Where was Avraham when he was commanded to sacrifice his son? Why did it take him three days to arrive at Mount Moriah? When did Sarah die? After the Akeidat Yitzhak, did Avraham return to where he had set out from?

After Avraham and Lot parted ways, Avraham settled in Elonei Mamre by Hebron (Genesis 13, 18).

Following the destruction of Sodom, Avraham moved to Gerar (20, 2).

What were Avraham and Sarah really arguing about? Is sending Yishmael and his mother to the desert the ethical thing to do? What does this chapter reveal vis-à-vis Yishmael’s status as the child of Avraham?

Teenager Yishmael and Yitzhak, a toddler just weaned, are living in the same household. Sarah perceives Yishmael as a threat. She wants to send Yishmael and his mother away so that he will not inherit along with Yitzhak. From Sarah’s point of view, Yishmael’s status is that of the handmaiden’s son.

Why did he assume that the name “Yoktan” was of any significance? Rashi perhaps sought to explain why Yoktan – a man otherwise shrouded in obscurity – was deserving of so many children, and for this reason he interpreted the name “Yoktan” as an allusion to the man’s exceptional virtue of modesty.  

Why was idolatry punished with destruction during the time of Enosh, and with dispersion at the incident of Migdal Bavel? According to the Ridbaz, although idolatry had been prevalent on earth since the days of Enosh, it was only now that proponents of idolatry set out to disseminate their beliefs and bring the entire world into their faith.  They accomplished this through the veil of a “social” agenda, inviting all people to take part in and enjoy an equal share of a new endeavor.  

            A simple but meaningful lesson perhaps emerges from this story of Noach: the importance of adjusting to sudden changes in direction. Noach rose to the challenge heroically.  Despite his and his contemporaries’ aspirations for a better, more promising world, he nevertheless accepted the divine decree and his new role as the harbinger of catastrophe, rather than the symbol of hope.

 Rashi comments that the people of the time of the Tower of BAvel began producing bricks because there were no stones in the low-lying region of Babylonia.  Rav David Shaul Greenfeld (of Creteil, France), in his work Be-ne'ot Deshe, suggests that it is no accident that the people of this generation chose to live in a region with no rocks. They wanted to ensure that their city and tower would bear exclusively the imprint of human ingenuity, and resemble the raw, natural elements to as small an extent as possible.

      Earlier this week, we cited a famous comment in the Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 36:6) contrasting Noach with Moshe.  Whereas Noach is initially introduced as a "righteous man" (6:9) and later described somewhat disparagingly as a "man of the field" (9:20), Moshe begins as an "Egyptian man" (Shemot 2:19) and is later referred to as "the man of God" (Devarim 33:1).  As we saw, the Meshekh Chokhma explained the Midrash's comment to mean that Noach, who secluded himself from his contemporaries and never assumed any leadership role, experienced a spiritual decline, whereas M

According to the Meshekh Chokhma, all righteous people generally fall into one of two categories. First, there are those who withdraw from society, live in relative isolation and focus as exclusively as they can on their own growth and spiritual development. The other type is the tzadik who involves himself intensively in communal needs, who becomes active in public affairs in an attempt to lead and inspire others.  Noach, who was generally withdrawn from his contemporaries regressed from his religious stature. Moshe, who led an entire multitude through the wilderness, continuously grew and progressed.

  A famous passage in the Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 31:3) draws a contrast between Noach and Avraham.  Noach, the Midrash comments, is first described as an ish tzadik, a "righteous man" (6:9), and then later in life is referred to as an ish ha-adama – "a man of the land" (9:20).  Noach's "regression" stands in direct contrast to the progression of Moshe, who early in life is called an ish Mitzri ("Egyptian man" – Shemot 2:19)) and then later an ish ha-Elokim ("man of God" – Devarim 33:1).

Why was Noach ordered to build an enormous ark, if it in any event would be unable to accommodate every species without a miracle?