Strength in the face of the deluge of the deep dark chaos - Noah

It is 4 am and I can't sleep. Thoughts and worries rob me of much needed sleep.

Some of the flood of thoughts are personal and internal, combining with the troubles of others. 

Yesterday I learned about the death of a 60 year old spouse of someone in Western Sydney that I have known through work for many years. He died of COVID.

According to a tweet by BBC reporter (of Afghan heritage) Yalda Hakim, the 5th of October was “Day 17 of Taliban ban on girls returning to secondary school in Afghanistan. Millions of girls across the country continue to be confined to their homes, deprived of an education” . An assistant principal in Kabul told Yalda "Today most of our teachers were crying for their students, when are they going to start studying above grade 6?”

I have been thinking about the idea that there is an alternative reality to the ordered world many of us spend time in. There is something beyond experiences of delicious, sufficient food, prioritised to do lists, walking in nature and spending time with people we love or like.“In the beginning of God’s creation of heaven and earth, [He first created]  chaos and void, and darkness upon the face of the deep (1)”.

This chaos is not an event of the past but of the present. The energies of chaos and void, negation and destruction continue to lurk in the netherworld of reality and in the deep shadows of individual human hearts and subconscious minds (2). These forces pose an ongoing threat to burst out and submerge the world and our minds in a flood of destruction or upheaval (3). One role of the human being is to hold this chaos at bay and to actively work on creating all that is good, beautiful and nourishing (4).

Humans have often failed to contain the destructive forces. Many women continue to suffer sexual harassment. This is an ancient problem: “the sons of the powerful ones saw the daughters of man that they were good, so they took women from all that they chose” (5), including by force (6). The world was corrupted and filled with robbery (7). This ethical collapse was followed by a flood arising from the deep (as well as rain from above) and destroying everything (8).

Yet, as terrifying as the deep chaos is, we must resist the temptation to gather bricks and make towers (9) of false security. Police states preserve “order” with evil and harsh measures. Some of their rulers also create extra “security” for themselves in massive off-shore accumulations of wealth or other kinds of ‘towers’ to feed illusions of greatness and immortality (10).

Punitive self-talk mimics the tactics of the KGB by shaming and berating us every time a chaotic thought of self-doubt surfaces, arising from our dark shadowed subconscious. To overcompensate for the gnawing self-doubt and even loathing, some will display arrogant or narcissistic “bigness”, or hyper busyness.

But the chaos and “the deep” is not a fault but a design feature of creation and what makes us human. When we overcome or redirect misdirected desires or lusts this brings delight to our creator (11).

The floodwaters from the deep that brought destruction in the time Noah, represent the constant worries that threaten to overwhelm us. But as in the story of the flood, for those who responded appropriately with an “ark”, - wise or prayerful words for example- the waters raise the ark to a higher level representing the growth we can ultimately achieve prompted by the worries we might not have otherwise attained (12). Let us accept the chaos and shadows in ourselves and the inherent nature and realities of the world as the arena we are invited to play in and contribute to. Let’s add as much light, love, and learning as we can. 

 

Notes

 

 

1)     Genesis 1:1-2, my translation paraphrases the interpretation of Rashi.

2)     Soloveitchik, J.B. (1983) Halakhic Man, the Jewish Publications Society, p. 102

3)     Talmud Succa 53a-b

4)     Soloveitchik, J.B., p. 105

5)     Genesis 6:2

6)     R. Bachaya

7)     Genesis 6:11

8)     Genesis 7:11

9)     Genesis 11:3-4

10)  Leibowitz, Nehama (undated), New Studies in Bereshit- Genesis, Production Zion Ezra, p. 103

11)  R. Levi Yitchak of Berditchev in the name of his father in Kedushas Levi, Noach, p. 18

12)  The Chabad - Lubavitcher Rebbes, see for example this adaptation by Loshak, A. https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/5258597/jewish/When-Times-Are-Tough-Be-Like-Noah.htm

 

Can G-d’s mind be changed? Turned toward Mercy by A Smell

Changing one’s mind is helpful for reconciliation and peacebuilding. So, I wonder whether God does this? The Talmud suggests that “one who is appeased over his wine, has something of his creator's mind” (1). The Talmud proves this with the example of God smelling the pleasant aroma of Noah’s sacrifices after the flood and promising never again to destroy the world with a flood (2).  

