The Rebbe of Ishbitz tells us that Noah’s three-floored Ark corresponds to how Noah himself should relate to his three sons, Shem, Cham and Yafet. Cham is the lowest, the farthest away, and therefore should only be spoken-to on the surface… but to Shem, Noah’s dearest son, he should speak words of Torah and tell him all of his secrets.
With respect, I see in this the very problem that Noah experienced which later came back to damage him. How easy it is to speak to that which is open toward you, that yearns for your words, that you have so much in common with. Cham was born on the wrong foot – he was the runt. So Noah begins to distance him, because he’s less fun to hang out with, you can’t pursue the vicissitudes of life with him. So stick him all-the-way downstairs, ignore him… and then you’re surprised when he comes along and reveals your nakedness, when this son you wanted to ignore comes back to render you impotent, or shamed, or incapable of relationship.
The Piazetzner Rebbe, whose yarhtzeit was Thursday, asks: “Are you inherently better than the jailed criminal who now cannot commit a crime? Chains and guards and the locks on his prison cell door may keep him in place, but look well into yourself: are you truly not just the same? Would not that ‘criminal’ part of yourself break the bonds of its inner prison, if only it could, in order to fulfill its heart’s desires? And even if you have taken such control of your mind that any intruding thought you immediately cast aside – congratulations! But don’t be complacent with this. Rather, listen to this advice: heal your soul at its source and don’t just rely on self-control.”
Rav Gavriel Goldfeder
|
Rav Gavriel Goldfeder is one of the first semicha recipients of the yeshiva. A graduate of Drew University in Religious Studies, he came to Bat Ayin after stints in other yeshivot and found a spiritual and intellectual home. Here he met his wife, Ketriellah, who was a student in our short-lived Women's Yeshiva. Upon graduation, Gavriel took the position of rabbi of the Aish Kodesh Congregation in Boulder, Colorado and together with Ketriellah and their growing family, they are busy creating (in Gavriel's words), "a community infused with Torah values, passion for learning and prayer, consideration of one another, and action, as well as deep celebration of the joys of life." |