Generation to Generation - Noach 5785
The opening verse of the Parsha of Noach says “ The following are the descendants of Noach. Noach was a righteous man; faultless in his generations. Noach walked with Hashem. ” Wait a second. I thought you were telling me about Noach’s descendants. You don’t expect the Torah to shift in the middle of a sentence. Only in the next verse, after the interruption, does it state: “ Noach was the father of three sons: Shem, Cham, and Yaphet.” Rashi comments on this. “‘ The following are the descendants of Noach – Noach was a righteous man ’ - Since the verse mentions him, it relates his praise, in accordance with what is written: ‘The mention of a righteous person is for blessing.’ Another explanation why his descendants are not immediately mentioned: It teaches you that the main progeny of righteous people is their good deeds.” In 1984, the Rebbe commented that this teaches a very important lesson for children’s education. A preface: While Rashi’s commentary is based on the deepest Ta