Be good to your work, your word, and your friend.
(U:Z TYwARB) ‰.XN TA OYQLA HWC RwAK HBQNW RKZ HBTH LA XN LA WAB OYNw OYNw‰
“Two by two they came to Noach, to the Ark; male and female, as G-d commanded Noach.” (Beraishis 7:9)
Gathering two of every species of animal was a tall order, yet that was Noach’s mission in order to save the creatures of earth and perpetuate their species after the flood. This posuk tells us that Noach’s job was made easier in that the animals came to him on their own, already paired up with their mates. Only the seven pure animals, which were not for the continuation of the species, but for Noach’s own purposes later on, did He have to trouble himself to collect.
If you look back to the original command, Noach was told to bring two of each animal into the ark, but it doesn’t say that he had to gather them. Noach was commanded to build the ark and to gather the food for all the different animals. This is precisely what he did. However, he did not go around looking for each animal and rounding them up. Instead, on the day of the flood, Noach was prepared with the “escape vehicle,” and it was stocked with food, and then the animals arrived and he escorted them onto the ark. As there was no physical way it could accommodate them, it was a miraculous process, but the ark was made very large so as to minimize the effect of the miracle.
Had Noach built the ark, and stocked it with food, but no animals showed up, it would have been rather anticlimactic. All his efforts would have been in vain. Why didn’t Noach go out and begin rounding up animals as the designated day drew closer?
The answer is an important lesson in fulfilling our missions in the world. Some things are in our power, and some things are not. We don’t determine whether we will do what we’re supposed to based on whether we think others (including Hashem) will do their part. Rather, we do what we need to do, and leave everything else to Hashem.
Noach understood that he could not possibly gather every animal in the world. It would have to be a miracle. Therefore, there was no reason for him to do part of it to “help” Hashem. Instead, when the time came to load the animals onto the ark, he would do so, and he would have everything that WAS in his power ready for that day.
Each of us is given a mission. We may sometimes feel incapable of completing it because others fall short, but that isn’t our concern. If we do everything that we can do, and leave the rest to Hashem, then we have completed our missions, even if the desired “end result” doesn’t seem to have materialized. That isn’t our problem. We must realize that Hashem can make any outcome He wants come to fruition; He is just giving us the opportunity to be part of the solution.
The musician ties his bow tie, puts on his tuxedo jacket, and then looks in the mirror to make sure everything is in place. Satisfied, he drives to the theater and takes his seat in the orchestra. His eyes glued to the conductor, he turns pages of music throughout the performance, while he plays nary a note. He sits and he waits.
One hour passes, then another. Finally, the last moments of the concert are upon them. Reaching into his case he lifts up his instrument. Excited and alert, he watches as the conductor approaches the final notes of the performance. At the last moment, he rises and claps together his cymbals a single time for the finale. The audience applauds. The musician smiles to himself, satisfied that he has played his part; smaller than the others’ perhaps, but no less important.
©2023 – J. Gewirtz
