Saving the Rest: Parashat Noach

michael

 

Parashat No`ah 
Genesis 6:9 – 11:32

We introduced, on Sh’mini Atzeret, the prayer praising God for bring rain. And now we read a Torah portion that tells of the Flood. Invariably we make jokes any time it rains in our parts during this time. But these days the rains are no joke. Florida is being hit by devastating rains as I write. Scientists explain that global warming will tend to produce ever greater storms of ever greater destructive impact. The levels of the oceans will rise and cause terrible flooding. The United Nations has just released a report sounding the urgent alarm that we have very little time to turn things around so as to save the entire planet.

And our country is run by people who refuse to listen and who, in the name of economic profits, actively seek to negate any effort to save this planet.

Many have wondered over the generations whether Noah could have done more to save his world. Why didn’t he deliver speeches, lessons and warnings? Well, we live in a time where many people, who do not have to attain the levels of righteousness of a Noah, are doing just that. But our leaders, supported by millions of Americans, don’t care to pay attention.

We don’t know whether Noah tried to speak out. Our tradition includes imaginative reconstructions of his career that take contradictory positions on this. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t. But we know this much from the story. He built an ark. Let’s admit that he was probably not the only person who put together some kind of survival craft for himself and his family. The people of his time were evil, but they were not stupid. Many would have packed boats with their families and with provisions.

But Noah was the only one who included all examples of every living creature. These creatures were far in excess of anything that he would have needed for his own survival. Noah was the only one who tried to save the entire planet and not just himself.

All the other boats, the ones that thought only of their own survival, sank with their crew and provisions. Only Noah, who cared about saving the rest of the world, survived.

Who shall we seek to emulate today?

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi David Greenstein

 


Subscribe to Rabbi Greenstein’s weekly d’var Torah

image:  Ginger Zee, ABC News

Latest posts by Rabbi David Greenstein (see all)

2 thoughts on “Saving the Rest: Parashat Noach

  1. Very true and very important! We must all do our part, and government must stop putting economy ahead of our planet.

What do you think?