The story of Noah from Genesis 6, perhaps one of the most popular in all of the Biblical canon, is now, in the 21st Century, probably one of its most important. Looking back at the ancient text we have not only a children’s story but a parable of how to face ecological disaster. While there are many lessons to be learned from it, here are the seven I came up:
- Do not wait until the last minute: We come into the story in the middle. As we learn in Genesis 6:11, “the earth was already tishachet.” Tishachet means corrupted or spoiled. Just as our ecological problems did not begin with this generation, or the generation before, or even the generation before that, the earth, in Noah’s time, had already suffered generations of abuse.
- The person you least expect may be the one to save you: In Genesis 6:9, Noah is called a just person. Another way to read this, is that he was just a person. He is called in the text both a Tzadik, righteous, and Tamim, simple. He was not the one anyone expected to save humanity, and yet he was the one who did.
- The prophet may not be believed: No matter how much Noah explained about what was coming, he was not believed. How familiar this feels today.
- When all else fails build a boat: Noah’s ark was not a perfect solution, or even the best solution available at the time, it was simply the one that was doable and available.
- Save the animals: The most remarkable part of the entire story is how much time and energy were spent saving animals and how little time and energy was spent on saving human beings.
- Because the animals may be the ones that save us: It was the dove that rescued humanity, flying above the waters to find dry land. We save the animals because they may be the one to save us.
- Look for the rainbow: Here in Western New York, we are spoiled by these heavenly apparitions. They are the signs that we are going to be ok.
Take time to reread the story this week and find your own lessons. Noah, it turns out, was way ahead of his time.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex