People often ask me why I decided to become Jewish. There are no simple answers to this question. I can point to compelling ritual practices, intellectually stimulating theologies, or my own mystical experiences, but the most honest answer is also the least satisfying: It was a long journey that I took one decision and one step at a time. As the years passed and I gained more perspective, I began to look back and realize just how far I had come.
Did I know when I first started regularly attending synagogue 17 years ago that I would eventually become Jewish? No. I was training to be a pastor and that possibility was too overwhelming for me to consider at the time. I certainly never imagined becoming a rabbi! However, on some level I knew even then that I was crossing a significant boundary. I understood that I might never return to the spiritual landscape of my origins.
In this week’s Torah portion, we encounter a famous character who also faces a journey into the unknown. In Parashat Noach (Genesis 6:9-11:32), God asks Noah to build an ark, pack up his wife, kids, pairs of animals, and supplies, and hunker down for a flood that will cover and destroy every living thing on earth. Noah follows all of God’s instructions and after the flood, God establishes a covenant with Noah and the entire earth (Genesis 9:8-17). God promises never to destroy the earth with a flood again and declares the rainbow the sign of this covenant.
I often wonder if Noah felt overwhelmed when he first heard about God’s plans. Sure, Noah follows God’s directions because, as the Torah tells us, he’s righteous, blameless in his generation, and walks with God (Genesis 6:9). However, who could have imagined a flood so large that it would destroy every living thing on earth? Building an ark before it has started raining lands somewhere between pious and delusional. More importantly, why would Noah trust his own survival and that of his descendants to a God so committed to destruction?
In Genesis 6:18, God seems to assuage some of Noah’s concerns. God says, “I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark, with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives.” This is the first time the word covenant appears in the Bible and its presence is significant, but unclear: Exactly which covenant is God establishing? Does this passage refer to the future, post-flood covenant God makes with Noah and the entire earth in Genesis 9:8-17? Or does this passage refer to a separate covenant made with Noah alone, before the flood?
Three medieval Jewish biblical commentators have different answers to this question. First, Rashi, following an earlier midrash from Bereshit Rabbah, explains that God made a personal covenant with Noah. God promised that the food wouldn’t spoil on the journey and that Noah would be safe from the wicked men of his generation. This personal covenant was all about God taking responsibility for getting Noah through the flood alive.
Second, Ibn Ezra argues that the verse alludes to the future, post-flood covenant of Genesis 9:8-17. In Genesis 6:18, God promises Noah before the flood that his family will survive. In Ibn Ezra’s reading, God is offering Noah reassurance from the outset that he and his descendants will survive, even if the specific details of the covenant will only be revealed after the flood.
A third medieval commentator, Ramban, approaches the question of covenant slightly differently. He builds on Ibn Ezra’s interpretation but highlights the eternal and one-sided nature of this covenant. According to Ramban, no less significant than the word covenant is the word establish. Both words signify that this covenant will last forever. Although most covenants in the Bible refer to two-sided arrangements between parties, God alone has established a one-sided covenant of eternal care with Noah and his descendants. Ramban doesn’t say so explicitly, but the Bible understands every human being who has walked the earth since the days of the flood to be a descendant of Noah. This covenant makes us all recipients of God’s one-sided care.
If God’s destructive urges towards the entire earth gave Noah pause, the establishment of a covenant with God likely reassured him. Whether God assures Noah of his safety before and during the flood (Rashi), that Noah’s descendants will survive (Ibn Ezra), or that God will care for all of humanity for eternity (Ramban), Noah trusts God will take care of him. He begins working on the insane project of building an ark to protect his family and creation from an unimaginable flood, secure in the knowledge that God will always have his back.
When I read these interpretations of God’s first covenant with Noah, it makes me think of my own spiritual journey. When exploring Judaism, what made it possible for me to journey so far from home was the knowledge that I was seen, protected, and cared for by fellow spiritual travelers and by God. I didn’t know what my destination would be. Like Noah, I couldn’t imagine how those years of my life would unfold. However, I knew in my heart that God and key people in my life had my back. That knowledge gave me enough courage to take one careful step at a time.
As we consider our lives today, I wonder what journeys to unknown destinations we may currently be on. What resources or reassurances do we need for our travels? Who do we want to be with us as we journey and who do we need to have our backs? Look around. I believe there are always others who can support us on our travels, whether God, family, friends, or even strangers. We can also support others.
We often can’t know our destinations when we’re in the middle of our journeys. However, perhaps we don’t need to know. Like Noah, we may just need reassurance that we will be cared for along the way. This reassurance gives us the courage to take one step at a time, walk with God and others, and live into the unknown. Wherever you may be on your journeying, I wish everyone safe and interesting travels.