Ein od Milvado (There is nothing other than Him); Hashem is the source of everything. Our task in life is to recognize His greatness and constantly hold onto this awareness. We learn from this week’s parsha Noach the importance of remaining with steadfast emuna in spite of the hostility we receive from the people around us. It is important to stay loyal to Hashem’s will and not be swayed. Noach “walked with Hashem” (Bereishis 6:9) and wanted to fulfill the mitzvot and honor Hashem’s name. He continued to construct the ark in the face of open antagonism all the while building his level of trust in Hashem that the flood would in fact occur. We end the first bracha of Shmonei Esrei with the words: Melech: Hashem is our king and has the power to overturn anything, Ozer: Hashem has the oz (strength) to do anything, however it may come under a natural disguise, Moshia: Hashem has the power to save us and we are fully aware and see His hand, Magen: here we are shielded and protected, an all-around embrace. Hashem is always involved in our lives, whether we openly perceive it or not. It is important to not only be clearly aware of Hashem’s reality but also to acknowledge that the world is non-existent and cannot be separate from Hashem. That means there is nothing in this world that Hashem is not directly involved in and doesn’t supervise. Nature is but one of Hashem’s ‘hands’ and is under Borei Olam’s total control. On an intellectual and conscious level most of us accept these facts to be completely true. However, the influence of the worldly messages that we continuously receive weaken this mindset of truth and thrust us into a world of ‘natural’ and ‘happenchance’ causes. One of the lessons of emuna that we can take home from this week’s parsha then is that although Noach was required to physically build the ark, the physical act was merely a cover-up for Hashem’s direct intervention. He was required to do in order to hide Hashem’s hand, when in essence it wasn’t the ark that saved him. The ark was a sham in order to hide the miracle of Hashem’s salvation.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Oct 2013 11:26:29 +0000
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