A nation's stories reveal its national psyche. What distinguishes the ancient
Jewish spiritual tradition is its complete negation of fiction. With the rare
exception of a small section of the ethical literature and one branch of
Hassidic literature, the story is not a story -- it is a statement of reality,
and truth is stranger than fiction.
Take the story of Noah and the global flood. A man hears a Divine instruction
from Above and spends decades constructing a huge ferry that carries the species
of the world across time into a new future. A mere story? Some will say so. Yet
it is a curious fact that the account of the flood is contained in so many of
the ancient pathways.
But the mystics of the Torah never doubted the veracity of the story. There
was indeed a huge tidal destruction of the inhabited world. Why? Was it an act
of cosmic wrath? Not really. Kabbalah teaches that the foremost energy that
guides the cosmos is that of chessed -- goodness and compassion. Wrath is
incompatible with this spiritual posture. There is clearly something much more
sublime in the account of the flood.
Anyone who has been involved in renovating their house will recall those
moments of self-doubt: I should have started right from scratch rather than
tinkered with a bit here and bit there. But starting from scratch also destroys
the memories and the emotions that are the fabric of our context and
consciousness. What we would desire is the best of both worlds: a house with
clean aesthetic lines and function, while retaining the warmth and hominess of
its antecedent. We want to clean it up.
Something went wrong -- not with creation, but with the "wild card"
-- the joker of the pack -- the human being. The cosmic house had to be
renovated. Noah was chosen as builder-foreman.
That is why the Chassidic master, Rabbi Shneur Zalmen of Liadi, describes the
flood as a cleansing process. The waters of the flood are like the waters of a
ritualarium -- a mikveh -- where the waters spiritually cleanse the dross
that accumulates in the course of our life's endeavors. The world received a spiritual
cleansing, and this set the course of history on a course of hope and purpose.
Noah's is not a story. It is an account of spiritual redirection. Noah's very
name reflects the positive nature of the events. The name "Noah" is
etymologically connected to the word for inner peace and tranquility. This
describes the mind and heart of the world after the "clean-up" of the flood.
Just as a mikveh has to have 40 seah (an ancient measure of
volume) of "living" waters, so did the rains of the flood last for forty days.
In all seeming adversity there is both opportunity and positivity. It may not
always be apparent -- even if we look for it. But it is there. But that is only
true of true stories. The fiction that derives from a finite human mind cannot
contain the code for eternal truths. Hence the bias against fiction.
MASTERY: Every moment and place has a doorway for our entry. But we may
not have the agility to enter with ease or elegance. Our clothes may become
soiled. Our thoughts may become confused. Our feelings may be inappropriate. How
many words do we say that later we would like to retract? How many thoughts do we
think that we would like to recant? Therefore be pure in the spiritual clothes
you wear. Be spiritually agile. Move elegantly through the trappings of life.
MEDITATION: Sit silently and recall your last meaningful conversation.
What door did this episode open? Replay your words in your mind and determine
what legacy they left -- both for you and the other. What feelings did that
conversation awaken in you? Are these optimal? Could they be spiritually
refined, even now, long after the conversation has ended? Every week, perhaps on
Shabbat, enter your ark and rise above the turbulent waters of everyday affairs.
Enter your spiritual spa and purify both body and soul.
Follow-up resources: The Healing Light (audio) and Relax and Breath
(audio) available at Rabbi Wolf's Website (see link below)
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