THE COVER-UP

By Rabbi Joshua (covertly known as the Hoffer) Hoffman

After emerging from the ark following the flood, Noach gets drunk and exposes himself in his tent. His son Cham sees this and tells his two brothers, Shem and Yefes, about it. They proceed to take a garment and cover their father with it (Bereishis 9:21-23). Rashi, based on a midrash, writes that from the wording of the verse we can see that Shem exerted more effort in covering his father than did Yefes, and, as a result, the rewards of the two brothers varied. Shem, who took the initiative, was rewarded through the mitzvoh of tzitzis being given to his descendants while Yefes, who merely assisted Shem, was rewarded through burial being granted to his descendant, Gog, who would, in the future, be killed in the war of Gog and Magog, as described toward the end of the book of Yechezkel. What is the meaning behind these different rewards, and what do they tell us about the personalities of Shem and Yafes?

Many years ago I heard an explanation of this Rashi from Rabbi Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, in the name of Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz, zt"l. He explained that Shem, who did the mitzvoh in a more active manner, taking the initiative, received his reward through the mitzvoh of tzitzis, which is especially associated with the living. Although a dead person is buried in his tallis, the general practice of Jewish burial societies is to invalidate the tzitzis hanging from the tallis by tearing them. This is because a dead person cannot perform mitzvos, as they are meant for the living. Moreover, when a person goes to a graveyard, he must keep his tzitzis tucked under his clothing so that he not disparage the dead, who can no longer observe that mitzvoh. Yefes, however, who merely reacted to Shem’s initiative, did the mitzvoh in a dead manner, and therefore was rewarded through burial being granted to his descendant. I would like to offer another explanation of Rashi based on comments of the Netziv concerning Shem and Yefes.

The Netziv, in his commentary Haamek Davar, infers from Rashi that Shem would have covered Noach himself, without the help of Yefes, had it been possible, while Yefes naturally felt that two people should perform the task and there was no need for him to exert any extra effort. Why was there this difference? The Netziv explains that Shem viewed the act of covering Noach as a mitzvoh, and when it comes to a mitzvoh, it is better to perform it by oneself rather than with the aid of others. Yefes, however, viewed this act as one that logic dictates, since honoring one’s parents is something that every decent person understands as being necessary. Therefore it did not make a difference to Yefes whether he covered his father by himself or together with his brother, as long as he was covered.

Based on this distinction of the Netziv we can understand the different rewards given to Shem and Yefes. The mitzvoh of tzitzis consists of several strands of material being attached to each of the corners of a four-cornered garment. Some of these strands remain white while others are dyed with techeles, which we will refer to as blue. My teacher, Rabbi Aharon Soloveichik, zt”l, explained that symbolically the white strands of the tzitzis represent the mundane aspects of life, while the blue strands represent the sacred aspects of life. The message conveyed by combining these different strands is that the mundane aspects of life must be viewed through the prism of the holy. Thus Shem, who viewed the logical act of honoring his father through the prism of the holy and covered his father as a mitzvoh received as a reward the mitzvoh of tzitzis, which symbolizes the integration of the mundane and the holy. Yefes, on the other hand, viewed the honoring of his father as a logical, natural thing to do. Therefore, his reward came in the form of burial, which is a logical, natural, thing to do. We find, in fact, that some animals and even insects bury their dead or at least try to. Of course, this reward did have great significance, coming at a time of war when many people are left unburied. Still, the nature of Yafes’ reward reflected the manner in which he did the act through which he merited it.

We here at Netvort central wish everyone in Netvortland a wonderful, healthy and meaningful new month, starting on the right foot.