. It\u2019s estimated that in 2009, 4.8 billion pounds of fish were consumed in the United States alone. And every day, 50 million animals lose their lives for human use. Can any heart remain unmoved in the face of such shocking figures, and the ensuing, incalculable moral suffering?<\/span><\/p>\r\nThough cruelty flourished, Noah could not have imagined a world without animals existing in it. The Midrash teaches that Noah not only heroically saved two from each species by giving them shelter on the ark, but for all those weeks, he would run tirelessly from one to the next to give them proper care. The rabbis suggest that Noah and his sons didn\u2019t sleep at all since they were so preoccupied with the needs of the animals (<\/span>Midrash Tanchuma<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Noach<\/span><\/i> 9). Reading the story of the flood each year reminds us that to live in a redeemed world, we must prioritize care for the most vulnerable sentient beings on our planet.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Let Noah be our model, for the rabbis considered Noah righteous precisely because of his care for animals <\/span>(Midrash Tanchuma, Noach 4). <\/span><\/i>Today, let\u2019s follow Noah\u2019s compassionate spirit to end the rampant abuse and neglect shown to animals. Even more so, let us, as fervently committed Jews, return to the Garden of Eden and a world where eating sentient beings is not imaginable but anathema. We are to be a people of mercy and compassion, which the rabbis consider to be essential characteristics of the Jewish soul (BT <\/span>Beitzah<\/span><\/i> 32b).<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":45383,"alt":"","title":"veganism","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism.jpg","width":630,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism-300x229.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":229,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism.jpg","medium_large-width":630,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism.jpg","large-width":630,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism.jpg","1536x1536-width":630,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism.jpg","2048x2048-width":630,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism.jpg","post_full_size-width":630,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism-551x420.jpg","home_baner-width":551,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"God's Creatures are Our Responsibility","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"To live in a redeemed world, we must prioritize care for the most vulnerable sentient beings on our planet","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":45383,"alt":"","title":"veganism","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism.jpg","width":630,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism-300x229.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":229,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism.jpg","medium_large-width":630,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism.jpg","large-width":630,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism.jpg","1536x1536-width":630,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism.jpg","2048x2048-width":630,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism.jpg","post_full_size-width":630,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/veganism-551x420.jpg","home_baner-width":551,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"image by mazurkat\/shutterstock","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"9","date":"20250910","wall_id":"9"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"360","name":"Nature\/Environment","old_id":"760"},{"term_id":"415","name":"food","old_id":"815"},{"term_id":"416","name":"meat","old_id":"816"}]},{"order":9,"id":"34796","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"Between Camus and Noah ","post_title":"Between Camus and Noah","slug":"between-camus-and-noah","old_id":"34796","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34241,"post_title":"Michael Bernstein","slug":"michael-bernstein","old_id":"34241","first_name":"Michael ","last_name":"Bernstein ","description":"Michael Bernstein is the Rabbi of Congregation Gesher L'Torah, a dynamic community outside of Atlanta where each person's story is embraced and Judaism is personal. 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He and his wife Tracie have three children: Ayelet, Yaron and Liana.","short_description":"Michael Bernstein is the Rabbi of Congregation Gesher L'Torah, outside of Atlanta, Georgia","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34242,"alt":"","title":"michael bernstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Holding on to the holiness of being human while floating helpless in the storm","post_main_content_content":"Albert Camus\u2019 novel, The Plague<\/em>, chronicles a seaside town as it copes with a devastating outbreak of pestilence. \u00a0While often read as an allegory for the virulence of the Nazi death machine, the book explores how human beings make sense of catastrophe when all evidence of God has been snuffed out. In the end, no meaningful response to the Plague can be found other than to fight for the lives of others.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe story of Noah\u2019s Flood is actually the opposite. \u00a0The destruction unleashed is by God and for a reason -- the evil violence that had spread throughout Creation. \u00a0No explanation is given for Noah to be spared except the bare assertion that he is \"righteous among his generation.\u201d. \u00a0Yet, presented with impending doom, Noah has nothing to say. <\/span><\/p>\r\nAt times there seems to be a choice between God or us. \u00a0Is it really possible to find meaning in one without abandoning the other?<\/span><\/p>\r\nNoah will give way to Abraham who challenges the \"Judge of all Earth\" and teaches that seeking God must also entail the responsibility to human beings that in Camus\u2019 novel runs deeper than theistic faith.