What's the Spiel? - Parshat Noach

What's the Spiel?

6 Cheshvan 5784 - October 21, 2023

Parshat Noach

Rabbi's Reflections

-Enter the Ark: Don't Wait to Change! -

Parshat Noach opens on an ominous note regarding the state of the world and humanity, as it says, “The earth became corrupt before God; the earth was filled with lawlessness” (Bereshit 6:12). In response to the degraded state of humanity, God resolves to wipe it out via a deluge, and begin afresh with Noach - the only righteous man in his generation, who constructs an ark at God’s command in order to fulfill this purpose. As the rains begin to fall, “Noach, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the Flood” (Ibid., 7:7). According to Rashi, based on the Midrash, the fact that Noach entered the ark only “because of the waters of the Flood” indicates that “Noach was also one of those people who were wanting in faith: he believed and he did not believe that the Flood would come, and he would not enter the ark until the waters forced him to do so.” What is the deeper meaning of this strange statement? If Noach only entered the ark because of the Flood waters, how does that constitute fulling God’s command, as it says, “And Noach did just as the Lord commanded him?” (Ibid., 7:5). It was fear not obedience which compelled him to enter!

According to Rav Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik, Noach’s equivocation represents the broader skepticism and mistaken beliefs of the people of his generation. Says Rav Soloveitchik, the people of Noach’s generation became so accustomed to doing wrong because they had gotten away with it for so long that they could not imagine that God would actually bring the Flood. Nevertheless, Noach went about encouraging the people to repent. For one hundred and twenty years, Noach tried to show the people the error of their ways in an attempt to avoid the fate of the Flood. Yet, the people turned a deaf ear to his message because they suffered no consequences, and thus, persisted in their actions. And when the Flood finally did come, the people still could not believe it – so mired were they in their self-delusion.

Now, because Noach finally entered the ark, it is clear that he, unlike his peers, did possess faith in God. Were that not so, even the waters of the Flood would not have been enough for him to enter the ark. Thus, when he did come into the ark, he did so because God commanded him, leaving any trace of denial behind.

It is very easy to delude ourselves into thinking that if we do not suffer immediate consequences for our negative actions we can persist in them and even feel confident doing so. Whether regarding our health, our families or even our professional lives, simply being aware of a consequence can sometimes not be enough to change our attitudes and behavior. But the lesson of Noach is that when we are alerted to a need to change course or correct a pattern of behavior, we should embrace those moments as opportunities to grow and improve, viewing the consequences of those actions as close, rather than being reserved for some far-off time. This Shabbat, as we reflect on those areas of our lives we know we need to change, let us resolve to act upon them with enthusiasm instead of waiting for the effects to reach us. May we all seek opportunities to change and improve and respond to them directly, so that we can realize our incredible potential to become vessels of holiness and harbingers of hope for all those we love and care about.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Rabbi Dan

Shabbat Morning Talk with Jacob Kimchy: "United Against Hamas"

Schedule of Services at B'nai Abraham

Friday Night

Candle Lighting

6:36PM

Mincha & Kabbalat Shabbat

6:30PM

Shabbat

Shacharit

9:00AM

Youth Services

10:30AM

Mincha

6:25PM

Havdalah

7:30PM

Sunday

Shacharit

8:30AM

Monday - Friday

Shacharit

7:05AM

Mincha/Maariv

Monday and Tuesday Evening

6:00PM

Rubin Home, 10609 McFarlie Cove, Austin, Tx

Mazal Tov

Mazal Tov to Felicia and Scott Weingarten on the birth of a healthy baby boy! Details on the Bris to follow!

Condolences

Dear CTI Family,

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Jay Giller, Yoel ben Binyamin v’Tziporah, brother of our member, Carol (Jay) Rubin.

Shiva will be observed at the Rubin home at 10609 McFarlie Cove, Austin, TX 78750 on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, with visiting hours from 4:00pm-8:00pm.

Mincha/Maariv minyan will take place at the Rubin home on Monday and Tuesday evening at 6:00pm.

CTI Announcements

Please join CTI this Shabbat (10/21) to hear from Jacob Kimchy, who was visiting friends and family in Israel when the war broke out. In his talk, “United Against Hamas,” Jacob will share his experience with the traumatic events that have unfolded with the congregation.

