Theדבר תורה  is לזכות רפואה שלימה ל-אברהם בייניש בן גאלדה שפרינצה.
ולאה בת חנה
And לזכר נשמת ר’ אברהם בן שמחה זצ”ל
ר’ חיים בן ר’ צבי ארי-ה זצ”ל
ר’ יחיאל יהודה בן ר’ אברהם מרדכי הכהן זצ”ל
ור’ אליהו מרדכי זצ”ל בן ר’ אברהם יעקב נ”י
 
This weeks email is sponsored in honor of Mr. & Mrs. Ari Lowinger upon the birth of a baby boy. Mazel tov to the entire extended family. May they be zoche to the Bris b’zmanoy.

When the flood was over and the land dried up, Hashem tells Noach that he, his wife and sons should depart the teiva. Upon exiting, the pasuk (8: 21) says “Then Noach built an altar to Hashem and took every pure animal and bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. Hashem smelled the pleasing aroma and proclaimed: ‘I will not curse the ground anymore, because of man, since man’s heart is evil from their youth; I will not continue to smite every living being as I have done.’”
Noach spent one hundred and twenty years building the teiva. He took care of the all the animals needs, day and night. After the mabul was over, when he finally has a chance to let everyone go free and take a breathier, he brings a korban to Hashem. It seems that this was a major turning point in the parsha. This act seems to have appeased Hashem tremendously. As the pasuk says, after smelling the Korban, Hashem says ‘I will not curse the ground anymore, because of man, since man’s heart is evil from their youth’. 
Firstly, what was so unique about the korban that it, k’viyachol, ‘convinced’ Hashem to change his mind-set, that He says He won’t destroy mankind anymore?
 
Secondly, the aforementioned pasuk (8: 21) says that Hashem stated ‘since man’s heart is evil from their youth.’ Meaning a person has an inkling of wickedness instilled in him from the get go. The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh asks, in Bereishis, if Hashem knew that the yetzer hara is detrimental for us, then why did create it all together?
 
The Ohr HaChaim answers that Hashem created the yetzer hara for our benefit. It was instilled in all of us in order to obtain schar when we perform a mitzvah. Imagine if we didn’t have a yetzer hara…there would be no challenge to perform mitzvohs. Hashem in his infinite wisdom fashioned us with a yetzer hara opposing our every step not to do the mitzvohs. Life is one big test!  When we overcome this obstacle our reward will triple, as the mishna in Avos tells us ‘l’fum tzara agra.’
 
When Noach departed from the teiva, let us try to understand what his mind set was. He was bottled up in the teiva for a year; surrounded by animals and garbage. What would be the first thing any of us would do if we were in that situation? Either we would get away for a bit (vacation) or at least take a long hot shower! But that is not what Noach did! The first thing Noach did was bring a korban to Hashem.
 
Hashem saw a person who just experienced a very hard ordeal and had every right to tend to his own needs, but not Noach. His top priority was not himself; his actions exhibited a tremendous strength of character. To show Hashem that serving him is what was important to him, even before tending to his own basic needs. When Hashem saw this and He smelled the aroma from the korban He said it’s these people that I want to build a world with, despite the fact that they have an inner yetzer hara which makes them ‘evil from their youth.’ 
We find a similar idea by the holocaust where millions of yidden were destroyed and witnessed the annihilation of the eastern European Jewry. Yet, what did these survivors do- they rebuilt a new world; they came to a new place, a new land, and started from scratch in rebuilding communities and families. This teaches our generation, that even in the most difficult times one must understand that Hashem is the most important factor and we serve Him no matter what. They learnt this lesson from their parents, who learn it from their ancestors, who were imbued with this middah from Noach.
 
May we all be zoche to show our hidden strengths and to always serve the Ribono Shel Olam, even in the most trying times.

 HAVE A GREAT SHABBOS.