<\/span><\/p>\r\nStill, we know that there are times we find ourselves retreating inward, helplessly enclosed in the walls of our ark, waiting for the flood waters to subside. \u00a0And the Noah story teaches that these moments are also an opening for God. Even falling short of the moral ideal, we need not choose between a surrender to the void or accepting reasons for suffering in the world. \u00a0Like Noah, we can hold on to the holiness of being human even floating helpless in the midst of the storm.<\/span><\/p>\r\nimage:\u00a0Henri Cartier Bresson-Albert Camus, 1947 \/ flickr<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":36063,"alt":"","title":"Albert-Camus","caption":"","description":"https:\/\/hewitt.wikispaces.com\/Abigail-+camus","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","width":276,"height":220,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","medium-width":276,"medium-height":220,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":220,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":220,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":220,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":220,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":220,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":220}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Between Camus and Noah","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Holding on to the holiness of being human while floating helpless in the storm","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":36063,"alt":"","title":"Albert-Camus","caption":"","description":"https:\/\/hewitt.wikispaces.com\/Abigail-+camus","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","width":276,"height":220,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","medium-width":276,"medium-height":220,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":220,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":220,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":220,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":220,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":220,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":220}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"374","name":"Humanity","old_id":"774"},{"term_id":"393","name":"Crisis","old_id":"793"},{"term_id":"398","name":"Camus","old_id":"798"}]},{"order":10,"id":"34804","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Noah\u2019s Ark vs. Abraham\u2019s Tent ","post_title":"Noah\u2019s Ark vs. Abraham\u2019s Tent","slug":"noahs-ark-vs-abrahams-tent","old_id":"34804","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33994,"post_title":"Sid Schwarz","slug":"rabbi-sid-schwarz","old_id":"33994","first_name":"Sid","last_name":"Schwarz","description":"Rabbi Sid Schwarz is the founding rabbi of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD. He is a senior fellow at Hazon and the author of Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World. He founded and led PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values for 21 years, which inspired tens of thousands of young people towards a life of activism, leadership and service, using Jewish texts and values to make the case for Jewish social responsibility.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Sid Schwarz is the founding rabbi of Congregation Adat Shalom in Bethesda, MD., and founder of PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33995,"alt":"","title":"Rabbi Sid Schwarz","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","width":300,"height":291,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz-300x291.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":291,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":291,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","large-width":300,"large-height":291,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":291,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":291,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":291,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":291}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"There is too much at stake to close ourselves off in an ark","post_main_content_content":"
In Genesis chapter 6, God offers Noah an escape clause to a world beset by wickedness. The ark allows Noah to shut himself off from the world and survive the flood. Noah takes \u201cthe monastic option,\u201d and doesn\u2019t allow his path to get sullied by the evil around him.<\/span><\/p>\r\nI\u2019ve always struggled with why the Torah gives to Noah the label, <\/span>ish tzaddik<\/span><\/em>, \u201ca righteous man\u201d. The relativization of the label by our sages\u2014\u201crighteous\u201d relative to the generation in which he lived\u2014does not appease me.<\/span><\/p>\r\nDon\u2019t get me wrong. The monastic option has considerable appeal today. The U.S., Israel and a host of other countries are now riding a wave of ultra-nationalism which demonizes the most vulnerable and marginal populations, firing up their respective populist base of support. There are days, most days of late, when I would very much like to take the monastic option. I find myself ashamed of the countries that I love.<\/span><\/p>\r\nYet I know that to close my eyes, to close my door, to opt out would be tantamount to rejecting all that I have been taught to value and cherish. Judaism, as I understand it, demands that we humanize oppressed populations, not demonize and victimize them. And when societies begin to go awry, my obligation is to do my best to re-engage in the public square, not to flee from it.<\/span><\/p>\r\nMy model therefore is Abraham, not Noah. It is Abraham who opens his tent on all sides to welcome the wayfarer. It is Abraham who pleads with God to spare the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is fitting, therefore, that Abraham is considered the first Jew. It is his path we must follow. There is too much at stake to close ourselves off in an ark.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":51429,"alt":"","title":"dt23-open-door","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1.png","width":1920,"height":1295,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-300x202.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":202,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-768x518.