The idea that God’s mind can be changed is controversial in Judaism. In fact, the prophet Samuel emphatically rejected that idea in declaring to a crestfallen and rejected King Saul that “God is not a human to change his mind” (3). Surely, if God knows everything including the future, there can never be new information to justify divine regret (4).

To get around this problem, scholars suggest that, although God is inherently unchanging, God’s stance can shift in response to changed circumstances. God is said to be our shadow (5), mirroring our deeds, for better or worse (6). Following this line of argument, the reason the world would never be destroyed again was because the circumstances were different after the flood, either in the maturing of humanity from its youth to adulthood (7) or that the earth itself had changed (8).

Whatever the merits of the arguments against God’s mind changing, I am drawn to the teachings that God did in fact do so (9). This approach is based on the idea that we can learn about God by observing ourselves (10). In God, as in humans, one’s desire influences one’s thoughts. Republicans' desire to have Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court leads them to think that appointment of judges shortly before an election is a good thing for democracy, despite having vehemently opposed a pre-election confirmation by Democrats only a few years ago on the basis that this was undemocratic. It is for this reason that the same observation of evil in human hearts can lead to opposite conclusions by God, first as a reason to destroy humanity (11) and then as a reason for mercy (12).

Remarkably, this dramatic shift in God’s will came about in response to a smell (the aroma of Noah’s offerings). Smell is a very subtle thing that involves only the finest particles that emanate from something (13). It is believed to have the power to stir the soul, as we can see in the historical practice of administering smelling salts to someone who fainted (14).

Fainting is used by a Chasidic master as a metaphor for how God’s energy is withdrawn when confronted by the reality of the corruption of the people prior to the flood (15). In contrast to God’s enthusiastic appraisal of the world as being “very good” (16), we read that God was grieved in His heart (17). This led to a Divine withdrawal from the world.

The mystical idea of God being disheartened and almost depressed by the state of the world was on my mind as I attended a Regional and Rural mental health symposium this week. There I learned that “It is argued by some that adversity impacting the environment, whether natural or man-made, can lead to a disconnection with the land” (18). Reconnection was one of the themes discussed at the Symposium. In the case of God after the flood, Noah’s gratitude (19) or self-sacrifice (20) implicit in the aroma of Noah’s offering (of one of his very limited surviving livestock) reengaged God with the world with new goodwill toward humans (21).

The idea of smell has been linked to intuition (22). The Messiah will be able to judge using his sense of smell (23). Thus in contrast to some pagan idea of a God, who they hoped can be managed through offerings thus reducing uncertainty but could not “smell” (24), the Biblical God can mysteriously shift and be moved to grace (25) as occurs in response to Noah.

Rabbi Shai Held writes: "Judgment gives way to mercy, condemnation to compassion. The crucial lesson is that the same attribute that we see as cause for reproach can often serve as a basis for forgiveness…Imagine someone you know who struggles with impulse control. Some days you are tempted to write her off as totally hopeless, and maybe even to dismiss her as utterly unworthy of your concern or affection. But then there are moments when the very same deep failing elicits something very different in you, and you find yourself viewing her with compassion rather than judgment. ...our evaluations of people depend on more than just the facts about their nature or character; they also depend on what posture we adopt toward those facts. …God's change of heart after the flood reminds us of something crucial: Where there is judgment, there is often also the possibility of compassion... we can be forgiving toward people for the same reasons we are inclined to condemn." (26). 

