Living Waters

This weeks parsha, Noach speaks to my heart on many levels.
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The week we read the portion of Noach is always the first full week back in the “real” world after the holidays. According to the Chassidic dictum to “live with the times”—meaning, to live with the teachings of the Torah portion of the week—the Chassidic commentaries go out of their way to find especially meaningful teachings about life--principles of spiritual service--in this week’s portion so that we can begin the new year with fresh new energy. Here are a few of those teachings:

The Baal Shem Tov said about G*d’s command to Noach to enter the ark (7:1): The Hebrew word for “ark,” “taivah,” can also mean “word.” To be saved from the flood of the material world that wants to overwhelm you, go to the word! Your life raft that will take you above the raging waters of the mundane is the words of Torah and prayer.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe said about G*d’s instruction to Noach to “leave the ark” (8:16), that a person has to know that he or she can’t stay in an ivory tower of holiness. Our job is to take our knowledge and energy and go out and transform the world.

The Kotzker Rebbe teaches about the inner dimension of the verse, “A tzohar you should make for the ark” (6:16): Rashi says that “tzohar” is either a window or a stone that shines. Either way, even in a situation like Noach’s, where G*d saved him and his family from destruction, it is not enough to appreciate G*d and what He did, you have to light up the ark, take your Torah knowledge and your positive actions and light up even the darkest spaces by sharing it with others.

About Noach planting a vineyard and getting drunk after he left the ark, the Sfas Emes focuses on the word, “THE wine” (9:21). Why doesn’t the verse just say that he became drunk on wine? “The” wine refers to wine that Noach was familiar with, i.e., the wine that he drank before the Flood. Before the Flood, he could drink a lot and not get drunk. After the Flood, the same amount of wine put him out of commission. The Flood caused a certain weakening in him that he did not notice. A person always has to take stock of his situation, making sure the basic ground rules have not changed.

Finally, you might think that, after the holidays, you are spiritually uplifted enough, that you can now rest—and the name of the portion, Noach, meaning “rest,” is even a proof!

The Vizhnitzer Rebbe tells the following story: During the time of the holy Rebbe Naftali of Ropshitz, there was a man who worked very very hard on his Torah study, and through his intense efforts, he was able to raise his spiritual level and reach a very high level of understanding. He noticed that there were respected people, even tzadikim, righteous people, who also served G*d, but not by struggling with Torah. They prayed for long stretches of time and engaged in other special habits, like going to the mikveh, etc., but they did not seem to struggle so hard to understand the ideas of Torah. Maybe that is the way I should be too, he thought. He decided to travel to the Ropshitzer to ask his opinion. As he entered the room of the holy Rebbe, and even before he opened his mouth, the Rebbe told him the following:

The Torah portion begins with the words, “These are the generations of Noach.” The Zohar teaches that the word “these” is one of the names used to describe evil (sitra achra, the other side, the side of klipa). Therefore, we can also read the verse as follows:

“These” (i.e., evil energies) are the products of resting. Evil is the result of thinking that one doesn’t have to work so hard. And if you think, the Rebbe continued, as the verses say, that Noach (i.e., resting) was a pure tzaddik, that there are these people who are apparently resting and yet they are righteous people, well the verse answers your question. It continues, “Noach walked with G*d.” It only looks from the outside like these people are not working hard. The truth is that all of their actions, and even all of their most inner thoughts and intentions, are totally attached to G*d, even to the extreme, so that if they were put to the test, they would sacrifice their lives for the sake of holiness without any hesitation.

The Rebbe concluded: You should know that you have not yet reached such a level, and more so, that this level is not for you. These people, earlier in their lives, struggled until they were able to completely break their evil inclinations and break away from their negative habits and desires. Because of their great struggle then, they are able to reach higher levels of spiritual purity, without any personal leanings or attachments to the physical world, and without apparently having to work hard. When you will reach that level you will know it. In the meantime, if you want to maintain the higher level you achieved, you have no choice but to push yourself to an extreme.

As the new year begins, it is not a time to assign growing in our divine service to a back seat. Let us take stock of where and what we are and push ahead with all the strength we have. Even a little light can dispel a lot of darkness. As we move into the new year, rather than seeking rest, may we seek true “refuge” in Jewish life and observance—the kind that empowers us to illuminate our personal paths and the world around us.
Shabbat Shalom Elisheva