Jacob Kimchy is an entrepreneur, author and speaker on terrorism. In 2002, Jacob lost his father in a suicide bombing in his hometown, Rishon L’tzion. In the years that followed, he dedicated his life to supporting victims of terrorism around the world and speaking to governments about terrorism through his non-profit. In 2016, he published a memoir, A New Sunrise, which speaks to his own experiences in dealing with grief and trauma.

Thank you to the following members and friends of CTI who have donated and/or pledged to this year's High Holiday Appeal. If you have not already pledged or paid, we are including the link to the High Holiday Appeal page for your convenience.

Altman, Arthur & Barb

Carroll, Reese & Sherry Fishman Carroll

Chapin, David & Rita

Clifford, Sean & Meredith

Davis, Mitch & Patti

Dollinger, Adam & Elena Tsanko

Gerstenhaber, Gary & Karin

Glassman, Sampson & Steinberg, Beth

Goldberg, Rick & Paz

Goldstein, Leo

Gordon, Elan & Karine

Gould, Vicky

Groveman, Bernard

Guariguata, Andres

Humble, Marshall

Iken, Daniel

Lonsdale, Joe & Tayler

Kamen, Mark & Rhonda

Klein, Efraim

Kron, Jennifer

Magill, Loretta

Marciano, Lionel

Millner, Rabbi Dan & Yael

Newberg, Stuart & Suzanne

Pompa, Alana

Price, Marty & Katie

Rahimi, Erik & Lindsay

Raschkovsky, Isaac & Angela

Refaeli, Jehoda & Hana

Robbins, Reuven & Rosemary Klein Robbins

Rosenberg, Joshua & Kendra

Rosenthal, Davida

Roth, Ester Malkah

Rubin, Jay & Carol

Schumer, Karina

Selig, Edward & Cathy

Shapiro, Eric & Beth

Shavit, Offer & Ilana

Shavit, Yuval

Stone, Louis

Sultan, Solomon & Devorah

Tatham, Henna

Van Keer, Julie

Welter, Samantha

Wolfson, Jake

Woloszko, Jean & Eveline

CTI Kiddush Krew

The CTI "Kiddush Krew" is looking for additional volunteers to help with our Shabbat kiddush efforts. Please contact Beth Shapiro through the kiddush contact form if you are interested in learning how you can help!

Thank you Gary & Karin Gerstenhaber for sponsoring Kiddush in honor of the CTI Board of Directors

A BIG THANK YOU to the CTI Community for stepping up to sponsor a Kiddush! Your sponsorships have been filling up our kiddush calendar nicely, and we are currently booked through the end of November, with some spots in December and January already taken.

If you would like to sponsor a kiddush in December or January (or beyond), please take a look at our calendar and reserve your spot! And THANK YOU for supporting CTI and our community with your sponsorship!

Sponsor A Kiddush

Mazel Tov!

Mitch Davis on October 21 (Birthday)
Philip Spertus on October 22 (Birthday)
Offer & Ilana Shavit on October 25 (Anniversary)
Sherry Fishman-Carroll on October 27 (Birthday)

Yahrtzeit Remembrances

Dorothy Escovitz, Mother of Sandra Sack on 9 Cheshvan
Edith Levin, Mother of Reuven Robbins, on 12 Cheshvan

May their souls be bound up in the bond of life.

Volunteer Still Needed

CTI is looking for a man or woman to serve as a backup shmira coordinator, to help manage shifts and communicate with the shomrim. Please contact Larry at 512-923-3964 or by email if you are interested or would like more information.

Torah Classes at CTI

Take Your Tanakh Series

Tuesday Night | 7:00pm - The Book of Isaiah

Wednesday Morning | 8:15am - The Book of Job

Click Here for more information on how to join these exciting classes.

Donations

Thank you to Gary Gerstenhaber, Rick Goldberg,

Yaakov Holdowsky, and Isaac Reitberger,

for their aliyah donations.

Thank you to Loretta Magill and Isaac Reitberger

for their yizkor donations.

Thank you to Bernard Groveman for his donation