The Building Before the Rain
Opening In the story of Noah, the Torah says: “Make yourself an ark of cypress wood.” Before the actual command come two short words: “Make yourself.” Yourself, and not someone else. Yourself, and not your friend. Yourself, and not the neighborhood committee. So we should ask: Why did Noah build the ark for one hundred and twenty years, in a world that was completely dry, while the people of his generation mocked him the whole time? Hashem could have ordered a quick building job. What did He want from Noah during such a long stretch of time that seemed to make no sense? The Vision Is Given to One Person The answer is simple, and deep. A mission from Hashem, by its very nature, is not sent to the crowd. It is sent to one person. If the command fit everyone’s way of thinking, if every single neighbor understood why an ark should be built, then it would not be a command from Hashem. It would just be a good human idea. A vision from Hashem has to be bigger than human logic, because it comes down from a place that is beyond reason and understanding. This is a huge foundation. Every single Jew has received a personal mission. He has a special spark that he must lift up, in a way that is not like anyone else’s. And if this mission is real, it will always look strange from the outside. The Depth of the Work: Building Before the Rain Here is the key. Noah’s greatness was not only that he obeyed. It was when he obeyed. He built before the rain came. In a dry world. When there was no physical proof, no sign in the sky, no “approval” from reality. And the people mocking him were not fools. From where they stood, they were being sensible. They saw a dry world. They saw a strange man with a pile of wood. And they said: This makes no sense. And Noah did not answer them. He did not argue. He did not ask them to understand. He just kept building. This is the inner work. You act out of simple faith in the command, when there is no proof at all in the physical world to justify what you are doing. This is “the building before the rain.” The Danger: Drowning in Their Approval And here comes the sharpest warning of all. The biggest obstacle to building the ark is not the mockery. Mockery you can bear. The biggest obstacle is the wish that everyone should understand the ark. It is the need for the neighbor to approve, for the brother-in-law to agree, for “the world” to say: Yes, that makes sense, that looks right to us. Think about it. Who are these people whose opinion you are looking for? They are the people of the generation of the Flood. They themselves are about to drown. If you built your ark so that they would understand it, you drowned along with their approval. Demanding that your vision from Hashem fit the thinking of the people around you is a sure recipe for losing the vision. The practical common sense of everyday people is an important tool in the world of action. But it was never meant to judge a command that comes from a place beyond understanding.
Putting It into Practice
Our brother, dear member of the family: You too have an ark to build. Maybe it is a mission you have felt deep in your heart. Maybe it is a personal step in serving Hashem that you took on yourself. Maybe it is extra care in keeping a commandment, and the people around you do not understand it. Maybe it is simply an inner knowing that there is something here that has to be done, even if you cannot explain why. Do not wait for the rain. Do not wait for the results to prove you right, for success to show that you were correct, for the people around you to finally “accept” what you are doing. One day the rain will come. And it will explain, in silence and in thunder, everything you could not explain in words. Until then, there is only one thing to do: keep building.
Questions and answers
Q: Why did Noah have to build the ark himself over such a long time, and what do the words “Make yourself an ark” teach?
Rabbi Landau answers: In the story of Noah, the Torah says: “Make yourself an ark of cypress wood.” Before the actual command come two short words: “Make yourself.” Yourself, and not someone else. Yourself, and not your friend. Yourself, and not the neighborhood committee. So we should ask: Why did Noah build the ark for one hundred and twenty years, in a world that was completely dry, while the people of his generation mocked him the whole time? Hashem could have ordered a quick building job. What did He want from Noah during such a long stretch of time that seemed to make no sense?
Q: Why is a mission from Hashem given to one person and not to the crowd?
Rabbi Landau answers: The answer is simple, and deep. A mission from Hashem, by its very nature, is not sent to the crowd. It is sent to one person. If the command fit everyone’s way of thinking, if every single neighbor understood why an ark should be built, then it would not be a command from Hashem. It would just be a good human idea. A vision from Hashem has to be bigger than human logic, because it comes down from a place that is beyond reason and understanding. This is a huge foundation. Every single Jew has received a personal mission. He has a special spark that he must lift up, in a way that is not like anyone else’s.
Q: Why was Noah’s greatness that he built the ark before the rain came?
Rabbi Landau answers: Here is the key. Noah’s greatness was not only that he obeyed. It was when he obeyed. He built before the rain came. In a dry world. When there was no physical proof, no sign in the sky, no “approval” from reality. And the people mocking him were not fools. From where they stood, they were being sensible. They saw a dry world. They saw a strange man with a pile of wood. And they said: This makes no sense. And Noah did not answer them. He did not argue. He did not ask them to understand. He just kept building. This is the inner work. You act out of simple faith in the command, when there is no proof at all in the physical world to justify what you are doing.
Q: What is the biggest obstacle to building your own “ark”?
Rabbi Landau answers: And here comes the sharpest warning of all. The biggest obstacle to building the ark is not the mockery. Mockery you can bear. The biggest obstacle is the wish that everyone should understand the ark. It is the need for the neighbor to approve, for the brother-in-law to agree, for “the world” to say: Yes, that makes sense, that looks right to us. Think about it. Who are these people whose opinion you are looking for? They are the people of the generation of the Flood. They themselves are about to drown. If you built your ark so that they would understand it, you drowned along with their approval.
Q: What should you do about a mission in serving Hashem that the people around you don’t understand?
Rabbi Landau answers: Our brother, dear member of the family: You too have an ark to build. Maybe it is a mission you have felt deep in your heart. Maybe it is a personal step in serving Hashem that you took on yourself. Maybe it is extra care in keeping a commandment, and the people around you do not understand it. Maybe it is simply an inner knowing that there is something here that has to be done, even if you cannot explain why. Do not wait for the rain. Do not wait for the results to prove you right, for success to show that you were correct, for the people around you to finally “accept” what you are doing. One day the rain will come.