Parshas
Noach
By:
Daniel Listhaus
וַיָּחֶל
עוֹד שִׁבְעַת יָמִים אֲחֵרִים וַיֹּסֶף
שַׁלַּח אֶת הַיּוֹנָה מִן הַתֵּבָה
וַתָּבֹא
אֵלָיו הַיּוֹנָה לְעֵת עֶרֶב וְהִנֵּה
עֲלֵה זַיִת טָרָף בְּפִיהָ וַיֵּדַע
נֹחַ כִּי קַלּוּ הַמַּיִם מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ
“And
he waited for again another seven days and again he sent out the dove
from the ark. The dove came back to him in the evening – and
behold! An olive leaf it had plucked with its mouth. And Noach knew
that the waters had subsided from upon the earth.”
-Noach
8:10-11
Safe
inside the security of the teivah
(ark), Noach had no way of knowing when the earth would be dry and
ready for man again. After sending the raven out unsuccessfully,
Noach sent out the dove to determine if the land was ready for them
to exit the teivah.
The first time the dove was sent, it returned right away because it
could not find a place to rest. Noach then waited another period of
seven days and sent out the dove a second time. This time, the dove
came back with an olive branch in its mouth.
Rashi1
comments that when the dove came back with the olive branch in its
mouth, it was trying to tell Noach the following: “Better let my
food be bitter as an olive and provided by the hand of Hashem, and
not sweet as honey but provided by the hand of man.”
This
Rashi
is very difficult to understand for couple of reasons. First, why did
the dove feel that it was not subject to show basic hakaras
hatov (recognizing
the good) towards Noach? Undeniably, Noach and his family put in a
tremendous amount of effort building the teivah
and continuously taking great care of each and every animal that was
brought into the teivah.
How could the dove be so inconsiderate to, at its first opportunity,
figuratively slap Noach in the face and essentially say, “I am so
glad this flood is over because I cannot stand another day being in
this ark with you feeding me”? The dove's perspective instead
should have been to recognize that Noach just saved its life and gave
it the ability to reproduce and exist in the new world after the
mabul.
Were these the nicest words the dove could think of to express its
thanks?
Furthermore,
if one thinks about it, the dove's statement makes absolutely no
sense. As religious Jews, we understand, at least at a very basic
level, that everything comes from Hashem. When our salary check comes
to us we realize that although we must be thankful of the boss for
acting as a messenger and delivering our paychecks, it is really a
payment from Hashem – who decides every Rosh
Hashanah how
much money each of us will receive for the year. But, even with
leaving all of this “religious stuff” aside, it does not take
much to realize that Noach was not sustaining the occupants of the
teivah
by himself. The entire time Noach and the animals were in the teivah
they experienced countless open miracles. There was not enough room
in the teivah
for the amount of animals that were in there, there could not have
physically been enough food for all of the animals, and there was
definitely not enough oxygen. The whole teivah
was
something which opposed teva
(nature).
Animals did not even behave in their normal ways of eating each other
and getting aggravated over the lack of space. With all of this in
mind, the dove's argument is even more difficult to comprehend. How
could it be that after experiencing and being part of such a
miraculous event, the dove failed to realize Hashem's part in the
episode? Was Noach really to blame in any way? It should have been
clear to the dove that it was Hashem who fed it for the year in the
teivah,
and took care of it every step of the way?
Rashi2
at the beginning of the parsha
writes that the decree that the world be destroyed was sealed on
account of robbery. Noach, who was ish
tzadik tamim haya b'dorosuv (a
righteous man, perfect in his generations), was hand chosen by Hashem
to be the one through which mankind would be given another chance
after the mabul.
Being in the teivah
for
a year was a very difficult challenge. Noach's patience and care for
the animals was tested on a constant basis. Finally, at the end of
the year, Hashem felt that the time was right for Noach to come back
onto land. However, before Noach could leave, there was one last
reminder which needed to be reinforced. It was necessary for Noach
and his family to reminisce the sins of those who caused the world's
destruction. The land would not fully dry and be prepared for mankind
until Noach had recalled that it was robbery which sealed the decree
of destruction.
When
the dove brought back the olive branch, it was not an expression of
personal feelings but rather a message from Hashem. The message was
that just like the dove would rather be provided by Hashem via nature
and not depend on man, so too mankind could only exist in the world
if we remember that we must depend on Hashem for providing us with a
livelihood, and not take from others.
With
this understanding perhaps we could better appreciate what the
Ramban3
is coming to teach us on this passuk
(verse). In his commentary, the Ramban
offers
the same explanation as Rashi
regarding
what the dove was implying with the olive branch. However, the Ramban
adds
a small piece. He writes that the dove was telling Noach the
following, “Better let my food be bitter as an olive and provided
by the hand of Hashem, and not sweet as honey but provided by the
hand of man. And
certainly man should not want to depend their livelihood on others by
taking from each other.”
Noach
needed to be reminded of this lesson before leaving the teivah.
That is why, as the passuk
tells
us, immediately after Noach saw that the dove brought the olive
branch, “And Noach knew that the waters had subsided from upon the
earth.”4
Let
us all try to remember the olive branch of the dove to recall that
our privilege to live and exist in this world is conditioned. We must
always remind ourselves that we must depend on Hashem to provide for
us, and that better something bitter, but from the hand of Hashem,
than something sweet but from the hands of man.
1Beraishis
8:11
2Beraishis
6:13
3Beraishis
8:11
4Ibid.
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