Notes:

1)     Talmud Eruvin 65a

2)     Genesis 8:20-22

3)     Samuel I, 15:29

4)     Midrash Rabba 27:7, Abarbanel questions on Genesis 8

5)     Psalm 121:5

6)     Midrash cited in Nefesh Hachayim, gate 1, 7 regarding Exodus 3:14

7)     Abarbanel, 2nd approach, p. 286, this idea was expanded on by Avi Rabinovich in a comment on Facebook 25.10.20: that there is a shift in Gen 8:21 from 6:66 in which it states that the thoughts of man’s heart were רק רע, - only evil all day long, always, to just bad from youth, possibly implying that God realizes there is hope of change in the future maturation.

8)     Malbim

9)     Schneerson, Rabbi MM, (1968) The Lubavitcher Rebbe in 2.13. Maamar Baasi Lgani 5728,

10)  Job 19:26 as interpreted in the Kabalistic writings of the Ari Z”L and Chabad Chasidism

11)  Genesis 6:6

12)  Genesis 8:20-22

13)  Hirsch, R. Samson Raphael, commentary to Genesis 8:21

14)  The Rebbe Maharash, Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch, in Mayim Rabbim, 5636, p.11.
והנה הסיבה לזה שנעשה שינוי בהרצון, מבאר בהמאמר, דלאחר שוירח הוי' את ריח הניחוח , דרזא דקורבנא עולה עד רזא דא"ס, אז נמשך רצון חדש. והענין הוא כמו שמבאר אדמו"ר מהר"ש בהמשך מים רבים)  תרל"ו – פ"ו (ע' יא).,דריח מעורר את עצם הנפש. דזהו שהמתעלף ר"ל, כשנותנים לו להריח ריח חזק הוא מתעורר מהתעלפותו, כי ענין ההתעלפות הוא העדר התפשטות החיות, וע"י הריח חזק שמעורר את עצם הנפש, נמשך החיות מחדש. ועד"ז יובן למעלה, דענין ויתעצב אל לבו (היפך וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד) היא תנועה דסילוק (דוגמת ענין ההתעלפות), וע"י שהריח את ריח הניחוח דקרבנות, … נמשך רצון חדש מהעצמות שלמעלה מבחי' גילוי.
Note also at the end of the Sabbath there is the Jewish ritual of smelling something pleasant like cloves, to comfort the soul during the transition from the holiness of the sabbath to the ordinary days in the week ahead and the loss of “an additional soul”, See Tur and Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 297:1.

15)  The Rebbe Maharash, ibid

16)  Genesis 1:31

17)  Genesis 6:6

18)  Rigby, C.W.; Rosen, A.; Berry, H.L.; Hart, C.R. And Stain, H.J.; Kelly, B.; Carr, V.J.; Lewin, T.J.; Fitzgerald, M.; Fragar, L. and O’Connor, M.; Horwitz, P. in Lawrence-Bourne, J, Hazel Dalton, H, David Perkins, D, Farmer, J, Georgina Luscombe, G, , Nelly Oelke, N, 4 and Bagheri, N. (2020) What Is Rural Adversity, How Does It Affect Wellbeing and What Are the Implications for Action?

19)  Chizkuni

20)  Midrash Rabba 34, The Rebbe Rashab, Rabbi Sholom Ber of Lubavitch in Ayin Beis, Parsha Noach, .

21)  The Rebbe Maharash, ibid

22)  Powel, C. & Koltz, T, 2012, It worked for me, in life and leadership. Harper Collins.

23)  Isaiah 11:3. He shall sense the truth by his reverence for the LORD: He shall not judge by what his eyes behold, Nor decide by what his ears perceive. he shall judge the poor with equity. See Talmud, Sanhedrin 93b: rejection of Bar Kochba because he failed the smell test.

24)  Psalms 115:6

25)  Mechilta Drashbi, in Torah Shlaima, 86, p. 451: they have a nose, but they do not smell. Contrast with our verse. The contrast would appear at first glance to be ridiculing the worship of inanimate statues who have a nose but cannot smell. That is a red herring, because as Abarbanel points out the statues were only symbols of the gods. I think the way I explain it in this post adds a deeper contrast.

26)  Rabbi Shai Held, The Heart of Torah