Parshas Noah: Unique and Distinct

 Parshas Noah: Unique and Distinct

 We humans share the earth with a plethora of other life, and one of the most complicated questions modern society has had to resolve is how we view our role in the grand spectrum of earthly life. In Parshas Noah, Noah and his family are given the job of preserving the animals, of taking two – or seven – of each species and making certain that they survive the great flood. This, of course, fulfilled Hashem’s original dictate: “Hashem blessed them and Hashem said to them, ‘Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.’” (Bereishis 1:28).

 While this pasuk is often translated as “rule over,” the wording of dominion allows for a broader understanding, one in which we humans are caretakers. This means that we have a constant and grave responsibility to think about how we treat the environment, about how interact with all types of life forms.

 One could say that Noah fulfilled this role in a way no other ever accomplished. He literally had the responsibility of saving the lives of every non-marine animal on the planet, so he certainly was their caretaker Except, Noah didn’t think of it on his own; he did it as a direct command from Hashem.

 Of course, if one is a true animal lover, one might worry about all the rest of the animals – the ones that perished in the flood. But there are commentaries that talk about the way the animals became corrupted by the behavior of humankind, and this, it is said, is why they were destroyed – in the same way as humankind, with only a choice set preserved for the next stage of the earth.

 The next stage of the earth…after the flood, when Noah and his wife and their sons and daughters-in-law emerged from the ark, was not only a moment of the earth’s rebirth, but a time when the dynamic of human and animal life shifted.

 Bereishis 9 says: “Hashem blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, ‘Be fertile and increase, and fill the earth.’” – Note the same language – “The fear and the dread of you shall be upon all the animals of the earth and upon all the birds of the sky—everything with which the earth is astir—and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hand” (9:1-2). The question that seems immediately apparent is why does Hashem now introduce a dynamic in which the animals shall have fear and dread of humans?

 The easy answer is that in the next verse, 9:3, the right to eat flesh is introduced. Let’s pause, however, and remember that the order of the verses has its own significance. Hashem shifted the dynamic between animal and man and then gave man the right to eat meat. We can assume that one thing is tied to the other, but the truth is that Hashem could have given humans the right to eat meat and still left animals with a passive response to mankind. Why then did Hashem separate humanity in such a way from the rest of the living creatures on earth?

 Perhaps the world fell into violence as it did because humanity at the time was unable to distinguish themselves from the animals, because they saw their role as rulers or caretakes as one that left them confused by the distinctions. While Adam was created at the same time as the animals, Adam’s creation was completely different. Adam, the first human – and all humans after – were a synthesis of heaven and earth, of the spiritual and the physical. Perhaps the generations before the flood were unable to understand the expectations of that synthesis. Perhaps they were too in touch with their animal side. And then, after all that time in the ark, living together with the animals, Hashem made it clear throughout the world that there is, indeed, a difference.  Just because we are meant to take care of the wildlife of the planet does not mean we are to be the wildlife of the planet.

 It’s wonderful if you love animals – or if you have an animal that you specifically have a connection to. But, you are human. You are unique and distinct amongst all that Hashem Created.

 Wishing you all a beatufiful Shabbas.