This week's section is called Noah. The main event (considering the number of verses it occupies in relation to the other issues in the parashah) is the story of the Flood.<\/p>\n
In short, people and animals were behaving badly, so God sent a flood that wiped out all life on Earth, saving only Noah and his three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth), along with Noah's wife and her three daughters-in-law. They then re-established humanity, having sworn an oath never again to send a flood upon the earth.<\/p>\n
A superficial reading might lead us to believe that the flood was a punishment for bad behavior. As if to say, a clean slate! However, the flood is related to a process of purification of the earth. In fact, our sages say that up to three fistfuls (tefajim) of earth were washed away along with its inhabitants, purifying even the land. Supporting this connection is the idea that a mikveh (ritual bath) must contain at least 40 seah (a measure of approximately 900 liters of water), and this corresponds to the 40 days and nights that the rain lasted on the earth.<\/p>\n
Now, we know that the Torah is a book of teachings for everyday life, so we must find a modern application for this story. One possible way to view it is that the flood represents the difficulties each person faces in obtaining their livelihood. The worries and schemes that circulate in people's minds stress them out and prevent them from enjoying life as they seek the necessary sustenance (or worse, more money for the sake of having more money). Like the flood, which sweeps everything away, in the same way, the frantic race to survive economically, if not stopped in time, can destroy family, friends, and even the individual themselves.<\/p>\n
However, according to the idea that the flood was a process of purification, it follows that the difficulties related to sustenance are positive... Just as the flood purified the earth and its inhabitants, its modern spiritual counterpart purifies the person... what does this mean?<\/p>\n
Every obstacle a person encounters in their life, in relation to their material affairs and, even more so, in relation to their spiritual affairs, is an opportunity for personal growth, planned and executed by God, who, through his many messengers, presents it to the person so that they may draw out their true potential from within.<\/p>\n
We all possess within us an invaluable treasure of intellectual and emotional strength, of extraordinary abilities, each according to our own level and circumstances, but often we fail to utilize them for various reasons, both internal and external. Service to God consists of recognizing this innate capacity, revealing it, and using it for a Divine purpose. This is the idea of the flood as a purifying agent: a catalyst for opportunities and a revealer of hidden essential potentials.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"La secci\u00f3n de esta semana se llama Noaj (No\u00e9). La ocurrencia principal (considerando la cantidad de vers\u00edculos que ocupa en relaci\u00f3n a las otras cuestiones de la parash\u00e1) es la historia del Diluvio. En resumen, la gente y los animales se portaban mal, Di-s envi\u00f3 un diluvio que elimin\u00f3 todo vestigio de vida sobre la… Read More \u00bbPurifying waters<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13],"tags":[950,1042,969,942],"series":[],"class_list":["post-2033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editoriales","category-noaj","tag-di-s","tag-mikve","tag-parasha-2","tag-tora"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/diluvio.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/avatar1400.jpeg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"castbox":{"key":"castbox","url":"","label":"CastBox","class":"castbox","icon":"castbox.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/feed\/podcast\/rabino-tuvia-serber","embedCode":"Aguas purificadoras<\/a><\/blockquote>