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":518,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-1024x691.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":691,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1036,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1295,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-1200x809.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":809,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-623x420.png","home_baner-width":623,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Noah\u2019s Ark vs. Abraham\u2019s Tent","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"There is too much at stake to close ourselves off in an ark","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":51429,"alt":"","title":"dt23-open-door","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1.png","width":1920,"height":1295,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-300x202.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":202,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-768x518.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":518,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-1024x691.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":691,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1036,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1295,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-1200x809.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":809,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-623x420.png","home_baner-width":623,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"374","name":"Humanity","old_id":"774"},{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"}]},{"order":11,"id":"34794","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"The Divine: Depressed or Disappointed? ","post_title":"The Divine: Depressed or Disappointed?","slug":"the-divine-depressed-or-disappointed","old_id":"34794","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33984,"post_title":"Liel Leibovitz","slug":"liel-leibovitz","old_id":"33984","first_name":"Liel ","last_name":"Leibovitz","description":"Liel Leibovitz is a senior writer for Tablet Magazine and a co-host of its podcast, Unorthodox. He is the author, most recently, of A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen (https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Broken-Hallelujah-Redemption-Leonard-Cohen\/dp\/0393082059)\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Liel Leibovitz is a senior writer for Tablet Magazine and a co-host of its podcast, Unorthodox.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34229,"alt":"","title":"LLportrait2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2-.jpg","width":4752,"height":3168,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2--150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2--300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2--768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2--1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2-.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2-.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2--1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2--630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"If you\u2019ve got skin in the game, you can\u2019t afford to get depressed","post_main_content_content":"\u201cThe difference between depression and disappointment,\u201d the comedian Marc Maron once observed, \u201cis your level of commitment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\nGod knows all about it.<\/span><\/p>\r\nHere he is, looking at his wayward creations and contemplating a big decision: Is he just a touch unhappy? Or is he thoroughly pissed?<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe Bible gives us few clues concerning the Almighty\u2019s emotional wellbeing. \u00a0<\/span>\"And the LORD regretted that He had made man on earth,\" we are told (6:6) \"and His heart was saddened.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\nA sad Lord doesn\u2019t pour himself a glass of pinot noir or pop open a pint of Ben & Jerry\u2019s. A sad Lord prepares to smite. He looks at all of us frolicking senselessly about and imagines how peaceful the world would be if we would all just, well, disappear.<\/span><\/p>\r\nYou may think this is God at his most majestically divine, haughtily contemplating the destruction of all of his creation just because he can. But, really, what we have here is God at his most profoundly human, feeling that inky black blues so many of us feel when the world falls short of our expectations.<\/span><\/p>\r\nWho among us hasn\u2019t felt the same desperate urge? When our politicians fall short of our rosiest predictions, we\u2019re tempted to dismiss them all as crooked creeps. When our favorite musicians release works that fail to move us, we swear it\u2019s the last time we\u2019ll pay for a ticket to one of their concerts. When friends falter and flake and flitter, we sulk and skulk away. Like children, we pout and declare that if the world doesn\u2019t rise to the level of our game, we\u2019re taking our ball and going home.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThankfully, God knows better. He understands that the true meaning of Marc Maron\u2019s quip isn\u2019t what it first seems: If you\u2019ve truly got skin in the game, you can\u2019t afford to get depressed, only disappointed. If you really care, you must find some way to move forward and make it right.<\/span><\/p>\r\nAnd how does God choose to redeem the world from a watery end? There\u2019s another lesson for us here: He focuses on Noah. On one man. As long as one man alone in the entire broken world is decent, God knows, despair isn\u2019t an option. As long as one man among all of mankind is righteous, there\u2019s more than enough material for a fresh start, for a new beginning, for another shot at creation. Amen to that.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":60001,"alt":"","title":"2sam6-anger","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger.png","width":1089,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-255x300.png","medium-width":255,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-768x903.