Navigating the Flood

'Make for yourself an ark (Teivah).' (Genesis 6:14)

In this week's Torah portion, we read the famous story of Noah and the great flood, which was brought upon the earth because of the rampant immorailty of the time. G-d Instructs Noah to build a large ark - "teivah" in Hebrew - to house his family and animals together with him for the months long flood. Chassidic Philosophy explains the inner lesson (as every event in Torah has to teach us) behind the flood & ark in our day and age. The "flood waters" that threaten to drown us, are not waves of water, but rather the physical and financial worries that inundate us. For someone who desires to live a meaningful life, how is it possible to get beyond everyday life worries; the vast amount of daily distractions and hassles? The answer to our problem can be found in what G-d Told Noah to do when confronted with a flood: "enter the ark." For us today, we are being told: "Enter a place where you can find the inspirational warmth and protection to propel you over the powerful 'waves' of this world."

The word teivah (ark) in Hebrew, also means a word. So the 1st way to succeed in surviving these flood waters is to enter the words; the words of prayer and Torah learning. These 'words' help us float above the flood of everyday worries, and help guide our lives in a peaceful manner. Prayer was instituted every morning for this very reason! Every morning we wake up to the same flood waters, prodding us constantly to become work obsessed, chasing after the dollar and success, no matter what. Sincere words of prayer strengthen us to remember to every day treat the people we meet with respect and fairness. To propel us to a more meaningful day in all that we do. To steal away for a few minutes during the day to learn an idea in Torah reinforces this enlightened mentality. To realize a higher purpose in our dealings with the world. Business is to be conducted honestly and the money made directed to meaningful pursuits. Our primary duty is to help our children's education and to help others. Life is to be lived higher than the world tells us.

This is our daily "ark." But G-d Knew that we would need an extra special ark that could strengthen us for the long haul. The month long spiritual ark of Tishrei (Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah) has come to a close. But luckily, we were given a weekly "ark" to enter to rejuvenate us for our entire week of immersion in the flood waters of life. And that's Shabbat. Shabbat is a day to reflect and remember our individual purpose in life, gathering strength to carry it out. What's G-d's real intention & Purpose behind his creating of this complex and beautiful world, and placing me in it at this time?

May we all enter whatever ark we can that inspires us, to help propel us over the flood waters of life with great success, entering the world as Noah did after leaving the ark - to build it into a more pleasant, happy and meaningful world.

Shabbat Shalom!