Redemption in the Ark
For October 25, 2022
Genesis 8:1
וַיִּזְכֹּ֤ר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־נֹ֔חַ וְאֵ֤ת כׇּל־הַֽחַיָּה֙ וְאֶת־כׇּל־הַבְּהֵמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר אִתּ֖וֹ בַּתֵּבָ֑ה וַיַּעֲבֵ֨ר אֱלֹהִ֥ים ר֙וּחַ֙ עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וַיָּשֹׁ֖כּוּ הַמָּֽיִם׃
"And G-d remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark, and G-d caused a spirit to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided."
Why did G-d need to remember that for a full year Noah (and his childeren and women) had fed the entire animal kingdom that was with him in the ark, playing "waiter" for them, after all, would He ever forget anything?
The phrase in the Torah wanted to emphasise that G-d's major concern was Noah and not the mammals..
But the Tenach could have used a other word than "remember". Radak points out to us that when the Torah uses the word "remember" for G-d, it uses it because this is a figure of speech that allows the reader to use his imagination and realise that such wording now introduces an activity of G-d that was already there all along, but in a hidden state for Noah.
G-d was going to save Noah, and He would let him go out of the ark into a new world. But for Noach, all this was not yet clear and visible. All he could do was hope and trust. Now comes the moment when Noah is going to see and experience that his hope and trust will come true.
The same is true for all Noahides. All of us consciously chose to seek our safety in the ark. The Hebrew word for ark is tevah - and is also the word for Torah. We listen to G-d through His Torah, and want to live in accordance with what He teaches us in the Torah about our 7 Noahides Laws.
He has promised us that we will thereby have a share in the future World to come, a new World. And this promise to us He will remember. Our redemption is a fact, just as Noah's redemption was a fact, however, only not yet visible to us. Not because it is not there yet, but because it is still hidden from us.
In Genesis 1 we read: and the Ruach of Elohim hovered upon the surface of the waters which is the beginning of the creation. Here in Genesis 8 we read that the Ruach of Elohim blows upon the earth. Which is the beginning of a renewed world. And so we know that the Ruach of Elohim also blows now and the future World to come, will come. G-ds Redemption is always there, before it is visible to us, it is already there. And just as you cannot see the wind, but you can feel it, so we can already feel in our hearts that redemption. We can feel the redemption in His Tevah, in His Word of Torah, in the words of spiritual wisdom and prayer.
Brought By Angelique Sijbolts
Angelique Sijbolts is one of the main writers for the Noahide Academy. She has been an observant Noahide for many years. She studies Torah with Rabbi Perets every week. Angelique invests much of her time in editing video-lectures for the Rabbis of the Academy and contributes in administrating the Academy's website in English and Dutch. She lives in the north of the Netherlands. Married and mother of two sons. She works as a teacher in a school with students with special needs. And is a Hebrew Teacher for the levels beginners and intermediate. She likes to walk, to read and play the piano.
Sources
Chabadapp: chumash with Rashi
© Copyright, all rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further.
NoahideAcademy.org's copyright policy.
Comments