Noach

“Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side?” These are the words of Kermit the Frog in the 1979 classic, “The Rainbow Connection.” It’s true. Go on the internet and you can see a full spectrum (pun intended) of song titles that include the rainbow. There is something awesome about a rainbow, that meteorological phenomenon caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets.

Upon seeing a rainbow, we are transported in time back to the story of Noah, a focus of this week’s parasha. Our portion opens with the words: “Noach ish tzadik tamim hayah b’dorotam – Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age.” We know the story. The world was corrupt and violent. Noah is instructed by God to build a tevah – an ark. He loads the ark with animals, they came on by “twosies, twosies. Elephants and kangaroozies …” Noah, his family, and two members of each animal species are sheltered during the flood.

Ever wonder what life on the ark as like? Writer Sandy Schwartzbentruber gives us a light-hearted glimpse:

Day 7

The rain is still beating down on us. The animals are seasick, and we humans are too. Now we know what “sick as a dog” means. I hope we get used to the rocking of the ark soon. We all feel awful.

Day 10
It’s still raining. But we’re all feeling better, which is a good thing because it’s a LOT of work to care for all these animals. Here are some of the chores we do every day:

·         Feed and water the animals in the morning and the evening.

·         Tend to sick animals. Today the male donkey is very ill. He won’t eat, and he can barely raise his head off the straw. If he dies, there won’t be any more donkeys on the earth, so we’re doing our best to doctor him.

·         Clean out stalls and throw manure overboard.

·         Let some of the animals out of their stalls for exercise on the deck. Playing with the animals makes us laugh, and that’s good for our spirits.

·         Check the food supplies to make sure we aren’t eating too much, since we don’t know how long we’ll be on the ark.

·         Fall into bed, exhausted, and sleep until the rooster crows. Then get up and do it all over again.

Day 22
Drat those mice! They gnawed their way out of their cage and got into our grain supply. They’re eating themselves sick, and we need that grain for the other animals—not to mention for making our own bread. My son Shem is rigging up a trap to catch them without hurting them—he’s handy that way. It’s a scary feeling to see only water everywhere we look.

Day 25
Still raining. The chimpanzees had a fight, so we’re practicing our bandaging skills on them.

Day 27
Seems like our clothes never completely dry out, and our hands are all pruney. We’re trying not to complain, because we know God chose us for this important task. But it would be nice to be dry.

Day 28
Mice out again. Am tempted to build them a tiny ark of their own and send them off. Why on earth did God make mice in the first place?

Day 30
It’s been one month since the rain began, and it’s still raining. Today we were talking about all the things we miss. Most of all, we miss our friends. Sometimes we wonder if we’ll ever get out of here, but we know God is with us, and we’re thankful that we have each other.

Day 36
Good news: the female elephant was pregnant when she came on board, and last night her calf was born! I woke everyone up in the middle of the night to watch. It’s like a miracle. It’s always good to see new life on this boat. (The mice had babies today too—not good.)

Day 40
Mice finally behaving, but we’ll see how long that lasts.

After the 40 days of the rain and then its recession, the ark settles on Mt. Ararat and Noah sends a raven “to see if the waters were abated from the face of the earth.” The raven does not find a place to rest. Noah then sends a dove. The dove returns so Noah waits another 7 days, and this time the dove returns with an olive branch in its mouth. Noah exits the ark to begin life anew. He builds an altar and offers sacrifices to God, who swears never again to destroy all of mankind because of their deeds. A rainbow is set as a sign of the covenant between God and the earth. “When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you, and every living creature among all flesh, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”

While in later years Abraham bargains with God about the wickedness of Sodom and Gemorrah, here Noah does not question God’s plans of destruction. Perhaps it is obvious to Noah that the world is doomed. Noah was blameless in his age. How he lived is not revealed. We only know that the rest of humanity was beyond repair. God’s wrath is revealed once Noah, his family, and the promise of a future animal kingdom are safely tucked into the ark.

The sky was dark during the 40 days of rain. The raven, unsuccessful in bringing back news of safety to exit the ark, was black. God’s creation of the world from last week’s parasha begins with darkness. We, too, begin our lives in darkness within the womb. The dove, however, is quite the opposite, the utmost of light colors, being white. The light after the storm is what allows life to begin anew. The colors of the rainbow are only available to the eye when the darkness disappears. Our morning prayer says: Baruch ata adonai, eloheinu melech ha’olam, yotzer or u’vorei choshech, ose shalom uvorei et hakol. “Blessed are you, Adonai, who forms light and creates darkness, making peace and creating all.” Darkness is created, but light must be formed. While all of creation stands before us, making peace requires us to step out of the narrowness of the ark’s dark existence, recognizing and appreciating the diversity of God’s universe. Being God’s partner requires us to take off our blinders and to make peace when there is strife. Let each of us embrace rainbows in all their beauty, with each color individually as well as collectively, so that we can count ourselves as being righteous in our age. Baruch ata adonai eloheinu, melech ha’olam, zocher ha’brit v’ne’eman bivrito v’kayam l’ma’amaro. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, who remembers the covenant, and is faithful to His covenant, and keeps His promise.”

Ken y’hi ratzon – May it be God’s will.