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Parshat Noach
This week's Torah portion discusses one of the most calamitous events in history - the flood of Noah. We read in the second portion of the book of Bereishit how the world became so corrupted with thievery and immorality that G-d decided to destroy the world. Hashem commanded Noach to build an ark for himself, his family and the animals that would be saved. The rest of the world would be destroyed by a gigantic flood. Indeed, it rained for forty days and nights, "and the fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of the heavens were opened" (Bereishit 7:11).
The raging waters of the flood are seen in the writings of our sages as a reference to the struggles and challenges in earning a livelihood and life in general. The majority of human beings experience these raging waters at some point in their lives and struggle.
As it began to rain, Hashem commanded him to go into the Ark, "Then Hashem said to Noach, come to the Ark you and your household" (Bereishit 7:1). Noach and his family entered the ark that he built, and they were saved.
Beyond the simple understanding, our rabbis in the writings of the Chassidic Philosophy see in this phrase a deeper meaning. The Baal Shem Tov explains that the word תבה - Teiva (Ark in English) also means letters - תבות (of the Hebrew Aleph Bet). In other words, the antidote to the ranging waters of the flood and the raging waters of challenges in our lives are the letters and words of Torah and Teffilah (prayer).
The Ark was supposed to be a sanctuary or an "oasis" of sorts from the raging waters outside it. The words of Torah and Teffilah are meant to be a spiritual oasis, protecting us from the challenges and difficulties around us.
This leaves us with a profound and self reflecting question - when things get tough, when we feel overwhelmed, where is our Ark? What is our Oasis? What are our coping mechanisms? Perhaps the message of the Torah portion is that while we cannot control the raging waters or challenges in our lives, we do have the power to create this oasis and strategies to help us weather those challenges.
Shabbat Shalom
