WRJ Voices: Noach

This week, we read Parshat Noach, the story of a man who builds an ark, tasked by God with the responsibility of rebuilding the world anew. In Genesis 6:10, Noach is described as “a righteous man” who “walked with God.”¹ Indeed, he and his family were the only humans to survive the flood that eventually washed over the lands of all the earth, destroying all living things, as a reprimand for the lawlessness that overcame humankind. 

I always found the sequence of the narratives in the book of Bereshit interesting, especially when we arrive at the story of Noach and the ark. In Parshat Bereshit, our creation story begins with overwhelming optimism; God creates Heaven and Earth, light and darkness, plants, creatures of all kinds, the very first human beings, and even a holy day for rest. But as the story progresses, we seem to encounter a series of missteps and mishaps, leading us to Parshat Noach, where God already wants to start over, and we have only just begun. 

In some ways, I find that reading Parshat Noach during this point of our new year, barely one month into 5780, makes complete sense for the places I find myself in now. It was only a few weeks ago when we were reminded of our errs of the year that just passed. One may think that fresh from the deep contemplation we engage in during the Days of Awe and Yom Kippur, we would run with the momentum we’ve gathered, and stay true to those resolutions we promised ourselves and God.  This year will be the year that I exercise every day. This year will be the year when I do not sweat the small stuff. This will be the year I do what I say I will do, and I will do it well. 

And yet, only one month into 5780, I find I have already disappointed both myself and God. How many mornings have I slept in, instead of going out for that early morning run? How many times have I let one silly moment impact the rest of my day? Despite my determination, I have already missed the mark. And the year has just started.  

This is where Parshat Noach gives me hope, and why I feel that its timing in our sequence of the Bereshit narratives is just as important as when we read it, time and again, during the Jewish new year. I think God knew that this was going to happen. That perhaps, we, fallible humans, despite our determination to finally get things right, would at some point early in the game, miss the mark.  And, just as I ready myself to give up on those resolutions, I encounter this parsha during which God says, “Yes, you did just begin. Yes, you did make mistakes. But here is a chance to make it right again.”

Because in truth, if God really wanted to give up on us, our story would have ended then and there. God could have just created a new world, new creatures, and new humans. God could have written a completely different Jewish story.

Lucky for us, God didn’t write a new story. Instead, we start from a new beginning that is not completely new; Noach and his family are permitted to stay and given a second chance. They keep going, knowing that even when it feels too late to start again, our tradition encourages us to do so. And if you, like me, find yourself a little discouraged so early in the year and so far from reaching those new year resolutions, find comfort in knowing that this is not the end of our story. That, even when we cannot give ourselves the second chances and fresh starts we all deserve, we can count on God to as He did for Noach.

Rebecca (Becky) Jaye is from Brooklyn, New York and is a third-year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion. She currently serves as the rabbinic intern at Temple Emanu El of Westfield, New Jersey.