Bang, bang! Dzzzzzzz! Thud. Whiiiiiiiirrr! Clank! Bang, bang, BANG!!
The sweet symphony of construction noises has become the soundtrack of my life this week, thanks to a series of (supposed?) coincidences. First of all, we are right now in the midst of a massive roof renovation at Ohev Shalom, and this week's project consists of stripping the roof off right above our offices, making it quite challenging to work inside.
Amazingly, this is also the week when major renovations throughout our condo development have arrived at our home, and so there too we enjoy the soothing sounds of clanking, banging, and thudding. As if that wasn't enough, our local gym is doing some loud locker room renovations as well, so there's no escape anywhere. AND I was recently listening to Dan Savage's podcast, Savage Love, where he too was complaining about construction in his building. The noises of hammering could be heard behind him throughout the program. Like I said, it's everywhere! And of course, my natural response is to think about how I can include this in my blog post for this week. Clearly there MUST be some connection to our weekly Torah portion!
In a sense, this week's Torah portion DOES feature some construction of its own. (Hear me out.) We've arrived at the second Torah portion, and the story of Noah and the Flood. Last week's reading ended with an introduction to what was to come:
"Adonai saw how great was the wickedness of people on earth... and Adonai regretted having made them" (Genesis, 6:3-4). And this week continues with the story of God telling Noah to build an ark and save a bunch of animals, while everything else living on earth and in the air would be extinguished. On an objective level (if we can put aside, for a minute, our feelings about all the people, animals, and plants that were destroyed), this is basically a Divine construction project.
"Adonai saw how great was the wickedness of people on earth... and Adonai regretted having made them" (Genesis, 6:3-4). And this week continues with the story of God telling Noah to build an ark and save a bunch of animals, while everything else living on earth and in the air would be extinguished. On an objective level (if we can put aside, for a minute, our feelings about all the people, animals, and plants that were destroyed), this is basically a Divine construction project.
Even back in the first Torah portion, we actually saw TWO separate Creation stories. Compare Genesis 1:1-2:3 and 2:4-9; they seem to speak of two distinct versions of the creation of the earth. And many commentators, including the Kabbalistic mystics, imagined that God actually made several attempts at this whole creating-thing before finally settling on the version you and I are living right now.
Which, quite frankly, makes a lot of sense. This is certainly our experience. We don't get everything right the first time, we have to make a first attempt, see how it goes, then evaluate, recalculate, and make some adjustments at a later stage. Sometimes there were mistakes from the outset, and sometimes things that once worked really well start to break down, and even get corrupted. I like to imagine that part of the reason why God started creating worlds in the first place was to see what imperfection might look like. God alone is perfect (or so we imagine), but creating a world filled with creatures and plants and erratic weather - all with their own minds and interests and drives - that isn't perfect at all... but it's all the more interesting for it.
Which, quite frankly, makes a lot of sense. This is certainly our experience. We don't get everything right the first time, we have to make a first attempt, see how it goes, then evaluate, recalculate, and make some adjustments at a later stage. Sometimes there were mistakes from the outset, and sometimes things that once worked really well start to break down, and even get corrupted. I like to imagine that part of the reason why God started creating worlds in the first place was to see what imperfection might look like. God alone is perfect (or so we imagine), but creating a world filled with creatures and plants and erratic weather - all with their own minds and interests and drives - that isn't perfect at all... but it's all the more interesting for it.
The story of the Flood is a good reminder to us all that we don't need to get it right the first time, we can keep trying and improving and changing. Even God struggles to get it JUST right, and has to keep coming out with Version 2.0, 3.0, and 7.0.1. But we keep going. At the end of the Flood story, God promises, "Never again will I doom the earth... nor will I ever again destroy every living thing" (8:21).
Which isn't to say it's now perfect; God is saying that DESPITE the imperfections, I'm not going to raze the building and start over from scratch. We too have to learn that flaws don't mean the whole project is a failure. There's much to be proud of, even when we need some new siding, showers, and roof-replacements. If God can accept the mistakes and errors in the Creation of our world, surely we can learn to accept our own glitches and challenges. God may have promised never to send another Flood, but every once in a while we still see some remodeling and renovations taking place. Such a perfectionist...
Photos in this blog post courtesy of Rabbi Gerber's iPhone, and the many construction sites that surround it this week.
Which isn't to say it's now perfect; God is saying that DESPITE the imperfections, I'm not going to raze the building and start over from scratch. We too have to learn that flaws don't mean the whole project is a failure. There's much to be proud of, even when we need some new siding, showers, and roof-replacements. If God can accept the mistakes and errors in the Creation of our world, surely we can learn to accept our own glitches and challenges. God may have promised never to send another Flood, but every once in a while we still see some remodeling and renovations taking place. Such a perfectionist...Photos in this blog post courtesy of Rabbi Gerber's iPhone, and the many construction sites that surround it this week.
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