Rabbi's Sermons

Shabat Shalom,

The Sumerians, the Mesopotamians, the Hindus, the Chinese, the Koreans, Malaysians, Polynesians and Hawaiian mythologies in Asia. In Europe: the ancient Greeks, the Irish and the Finnish myths. Many African cultures also have an oral tradition of myths, including the Kwaya, Mbuti, Maasai, Mandin, and Yoruba peoples. In Central America, the Maya’s ancient book of Popol Vuh; In South America, the Inca myths. Even here, in North America, the Hopi Indians. All over the globe, different cultures in different times, share a common story, with some variations, tough, but very close to the main story - that we read in our Torah portion this week: Noah’s ark and the flood.

So many different cultures existing so far from each other in time and space, all describing a destruction of all living creatures on earth, cannot be a coincidence. Archaeologists and scientists have invested a great amount of effort, trying to understand the possible meaning behind this outstanding event. There was even a team of experts sent, to what is today’s - Ararat Mountain in Turkey, because of an oval shape found in satellites images of the place.

When I see this programs and reports on TV, I cannot feel anything but sadness. Why so much money and efforts are spent in verifying and investigating if Noah’s ark and the flood really took place, just as our Torah describes them? Wouldn’t it be wiser, and much more effective, to analyze WHY did it happen, and not if it happened at all? We are not dealing with a simple punishment from God, like mixing up the languages in the Babel Tower, this was a TOTAL DESTRUCTION… Hello!! Shouldn’t it turn on a very bright red alert in our minds? Why would God destroy every living creature in the face of the earth! By the way not in the waters, I am sure the dolphins and the sharks didn’t even notice that the flood happened. We read in Genesis 6: “¹² And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. ¹³ And God said unto Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth’”. The keywords are: Corruption and violence.

According to the Midrash, the project of building the Ark and gathering all the food that was meant to feed the species who were to enter the ark, took Noah 120 years, plenty of time, so the people of that generation should see him building it, and ask: “What is the purpose of this structure?” Then Noah would have the opportunity to alert them of the pending world destruction, which would make anyone feel the need to make corrections in their lives, to make a change. Noah continued to build the ark, despite the ridicule that he had suffered, in light of his response - that the purpose of the ark was to accommodate an endless number of living species, which seems unimaginable and physically impossible. Noah nevertheless, did not stop and was not deterred, until “Vatimale Haaretz Hamas” the earth was filled with violence – Hamas – violence everywhere.

It is curious and even ironic, that the acronym that identifies the Palestinian movement “Hamas”: “Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah - The Islamic resistance movement” in the Gaza Strip, sounds exactly the same as, the Hebrew word that means “violence”. Today I look at the world, and I ask myself again… Are we getting close to a situation when the earth would be filled with violence? I am sure you follow to current war against Hamas, Hezbolla and Iran government. A good Mexican friend of mine, explained to me, sadly, how dangerous it has become to walk in almost any city in that country, witnessing violence everywhere, even in the quiet and beautiful city of Cancun where my both older children live. Despite the fact that the Israeli government had succeeded killing Nasralla the Hezbolla leader, it did not take more than 72 hours to find out, that there was already a new leader who was also killed and we are waiting to discover who the new leader shall be. Do we need 120 years to wake up and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?

Noah is referred by the Torah, as “ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה, בְּדֹרֹתָיו - a just man and perfect in his generations”. Therefore, as Noah was the father of all mankind, all the characteristics that he possessed were inherited by all humanity. Every human being, both Jewish and non-Jewish, have the potential of being Noah, consequently, we all have the potential to become a Tzadik, a righteous person, and make a change, or be part of it. It is our responsibility to ACT, and to do it NOW: Social work, education in our schools, in our temples and in our houses, explaining that violence only generates more violence. Even if it’s written in the Torah: “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”, we all know, that following this path, will eventually make us all blind and toothless. The best way to avoid violence, is preventing it from happening from the very first place. It is in OUR hands, and we shall make the change as Hillel the sage said: “ואם לא עכשיו אמתי? And if it’s now WHEN?”

There is a beautiful song in Israel, that asks for Shalom – Salaam (in Arabic): “Od yavo shalom alenu veal kulam”. The peace will come for us and for everyone - “Salaam aleinu veal kol haolam salaam shalom…” Saalam for us, and for all the world Saalam – Shalom. As some critics says, we may be loosing time, but let us not lose hope - God forbids, let us remember, that in the end of the troubled times, and no matter how difficult they may be, there is always a rainbow, a beautiful colorful rainbow waiting just for us...

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi David Laor

November 1^st , 2024