Reflections

כל גל וגל, כל טלטול וטלטול של התבה היה בו להזהיר ולעורר את האנשים שבתוכה על הגלים והטלטולים, על האסונות והאפשריות של החיים

Nov 01, 2024

Some of my favorite pastimes include trips to the water. My grandfather was a sailor, and a love for water has seeped into my bones. Looking at water is, perhaps, a spiritual experience.

Rashi1 writes that “a flowing river is a delight to the sight of the eyes, makes the heart happy, and cleanses the sadness of the heart”.

Looking at the water can also serve to be therapeutic.

One researcher expressed, “I felt that the clear water surface is transparent, empathic, and receptive to external influences, fostering the viewer to achieve a similar condition.” 2 Another noted “when you look at water, there’s what people describe as this soft fascination — something that is interesting and that holds your attention, but not in an information-rich way.”.... “Water takes you away from distractions and simplifies the visual landscape.” 3

The reflective nature of water awakens an inner calm as we pursue a reflection within ourselves.

What’s fascinating about the story of Noach and the Mabul is that it seems the water was not reflective. “The Great Flood was a return to the very beginning of Creation. Once again, the high waters mixed with the low waters. Once again, the world was tohu, emptiness.”4 The water most definitely did not induce calmness.

Was surviving by way of the water a spiritual experience for Noach as well?

Let’s rewind a little. In his book Beginnings, my father describes the context of Noach’s mission. After Adam and Chavah were exiled from the Garden of Eden, humanity lost its way, and people became corrupt. There was little hope of a tikkun, a way to return to the Garden.

“The year 2000 was approaching and civilization had not achieved its goal of perfection. On the contrary, the world had become corrupt. God was determined to end the world with a flood. From his birth, Noach was entrusted with a task, to stop the world from coming to an end and be the one to finally achieve the tikkun for the sins of Adam, Chavah, and Kayin. Noach must have been raised under tremendous pressure, with the constant knowledge that the whole world would perish if he wouldn’t save it. He had the potential to correct the sin of Adam.
God created the world with a purpose — which Adam, Chavah, and Kayin violated. God in His mercy did not destroy the world, despite their sins. Indeed, for two thousand years mankind never lost the kernel of holiness imbued in Adam and the ability to return to his elevated status. As that time period approached its end, Noach was charged with building the Ark and saving the world.”

We know that Noach may have saved the world, but he couldn’t save its population. He was unable to convince them to do teshuvah. Once the Teivah was complete, Hashem instructed Noach and his family to enter, and the deluge began.

Rav Moshe Dovid Vali teaches that with the entire world as we know it contained within the Teivah, it was essentially a vacuum-sealed manifestation of the Malchus of Hashem in this world. In this abode of Malchus, the new vision of the world was to take shape.5

Rav Chaim Dov Rabinowitz beautifully explains that the Teivah, which enclosed Noach and his family, was meant to serve as more than just a shelter from the water. It was a place of solitude in which the survivors were to reflect on the destruction surrounding them and to prepare a plan for a new life—a life better than what had been destroyed. Each wave and tumble reminded them to reflect on the turbulence of life and the potential to create and celebrate life correctly.

It was a place of solitude in which the survivors were to reflect on the destruction surrounding them and to prepare a plan for a new life—a life better than what had been destroyed. Each wave and tumble reminded them to reflect on the turbulence of life and the potential to create and celebrate life correctly.6

כל גל וגל, כל טלטול וטלטול של התבה היה בו להזהיר ולעורר את האנשים שבתוכה על הגלים והטלטולים, על האסונות והאפשריות של החיים

There was no room to induce reflection by gazing at the waters to see the reflection of the sky or mountains. Noach and his family had to reflect within. By forcing this self-reflection, perhaps they would have been able to achieve the tikkun we so desperately seek.

The way to be a wholesome person is to emulate God.7 My father often says, “To be Godly is to reflect God’s perfection.” The Midrash teaches that neither Noach nor his sons were able to sleep during the twelve months in the Teivah because they were obliged to feed the animals, the beasts, and the birds.8 Perhaps, on a deeper level, just as Hashem does not sleep, Noach also did not sleep, as he was reflecting his Creator.

We find similar journeys in the Torah that serve as foundations for self-reflection before completing a task. This includes Avraham’s three-day journey to Har HaMoriah for the Akeidah. The Ramban explains that these three days allowed Avraham to reflect rather than rush through the Akeidah.9 We also see this idea with Yonah, who was forced into self-reflection before going to Nineveh.10

Once Noach became truly Godly, the waters began receding from the mountaintops. He was no longer confined to self-reflection; he could now appreciate the world’s reflections and how he could place himself and humanity within it to build a stronger world.

Perhaps this is why Hashem made a bris with a rainbow—a reflection of light and water—as if to say, “I will remember your self-reflection and not bring destruction to the world again.”

Ultimately, Noach lost the tikkun, which was nearly within reach. The tikkun remains elusive, and the leaders of the generations that followed—including today—continue to seek it.

What practical steps can we take to achieve the tikkun?

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explained, “Peace comes when we see our reflection in the face of God and let go of the desire to be someone else.”11 Too often, we do not define ourselves by the reflection we see in the eyes of God and instead we define ourselves by the reflection we see in the eyes of others.12

The Ramchal writes, “A person must constantly contemplate with his mind and also set aside fixed times to reflect on the correct path to follow according to the Torah. Then he should contemplate his deeds to see if they align with that path.”13

To be tikkun-oriented Jews, sometimes we need to retreat into our figurative Teivah of private life and solitude, away from external influences. Yet, that alone is not enough. We must also take time to pause, clarify our values, and consider how we can better live by them.

May we see the ultimate tikkun and make this world a Teivah for Malchus Hashem.