Parashat HaShavua - Noach
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ לְנֹ֔חַ בֹּֽא־אַתָּ֥ה וְכל־בֵּיתְךָ֖ אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֑ה כִּֽי־אֹתְךָ֥ רָאִ֛יתִי צַדִּ֥יק לְפָנַ֖י בַּדּ֥וֹר הַזֶּֽה (בראשית ז:א)
God said to Noah, “Come to the ark, you and your entire family, because I have seen that you are righteous in this generation.”
The Hiddushei Ha Rim teaches: the ark [teivah] was like the words and letters of the Torah [letters are also called teivot in Hebrew, same word as for ark] in that everyone can bring themselves to every word of the Torah and prayer.
The Hiddushei Ha Rim is commenting here on the difference between this verse and the words in the previous chapter, when God says to Noah (6:14), עֲשֵׂ֤ה לְךָ֙ תֵּבַ֣ת עֲצֵי־גֹ֔פֶר, make an ark for yourself. In the verse quoted above, the ark is not just for Noah, but rather, for his entire family. The commentator extrapolates from this that every different kind of person can find a way to enter into the words of Torah, just as all of the members of Noah’s family were able to enter the ark. And just as the ark provided a safe space where life could continue to grow and flourish even in the stormiest of times, words of Torah can and should be a spiritual port in the proverbial storm, one that enables us to continue to grow and develop spiritually, and be inspired to continue to care about what matters in difficult times.
Rabbi Erin Leib Smokler comments on these words:
The call to the teivah/word is a call to each and every one of us to actively bring ourselves, even to forcefully insert ourselves, into the words of our people—to locate ourselves within its frames; to see ourselves in the stories we tell and the prayers we utter; to carry with us our many gifts and burdens and to find space for it all on our collective ark.
As our 3rd graders prepare to embark on their journey of studying Torah with their Humash Ceremonies next week, I couldn’t possibly think of a better “mission statement” for that journey than Rabbi Leib Smokler’s words. We want the Jewish education that our students receive at Heschel to enable them to locate themselves within the frames of our sacred texts and to see themselves in the study of Torah. We want to give them the courage to forcefully insert themselves into those narratives when such strength is called for, as well as the courage to carry their “many gifts and burdens” into the teiva of prayer and Torah study and to have faith that there will be space for all of it inside.
Rabbi Anne Ebersman
Director of Jewish Programming N-5 and Director of Hesed (Community Engagement) and Tzedek (Social Responsibility)