C LEWERENZ MEDICAL CENTER Healing With Restorative Medicine Parshat Noah: Genesis 6:9-11:32 Numbers 28:9-15; Isaiah 66:1-24 I n his commentary on this week's reading of parshat Noah, the medi- eval biblical interpreter Rashi relates a midrashic dispute that seemingly has been resolved by the biblical text. In commanding Noah to build the ark, God instructs him to fashion a tzohar, often translated as a light. However, Rashi, in his comment on this term, quotes a dispute between two sages, Rabbi Aba bar Kahana and Rabbi Levi. Rabbi Aba explains that the tzohar was a window and Rabbi Levi counters that it was a stone that allowed light to enter the ark acting as a shade. However, there seems to be no need for clarification. The supra-commentary on Rashi, known as the siftei chachamim, directs the reader to look later in the nar- rative to read that after the flood, Noah opens the window. There should be no ambiguity. What then is the idea behind this midrashic dispute? Interestingly, there is another dispute quoted by Rashi in his opening comments to the sedrah. The text describes Noah as an ish tzadik, a righteous man. Yet, even here, there is room for interpretation. One opinion declares Noah as an abso- lute tzadik, able to withstand scrutiny in any generation. The other opinion sees the description as relative, such that Noah would pale by comparison to other biblical figures of righteousness, and it was only in his generation that he could be considered a tzadik. An often-offered example of this rela- tive righteousness is through comparison to our patriarch Abraham. Abraham gets involved with many endeavors; he secures the release of Lot through war and argues with God about the destruc- tion of the cities of Sodom and Amorah (Gommorah). Remarkably, Abraham is never called a tzadik, while Noah, who does not argue with God and does not try to save the people, is explicitly called a tzadik. According to this opinion, Noah is an insular tzadik; he keeps to himself. As the great commentator on the human condition, Bill Cosby, notes, Noah did not go about trying to convince people that the world was coming to an end and that A HOLISTIC, FUNCTIONAL MEDICAL APPROACH - to restore and regenerate within". Longevity Health they should change their ways; at best he would only hint, "How long can you tread water?" Perhaps both disputes can be under- stood as complementary, leading us to a transformative moment along with Noah and an understanding about the mysteri- ous ambiguity. The ark can be seen as a refuge, the ideal place for a monastic existence, insulated from the chaos of Noah's time. The tzadik, of necessity, needed to be isolated. By his nature, he could not interact with other people. And it is the insular tzadik who places an opaque stone as a tzohar for the ark. The tzohar stone will keep the chaos outside. However, something changes on the ark. Rabbi Meir Lau, in his book Out of the Depths, relates that on the ark, all the species were housed together in a very unnatural habitat. Animals that are by nature territorial had to accommodate others within their boundaries. Those that would normally shy away had to be in close quarters with others. There was no other choice. Society had to realign and cooperate if it was to survive and eventually thrive. Rabbi Lau expands on this and explains that we need to see the world as our ark and that would we all do so, we would realign society and not simply survive, but thrive. After the rains stop, Noah realizes that he cannot be insular anymore. And, therefore, the narrative does not mention the tzohar, but the window. Noah realizes that he no longer requires the opaque stone to filter out the world, but rather an open window to be part of it. Institute specializes in Bio-identical hormones (Hormone Restorative Medicine) and Advanced- Personalized Care. 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