Shaarei Shamayim

NOACH 5771

We have all known the story of Noah and the Ark since we were children. As children we loved the story with Noah building the ark on dry land nowhere near a body of water and then 2 by 2 representatives of all the animal species of the world peacefully entered. Finally, Gd created the amazing rainbow to symbolize that He will never again destroy the world. Most of us continue to think of the Noah story as this cute fable for children.

However—as with all of Torah—there are many levels of understanding and many things that we, as adults, can and should learn from the story. For example, let’s consider what happens after the flood subsides. Noah opens the window of the ark and eventually determines that the flood waters are gone. But he doesn’t leave the ark so fast. In fact, Gd has to command him to leave the ark. Perhaps it’s because he felt safe in this ark that had saved him and his family and perhaps he’s terrified to face what he may find outside.

When he finally does leave the ark, what does he do? He plants a vineyard, gets drunk, and rolls about in his tent in a drunken stupor. Why? Why should Noah have become the world’s 1^st drunk?

Our sages offer several different explanations. The most obvious is that he was the 1^st person to ever plant a vineyard, or to ever taste an alcoholic beverage, and so he simply didn’t realize how powerful it could be. Perhaps. But let me offer you a deeper insight.

I once read a piece by Rabbi Jack Reimer that made an observation that was so insightful, yet obvious, that it made me ask, “Why didn’t I think of it.” Reimer suggests that Noah was the 1^st Holocaust survivor. He was the 1^st person in history to ever see his entire world go literally down the drain. Every friend he had in the world died in the flood. Every man, woman and child that he knew, except his own family, every bird and beast—except the ones that he had saved on the ark—every house, every street, every landmark that he knew, disappeared in the flood. 

And so Noah came out into a world that he didn’t recognize. What did he see? Probably dead bodies and animal carcasses lying around everywhere and all vegetation destroyed. He must have been filled with horror and shock, grief and even guilt. Yes, guilt for not doing a better job of warning people what would happen if they didn’t change.

How do you live after a holocaust? How do you face a reality so horrible? My guess is that perhaps Noah wasn’t sure if he wanted to live. He certainly didn’t want to face reality, and therefore, he tried to drown his sorrows by getting drunk.

What did his children make of his behavior? The Torah (Gen. 9:21) describes a drunken fit where Noah uncovers himself. One child, Cham, together with his son Canaan, appear to mock him. In contrast, Sheym and Yefet remain silent and modestly take a garment, walk backwards to cover their father so that they not look upon his nakedness. Rabbi Avi Weiss (Shabbat Forshpeis 10/23/98) suggests that Noah’s children present us with 2 different responses of what to do when someone close to you disappoints you.

On Rosh Hashanah I spoke about how to face life’s disappointments—that we must understand when we are disappointed with our lives, that Gd has not abandoned us, that Gd loves us unconditionally, that He only has what’s good for us in mind, and that Gd has our back!

But what if it’s not life or Gd that disappoints us. What if it’s someone we care about. What do we do? Rabbi Weiss, reflecting the great philosopher and commentator Saadia Gaon, suggests that:

When a friend disappoints us—and there is no friendship without disappointment—we can opt to allow that particular feeling to destroy the larger relationship [like Cham and Canaan]. Or we can bracket the falling out and try to learn from it. But even if the issue which causes the tension is not resolved, we have it within our power to take into account that person’s goodness and move on with the friendship [like Sheym and Yefet].

After providing heroically for his family in building this massive ark which took so many years and keeping it afloat for the entire year of the flood, Noah fails—he gets drunk. The reaction of his son Cham and grandson Canaan was to allow this mistake to destroy their entire relationship with their father and grandfather. How many of us take that approach when someone we care about disappoints us? Do we cut them off and sever the relationship?

Better to follow Noah’s other sons Sheym and Yefet. Yes their father had become drunk. But they didn’t allow this one disappointment in their father to erase all that he had done for them in providing for them, protecting them and loving them over the years. So they covered up his nakedness, and in doing so they isolated this wrong, learned from it, even as they continued to love and respect their father.

We know that none of us are perfect—not even ourselves. As we tolerate our own failings, so must we tolerate the failings of others. Surprisingly, one of the words for beloved in Hebrew is reya, from the word ra, which means “bad” or “evil.” The test of a relationship is what happens when a disappointment sets in, when something ra, something bad happens. Can we remain reyim, loved ones and not forget all the good our beloved has done?

Sheym and Yefet teach that in a genuine and deep relationship, one doesn’t allow a falling out to destroy the love that exists and they take their cue from Gd. Gd experiences profound disappointment in the beginning and at the end of today’s Torah portion in the one thing He cannot control—mankind. Gd brings the flood because mankind has become violent and corrupt and He decides to start over again with Noah.

At the end of the parsha, Noah’s descendents build this enormous tower to attempt to conquer the heavens and Gd. It’s a futile endeavor, of course and Gd weakens their unity by having them speak different languages. What is most powerful in both stories for me—surprisingly—is Gd’s love. All He wants is a relationship with us…and despite the fact that we disappoint Him over and over again, He makes adjustments and moves on—trying yet another way to make the relationship work. It didn’t work with Adam and his children, so He tried with Noah and his children. When that didn’t work Gd tries again with Abraham and his descendants. Gd doesn’t forget the good and tries again and again to find a way to make the relationship work. And that’s a profound model for us.

The adventures of Noah make an exciting and gripping story for children. But in its depth are powerful lessons for all of us. Amen!

                                                            Rabbi Mark Hillel Kunis