The Significance of Making - Rabbi Leah Fein

This week, we read of someone who exhibits a strong sense of agency over his own future in the face of forces beyond what he can control. Not long after God has created the world, corruption and lawlessness filled the earth. So God decides to send a flood to destroy it all, save for Noah, a man “righteous in his generation” (Genesis 6:9), along with Noah’s family and two of each animal. God instructs Noah: “Make yourself an ark” (Gen 6:14). The Torah goes on to describe the details of the construction of the ark, a structure larger than a football field! But if God is powerful enough to create the world and powerful enough to destroy the world, then surely God could devise a supernatural way to save Noah and the other creatures that God deems worthy of saving. Why is Noah “making” anything, let alone a massive wooden ark, in order to be saved?Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple