Comments (0)Powerful Force Of Nature
Parshat Noach
October 23, 2009Rabbi Andrew Busch
Special to the Jewish Times
A broken water main here or a tsunami across the globe both express the power of water.
We cannot always contain this simple substance in a cup or a bathtub. Overflowing rivers and similar floods strike fear in the hearts of those who have survived such events and may fear their next tragedy.
In the Land of Israel, our ancestors understood the power of a drought or even of a rainfall that came too soon and too hard. H2O may only be a chemical compound, but it is also a crucial ingredient of a healthy and calm life.
Our lives and our societies are dependant on the right level of water at the right time in the right place. Our very prayers acknowledge gratitude for water that comes in a way that enables human well-being.
Ancient words, possibly familiar from the Torah service or a benediction, capture the hope for the calm that might follow the storm:
May the Eternal grant strength to God’s people; may the Eternal grant God’s people peace. (Psalm 29:10)
Thus, Psalm 29 begins with stormy images: glory, majestic holiness, thunder and mighty waters. The Divine voice appears to be shaking the very foundations throughout this powerful Biblical poem.
As late as verse 9, Divine sovereignty is declared with The Eternal sat enthroned at the Flood. Then, Psalm 29 concludes with a reference to shalom, peace—or well-being—as one translation suggests.
The dangerous waters recede; Divine providence is bestowed upon humanity.
This week’s Torah portion, Noach, also presents a mighty storm followed by images of peace. Genesis 6:17 speaks of the Creator’s intention to bring “the Flood-waters upon the earth.”
A few chapters later, we read of olive branches and rainbows. Genesis and the Psalms are here presenting powerful and destructive images of water. Well-being only follows the powerful destructive force of overflowing waters.
Water, so necessary for life, is capable of unleashing horrible consequences upon people. Shalom does not come by avoiding water, rather by our experiencing appropriate water.
Other Biblical images may reflect upon the power of water, but do so in a gentler manner. Jeremiah referred to God as the “Font of living waters” (Jeremiah 2:13).
Those mayim chaim, living waters, find ongoing expression in the practice of ritual mikveh. Another prophet, Amos, spoke words which have been repeated in the midst of so many marches and on behalf of so many causes:
Let justice well up like water, righteousness as a mighty stream (Amos 5:24). Water is a pliable image within Jewish and most traditions.
Generally, we read the story of Noah as a tale of destruction and raw power. In larger context, let us hear this ancient narrative as one of the well-being that follows the unleashing of immensely powerful force.
It is a fascinating image on many levels and may it leave us blessed with shalom, peace and well-being.
Shabbat Shalom.