Noah saves all life: “The Other Side of the Story”

Noah saves all life: “The Other Side of the Story”

Rabbi Michael Graetz

בראשית רבה (תיאודור-אלבק) פרשה לד

לכל זמן ועת לכל חפץ וגו' (שם /קהלת/ ג א) זמן היה לנח שיכנס לתיבה [בא אתה וכל ביתך אל התבה (בראשית ז א)], וזמן היה לו לצאת ממנה צא מן התבה.

[צא מן התבה] לפרנס שיצא למקום והושיב אחר תחתיו כיון שבא אמר לו צא ממקומך, ולא קיבל עליו לצאת, אמר אצא ואהא פרה ורבה למאירה, עד שנשבע לו הקב"ה שאינו מביא מבול לעולם עוד שנ' כי מי נח זאת לי אשר נשבעתי מעבור מי נח עוד וגו' (ישעיה נד ט) תפרה ותרבה.

The midrash senses a reluctance on Noah’s part, something which holds him back from leaving, even when he knows it is safe to leave. In Genesis, despite Noah’s experimentation and his subsequent knowledge gained by it, God commands him to leave explicitly, and only then does the family leave the ark (8:16-18). The midrash creates a bold scene stressing humanities sense of responsibility for the world, through Noah and his family’s experience of organizing and caring for the world in microcosm. It describes a parable of a governor, God, who goes away and leaves his second in command, Noah, in charge of the state. But, in the midrash, Noah is reluctant to return power to God when he returns from his trip. Note, the sense of God’s abandoning the world, of His mercy being invisible during the flood.

In the Midrash (Gen. R. 34:6) Noah would not leave the ark at God’s “return”. He says to him: “should I leave the ark and go out and reproduce for nothing?” The Midrash interpretation is strengthened by the “blessing/covenant” that God give/makes with Noah and his family. It begins and ends with the command to multiply. This already appeared in the first blessing/covenant with Adam and Eve. Why repeat it here. The Midrash feels that Noah’s reluctance to leave the ark has something with this, and rationally, why would someone go through the trouble of having children if God would not promise to summarily kill them all again some day.

Noah tells God that he will not leave the ark until God will swear to him that He would no longer bring such total destruction like the flood on the world again, as it is written in Isa. 54: 9, which is our Haftorah. This Midrash sees the covenant which God makes with mankind, and His promise to never bring a flood again, as a result of Noah’s proving his sense of responsibility for the world, and his adamance in not accepting God’s “governership” if it is based on fierce punishment. It turns the “brit” of Genesis into the “shevua” of Isaiah, and finds room for both in the text. (For lack of space I will not delve into the difference between “brit” and “shevua”, e.g. “brit” is mutual and “shevua” is one-sided, but it deserves your attention). It is this midrash that prompts the blessing for seeing a rainbow. [cf. below]

WHAT DID NOAH SEE AND FEEL THAT CAUSED HIM TO TAKE SUCH A STRONG STAND AGAINST DESTRUCTION, AND FORCE GOD TO PROMISE MERCY?

ONE POSSIBLE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION CAN BE FOUND IN THE FOLLOWING PRIZE-WINNING ANIMATION [PLEASE CLICK THE LINK TO SEE THE VIDEO]:

“The Other Side of the Story” by Oryan Ventura and Naor Tziyon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXQc4jceBq0

ONE POSSIBLE ANSWER: THE PANIC OF THE YOUNG WHO WERE NOT ALLOWED ON THE ARK, AND THE SADNESS OF THE “COUPLES” WHO MOURNED THEIR OFFSPRING. NOTE THE CHANGE, ACCORDING TO THE MIDRASH FOLLOWING THE CARTOON, IN NOAH FROM A PERSON WHO JUST FOLLOWS ORDERS TO SOMEONE WHO IS MOVED BY SUFFERING, AND THUS DEMANDS JUSTICE. COMPARE WITH ABRAHAM GEN. 18:23-33

