The New World Order
Our goal in life is to enter the “Ark” as did Noah. This ark, the symbol of utopia is within reach!
Why an Ark?
Noach and his family were the only survivors of the world’s most devastating event. The entire world is engulfed in a flood that killed every living creature. Noach – because he was righteous – and his family, however, were spared. G-d had him build an ark that housed him and his family and a representation of all earth’s animals.
G-d had many ways of saving Noach. Why did He choose to save him by way of building an ark? G-d could have provided an area that would have been sheltered from the devastating floodwaters.
Our sages tell us that Noach spent 120 years building the ark! The purpose of this extended project was to arouse the curiosity of the people. When they would question Noach as to why he was building the ark, his answer was: “G-d is going to destroy the world by way of a flood.” By doing so, Noach hoped to influence some of the people to repent.
This explanation, however, leaves us with another question. Doesn’t G-d have other ways of influencing people to change, other than having them watch an old man building an ark? And if we look at the results of this approach, they were not too encouraging. Not even one person had a change of heart? Otherwise they too would have come aboard the ark. It seems that there might be additional reasons for choosing the ark as a means for Noach’s salvation.
Enter the Word!
The Ba’al Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement noted that the Hebrew term for “ark” is “teiva” which can also be translated as “word.” For just as an ark is a container, so too, are words containers of thoughts.
The Ba’al Shem Tov takes the analogy of a word to an ark one step further. Just as the ark saved Noach from the raging flood waters, similarly, when one enters into “certain” words, one can find refuge from the turbulent waters that surround us and threaten to engulf us.
The Ba’al Shem Tov continued: The words that can save us from the raging floodwaters are the words of Tefillah (prayer) and Torah study.
The floodwaters are symbolic of the multitude of worries, distractions and hardships that we confront daily in our pursuit of a livelihood. The only way we can bring some sanity and serenity into our lives is to not only devote time for prayer and Torah study, but to “enter” into the word (ark). One must allow oneself the luxury of being enveloped and encompassed by the soothing, inspiring and stimulating words of Tefillah and Torah.
Utopia!
There is yet another approach to the ark. The ark was a model of the utopian world that we had at the beginning of creation when Adam and Eve resided in the Garden of Eden, and that we will experience in the Messianic Age. In this ark, people, carnivores and all other creatures co-existed. The prophecy of the “lion shall lay with the lamb” and similar prophecies, were literally realized in Noach’s ark.
The purpose of existence is to realize that age of perfection. Thus, when G-d created the world, he placed the first humans, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, Paradise. Despite the fact that he was ultimately driven out of this paradise, it provided us with the ideal for which humankind must strive – to restore the world to its original state of paradise.
When G-d decided to destroy the world, the survivors might have entertained the thought that the “New World Order” might not include in its goals the restoration of paradise. Perhaps one should not set such lofty goals for oneself.
By starting the flood with an ark, a replica of Paradise, even as the world was undergoing its virtual destruction, G-d was once again advising us that the ultimate goal is to bring about the spirit of unity, peace and holiness that was present in the ark.
The Goal of Paradise on Earth has Not Changed
The lesson for our times is obvious. After 2,000 years of exile and suffering, particularly the Holocaust in most recent times, some might entertain the notion that the Messianic hopes and dreams of the Jewish people are perhaps too elusive. Instead, some might suggest we should lower our expectations. Let us just hope and pray for relative peace.
The lesson of the Paradise-like ark is that never should we abandon our anticipation of a better world; a world of complete peace and unity; the type of world that the Torah predicted would take place after the arduous and often painful experience of the Diaspora. No matter how great the upheaval, G-d’s plan for the Era of Moshiach, for true world peace, has not changed. It is our job to stay focused on the goal and attain it, by adding in our Torah and Mitzvot.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Noach by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
