Why an Ark?

Why was it necessary for Noah to build an ark in order to save his family from the Flood's destruction? Could God not have arranged an easier way to rescue him?

The Midrash already raises this question, explaining that the 120 years that Noah worked constructing the enormous boat were meant to provide the people of his generation a chance to repent.

Rebuilding the World

Eighteenth-century Italian scholar Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto gave an alternative explanation. He wrote that the year Noah spent inside the ark was needed to prepare the foundations for a new world. Outside the ark, where flood waters swept away the world's evil, nothing could survive. Inside the ark, the inner integrity of the world was reestablished under Noah's direction. The soul of this great tzaddik encompassed all the souls of the world. As Noah fed and looked after the animals in his care, he renewed the world on the basis of goodness and kindness.

A similar preparatory stage of spiritual renewal took place many years later. Before the revelation of the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai hid in a cave for thirteen years. He needed this period of seclusion to purify and prepare himself for the Zohar's inner light (Adir Bemarom 7).

The Path of Personal Growth

This same method, Rav Kook wrote, is necessary for our own moral and spiritual growth. All change is difficult. It is not easy to correct habits and patterns of thought. As we become accustomed to viewing life in terms of materialistic desires, without thinking we are drawn to the self-centered pursuit of honor and physical pleasures.

The path to repair deeds and refine one's character has two parts. The first part is cognitive. We must gain awareness of each trait and its characteristics; we must learn the proper time and place for each trait. Thus our very first request in the daily Amidah prayer is that God should "grant us knowledge, understanding and insight." 

Theoretical knowledge, however, is not enough. After acquiring this wisdom, it is necessary to accustom the will and the corresponding physical powers so that they will whole-heartedly conform to this new path. We must strive to quiet the heart and distance ourselves from all that leads to a confused state — a state that undermines the very foundations of character-building. We need to acquire a determined and steadfast outlook, to fortify our traits so that we will be able to retain our purity and holiness even when occupied in worldly matters.

A Private Ark

Those who succeed in directing their mind and inner will in this fashion will rule over all aspects of their lives. But for those who have not thought out their path, their actions and desires are not under the control of their intellect. Such individuals need to withdraw the powers of the soul, gathering them in like lines that are drawn back to their focal point. "He will gather in his spirit and soul to himself" (Job 34:14). This undertaking is similar to Noah's confinement within the ark. It is a bitter and heavy burden, since the soul naturally desires independence and freedom. Even confinement in the body is a terrible prison for the soul; all the more to be constrained in such a fashion.

Convergence to the nucleus of one's intellect and inner will is not a pleasant task. One will feel pained and even depressed from the constraints of this path of repair. But after the soul's forces have become accustomed to proper ways, they may be allowed to return to their natural state. Then one's spirit and all aspects of the personality will be proper vessels for fulfilling God's will, and one's powers may be released to rule once more over the body, now following the dictates of the intellect.

This path of personal renewal parallels the renewal of world in the time of Noah. The months spent in the ark were a preparatory period of converging and gathering powers, under the direction of the tzaddik. But when the inhabitable dry land appeared, as the punishing waters receded, Noah and the inhabitants could once again be freed from their confinement. So too, as the character traits are repaired and perfected, they may be released once again.

Testing the Waters

During the period of confinement, one needs to 'test the waters' – to measure whether one's powers are ready to be set free. This stage corresponds to Noah's sending out the raven and the dove. One tests one's traits in matters that do not involve danger, just as Noah utilized birds — animals that were not endangered by the flood waters. When the tzaddik realized that the world's repair was still unfinished, he withdrew them back into the ark.

Only when the land was completely dry, came the Divine command, "Leave the ark!" Then it was time to serve God in a free and unhindered manner. For the dissemination of Torah and kindness requires a courageous soul full of strength in order to advance freely.

(Adapted from Mussar Avicha, pp. 33-39)

Copyright © 2006 by Chanan Morrison