Mitzvah d'var

My parshah, or Torah Portion, tells the story of Noah.  Most everyone knows the story of “Noah and the Ark”.  You know about the Ark, the great flood, and the animals that came on in twosie, twosies. Studying this parshah I learned that there is so much more to question and discuss here and how this story that takes place before, during, and after the flood is very relevant today. 

The story begins with an angry God. G-d had just created the world, and now the people that G-d had created had become uncivil, corrupt, and filled with hate and wrong doing. God was so upset that G-d had decided to wipe out all of humanity who had a beating heart; but first G-d needed help. 

I have wondered why God chose who G-d did. It was almost like G-d said to G-dself, I need someone to build an ark, "hey! I Noah guy (pause for laughter)" ... 

In Genesis, the story tells us that God chose Noah because he was a, “righteous man, perfect in his generation, Noah walked with G-d. He did not engage in the violence of his time. He followed what God commanded him to do. Noah was tasked  to build this huge ark, round up all of the creatures in pairs, gather his family and then recreate the world after the great flood.  Rabbi ibn Ezra taught that Noah was a man that was “righteous in his deeds” his actions considered ethical. 

My mom and I had several discussions about this. Why did Noah not say anything to anyone else that the world was coming to an end? Why would he have not tried to change the wrongdoings of the world? Why did Noah not question or plead with God for the people of his generation? 

The answer is: we don't know. 

There is no evidence to suggest that he questioned God's ask of him; He did not warn his neighbors; He did not pray for the people or plead for their lives, as compared to Abraham at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Noah was seemingly indifferent and uninvolved to his community.  Many rabbis pick up on the verse that Noah was a righteous man in his generation.  He was not so much righteous as he was the best of what was around amidst a very corrupt society. Rabbi Mordecai Yaffe argued that “Noah’s righteousness bore the stamp of mediocrity.” 

This made me question what it means to be a righteous person.  

Rabbi Eli-melech of Lizensk observed two kinds of righteous:  One is genuinely righteous; and the other dresses like a righteous person in a fur coat.  Each of them faces a freezing winter in a different way: one will go out and collect wood for a fire; the other will wrap himself in his fur coat. The one who collects wood makes a fire and invites others to join him; he not only warms himself but others. The one who makes himself cozy in his own heavy coat is secure but those around him will freeze.  The Talmud says that a righteous person is generous and keeps giving and is a lover of human beings. 

I think that if one is to be truly righteous in my generation, they must understand the world around them and never be silent or blind to the needs of others. If I am to just wrap myself in a fur coat, I would watch others suffer while I am comfortable. This would make me indifferent to the people struggling around me for basic human rights and needs. We must first light the fire and spread that light so others will come and be near it. Once people are warm and comfortable; then, they will be open to sharing their needs and feel heard. Those that cannot help themselves because they have been marginalized, hurt, or are helpless deserve action first.  If we see a need we should fill a need.

The Jewish mitzvah of tikkun olam tells us we should repair the world, leave it better than we found it. 

For my Mitzvah project my family and I joined in peaceful protests for the black lives matter movement. I am working for racial justice by using my voice to amplify the message of  Black Lives Matter. I am doing this through community action and support at my school.  Black, brown, and indigenous people are not treated with the same safety, respect, support, and love that white people are. This issue is not for me to fix with my beliefs, but to listen and learn what needs to be done next. I have the opportunity to be righteous in MY generation, much like Noah’s generation the corruption is systemic, and has built up over years of painful hate and oppression towards peoples of all kinds who are different in the eyes of what has been told is supposed to be superior or normal. . 

But It only takes “One righteous human being to make a difference in the world.” When we witness injustice in the world, and it hurts, we must shout for justice and equality. We need to shout until someone will listen.  We must come from a place of integrity, devotion, humility, and compassion to help make it better, even when the problem is so big it is not within our grasp. Like the very powerful supreme court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg  said, “We must fight for the things we care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”  After the flood God used the rainbow as a symbol of G-d’s covenant, a promise to the earth and all of humanity that G-d would never extinguish all of the living things again. All Humanity will be protected. When we look at a rainbow, we are inspired by its colors, its shape and magic. It is the beauty after the storm. We all stop to reflect on it when we see it. There are thoughts that when we reflect on it we should think about ourselves and how we can be better people.

So, was Noah righteous?

I guess he was at that time for the purpose of what was in the plan to fix humanity. Who knows if his community would have listened to his warnings even if he did scream them from the mountain tops. Maybe he even did scream, but his words fell silently on his community.  I think that we all can learn from this story and reflect on ourselves in our own lives.  I challenge you all (look at the audience) to reflect on what we do as righteous people now and what we can do to be better and do better in the future. 

I thank you all for being here today. Shabbat Shalom