Parashat Noah
Noah was a family man. God called him “tamim תמים” – pure and whole. He wasn’t famous and not described as great among men; he was not גדול הדור, the GOAT or GREAT according to the Torah.
Why was he described with such a term that connotes humiltiy and wholeness?
To answer our question consider this story about the Jewish law of how we bless HaMotzi. The Seer of Lublin’s students sat down for a meal, and they wanted to know why Noah was not described as GREAT/גדול. “Rebbe, how could Noah only be תמים/tamim?” The Holy Teacher replied as follows: “When we have two loaves on the table, one small and one so large that even a few slices make the loaf dwarf its neighbor we still bless over the smaller and whole bread.
A person who is true to family, humble of character and who seeks God to self-reflect and take righteous action especially to weather every storm in life that is the partner God seeks.
Noah must have kept so cool on that ark as not to be eaten or attacked by wild beasts or let his sadness or anger or brokenness stop him from becoming the very one to rebuild a world that suffered so much loss.
Have we the courage to weather the storms that threaten our lives and our world? Keep family and friends close, be righteous in every day dealings and seek the Divine to center ourselves on fulfilling our missions. This is Noah’s advice as far as the Torah tells it.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bolton