The Torah is a multifaceted narrative, but there are clearly two very distinct parts that are announcing the beginning of the world.

The Torah begins with the Creation narrative, and we are led through the experiences of Mankind that cause them to be kicked out from the Garden of Eden – eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The Torah then proceeds with a new narrative, that of the children of Abraham who would eventually be redeemed from Egypt, receive the Torah, and inherit the Land of Israel.

In between these two distinct ideas is Noah, Noah although being righteous does not save Humanity but rather his own family and the animal kingdom. Noah is the archetype of many Prophets: a man with a unique relationship with God and who finds his moral and spiritual conclusions vastly different from the society around him – whilst they preach a certain modernity and personal freedoms.

Our sages say that when Noah came out of the ark and saw the whole world as a sword, he began to weep over it and said: Lord of the world, you are called Merciful, have mercy on your creatures! God replied: “Foolish shepherd”, now do you say this to me now and not at the time I told you, “Make an ark because I will bring the flood… to destroy all flesh”? Why didn’t you take any action to change people’s behavior during the time you were building the ark? Was it because you heard that you will be saved by the ark, did not the destruction of the world arise in your heart? And now that the sword of the world has opened your mouth to say before requests and pleas?!

Noach was not asked to be a philosopher but rather to be involved in active Mitzvot – ultimately it is our actions that truly define us and can mean the difference in our world:

Although we find ourselves spiritually flooded with information and misinformation and exist seemingly beneath a tower of hatred and slander as a people, our response must be to increase light and positive actions; to have more Torah, charity, and kind deeds, we cannot be consumed by the darkness around us. We must be partners in creating a world full of light and knowledge of God.

Shabat Shalom,
Rabbi Refael Cohen