I had been planning it for weeks. Parshas Noach would be about Covid and what we have learned from it, now nearly four years after its tragic onset. One calamity belongs near another. Then the war hit us.
Our Sukkos vacation in Eretz Yisroel went from simchas yomtov to Tehillim, heartfelt davening and no small measure of fear. I walked past R’ Itche Mayer Morgenstern's shul in Gush Shmonim, Yerushalayim and witnessed the following sight: the aron kodesh was wide open, tekios were being blown- followed by the Yud Gimmel middos of rachamim recited with Kabbalistic intentions, by the Rebbe. The uncertainty was palpable, but we were all being brought on a spiritual journey of hope.
Noach was chosen to survive and lead a new world. The seforim say he merited salvation by the very things we are now doing to merit a good judgment. He served by feeding and attending to the needs of those with him in the teivah. We as a nation are emulating this by taking care of the soldiers and each other. Chesed is the currency that will eventually bring us peace.
The “teivah” the ship that Noach sailed on is also understood in hebrew as the “Word”. The Sfas Emes said Noach set the stage, he taught future generations how to survive. Hide in the teivah of Hashem, the words of Torah and tefillah- The amount of times Tehillim is being said over and over around the world is unprecedented. Taking on more Torah and Tefillah and Gemilas Chasadim is of paramount concern to us these days, BH.
In contrast to Covid, which tended to be polarizing to us, both physically and spiritually,( we are just now beginning to unravel from its after effects.)- this calamity is uniting us in every aspect of our lives. May Hashem continue to protect His nation
Dateline:Gaza
Written by R’ Avrohom Hillel Reich based on a lesson and story by Harav Ben Tziyon Sneh Shlita
