{"id":34639,"date":"2018-07-22T11:37:05","date_gmt":"2018-07-22T08:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/whats-in-a-window\/"},"modified":"2022-02-13T10:09:20","modified_gmt":"2022-02-13T08:09:20","slug":"whats-in-a-window","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/whats-in-a-window\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s In a Window?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Intimacy, self- protection, helping those in need and relationship building: balancing these values is what is at stake when Noah is famously commanded: \u201cmake a <\/span>tzohar<\/span><\/em> in the ark\u201d (Gen 6:16). <\/span><\/p>\n

What is the precise meaning of this difficult word, <\/span>tzohar<\/span><\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\n

JPS translates this as \u201can opening for daylight\u201d, i.e. a window. Rabbi Yo\u1e25anan proposes something else:<\/span><\/p>\n

The Blessed Holy One, said to Noah: Set precious stones and jewels in the ark so that they will shine for you as the afternoon [<\/span>tzohorayim<\/span><\/em>] sun (Sanhedrin 108b).<\/span><\/p>\n

Why did Rabbi Yohanan reject what would seem to be the simple explanation? \u00a0What advantage does a miraculous precious stone have over a simple window? <\/span><\/p>\n

To answer that question, it is helpful to look at another Talmudic disagreement about our chapter:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the generations of Noah; Noah was a righteous man, and wholehearted in his generations\u201d (Genesis 6:9), Rabbi Yo\u1e25anan says: Relative to the other people of his generation he was righteous and wholehearted, but not relative to those of other generations. And Resh Lakish says: In his generation he was righteous and wholehearted; all the more so would he have been considered righteous and wholehearted in other generations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rabbi Yohanan criticizes Noah for being \u201ca tzadik in a fur coat.\u201d \u00a0Noah himself was righteous, but unlike Abraham, Noah saved himself without bringing redemption to the rest of humankind. Thus, his righteousness is only relative. He should have done more to influence his community and help them feel \u201cthe warmth of Torah.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Resh Lakish on the other hand, judges Noah by the opposite standard. \u00a0Isn\u2019t it a testament to Noah that his community did not bring him down? \u00a0Statistics show that it is extremely difficult to stay out of trouble while living in a crime-ridden neighborhood. \u00a0How can you effectively repair the world when everyone around you is working against you? In the face of difficult surroundings, rather than be corrupted, it is best to create a personal refuge and withdraw.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what is the <\/span>tzohar<\/span><\/em>? \u00a0A window is not just a way to get light and fresh air. \u00a0It is a symbol of our deep connection to the world around us, our willingness to impact and contribute, but also an openness to be vulnerable to outside influences. Rabbi Yohanan portrays God as commanding Noah to isolate himself without windows but with the protection of a precious stone, a miraculous private light symbolizing Divine love and chosenness. There is a beautiful safety and even intimacy created by this insular sanctuary. <\/span><\/p>\n

May we have the wisdom and conviction to balance the important values of intimacy, self- protection, helping those in need and relationship building.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"What\u2019s In a Window?","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"\u00a0A window is not just a way to get light and fresh air. \u00a0It is a symbol of our deep connection to the world around us","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":35599,"id":35599,"title":"","filename":"preview-6487.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/%d7%94%d7%9c%d7%9b%d7%95-%d7%94%d7%91%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%aa%d7%95%d7%aa-%d7%91%d7%90%d7%95-%d7%94%d7%90%d6%b2%d7%9e%d6%b8%d7%a0%d7%95%d6%b9%d7%aa\/attachment\/35599\/","alt":"","author":"0","description":"","caption":"","name":"35599","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1585,"date":"2018-07-24 08:15:46","modified":"2018-07-24 08:15:46","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":928,"height":930,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487-768x770.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":770,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487.jpg","large-width":928,"large-height":930,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487.jpg","1536x1536-width":928,"1536x1536-height":930,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487.jpg","2048x2048-width":928,"2048x2048-height":930,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487.jpg","post_full_size-width":928,"post_full_size-height":930,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487-419x420.jpg","home_baner-width":419,"home_baner-height":420}},"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":true},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"929 \u2013 \u05ea\u05e0\u05da \u05d1\u05d9\u05d7\u05d3 | \u05d1\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05d9\u05ea \u05d5 | Meesh Hammer-Kossoy: What\u2019s In a Window?","seo_description":"Coming soon: 929-English - Intimacy, self- protection, helping those in need and relationship building: balancing these values is what is at stake whe","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":"Coming soon: 929-English - Intimacy, self- protection, helping those in need and relationship building: balancing these values is what is at stake whe"},"old_create_date":"2018-07-20 12:51:24","links":false,"send_noty":false,"updates_last_update":"13\/02\/2022"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34639"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34639"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101922,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34639\/revisions\/101922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}