3 Cheshvan 18 October 2023
Neither Noah nor the animals wanted to leave the ark, for they knew that once they did, the animals would revert to their naturally aggressive behavior. Their peaceful coexistence was a taste of the heightened spiritual state of the messianic future.40 Therefore,41 G-d spoke to Noah, saying,
16 “Leave the ark,… 20 Noah built an altar to G-d. He took some of every species of ritually pure livestock and of every kind of ritually pure bird, and he offered them up as ascent-offerings on the altar. An ascent-offering is one in which the meat of the animal is entirely consumed by fire on an altar.
The ark is a metaphor for Torah study and prayer. A safe haven where you can shape your religious life on your own or with a small group of people.
Even though I write a lot of blogs and make YouTube videos, I’ve always attempted to do so in the “safest” way possible. Spreading the word, sure, but not right away in the immediate vicinity, and speaking out about it too much to friends and at work, no.
G-d told Noah, “Get out of the Ark, go out into the world, and make the world habitable again.” Noah ultimately left.
By Angelique Sijbolts
Sources:
Chabad: Interpolated Translation for Parshah Noach
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