Interacting with “difficult” others, being in lockdown
How many times do you think Noach speaks over the course of the parsha that bears his name? Five times? Ten times?
Incredibly, and pretty surprisingly, Noach only speaks once, at the very end of his life, cursing his grandson Canaan and blessing his sons Yefet and Shem. Not to say that Noach only actually spoke once in his life, but it is the only recorded speech we have, in a life that sounds like it was quite full. This lack of speech makes it difficult to guess at what Noach’s experiences were like; instead, we only have his actions (and sometimes inaction) from which to learn. Although this is probably a good topic for an independent post at another time, it also leaves a lot more open to interpretation in Hashem’s (one-sided) conversations with him.
Talking Point 1: The first time Hashem speaks to Noach, He has a dual message: a) “the end of all living creatures has come in front of me…behold I am going to destroy them [from] the land” b) “make for you a teiva”, with very detailed descriptions. We are told that Noach then “did all that God commanded him to do, so did he do it.”
What do you think that Noach felt when Hashem told him that He was going to destroy the world? Surprised, afraid, maybe happy (thinking that they deserved it)? What do you think that Noach felt regarding all of the other people in his generation, if because of them “the land had filled with lawlessness”? Was he angry with them? Did he connect with them at all? Did he feel sorry for them?
When you think of Noach and the other people who lived near home, what do you think their interactions were like? Did they speak at all?
How have you felt around people who weren’t kind, or that you felt weren’t acting correctly? Did it make a difference if they were people you didn’t know yet or if they were already your friends? If they ever got in trouble, what did you feel? Did you ever speak to someone you felt wasn’t being nice to you, or to someone else? How did that feel?
Chazal contrast Noach with Avraham; when Avraham is told (in Parshat VaYera) that Sedom will be destroyed, a city filled with people who are “evil and sin greatly to Hashem”, in which guests fear for their lives, he pleads with Hashem to save the city on the basis of some good people who may be there. What do you think this difference between Avraham and Noach is based on?
Talking Point 2: Although there’s a lot of debate regarding the dates that Noach and his family were in the teiva, it seems that they were in there for about a year: cooped up in a massive boat, filled with animals of all kinds. What do you think that was like? Not being able to get fresh air, see any plants, interact with anyone besides for the eight people in your family? Were there parts that were enjoyable? Like being in a zoo for a year?
Do you remember how we spent a lot of time at home a couple of years ago? What was that like? What parts were more difficult and easier for you? What parts of it did you enjoy?
This is an opportunity to help everyone in the family (including parents!) continue to process the challenges and benefits of lockdowns on us as individuals and families. Now that some time has passed (Baruch Hashem), our perspectives might be different!
Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom!
If you’d like to receive this weekly post via WhatsApp, feel free to join the following group (only admins can post, so no spamming): https://chat.whatsapp.com/FEkAKxCVnu98o53v0heebn
