This week’s parsha is parashat Noah. In this parsha, Gd realized that the earth and all of its beings have become corrupt and decided that he must flood the earth and essentially "start over" with the help of Noah. He said to Noah, “‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth has become full of robbery because of them, and behold I am destroying them from the earth.’”
According to the parsha, “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” – we are innately evil, we are born this way. But that doesn’t mean we are bad forever – our actions can define us as good people. For example, if we see a crime being committed and we stand by and don’t do anything, we are bad even though we are not actually committing the crime. To be considered good, we have to do something to help, not just refrain from partaking in the bad.
After the flood, Gd promised Noah, “‘I will establish My covenant with you, and never again will all flesh be cut off by the flood waters, and there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.’” This promise has not only lasted until now, but is “for everlasting generations.” But how can Gd promise that there won’t be another flood? We still have plenty of evil in the world, even after the flood, and how do we know that what happened to society in Noah’s generation will not happen again? The difference this time is that our world is not hopeless. Despite all the evil in the world, there is also a lot of good. People do mitzvot every day, people help each other, give to charity, etc. This means that we can do something to repair the bad in our world without the need for a flood.
We see that Noah is the main focus of the parsha. He is 600 years old when he’s commanded to build the ark. If Noah can build an ark in only one week at that age, then we have no excuse for not working out today or for putting off that tough assignment until the day before it’s due. We should always strive to do the best we can and set high expectations for ourselves.
Noah also teaches us the importance of patience and persistence. Gd made the rain last 40 days and 40 nights, and the flood lasted 150 days in total. When Noah sent out a dove to determine if the waters had receded, the dove returned to the ark, having nowhere to rest as all of earth was still covered in water. Patiently, Noah waited another week and again sent out the dove. The dove returned with an olive branch, showing Noah that the waters were receding. Noah waited an additional week before sending the dove back out, and the dove no longer returned. The waters had finally receded.
Patience and persistence are important in our lives, as well. Whether it be for the promotion you have been working so hard for or simply for something that will shake up your life and bring you some excitement, you never know what is around the corner – patience and persistence are key. Finally, the parsha ends by showing that behind every cloud there is a rainbow. For Noah, the rainbow was his reward for his extraordinary patience and persistence. More often than not, you must work hard and push your way through the bad in order to reap the benefits of your work and fully appreciate the good.
Lexi is pictured on the right.
