Shalom Chaverim,
Not to be a ‘downer’ but…
Our awareness of climate change and concern about all the world’s ongoing wars and nuclear arms, the possibility of AI going rogue, and just all the human hatred and violence of our world today make this week’s parasha, Noach, too profoundly relevant for comfort. And so, after the Flood as life is restored to the planet, we read:
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־נֹ֔חַ וְאֶל־בָּנָ֥יו אִתּ֖וֹ לֵאמֹֽר׃ וַאֲנִ֕י הִנְנִ֥י מֵקִ֛ים אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֖י אִתְּכֶ֑ם וְאֶֽת־זַרְעֲכֶ֖ם אַֽחֲרֵיכֶֽם׃ וְאֵ֨ת כׇּל־נֶ֤פֶשׁ הַֽחַיָּה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אִתְּכֶ֔ם בָּע֧וֹף בַּבְּהֵמָ֛ה וּֽבְכׇל־חַיַּ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ אִתְּכֶ֑ם מִכֹּל֙ יֹצְאֵ֣י הַתֵּבָ֔ה לְכֹ֖ל חַיַּ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ וַהֲקִמֹתִ֤י אֶת־בְּרִיתִי֙ אִתְּכֶ֔ם וְלֹֽא־יִכָּרֵ֧ת כׇּל־בָּשָׂ֛ר ע֖וֹד מִמֵּ֣י הַמַּבּ֑וּל וְלֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֥ה ע֛וֹד מַבּ֖וּל לְשַׁחֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
And God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “I now establish My covenant with you and your offspring to come, and with every living thing that is with you—birds, cattle, and every wild beast as well—all that have come out of the ark, every living thing on earth. I will maintain My covenant with you: never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a Flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” [Beresheit 9:8-11]
You might ask: “Yes, but….What about other forms of destruction aside from a Flood? Are other possible cataclysms prevented by this covenant?” Or: “God promises not to bring a flood, but are we possibly doomed to bring a destruction upon ourselves?”
In the following verses, the rainbow becomes the sign of the covenant God makes with the earth not to bring another flood. Does the covenant of the rainbow ensure our safety today?
How do you understand the symbol of the rainbow, with its colors, its shape, its appearance amidst sun and clouds after rain, with the [not necessarily Jewish] myth of its pot of gold, etc.?
Consider this commentary from Rabbi Arthur Waskow, z”l, who passed away this week:
Today we are responsible to make sure that the scorching of our planet by over- burning fossil fuels does not bring upon us both a Flood of water as our ice floes melt, raising sea levels on every coast, and a Flood of fire as heat sparks droughts and forces many species into death.
Suppose we see actions that cause major ecological damage–even the economic competitions often called “trade wars”–not as war at all but as falling into the category of Flood? That might change our ethical outlook in dealing with such actions. For example, those who say we must make more automobiles that fill the air with carbon dioxide to keep ahead of others who are selling automobiles, are thinking in the metaphor of economic war, not that of Flood. In a flood, any act that pours out yet more destruction is an attack on the planet as a whole, not on a competitive nation or corporation. If we can change our language, we might change our future.
From Godwrestling — Round 2 (Jewish Lights, 1996), by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, pp. 234-237. Excerpted from jewcology.org
And for LIGHT and FUN as further commentary, consider this song from Bob Dylan about Adam and the Creation in last week’s parashah and the animals in this week’s parasha: Listen here.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Michael Schwartz