Yeshivat Sulam Yaakov

Some unformed thoughts on Beresh*t, Noach and moral evolution.

Beresh*t and Noach are both creation stories. Taken together they can offer a vision of moral evolution, of the role humanity’s tzelem elokim, our Divine image, plays in an unfolding world.

Beresh*t starts in chaos, in the unformed void and the darkness on the face of the deep. A story of progressive order begins as the waters roll back, the deeps retreating to expose dry land. Life emerges, flourishing in a manifold forms that seem to culminate in humanity’s role as the Divine form within creation, filling the earth and subduing it.

This first iteration of the image of God is set to the work of tilling and tending the garden of creation. But Adam fumbles with the Divine agency we were given, asserting his independent will. The agency taken through eating from the Tree of Knowledge didn’t have to be a sin, it could have been a leap of moral evolution. The very command not to eat shows that human actions matter, which is the root of all morality. If Adam had combined his agency with a sense of responsibility, a whole new relationship would have begun, a new image of what it means to be Divine.

But instead of saying ‘look Lord, we need to talk,’ when asked about his actions, Adam pointed at Eve and said ‘she made me do it!’ Taking agency without accepting responsibility is the source of all human breakdown and evil. Only children or villains want to act without regard to the consequences. Adam wasn’t evil, but he did need to grow up. And so he was sent out of the garden to “work the ground from which he was taken.” To develop the Divine image within.

Adam’s lesson was learned by a few, but humanity as a whole struggled to grow in exile. Eventually the situation threatened to obscure the Divine image again, and so God decided it was time for the great reset. Parshat Noach presents us with an orderly, flourishing world. At least in the physical sense. But its moral collapse brings on chaos, as the skies cloud over with rain, hiding the heavens, and the chambers of the deep open, erasing the dry land. The order of creation is reduced to a chip of wood floating on the face of the water. And yet it held all the seeds of the future, including the Divine image.

Noach was saved because he walked with God, carrying forward the moral consciousness inherited from Adam. He took the first steps toward human moral maturity, combining agency and responsibility in obedience to the Divine image. Hence he found grace in the eyes of God and was saved. He receives a covenant to renew creation, one with reminder (and perhaps a warning) built in. “Whoever sheds human blood, by human hands shall that one’s blood be shed. For in the image of God was humankind made.” It is the ultimate statement of how agency and responsibility combine to define the human Divine image.

Noach was righteous in his generation, though the Sages are split on how high that praise really is. He advanced human moral consciousness from the time of Adam, in truth Noach only went so far in our evolution. When God said ‘I’m going to destroy everything, build an ark!’ Noach’s response was ‘right Lord! How big?’ He took agency on his own behalf, and his obedience shows he was responsible for his behavior. But he did not attempt to argue the morality of the destruction to come. He left the rest of creation to sink or swim. Perhaps this is why Noach gets falling-down drunk in the aftermath of the flood. He had been saved, but stepping out of the ark also meant facing the reality that he had not tried to save.

The first question posed to humanity came in Eden, ayeka? Where are you? It is really the primary question of life, God asking us all where we’re at? Asking whether we have a sense of our agency, and the responsibility it creates. Asking us whether we are ready to play the full role of the Divine image in creation. If we hear listen for this question in our lives, we will find to be the driver of all moral evolution.

Adam hid from the responsibility of his actions, like a child. We all do this at times, and need to answer honestly when asked – where are you? Noach stepped up next to God, following the straight and narrow, but not taking on the full mantle of his moral potential. Of his tzelem Elokim, his Divine image. That stage of evolution awaits someone who will combine fearless agency with taking responsibility for all creation. Someone whose moral consciousness is so strong, his Divine image so clear, that he will it hold it up even in opposition to God. It will come with Avraham, the first one to hears the question ‘ayeka – where are you at?’ and answer with his whole self, hinneni – here I am.

Lately, a few people have asked me how I define my mission as a consultant. It is to reawaken the power of sacred imagination. Then I found this piece from Rav Kook which says it best:

A life of creativity, that is the pinnacle toward which we are obligated to aspire; we must raise up the flag of sacred creativity, of undertakings which flow from an inner intimacy of heart and speech, life which brings blessing and benefit to us and the whole world.

In truth, the normal creativity in which we are engaged is also important. Every proper innovation is important, every law which is clarified, every point argued with integrity, all logical explanations, every sprout and flower which we can cause in the field of our holy Torah – the strength of life is hidden with these for us and all the nation. But the particular time in which we live, with all the great works undertaken and new realities developing in our national and social life, in mundane living and the practical building of the country and the land, calls us to mighty acts of holiness as well. It calls us to all-embracing creativity which is close to our hearts and fit to our capabilities, creativity in literature of sacred content which can refine and sanctify the foundations of our mundane rebirth. Then they will be fit to bear the burden of their task, to bring the first flowerings of our redemption to a mighty posture which can work upon the nation and the world, so that our national rebirth will be deserving of its name, that the label the ‘beginning of redemption’ be a true and righteous fit.

