“Where is Comfort to be Found?”

“Where is Comfort to be Found?” Noach was named by his father because, "This one will bring us comfort from our work and from the toil of our hands, from the ground which Hashem cursed." Noach's name reflects the hope that his father had for him, that he would be a source of comfort or salvation. The parsha begins by describing a corrupt world which Gd would literally wash away. Noach, righteous in this generation, was chosen to be the progenitor of humanity. He was tasked with building an ark to protect him, his family and every living creature from the flood. The world was to begin anew with him and his family. The challenge was to become people worthy of being the sole survivors, to "walk in God's ways," and to partner with God to create the world God "envisioned." We all have the capacity to be 'righteous,' and to be a source of comfort and help. Every day we are also chosen, like Noach, to create and build the society we aspire for, that future generations build on and inherit. It is up to each one of us to be the change we want to see and to help create a kinder, healthier, safer, more loving, more hopeful and more compassionate world. Much love and Shabbat shalom, Elissa