This Shabbat the Torah describes וַתִּמָּלֵ֥א הָאָ֖רֶץ חָמָֽס the land was filled with violence. The first time Hamas was ever mentioned is in this week’s parsha. The generation had turned to all types of immorality, to theft and to violence.
And Hashem decides it’s time to destroy the world. But there’s one rose amongst the thorns, one saving grace, and that is the personality of Noah.
Hashem tells Noah to build an ark to be able to save himself, his family and the generation. Noah spent 120 years trying to convince the generation to change their sinful ways, and yet unsuccessful, Noah enters the teiva just with his own immediate family.
All the commentaries do a critique on Noah’s righteousness. How is it that Noah didn’t succeed in turning even one person on, to change their sinful ways?
And Rashi tells us, מקטני אמונה Noah was small of faith.
Hasidut teaches us that, God forbid, it doesn’t mean Noah didn’t believe. The great Tzadik of Berditchev tell us that Noah was small in his own belief, his own faith.
Noah didn’t believe in the power of teshuva. Noah didn’t believe that he could turn a sinner into someone holy and pious. Noah didn’t believe people could change. Noah didn’t believe in the power of prayer, that through his prayer he could arouse the divine mercy and turn all of God’s wrath to compassion and to kindness.
As a result, Noah didn’t pray fully for the generation. He was unsuccessful in saving anyone but himself.
But at the end of the day Noah’s ark represents the Jewish nation going through the storms of the world and the Hamas of every generation.
At the end the verse tells us the teiva rose up and floated above the waters, meaning the victory of the Jewish nation, an eternal people and the teiva of the Jewish people of our Torah and tefilla will always prevail and always be victorious.
At the end the yona, the dove that Noah sends out comes back with an olive branch representing peace and tranquility.
Let’s hope in our days we should be able to see that the flood ends and once again that olive branch of peace and tranquility God promises never to be another October 7th onto the Jewish nation.