A Rav Kook thought on the interplay of light and shadow in search of faith.

The spark of the positive which exists within the materialist inclination, that worldview which has so grown in our time and striven through its perspective to offer solutions to all of the world questions, is the courage it finds within itself to see the practical face of the world without any illusions. This is something true unto itself, to which we must adapt ourselves well. Spiritual concepts must at first clothe themselves in imaginative constructs, with which reality does not agree and that are liable to mistake. The material inclination brings a great good by sweeping away these weak, false constructs of the imagination, clearing the way for pure emunah in the existence of God. The One who is elevated above all imagination, the Absolute is his name, more absolute than any physical existence.
In general spirituality doesn’t strengthen itself to be in wholeness of control expect through absolute heresy and rejection of all its boundary conditions – heresy which comes from an inner recognition and fullness of feeling that rises up above all weakness or fear. From the desire for such heresy is born the light of clear emunah, which is stronger than all the great ones of the world. “Who can bring a pure thing out of an impure one? Not one.” (Job 14:4)

Every year at the beginning of Elul, I have the same thought: this is what we have to go through to get to Sukkot. Not meaning that any step of the process is wasted, God forbid. Just that Sukkot is the celebration of everything we will achieve. It began with the King in the field, a period much like dating – filled with excitement and possibility. Then, the Ten Days brought deep consideration as we stood face to face in the palace, and were written and sealed in a committed relationship. Now, right before we launch off into a happy life together with God, comes the honeymoon.

The Sukkah is a model vessel for the all the relationships in our lives. Walls of love surround us, upheld by our commitment to know one another in intimate spaces. Overhead is the shade of Emunah, a sheltering darkness that allows the brilliance of the highest lights to shine through. And all around us simcha, the joy of life which emerges to fill such a space.
May we all merit to be in that space together, all Israel under one Sukkah, filled with joy, upholding one another in love, sheltered from the darkness and the light. Chag samaech!

If you want some insight on how to build such a honeymoon spot, tune in to the Sukkot video series. And if you are interested in building vessels in your personal life and relationships that can hold the insights and experiences of this high holy season, go to ravmike.com or be in touch with me directly about spiritual counselling. Now is the time to integrate all the work you have done into a fruitful year ahead.

The time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur marks a movement from din to rachmim, from judgement to compassion. We began by crowning the King, and in light of this majesty putting life and all its pieces in place as a grand vision. Looking existence in the face, personal and national, begins with an unflinching evaluation. The painting of a merciless picture showing who we are, what we are doing and what we have done. But God moves quickly toward the seat of rachamim. We have spent the week since that judgement was written asking two questions: how did I, we, get here? Where am I headed?
Compassion widens our frame of consideration, embracing life as an unfolding process. It looks back not to make excuses, but to seek understanding. It looks forward not in anxiety of consequence, but in anticipation and hope. This embrace of past, present and future creates place for growth
As we arrive at Yom Kippur let us remember that our actions of the past year cannot be unwritten, but the story we tell about them is right now in our hands. Failures can be motivations, breakdowns bridges to deeper relationships, suffering a door to consciousness. Two simple questions can make space for a story that belongs in the Book of Life, that puts all past in service of present life and future hope.
May we all be written and sealed in the story of creation’s unfolding goodness, the Book of Life.
Mike

A podcast for the Ten Days. What does it look like to take a heroic stance on Teshuva? Thanks to Yonatan Udren for the invite to the Torah Cafe!

JHP - A Heroic Stance on Teshuva Join me for a live class at The Torah Cafe. We explore the intersection between the ten days of repentance and October 7th, asking how to take a heroic stance on teshuva.

Rosh Hashanah 5785
Rosh Hashanah isn’t just the day of judgment. It is the day on which Adam was created, humanity’s birthday. The fact that these two days are really one can teach us something crucial about the work we are meant to pursue on Rosh Hashanah, and the whole year ahead.
The first statement we hear about human nature is that we are created in the image of God. The first comment on human existence is that it’s not good to be alone. If humanity is like God, and the primal negative is the lack of relationship, then we can say that it is not good for God to be alone either. Rosh Hashanah is the day on which God decided to do something about that by bringing us into being.
And why judgment? Because healthy, constructive relationships demand an honest assessment of our interactions with others. No one is perfect on their own and our connections with one another, and with God, are always a dynamic engagement. When we fail, we repair. And when we succeed we rejoice. When others let us down, we face them, and in commitment to one another pick up the pieces together.
It has been a hard year for many of us, for reasons personal, national or both. There is likely an urge to judge ourselves, each other and even the Judge. Perhaps there is a place for all of these, but if you do so don’t forget that this is also our collective birthday. The day on which God decided that creation could not do without us. So let’s stand together in judgment, with compassion and rejoicing. After all, that’s what we were made for.

Hanan Harchol is a creative inspiration, and I am honored to have had a small part in his Torah learning in preparation for this.

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