בראשית פרק יח

(כג) וַיִּגַּשׁ אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמַר הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע:

(כד) אוּלַי יֵשׁ חֲמִשִּׁים צַדִּיקִם בְּתוֹךְ הָעִיר הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה וְלֹא תִשָּׂא לַמָּקוֹם לְמַעַן חֲמִשִּׁים הַצַּדִּיקִם אֲשֶׁר בְּקִרְבָּהּ:

(כה) חָלִלָה לְּךָ מֵעֲשֹׂת כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה לְהָמִית צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע וְהָיָה כַצַּדִּיק כָּרָשָׁע חָלִלָה לָּךְ הֲשֹׁפֵט כָּל הָאָרֶץ לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּט:

(כו) וַיֹּאמֶר ה’ אִם אֶמְצָא בִסְדֹם חֲמִשִּׁים צַדִּיקִם בְּתוֹךְ הָעִיר וְנָשָׂאתִי לְכָל הַמָּקוֹם בַּעֲבוּרָם:

(כז) וַיַּעַן אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמַר הִנֵּה נָא הוֹאַלְתִּי לְדַבֵּר אֶל אֲדֹנָי וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר:

(כח) אוּלַי יַחְסְרוּן חֲמִשִּׁים הַצַּדִּיקִם חֲמִשָּׁה הֲתַשְׁחִית בַּחֲמִשָּׁה אֶת כָּל הָעִיר וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא אַשְׁחִית אִם אֶמְצָא שָׁם אַרְבָּעִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה:

(כט) וַיֹּסֶף עוֹד לְדַבֵּר אֵלָיו וַיֹּאמַר אוּלַי יִמָּצְאוּן שָׁם אַרְבָּעִים וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא אֶעֱשֶׂה בַּעֲבוּר הָאַרְבָּעִים:

(ל) וַיֹּאמֶר אַל נָא יִחַר לַאדֹנָי וַאֲדַבֵּרָה אוּלַי יִמָּצְאוּן שָׁם שְׁלֹשִׁים וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא אֶעֱשֶׂה אִם אֶמְצָא שָׁם שְׁלֹשִׁים:

(לא) וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה נָא הוֹאַלְתִּי לְדַבֵּר אֶל אֲדֹנָי אוּלַי יִמָּצְאוּן שָׁם עֶשְׂרִים וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא אַשְׁחִית בַּעֲבוּר הָעֶשְׂרִים:

(לב) וַיֹּאמֶר אַל נָא יִחַר לַאדֹנָי וַאֲדַבְּרָה אַךְ הַפַּעַם אוּלַי יִמָּצְאוּן שָׁם עֲשָׂרָה וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא אַשְׁחִית בַּעֲבוּר הָעֲשָׂרָה:

(לג) וַיֵּלֶךְ ה’ כַּאֲשֶׁר כִּלָּה לְדַבֵּר אֶל אַבְרָהָם וְאַבְרָהָם שָׁב לִמְקֹמוֹ:

TWO ADDITIONAL POINTS THAT CAN BE CONNECTED TO THIS LESSON:

The halacha codified this story in fixing the beracha for seeing a rainbow, as an expression of the covenant. With the Midrash’s understanding of the origins of the covenant we can now recite the beracha whenever we see a rainbow, and realize that the covenant includes our mutual partnership with God in being responsible for the safety and beauty of the world.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, זוֹכֵר הַבְּרִית, וְנֶאֱמָן בִּבְרִיתוֹ, וְקַיָּם בְּמַאֲמָרוֹ.

The process which we call “Midrash” is a central pillar of Jewish religious life. It is the mental process of entering into dialogue with Torah, hearing Torah speak, and allowing ourselves to reply. From the dialogue we gain meaning and mentality which aids us in understanding what we must do. Many times when we analyze one of the received Midrashim, we are astounded at the boldness and creativity of the process, and the possibilities of understanding that open up before us as a result of Midrash.