This week’s Torah portion is called Noah.
It is the story of the flood which Gd wreaked upon the world. The morality of the generation of Noah had tanked.
Moral turpitude was the norm.
People were focused on their own needs and desires to such a degree that all boundaries were destroyed.
Gd felt that there was no returning from such gross misconduct and the world was irreparable.
The world was slated for destruction.
Noah, a righteous person, was tasked with building an ark, a floating haven which would protect the future of humanity and the animal kingdom.
Noah was given strict instructions on the dimensions of the ark.
Gd also told Noah how to create a source of light by installing a “tzohar” in the roof.
Tzohar is an unusual word and the commentaries differ on what it actually was.
They conclude it was either a window, think skylight, or some kind of precious jewel which emitted light.
What’s the difference between the two?
A window’s light comes from the outside.
The precious jewel had its own inner light.
It’s an interesting conversation, but do we really care about the nature of the lighting in the Ark? How is it a relevant lesson for us today?
A window opens up to the outside world. It allows light to come in from the outside.
So too every aspect of our lives has access to divine light. Our job in this world is to open a “window” to allow that light and goodness to permeate our lives.
A window is also the portal to the outside world. Sometimes we really want to focus only on ourselves. We don’t want to open a window into someone else’s suffering or another’s loss.
We would rather remain oblivious.
Gd says put a window into your ark. Do not allow yourself the chance to look away when someone needs you.
Former hostage Elya Cohen just got engaged to his longtime girlfriend. He was released eight months ago. Why did he wait until now to propose to his girlfriend?
Cohen said in many media interviews that he wouldn’t marry until his fellow hostages were released from captivity.
How poignant that someone who was trapped for so long, lived in a reality of a window flung wide open, seeing the sorrows of his friends. He could not rejoice while they were trapped in the dark.
Cohen never shut the window on his fellow hostages.

When one of my children was about 4 years old I made a drastic decision. I agreed to participate in a round robin playgroup for her and four of her adorable friends.
Once a week it was my turn to educate, entertain and watch this little group.
I gained a new found appreciation for preschool teachers!
One of the hardest parts of the job was creating an age appropriate arts and crafts project for my day of the week.
I started out strong.
There were paper Shofars and honey dishes. Then we made Sukkah decorations and Simchat Torah flags.
But when the holidays were over I was stuck.
The month after the holidays is called the month of Cheshvan and it has not one holiday in it!!
What would be the inspiration for my project?
I called my dear friend, the inimitable Morah Dena, educator extraordinaire, in a panic.
She had a solution for me.
Since Cheshvan is holiday less, we can focus on the fact that it’s the month that begins the rainy season. It’s got the portion of Noah that talks about the flood and the rains coming down. So she suggested we make a Cheshvan Sunshine umbrella.
(Instructions available for those who are interested)
The Kotzker Rebbe teaches us that every month has its specific energy, fueled by the holiday it contains and the mitzvot which accompany it.
But if this month has no holiday, what energy can we tap into?
Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi, acclaimed Torah teacher in Israel, teaches that the month of Cheshvan has the energy of “knowing what to do, when we don’t know what to do”
We are all facing challenges and conundrums in our daily lives.
And often we may not know what to do.
How do we move forward when we don’t know what to do?
One of the solutions is to tune into our souls. Our body is very needy and very loud. It makes many demands and we need to placate it. But the body is here to house the Neshama. And when we can quiet the body and listen to the voice of our Neshama it will guide us to the proper response.
Viktor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning, taught this concept in a powerful teaching.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to CHOOSE our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
The challenges that come our way create the opportunity for our personal growth.
This week’s Torah portion is called Noah, and it chronicles the story of the destruction of a decaying world and the ark that Noah built to save his family and the creatures of the planet.