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The command to Abraham to leave his home is a strange one. He is commanded to go for himself. This underlines the idea that we do not do the commandments for God but for our benefit.

The Torah is specific in that a government should exist for the safety of society but that it should be a totalitarian regime. This was one of the inspirations for the Framers of the US Constitution.

The Torah states that Noah was a righteous man in his generation. What add the qualifier? Because he would make excuses for the evil around him even though he was apart from it.

Before the flood there were no laws. After, God gave the 7 Laws for mankind. What is interesting is that the one positive is to set up courts to enforce the other 6.

A question of the flood story was why were the animals drowned. The answer is that the purpose of Creation was man. Without man there is no purpose to the animals.

In this week’s portion we see that the Torah is against anarchy and totalitarianism. While it is necessary to have a government, it should be limited.

The difference between the Torah’s telling of the flood story and the others sources is that the Torah gives the story a moral dimension whereas the others do not.

True holiness is not that you pray and ignore the world but that you get involved and help your fellow. This is important to remember especially during this period of holiness.

The final judgement of Yom Kippur is not given until after Simhat Torah. Why? God is interested in how we behave when we do not have the constraints of Yom Kippur. When we have had a bit to drink. That is when real repentance kicks in.

The Book of Jonah relates that he does not want Nineveh to repent, knowing what the future holds. But God has His own agenda. And Nineveh is saved because of the actions of its inhabitants, not their prayers and promises.