בס”ד
By Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
Painting by: Baruch Nachshon z”l
In this parsha we read how Noah built an altar after the end of the Flood. This painting may depict this idea, for we see a fire at the center of a mountain, which may signify an altar at Mount Ararat. At the top of the painting we see a tree that may signify the olive tree from which the dove took a leaf, especially considering the branches above this tree which strongly resemble olive-tree branches. The pomegranate seen here may signify the new life after the Flood, since a pomegranate has many seeds, which symbolize the emergence of life. We see seven yellow-red flames at the top of the painting and seven blue stars at the bottom of the painting. This matter may follow with the teaching of the Kabbalists who connect the color blue to the attribute of kindness, which descends from the heavens to the earth, while red they connect to the attribute of judgment, which rises from below towards the heavens.
This parsha describes the first altar built and Hashem’s “appeasement” after a period of Hashem’s “anger” upon the world, allowing the world to be in a settled state. In a similar way, Avraham was the first figure to “appease” Hashem after a period of ten generations of Hashem’s “anger” upon them due to their transgressions. Hebron is Avraham’s first settlement, in a sense paralleling the settlement of the world coming with Noah’s altar in this parsha.