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":903,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-871x1024.png","large-width":871,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger.png","1536x1536-width":1089,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger.png","2048x2048-width":1089,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-1021x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1021,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-357x420.png","home_baner-width":357,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Divine: Depressed or Disappointed?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"If you\u2019ve got skin in the game, you can\u2019t afford to get depressed","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":60001,"alt":"","title":"2sam6-anger","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger.png","width":1089,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-255x300.png","medium-width":255,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-768x903.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":903,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-871x1024.png","large-width":871,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger.png","1536x1536-width":1089,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger.png","2048x2048-width":1089,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-1021x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1021,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-357x420.png","home_baner-width":357,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"370","name":"Divine\/human","old_id":"770"},{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"394","name":"Emotions","old_id":"794"}]},{"order":12,"id":"35089","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Let Justice Well Up Like Water ","post_title":"Let Justice Well Up Like Water","slug":"let-justice-well-up-like-water","old_id":"35089","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34287,"post_title":"Lawrence Troster","slug":"lawrence-troster","old_id":"34287","first_name":"Lawrence ","last_name":"Troster ","description":"Rabbi Lawrence Troster is rabbi at Kesher Israel Congregation, in Chester County, PA. He is a leading Jewish eco-theologian and religious environmental leader. He is the founder and coordinator of Shomrei Breishit: Rabbis and Cantors For the Earth and the Rabbinic Scholar-in-Residence of GreenFaith the interfaith environmental coalition in New Jersey and the former creator and director of the GreenFaith\u2019s Fellowship program. He is part of the leadership team of Ourvoices.net a worldwide movement of people of all faiths advocating for a strong climate treaty. He is also the Rabbi-in-Residence at the Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona College.\r\nRabbi Troster contributes to the Huffington Post, and he has published numerous articles and has lectured widely on eco-theology, bio-ethics, and Judaism and modern science.\r\nHe received his B.A. from the University of Toronto and his M.A. and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He is presently working on a Doctor of Minstry in Eco-ministry at Drew University. He was given an honorary Doctor of Divinity by JTS for his more than 25 years of rabbinic service. Rabbi Troster was honored by the Temple of Understanding, one of the oldest worldwide interfaith organizations, as an Interfaith Visionary.\r\nRabbi Troster is married to Elaine Kahn and has two daughters, two sons-in-law, three granddaughters and one grandson.\r\n","short_description":"Rabbi Lawrence Troster is rabbi at Kesher Israel Congregation, in Chester County, PA, and a leading Jewish eco-theologian and religious environmental leader. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34288,"alt":"","title":"troster-lawrence-2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/troster-lawrence-2.jpg","width":570,"height":851,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/troster-lawrence-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/troster-lawrence-2-201x300.jpg","medium-width":201,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/troster-lawrence-2.jpg","medium_large-width":570,"medium_large-height":851,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/troster-lawrence-2.jpg","large-width":570,"large-height":851,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/troster-lawrence-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":570,"1536x1536-height":851,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/troster-lawrence-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":570,"2048x2048-height":851,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/troster-lawrence-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":570,"post_full_size-height":851,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/troster-lawrence-2-281x420.jpg","home_baner-width":281,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"8","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"... but are we bringing the waters upon ourselves?","post_main_content_content":"At the summer camp I attended, we often sang songs at lunch time. One song was <\/span>Rise and Shine<\/span><\/i>, a cheery retelling of the Noah story with funny rhymes. Afte<\/span>r the Lord tells Noah that there is going to be a floody, floody, he builds an arky arky and all the animals go in by twosies, twosies. After the flood the sun comes out and everything was fine and dandy, dandy.<\/p>\r\nThis song is the usual way the Flood story is taught to children which ignores the reality of what the story actually is. An \u201cadult version\u201d of the story is found in the illustrated Bible (1866) of Gustav Dor\u00e9 (1832-1886), a French artist. He created four illustrations for the Flood story. Included here is his picture of Noah sending out the dove. Dor\u00e9 does not shirk from depicting the horrible aftermath of the Flood: torn dead carcasses cover the landscape. He shows us the Fl<\/span>ood as a\u00a0catastrophe, the undoing of Creation.<\/p>\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/uploads\/2018\/07\/dore-noach-e1532380075608-236x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\r\n
