The Miracle of Free Will
“And from all that lives, of all flesh, two of
each shall you bring into the ark to keep alive with you; they shall be male
and female.” (Beraishis/Genesis 6:19)
G-d decided to inundate
the earth with a flood due to the corruption of humanity and the animal kingdom.
Noah, due to his righteousness, was commanded to build a gigantic craft in
which he, his family, and an uncorrupted selection of every type of creature
could escape the cataclysmic event.
Ramban (1) explains
that although the ark was an extremely big structure, it was only through a
miracle that the craft could have contained all the variety of life, plus
enough food for an entire year. Why, then, was it necessary for Noah to build
such an immense craft? Could G-d have not performed the same miracle with a
smaller, less cumbersome ark? Ramban suggests that, beside the fact that only a
boat of such magnitude would cause a stir among mankind that a catastrophic
event was indeed on the way, this is the way of the miracles described in the
Torah and Prophets. Individuals must attempt to perform all that is humanly
possible before the creator will supplement it with the miraculous.
Rabbi Avigdor Miller
(2) explains that where miracles are deemed necessary, G-d chooses to minimize
them. The main purpose of our existence is to utilize our free will to the
greatest extent possible. Life is about making decisions, especially in the
realm of morality and spirituality, and it is these decisions that promote a
relationship between us and our Creator, a connectedness that is our ultimate
reward for serving Him. If miracles commonly occurred that could only be
attributed to the Divine, mankind would be robbed of their freewill and the
reward that it yields. We understand the notion that proportionate to the exertion
and effort expended to achieve an objective is the value of that achievement.
This is also the case in the spiritual world: the more effort invested in
gaining an awareness of the Creator the greater the intensity of the
relationship. Thus, even miraculous events contain natural aspects and can be
rationalized and attributed to natural causes, serving as a challenge to us,
facilitating our growth.
If we look around us we
are confronted with these types of mundane miracles every day. Why should we
consider it any less miraculous when food grows from the ground than if it
descends from the sky? The number of precise processes and steps are astounding
and all point to miraculous plan and purpose. We are now experiencing the
seasonal transition to autumn, commonly known as “fall” because the leaves fall
from the trees. This phenomenon is extremely important because the leaves that
fall decay into the ground and provide essential nutrients which the earth lost
during the summer months of production. Also, it becomes cooler with less
direct sunlight as we advance into winter, which stops the earth from producing
crops and vegetation allowing rest and replenishment for the earth. If this did
not occur the earth would turn into a barren desert due to overproduction and
lack of nutrients. The plan and purpose are evident.
In order to maintain our free will, the miracles of life are
seemingly mundane, automatic and perpetual. Our challenge is to think
objectively and to investigate the world around us to the best of our abilities
through the Torah’s lens, thereby uncovering the Divine in all aspects of life.
Have a Good Shabbos!
Missed Opportunities
One can only view the
entire Torah narrative of parshat Noach as being one that describes lost
opportunities, of roads not taken and chances missed. It begins with the
generation of Noach itself. Noach warns his society of the looming disaster
that will destroy them and their world and its civilization. Either he is not
persuasive enough or the society is purposely and perversely oblivious to what
is about to happen to their world.
Many times in history,
both Jewish and general, we are witness to the consequences of not taking heed
of warnings and ignoring evident signs of danger. No one likes to listen to
prophets of gloom and doom. These contrarians disturb our daily lives and its
sense of equilibrium and inertia. We say that we want positive change to occur
but in our hearts we are more than satisfied to have the status quo of life
remain.
So Noach’s generation misses an opportunity to save itself and
thereby to change all of later world history. They judge Noach and his ark
building project as being odd if not entirely daft. So, even as the rains begin
and the water begins to rise they continue to scoff at Noach and his message to
them.
The unwanted savior
is usually ignored in human events. He does not fit our preconceived matrix of
help and salvation and thus, though he may be accurate and correct in his
assessments, he is usually reviled, ridiculed and ignored. I need not give
examples of this truism of human behavior to those of us who have lived in
Israel over the past number of decades.
After the flood it is
Noach himself who is found wanting in this very trait of missed opportunities.
The reason that the commentators have always seemed to treat Noach negatively,
even harshly, is because he missed out on creating a new world unsullied by
past error and sin. An opportunity such is that, essentially the same one
offered to Adam and Chava in the Garden of Eden, has never again been offered
to anyone else in the long history of human civilization.
Not accepting that offer, not
seizing that opportunity is the weakness that dooms Noach to criticism and bad
reviews in Jewish rabbinic scholarship. The Torah itself advances clearly the
necessity to make correct decisions and choices in life. The Torah tells us to
choose life over death, good over evil, the eternal over the fleeting.
Many times the
refusal to make any choice when the correct one was patently present is not
viewed in Judaism as being cautious or neutral. Rather it is viewed as being a
fatally wrong choice. An opportunity squandered is a sin and sins of omission
are many times worse and more dangerous than sins of commission.
Our lives are defined by the choices that we have made and
continue to make. Often times the necessity of making such choices is
unavoidable for outside circumstances crowd in upon us. Hopefully the Lord will
grant us enough wisdom to take advantage of opportunities presented and to make
wise choices in our personal and national lives.
Shabat shalom,
Rabbi Berel Wein
Noah’s Spiritual Leadership
The usual take on Noach
seems to be that even though he was himself a righteous individual he really is
not to be overly commended since he was unable – some say even unwilling – to
save his generation from the cataclysm of the flood.
Since the opinions of
the rabbis and the sages of Israel over all of the ages is pretty much divided
on how to deal with Noach – especially vis a vis Avraham – I really cannot
venture a definitive opinion on this matter. However as an individual and certainly
as a rabbi I empathize greatly with Noach and the challenges that he faced.
The story is told about
a great Jewish holy man (insert any favorite name you may wish here) who once
ruefully stated: “When I was young and fresh out of my yeshiva training and
undertaking my first rabbinic post I was convinced that I could influence all
of humankind for the good. However, as I grew older I realized that this was
beyond my abilities, so I concentrated my efforts on changing my community for
the better.
As I grew still older,
I realized that this was also beyond my capabilities so I decided to
concentrate my efforts on my synagogue members solely and elevate them
spiritually to proper heights. This I also discovered was not within my
capabilities so I now concentrated on changing my family members for the
better.
When it became apparent
to me that this was also a somewhat futile effort, I finally realized that my
efforts should be directed solely towards my own personal self-improvement.”
Though this is obviously an overly pessimistic view of Jewish spiritual
leadership and its ability to change and influence people, it certainly gives
us an insight into Noach, his greatness and eventual tragedy.
Noach builds his ark
publicly and painstakingly over many decades. He exhorts his generation to
repent from its evil ways and warns of the coming apocalypse. For his pains and
prescience he is mocked and reviled, rejected and isolated. Some of his own
descendants will eventually betray him with their behavior and attitudes.
It is not the trauma of
the Flood itself that so depresses Noach as much as it is that somehow he has
not found a way to communicate his message to his society and even to his own
family. We are told little about Noach after his family disappointments upon
emerging from the ark. He is apparently sapped of his will to influence others
after so many years of being rejected. He sees no basic difference in
post-flood humankind than in pre-flood humankind.
Avraham will also
face many disappointments and failures in his chosen mission of spreading Godliness
in a heathen, immoral and violent world. But if Avraham will initially fail
with Yishmael he will succeed with Yitzchak. If Avraham cannot enlist Lot in
his cause he will at least save him from destruction. If he cannot change Sodom
he will strive to see that it is never again rebuilt.
The true test of
spiritual leadership is what happens after one’s dreaded disappointments have
proven to have been accurate. Since Noach could not save his generation prior
to the flood, he somehow gave up on the generations after the flood as well.
Therein lays the undertone of implicit criticism of this great and pious person
that is reflected in Jewish rabbinic tradition over the ages.
Shabat shalom.
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