BS"D

PARSHAS NOAH

By Yitz Kolakowski

	"And the L-rd said, 'Behold, the people is one, and they
all have one language; and this is what they begin to do!  
Now nothing will hold them back!"  (Genesis 11:6)

	Wait a minute!  My dear, holy friends, haven't we been
taught the greatness of unity?  Isn't unity the answer to all
the problems of the world?  Why is HaShem so worried about world
unity?
	The Mishnah in Sanhedrin tells us that "the assembling of the
wicked is bad for them and bad for the world."  We see that all the
nations of the world gathered together for the sake of selfishness
and haughtiness, as they built a tower up to the heaven.  All of this
they made not to glorify the name of G-d, but rather to make war
against Him, glorifying only themselves.  

	Today, many of the nations once again are all gathered together
in war against our Holy One. They are fulfilling the prophecy
of Zechariah that all the nations of the world will be gathered against
Jerusalem.

	Know!  This is more than a merely a war against a country, this
is the war that the heathen nations are making against the G-d of
that country, the G-d of Israel, since He is the true G-d.

	My holy friends, the words of our haftarah say, 
"For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; 
but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall
My covenant of peace be removed, saith HaShem that hath 
compassion on thee." (Isaiah 54:10)

	The kindness and the covenant that the Navi (Prophet) are 
talking about are the Torah, called "Toras chesed" (Proverbs 31) 
and "bris olam".  Life and peace come only through the chesed that
Hashem showed us by making an Eternal covenant with us, 
His first born children.
 
	My dear, holy friends, anyone who wants life must attach 
himself to this covenant of the Eternal, for this is the only way of making
your name last forever.  
	
	Even if you build the tallest monument to your own selfishness 
and ego in this world by knocking down the next person, it can (and will) fall.  
But if you build a monument in the next world by helping your fellow
here, such a monument will last forever.

	We must foster true unity, which comes from the G-d Who is
a Unity.  We must be one with each other by being one with the Al-mighty
and His Torah.  This is the only way for that "oh so elusive" Jewish
unity.  Also, this is the only true way for world unity and world peace.
Peace only comes from Hashem, whose name is HaShem-Shalom, the L-rd of Peace.
Those who rebel against the Holy One of Israel are destined to destruction,
as it says "HaShem preserveth all them that love Him; but all the wicked 
will He destroy."  (Psalms 145:20)

	But my precious and holy Jews, we mustn't be like Noah was, 
who was a "tzaddik in peltz", one who saved himself from the flood of waters, 
but did not go out to save others.  We must, as our father Avraham,
tell the world that the only road for true peace and life in this world and the next
is through the roads of G-d's holy Torah, the 613 mitzvos for the Jewish people
and the 7 Noahide Mitzvos for the rest of the world.  And Noah teaches
us to persist and never fear even if nobody will listen and even if
you will be mocked, for it is written in the holy book of Yechezkal 
(Ezekiel 33:6) "But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow 
not the horn, and the people be not warned, and the sword do come, 
and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, 
but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand."  
In other words, "If we warn someone and they don't listen, it is their
own fault; but if we don't warn them, their blood is on our hands."

	My dear holy brothers and sisters, Hashem will certainly 
deliver us, blessing our helpers and taking vengence on our enemies.  
This will definitely come to pass, as did the promised 
waters of Noah so many years ago.  Our job is to be a Kiddush Hashem, 
spreading His Holy Name to the four corners of the world by 
increasing our performance of mitzvos and good deeds.
The appointed time will come, our every word of Tefillah or Torah exalts
another friend and knocks down another enemy (and if feasible hopefully 
turns him to another true friend).   Indeed, our every
act in coming close to G-d or helping our fellow man brings this
promised day of Ultimate Redemption closer.  
"When this cometh to pass--behold, it cometh--then shall they know that a 
prophet hath been among them."  (ibid. 33)

May we all merit to see this day come.

GUT SHABBOS.