The Soul-Rest of Noah

This week’s Torah portion is Noach, the second portion in B’reisheet, the well-known story of the Flood, the animals, and the ark. We are told that Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations.” Rashi famously said, “The generations of the righteous are mitzvot and good deeds.” Most interpretations of this portion concern Noah’s goodness. In addition to considering Noah’s righteousness, we can also look at this portion as an allegory.

Noah means rest. The Zohar, our book of spirituality from the Middle Ages says, this refers to the soul, the inner spiritual center of a person. When we, through our particular spiritual path, whether it be the path of deeds of loving kindness, meditation, Yoga, charity, study, any other spiritual pathway, or a combination of some of these, find that rest, that place of inner composure and peace, the Torah says, interesting things begin to happen.

Noah had 3 sons: Shem, Ham, and Yafet. Shem literally means Name. Ham means warmth, and Yafet means beauty. When we strive, ethically, morally, and spiritually for what is true and good, we may be surprised that we have renown or fame, or even a very good name. We generate and exhibit warmth, the capacity to touch others; and we have beauty, inner beauty, that others sense. The sum of these three, a good name, warmth, and beauty, is that we become magnetic: others will feel the shift in our energy. People will be drawn to us; not really to us, actually, but to the God nature that we express. It isn’t really about us, it’s about something much larger: Divinity and goodness, being expressed through us.

To extend the allegory: Noah built the ark. He did the work God asked of him, and then the animals came to him. This can teach us that when we do our own inner work, that everything will come to us – that blessings and also Divine Protection, will come to us, as it says, “and you shall enter the ark,” (Gen. 6:18) in other words, enter protection and “come into my protection because you are righteous.” (Gen.7:1). Later when the flood, the difficulties, have abated, Noah sends out the raven and then the dove, but they return, not finding a resting place. Yet finally, the dove brings back an olive leaf, and all the animals leave the ark.

This might be teaching us to persist in our spiritual practices: not to be too impatient with the energies we expend, and not to be discouraged in our spiritual practices, but to wait, knowing that our efforts will bear fruit. Rest, calmness, serenity, goodness, generosity, working on ourselves, as well as on behalf of others is powerful, much more powerful, than we know. May we seek that rest, that inner calmness and elevation of spirit that brought such blessing to Noah and was beloved by God.