Every person in this room has, at one time or another been so angry at a situation or another person (or both) that seemingly the only solution is one of extreme drastic action. In such situations, most of us have resorted to breaking something and/or making draconian decisions that easily affect the rest of our lives and often the lives of those around us. Here, the parallel with our life situations and the state of the early world as seen by Gd is very similar. The Torah tells us, in no uncertain terms that humanity had degraded to a point where Gd felt so angry and disappointed with his creation that He felt a wholesale change was necessary. Thus the great Flood.

I must emphasize here that Gd was upset with his creation of Man, not the animals, birds, fish, reptiles, etc. Although little is said in the Torah about civilization at that time, the Midrash goes on for quite a while describing the lust and avarice and the Gdless societies of our ancient ancestors. These were the populations Gd felt needed to replace, so Gd searched out for the most “level-headed” family on the globe and selected Noah and his family.

Noah was a very common individual. He was the type who caused little if any controversy in his community, preferring to remain in the background. The Midrash speculates that Noah may have even understood the concept of Gd and Gd’s supremacy over everything, thus his selection as the person to save humanity.

One of the most striking features of the story of Noah and the Flood is the human trait of anger that we apply to Gd and His decision to destroy mankind and start again. Indeed, throughout the Torah, we find several instances of Gd’s “anger” or Gd’s “love.” There are even occasions when we apply the human senses of sight and smell and hearing to Gd. Does Gd really smell something? Can He really hear our speech, our thoughts?

Philosophically I would say yes to both questions. Gd is the supreme of the supremes. Gd is that omnipresent, omniscient force that made the Universe and all it contains. Surely He can “hear” us as we live our lives, and therefore He knows full well what we are doing – to ourselves and to our fellow men.

Over the millennia, since the Flood and the repopulation of the Earth, we have fashioned our societies and lived our lives according to an evolving set of societal rules based largely upon Gd’s Sinai Covenant, so we must recognize His supremacy in all that we do, and within that understanding, we must recognize that Gd can hear us and knows how we are using His master creation.

Gd’s promise to never again destroy mankind is demonstrated by the appearance of the Rainbow. This is the symbol of that master promise by Gd. Every time we see a rainbow, most of us pause to look at the celestial wonder and think for just a moment about Gd’s promise.

The conclusion of the story of Noah is one that has become the fodder for rabbis throughout the ages. When the Ark came to rest and the animals and human disembarked from their voyage, the Torah tells us that Noah planted a vineyard, harvested the produce, made wine, and promptly became intoxicated. He then made a spectacle of himself by parading around naked in his tent and his sons had to subdue Noah and get him dressed again.

Notice that almost all of the characters in the Torah are human beings with real fears and real problems. All were, in one way or another, born commoners and either worked their way up to positions of leadership or they led exemplary lives and were lifted to prominence by Gd. Think about Noah, Lot, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Jonah, Daniel, David, and so many others. And I surely do not want to leave out the women such as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Esther, and Ruth. Our rabbinic leaders keep emphasizing that there is a spark of Gd in each of us. Each of us can make a major difference if we just take that moment to think about and adhere to Gd’s words of kindness, helpfulness, and respect for one another.

Through Gd’s instructions, Noah saved mankind and the animal kingdom for which he deserves our thanks. What can we do to save our little corner of the world? If we work together, we can achieve great things.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Rubovits