I apologize to my readers that I have been away for the past month. We were quite busy during the Jewish holidays and my husband was traveling abroad, so I had to hold the fort with my two smallest children while my oldest son enjoyed a trip to Crown Heights with his father. If you’ve ever seen pictures of the famous synagogue 770 in the month of Tishrei, you perhaps can recall the sea of black hats and jackets. It is truly an amazing sight. There were 10,000 visitors to Crown Heights over the holidays, and I am always amazed at the self-sacrifice of local families who volunteer to accommodate so many guests. One can really sense the presence of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, even though we cannot see him with our eyes.
So the month of Cheshvan has just begun. Time to return to our lives and to the regular Torah readings. This week’s parsha is Noach. We all remember the story from childhood. G-d decided the world had become corrupt so he sent a flood and instructed Noach to build an ark to house two of each kind of animal. The rains fell and covered the Earth with a flood, and after a certain amount of time, the waters receded and revealed.
A flood sounds like a harsh punishment, but according to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the purpose of the flood was not punishment but purification. The waters were like a huge mikveh or ritual bath that cleansed the world of impurity. Once the waters receded, the world could be built anew. In addition, the word Teyve, or ark in Hebrew is close one of the words for “word.” We are reminded that when things become difficult, we can surround ourselves with positive holy words of healing. These can be verses of Torah, words of encouragement for our children, a compliment to a spouse. The power of words is quite powerful and one can build anew with the right kind of speech.
When thinking about the flood, I was reminded of the current financial crisis. I think that too, is kind of like a flood. I heard a lecture on the subject by Rabbi Shimon Jacobson, who said that the financial collapse, like the flood, can seem like a great destruction, but actually it can be used as an opportunity to take stock (pun intended) and rethink our priorities.
Best of luck to you all during these trying times. We should pray every day for the ideal era when there will be no more financial worries.