The Flood is the result of the moral degeneration of the world: \u201cThe earth was filled with violence,\u201d (Genesis 6:11) Murder and bloodshed renders the earth impure.<\/span><\/p>\r\nSo how can the earth become purified? Through water and blood (Leviticus 16) the earth is purged. (Genesis 8:20). This is how to understand Amos 5:18-24 where it says that those who desire the \u201cDay of the Lord\u201d to bring justice in the world are deluded if they think it will be a time of light. It is like a man who fleeing from a lion runs into a bear and fleeing from the bear into a hou<\/span>se is bitten by a snake.<\/p>\r\nThen it says: \u201cBut\u00a0<\/span>let justice well up like water, and righteousness like an unfailing stream.\u201d I believe that these words refer to the Flood: righteousness will come like the Flood to sweep away the wickedness of the world. It will not be fine and dandy, dandy.<\/p>\r\nGod promises that there will never be another Flood (Genesis 8:21-22) but this story is a warning not to be complacent about how we treat the earth. We are filling it with bloodshed and are bringing the waters upon ourselves. We think that we can flee the lion of climate change, but the bear and the snake await us. And the waters of righteousness will come again and the sacrifice will be grim unless we act now. <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Let Justice Well Up Like Water","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"... but are we bringing the waters upon ourselves?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":35090,"alt":"","title":"dore-noach","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/dore-noach-e1532380075608.jpg","width":675,"height":857,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/dore-noach-e1532380075608-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/dore-noach-e1532380075608-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/dore-noach-709x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":709,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/dore-noach-709x1024.jpg","large-width":709,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/dore-noach-e1532380075608.jpg","1536x1536-width":675,"1536x1536-height":857,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/dore-noach-e1532380075608.jpg","2048x2048-width":675,"2048x2048-height":857,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/dore-noach-e1532380075608.jpg","post_full_size-width":675,"post_full_size-height":857,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/dore-noach-e1532380075608-331x420.jpg","home_baner-width":331,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"8","date":"20250909","wall_id":"8"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"360","name":"Nature\/Environment","old_id":"760"},{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"}]},{"order":13,"id":"102009","color":"#eceffa","size":"1","name":"Noah And Abraham, Builders And Rebuilders ","post_title":"Noah And Abraham, Builders And Rebuilders","slug":"noah-and-abraham-builders-and-rebuilders","old_id":"102009","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"8","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"We need faith and self-confidence, not permission\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"The first of the Hebrew month of Tishri (by Rashi\u2019s calculation), the anniversary of God\u2019s original creation of man, is also the anniversary of the rebirth of the world. The flood waters subsided so that all living creatures could once again proliferate.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe Torah tells us that Noah was a righteous man, and besides the fact that God chose him to build the ark, the way in which he was instructed to build it also tells us something of Noah\u2019s greatness. The ark itself was to be built approximately the length of one-and-a-half football fields \u2013 hardly sufficient to house a representative of every living being. As school children we\u2019re taught of the miracle that everything fit, but Ramban asks the question, if God was overriding the laws of mathematics through a miracle, why ask Noah to build something that would take a full year instead of just building a simple boat. Because, answers Rabbi Eli Block (Chabad.org), miracles only come with some level of human effort. By spending a year constructing the ark, Noah demonstrated both his commitment to God and his desire to be part of saving the world. And when it was time for Noah to enter the ark, he waited for God\u2019s permission to do so.<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn Genesis 8:16, with the flood waters subsided, God tells Noah, \u201cCome out of the ark.\u201d Now, imagine being cooped up somewhere for a full year (not so unimaginable given our recent history) and being given proof that it was now safe to leave (the proof, In Noah\u2019s case, being the dove\u2019s return.) Would you wait for permission to leave or just bust through the doors at the first opportunity? And yet, just as Noah waited for permission to board the ark, he waited for permission to disembark. He seemed to have some hesitancy about moving forward with the next step of rebuilding.<\/span><\/p>\r\nNoah was indeed a righteous man, and in a sense the head of the new world. However, our sages question why God waited to mark the beginning of the Jewish people with Abraham and not with Noah. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks relates this answer. God\u2019s permission to rebuild a shattered world is tacit. We should not wait for explicit permission, as Noah did, because God expects us to just get on with it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nThat is the difference between Noah and Abraham. While Noah \u201cwalked with God (6:9)\u201d, God will ask Abraham to \u201cwalk ahead of Him\u201d (Genesis 17:1). The first leader of the Jewish people needs to have that \u2018special sauce\u2019 of self confidence, faith in God and inner courage that propels them to just step into the unknown and build anew.<\/span><\/p>\r\n