[Avodah] Rosh Hashanah 32b There's Hope For Everyone

Cantor Wolberg cantorwolberg at cox.net
Tue May 6 18:08:13 PDT 2008


(b) We recite as one of the ten verses of Zichronos the verse,    
																												"HaShem remembered Noach" (Bereishis 8:1).  
Why do we recite this verse? 																										The Gemara says  
that we do not mention a Zikaron which is associated with an  
																									individual and not with the Tzibur.

The answer is that the Gemara itself allows the recitation of the  
verse,    																										"HaShem remembered  
Sarah" (Bereishis 21:1), even though it is a Zikaron  
																											of an individual, because "many people (the  
entire Jewish nation) came from her" 																								through  
this Zikaron. Similarly, since the entire world was repopulated  
through Noach, 																								the Zikaron of Noach counts as  
a Zikaron of many people.

This explains why we introduce the verse, "HaShem remembered Noach,"  
in the 																								Shemoneh Esreh with a declaration that  
Hash-m saved Noach "in order to make his children  
																							as numerous as the dust of the earth and his  
offspring like the sand of the sea." Noach's repopulation  
																						of the world is what justifies mentioning the  
verse even though it seems to be a Zikaron of an individual. (M.  
Kornfeld)

I submit the following chiddush: Noach obviously wasn't Jewish, yet he  
is remembered by HaShem, 																						as well as mentioned in  
our liturgy. The fact is that he is the ancestor of all the Jews.  
Hence, my chiddush 																					is that we should view a non  
Jew as a potential ger or g'ores as well as his or her progeny.  So  
that might be a good 																		reason to view the pasuk,  
v'ahavta l'rayecha komocho, as "your neighbor" extending beyond a Jew.

Kol tuv.

ri 
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