The Allegory of Noah

This week’s Torah portion is Noach: the story of Noah, the flood and the ark. It is a story that is so well known but whose meaning is difficult to comprehend. For me, it answers the question, why do bad things happen in this world, which I wrote about last year. But perhaps there is another approach to understanding the story. Noah, is described as a wholly good person. The Torah introduces him by saying, These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. Already we are suspicious. In a corrupt world, full of robbery, as we are told, Noah was completely good. This story, then, is a tale of archetypes, not of real people. We can look upon it not as history but as allegory. Noah’s name is allegorical and means satisfaction, tranquility, rest, even nachas, pleasure and comfort, as Midrash rabba suggests. How did he get that way? How can we travel to that place? Noah is portrayed not in speech, but in actions. Noah hardly speaks more than one sentence in the whole portion named after him. God speaks to Noah and Noah simply acts, building the ark, the shelter, which also means, word, according to Rabbi Noam Elimelech. Noah constructs his words in silence, speaking only as much as is absolutely necessary. His quietude is the shelter from which his contentment comes. He is not the kind of person to argue with God as Moses did. He is there to serve. In Midrash rabba it points out, Noah fed and sustained [the people and animals in the Ark] twelve months, as it says, And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten (Gen.VI,21). When tranquility meets service, shelter, nourishment, and safety are born. But Noah also has generations, actions, that are human births. He has three sons, whose names are also allegorical: Shem, the Name of God, Ham, warmth or heat, and Japhet, pleasantness or beauty. Rashi has said that the offspring of the righteous are good deeds. In this story, Noah’s actions bring forth Shem, the Holy name of God, whose name is existence or being. Tranquility brings forth life and holiness. It also brings forth warmth, spirit, élan, the heat of love and the warmth of human and Divine companionship, which form a three legged support when beauty and pleasantness are added. Noah is saved because of his righteousness, which teaches that Goodness is precious to God. Where there is goodness, there will be protection. Though Noah lived at a time when most people were not at his level of goodness, he saw himself when he looked at his neighbors. He projected his own goodness on them. He only saw the good in others and lived in peace with them, literally holding his peace, not being critical of others or arguing with them. The Maggid of Mezritch interpreted the statement, know what is above you as know that everything above all that transpires in the spiritual realms is from you, dependent on your conduct. Rabbi Menachen Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavicher Rebbe noted that Each of us has the potential to influence even the most elevated spiritual realms. He said, Noah and his offspring implanted their qualities among their fellow men and drew down the spiritual gifts from above. Every person affects his environment. Therefore our thoughts, words, and deeds can inspire tranquility, both above and here, below. Our deep spiritual center provides the Noah in us, showing us the way to satisfaction, tranquility, rest, even nachas, pleasure and comfort. Our actions can magnify these qualities and reflect them out into the world, creating Japhet: beauty, pleasantness, Ham, warmth, and even Shem, manifesting the presence of the Divine.