Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

Abraham introduces the concept of ethical monotheism. Not just that there is one God but that He wants us to be ethical. Being ethical and moral is equal to being holy. All three have to be together.

Why is Abraham considered greater than Noah? The fact is that while Noah did the right thing he never took the initiative. Abraham did take the initiative. Even argued with God at times.

The difference between Noah and Abraham is that while Noah did not try to change his neighbors’ behavior Abraham did. That is why Abraham is considered greater than Noah.

The Torah informs us that Noah was not perfect. The important lesson to us is that you do not have to be perfect to stand up to evil.

The Torah is against anarchy, as shown by the flood, and totalitarianism as shown by the story of the Tower of Babel. The Torah wants us to live in society govern by laws that guarantee our freedom.

Unlike the pagan flood stories, the Biblical story God was upset at man’s sins. That Noah was chosen to save mankind was due to his being a righteous person.

The snake enticed Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He did so by using language that sounded good but was really deceitful. This is the game plan of all evil people. They use deceitful language to convince the gullible.

We celebrate the holiday of Sukkot and tomorrow we will be celebrating the holiday of Simhat Torah. We celebrate even more with the return of the hostages to their homes.

Sukkot is a happy holiday. It is the close of the holiday season for month of Tishri. We start off very serious asking God for forgiveness for our sins. God only decides on Simhat Torah because then we show if we really meant what we said on Yom Kippur.