We all know the phrase "You are what you eat." But Noach teaches us that the phrase is only half true. In addition to the food that we eat the Torah would add that sometime, "You are what you drink."
After finally leaving the ark to begin life anew, the Torah tells us that, וַיָּחֶל נֹחַ אִישׁ הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּטַּע כָּרֶם - "And Noah the husbandman began, and planted a vineyard." He plants grapes, presses those grapes into wine, and proceeds to get riproaringly drunk. The results of this type of activity are never good, and Noach is a great example of that rule.
Rashi notes that the word for "began" -- ויחל, shares the same root at the word חולין -- "profanity", connoting the opposite of sanctity. Commenting on this strange choice of language Rashi notes, עשה עצמו חולין, שהיה לו לעסוק תחלה בנטיעה אחרת - "He made himself profane, for he should have engaged in another planting first."
While we can all understand Noach's need or desire for a good glass of wine, he should have planted something more practical first. By making the wine his first crop, he allowed the alcohol and his need for it to become his defining quality. A good drink is fine -- but only in its proper time.
You'd think that leaving the ark after being cooped up for a year in a zoo would be a no-brainer. Yet, the pesukim seem to indicate otherwise.
Did you know that this shiur is available as a free podcast on iTunes? Click here to subscribe - and leave a comment and rating so more people will find the shiur! Thanks!
We begin the shiur by studying Netziv's famous introduction to Bereishit, in which he analyzes why Chazal called Bereishit "Sefer Hayashar." His chilling comments have powerful meaning to us today. Then, we use the background of his introduction to understand more about Noach, and about the generation of the Tower of Bavel, and why God dispersed them.
This is not the Noach story that you learned in grade school. That story focused on animals, boats and a lot of rain. The real story - the underlying story - paints a troubling picture of a society that had lost its moorings, and warranted destruction. What went wrong? What was so bad about the generation of the flood? And most importantly, what implications does Noach's generation have for us?
