa bat Rachel Yente

Eliezer Yosef ben Chana Liba

Ro'i Moshe Elchanan ben Gina Devra

Together with all cholei Yisrael

Hemdat Yamim is dedicated

to the memory of:

those who fell in wars

for our homeland

Eretz Hemdah's beloved friends

and Members of

Eretz Hemdah's Amutah

Rav Shlomo Merzel z”l
Iyar 10

Rav Reuven Aberman z"l

Tishrei 9 5776

Mr. Shmuel Shemesh z"l
Sivan 17 5774

R' Eliyahu Carmel z"l

Rav Carmel's father

Iyar 8 5776

Mrs. Sara Wengrowsky

bat R’ Moshe Zev a”h.

Tamuz 10 5774

Rav Asher Wasserteil z"l

Kislev 9 5769

R' Meir ben

Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld z"l

R' Yaakov ben Abraham & Aisha

and

Chana bat Yaish & Simcha

Sebbag, z"l

Rav Yisrael Rozen z"l
Cheshvan 13, 5778

Rav Benzion Grossman z"l
Tamuz 23 5777

Rav Moshe Zvi (Milton)

Polin z"l

Tammuz 19, 5778

Hemdat Yamim
is endowed by Les & Ethel Sutker
of Chicago, Illinois
in loving memory of
Max and Mary Sutker
and
Louis and Lillian Klein, z”l

A weekly divrei Torah leaflet: A Glimpse at the Parasha, Ask the Rabbi, From the writings of Harav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, zt”l, Pninat Mishpat (Jewish Monetary Law).