Parashat Noah can teach many lessons. If you were informed by a trusted source (in Noah’s case it was G-d) that a problematic future was coming soon (a flood!), you too might take action to prepare yourself and your family to be safe. The Torah does not tell us the timeframe between when G-d tells Noah about the flood and when the flood comes, but we have to imagine that a decent amount of time passed if Noah constructed an entire ark 300 cubits long and 50 cubits wide!
Let’s say he had a month. Two weeks. Four days. In fact, various midrashim say he has anywhere from five to 52 to 120 years. However long he had, he maybe had just enough time to only build an ark for him and his family, but maybe he also could have also mentioned the upcoming flood to a neighbor or two – knocked on their door, called or texted, even. Perhaps there is something he could have done to help others with an impending flood on the way. (To be fair, some midrashim say he took so long to build it in order to create a spectacle and inspire others to inquire and take action.)
But he might have been disincentivized to bring others in. He was told by G-d, after all, that he was the only one worth saving. That G-d’s covenant will be with him alone, as the only righteous one of his generation. What a mind f*ck it can be to believe that we are the only good one, the only one(s) worth saving. Building an ark for just yourself and your family is sometimes all you can do, but it can also be a result of avoiding the probability of a foreseeable problem one could have addressed better in community.
There is a flood coming. And we all matter. Please do what you can to secure the safety of yourself and your family. And, please also do something that brings connection, collaboration, and inspires action in your neighbors. Knock on doors, call, text. If we are to believe we are the only righteous ones, we will be alone in this flood. But if we are to find out for ourselves, and see if the ark can be built by more of us for more of us, we might avoid the flood altogether. Maybe the trusted source was wrong.
Shabbat shalom,
R’ David
PS – While electoral politics is not the only way to make change, it matters. In case my illusions above were not obvious enough, please vote and consider taking action to get out the vote on many many important issues and candidates this election.
Let’s say he had a month. Two weeks. Four days. In fact, various midrashim say he has anywhere from five to 52 to 120 years. However long he had, he maybe had just enough time to only build an ark for him and his family, but maybe he also could have also mentioned the upcoming flood to a neighbor or two – knocked on their door, called or texted, even. Perhaps there is something he could have done to help others with an impending flood on the way. (To be fair, some midrashim say he took so long to build it in order to create a spectacle and inspire others to inquire and take action.)
But he might have been disincentivized to bring others in. He was told by G-d, after all, that he was the only one worth saving. That G-d’s covenant will be with him alone, as the only righteous one of his generation. What a mind f*ck it can be to believe that we are the only good one, the only one(s) worth saving. Building an ark for just yourself and your family is sometimes all you can do, but it can also be a result of avoiding the probability of a foreseeable problem one could have addressed better in community.
There is a flood coming. And we all matter. Please do what you can to secure the safety of yourself and your family. And, please also do something that brings connection, collaboration, and inspires action in your neighbors. Knock on doors, call, text. If we are to believe we are the only righteous ones, we will be alone in this flood. But if we are to find out for ourselves, and see if the ark can be built by more of us for more of us, we might avoid the flood altogether. Maybe the trusted source was wrong.
Shabbat shalom,
R’ David
PS – While electoral politics is not the only way to make change, it matters. In case my illusions above were not obvious enough, please vote and consider taking action to get out the vote on many many important issues and candidates this election.
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