‘The story of Noach has excited the imagination of commentators and storytellers alike. One lovely Midrash tells of the hassles Noach had in feeding all the animals; each one at their appointed time. One day he was a bit late in feeding the lion, so the lion scratched him. This story, however, is more than a quaint expansion upon the biblical narrative. In connects us to the heart of one of the themes of the flood story. Noach, his family and menagerie were shut up in an enclosed space wherein they all had to co-exist. The secret of this co-existence was the establishment of strict boundaries between the various inhabitants of the Ark. This was both geographical: each level of the Ark was for a different purpose, and chronological: everyone had their own feeding times. Any breaches of these boundaries disturbed the delicate balance between the Ark’s various inhabitants and led to trouble. Thus, when Noach is late feeding the lion, he gets hurt. This importance of boundaries, necessitated by the situation of the Ark, was an important and deliberate lesson to the survivors of the flood. One of the basic problems that led to the whole catastrophe was a lack of boundaries. If we look at the major faults of that generation we can see that whether socially, economically, sexually or even spiritually, the people of that era did not recognise boundaries. They took what they wanted, slept with whom or what they pleased and worshipped everything. In such a situation, G-d sent a flood that also swept away all the boundaries, leaving nothing but water. The new society that arose after the flood would have to learn the importance of such boundaries, starting with the society inside the Ark. Later on strict distinctions are made between humans and animals, various nations and nature itself. G-d also promises not do again destroy the boundaries of nature we depend upon for our existence. This lesson is of vital importance to us in an age of globalisation. Multi-national organisations, whether economic, political or religious, threaten the distinct identities of nations and communities. Only by establishing clear boundaries and distinctions can local communities preserve what is unique about their way of life and culture from being swamped in a flood of globalised uniformity. Only by heeding the lesson of the Ark can we hope to keep our heads above water in the new flood of globalisation that threatens to submerge us.

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Parshat Noach

·               has  153  verses;

·               is the  2nd  in Genesis,  2nd  in the Torah

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G-d, the tailor.

G-d makes clothes for Adam and Eve.

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Third time lucky.

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