Parshat Noach: Water Water Everywhere...

 Who was the first businessman in the Bible?

Noah.  He floated the company when the world went into liquidation!

 

What kind of lighting did Noah have in the ark?

Floodlighting!

These jokes typify the fondness that we have towards the story of the flood and Noah's rescue via his ark.  Ask a child to tell you a Biblical story and I would guess that you'll probably hear the same tale and how the animals went in 'two by two' (except if they were kosher and then it was 'seven by seven' but let's put that to one side).  Fisher Price even sells a 'Noah's Ark' toy ('Little People Noah's Ark with Bonus Animals')!

The motif of someone saving others has been repeated time and time again, most notably in recent times with the novel "The Zookeeper's Wife" and its subsequent film adaptation.  It is story that truly captures our imaginations again and again and again. 

But have you ever stopped to ask yourself the question as to why Gd might have chosen the ingredient that we cannot survive without as the tool to destroy humanity?  Wouldn't a few earthquakes, volcanoes or a meteorite have achieved the same result?  If He could save Noah through the use of a boat, surely, there may have been another way to rescue him in the event of such natural disasters? 

Why through water and why did He ask Noah to build the ark before telling him that He would destroy the world through a flood?

I will return to the first question shortly.

The second question brings us back to our original quandary, why use water?

The Keli Yakar (Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz d. 1619) a renowned Torah commentator who was also the Chief Rabbi of Prague suggests some fascinating reasons that Gd may have chosen our beloved H₂O to wipe out almost all of humanity.  Their common theme focuses on the erosion of boundaries.

Before the Torah was given and the Sanhedrin was able to enact its penalties, the punishment for the serious sins that corrupted the fabric of society was strangulation.  Gd's Divine Justice in punishing the perpetrators was through a type of strangulation, namely drowning.

The three crimes that brought about such a punishment were:

1)    Relations with a married woman

2)    Theft and deception

3)    Idol Worship (Avodah Zarah)

In the first case, the boundaries of what constituted a family were eroded.  To the point that not only did such an act destroy the sanctity of marriage, but any children borne from an illicit relationship may not have been aware of their patrilineal lineage.

In the second, theft destroys the boundaries of a person's belief in living in a secure environment where there is no trust, there is nary a steady relationship.  Anyone who has been burgled will understand the trauma it entails and the feelings one has of an invasion of privacy.

Thirdly, idol worship destroys the relationship that a human being has with the Almighty.  It is as though the boundary that encircles this special interaction has been erased, removing a person's ability to focus on the idea of the Single Gd.

The Dor Hamabul, the immoral generation of the flood, were guilty of all three acts and, as result, according to the Keli Yakar, they were punished by Gd's version of strangulation.  Just as they erased the boundaries that maintain a strong, moral society, so too did Gd punish them midah keneged midah - measure by measure. 

Water knows no boundaries, as witnessed by the impact it has had on our lives in recent years.  Who has not recoiled in horror at the scenes we witness of flooding, even if this is not on a biblical scale.

Which brings us back to the question as to why Gd told Noah to build the ark in the first place.

Rashi informs us that this was the case because He knew that it would take Noah a very long time to accomplish this and so, in the process, he might be able to convince his mocking spectators to repent before the inevitable deluge would be upon them.  That it took 120 years underscores Gd's desire to delay executing His plan.

In His Divine mercy, despite their actions, Gd gave this generation every chance to avoid a watery grave.  It is a salutary lesson to us that sometimes, although people may behave in a manner that we find abhorrent, no-one is precluded from the opportunity to change their ways and aim to reach a higher moral plane (albeit in a far less serious manner than the behaviour exhibited by the Dor Hamabul).  Sometimes, we need to take a step back and wait for that change to happen before condemning a person. 

This is not always easy to do, but in giving them time, we also help ourselves understand that change happens gradually and if Gd can wait the 120 years it took for Noah to build his ark, we can give a fellow human being at least the same amount of time in days or even months to prove themselves. 

Although this aspect may not be as famous as that wooden boat, it is a salutary lesson for us all to learn

Shabbat Shalom

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