Dvar Torah – Maayan Lenga – Parashat Noah 1.11. 2003 6th of Heshvan  

My Torah portion, Noah, is well known to everyone as the parasha of the flood that G-d brought about to punish man for his evil deeds.  Of all the subjects dealt with in this portion, I would like to address two aspects, referred to in the parasha, which have had a special meaning and are now symbols in our everyday lives.  They appear at the end of the story of the flood.

The first is the dove with an olive branch in its beak and the second is the rainbow in the cloud.

In the Torah portion it is explained that waters floded the earth for 150 days.  After the rains ceased, the Ark remained for a further 40 days on Mt Ararat, before Noah decided to send out a crow to establish whether the water levels had receded.  When the crow did not return, Noah sent out a dove.  The dove returned immediately to the Ark, as she was unable to find a resting place.  Noah did not give up and sent the dove out again after another 7 days.  This time the dove returned, carrying an olive branch in its beak.

What did this mean to Noah?  One does not need to be a detective to understand that if there were trees the water level had receded enough to find dry land.  The rains and the flood were over and the occupants could finally come out of the ark.

How was it that Noah understood from the olive branch that the water levels had dropped?  It is possible that the water level had dropped to the level of the tree tops, or even that the dove had brought back the branch from an area further away, where there had not been any flooding.

The Midrash says that in the Land of Israel there was no flood and that the Ark came to Land on Mt Ararat.  So it is possible that the dove brought the olive branch from the Land of Israel to Mt Ararat in the north (Turkey, today).

The answer can be explained as follows:

In Genesis VIII, 11, it says: “And the dove came unto him at eventide and lo, in her mouth an olive leaf freshly plucked”.  Scholars question what is a leaf that has been plucked.  They compare the word “teref” to “death” – a dead leaf.  In addition, the Onkolos translation states that “teref zayit tavir” means a broken olive leaf.

The Rambam and others ask what difference it makes whether the leaf   was brought from an olive tree or from some other tree.  An olive tree is a low tree and since the leaf brought back by the dove was dead or broken, it was from low down.  This is evidence that the waters had receded from the land and it would be possible to leave the Ark for dry land.

The Gemara explains the olive leaf as follows:  When the dove was in the Ark, Noah fed it with good food, like all the animals.   When the dove was sent out by Noah, it experienced new freedom, which it greatly enjoyed.  Even though the olive leaf she brought back was bitter, it was better to be free and independent and to eat bitter food, than to have good food from man, but to be caged in.

The dove with the olive leaf in her beak was a clue to Noah that the flood was over and that he had reached the beginning of a new era of peace and tranquility and a return to normal life.  If you think about it, the flood was a type of “war” that G-d waged against man.  G-d wanted to destroy the world that He had created, as it was not good enough.

If G-d was so disappointed with the world, why did he not just recreate it?  Why did he bother with sending Noah and the animals into the Ark, instead of destroying everything?  The answer is simple.  G-d did not just give up.  There is no total disappointment with the world.  Within the existing world a new generation would grow and develop to be a better and more caring society.  G-d had faith in the remains of the evil world and knew that from this he could build a new, better world.

The end of the flood is the end of G-d’s war against man.  The dove with the olive leaf in its beak is the first sign that the flood is over and it has come to represent a symbol of peace.  Even today when we want to express our hope for peace we use this symbol of a dove with an olive leaf.  The olive leaf has become a part of the symbol of the State of Israel, which since independence, has been striving for peace, something that has grown in importance in recent years. 

Another aspect of this Torah portion that interests me is the subject of the “rainbow in the cloud” (keshet b’anan).  At the end of the flood G-d makes a covenant (brit) with all living creatures.  In this covenant G-d promises never to cause another flood.  It is written in IX, 12-14:  “And G-d said: ‘This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and all living creatures, for perpetual generations.  I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a token of a covenant between me and the earth and a rainbow could be seen amongst the clouds above the earth’ “.  I think that one  of the reasons for this covenant was G-d’s feelings of guilt over destroying the world he himself had created.  Otherwise why would he promise not to ever cause another flood?

In order to remind us of this covenant G-d used the rainbow in the cloud as a symbol of what had happened.  G-d said that the rainbow is the sign that there will never be another flood.  The rainbow is not referred to again in the Torah, except in a symbolic way in the Prophet Yehzkel’s description of a “heavenly chariot”.    “As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. “ (Yehezkel I, 28).

The sages (Chazal) considered the rainbow to be one of 10 creations created “on Shabbat eve…..” (Pirkei Avot 5-6).  That is to say, amongst those miracles and wonders that are bordering on the natural, whoever sees a rainbow should bless it “Blessed is the memory of the covenant…”.

I think that the importance of the rainbow today is as a symbol of hope, even during a war or difficult time.  We have to be willing to sacrifice something valuable in order to create a better world and this effort is worthwhile. 

Especially, during these days when our country is giving up the lives of so many of its people, there is hope that eventually we will reach the peace  we would all like, without any more war. 

To conclude, both the symbols that I have chosen to study and discuss with you today are symbols that G-d gave to man to remind us of the desire for peace. I hope that today we will be sufficiently wise to use these symbols to make significant changes in our lives in order to have a better future. 

I would like to thank the following people:

v       My brother Daniel, David Levenson and Alan Levenson, who read from the Torah today.  You were great.

v       Shelly White, who taught me my parasha, but unfortunately is unable to be with me today.

v       Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kalman and Tehila Shemesh, who helped me prepare for my batmitzvah and worked with me on my dvar Torah.

v       Kehilat Kol Haneshama, who have welcomed my family and me with warmth and affection.

v       All my friends who have come to celebrate my batmitzvah with me today.

v       A special thank you to all my family and friends, who came from England and from all over Israel to celebrate with me.  I am specially to see my Saba Izzy, who is looking so well after his recent operation and with us to celebrate today.

v       I would like to especially mention my Savta Helen, who I never got to know, but I am sure would have been proud of me today and My Saba Ben who passed away last December and who I miss very much.

v       My brothers, Nadav and Daniel, who were always there for me, and who participated at my batmitzvah today.

v       A special thank you to my parents, without whom this simcha would not have taken place: Mom, who drove me to my lessons, helped plan today and who is always there for me.  Dad, who helped me study for my batmitzvah, helped me prepare my Dvar Torah and who helped organize my batmitzvah today.

Thank you all for coming.

Shabbat Shalom.