10.25.24 ~ As it was in the days of Noah

How did Noah bring comfort from the labor and toil in the cursed earth? The sages say that Noah invented the plow; a device to make labor easier. Could this be the straw that broke the camel's back? Huh? Wouldn't the plow be considered a good thing?

By allowing men to accomplish more work...yes, it's wonderful. As far as bringing 'comfort/nacham', the answer is no. Comfort involves a change in perspective. Many of you understand this perspective shift in the loss of a loved one. At first there is a terrible pain, searing grief before the burial. But after the burial, there's a new kind of mourning that makes us deal with the reality of loss. It's a coping mechanism to our pain and loss, which allows us to move on in life.

The curses put upon the earth that led to man making bread through the sweat of our brow and eating in sadness, were given to remind us of our alienation from what the Lord God originally intended. None of us like labor and sadness so we invent objects of comfort...today, it might be likened to all of our 4G and 5G technology.  It's our way of dealing with our alienation from God.

The original curses were designed as a homing beacon to guide us back to the creator. The more we become alienated, the stronger the homing beacon becomes and the greater the desire to come back to the Garden.

The curses lead us to understand the consequences of sin, our alienation, our sadness, and the hunger to return to that original intimacy we had in the Garden of Eden.

The Lord makes His declaration to destroy the world when man finds comfort in all the 'plows' of life. Our modern day 'plow' is a technological solution to a spiritual problem. It's the 'pleasure drug' to take our mind off the pain and sadness of life.

The plow is not sinful. We can work the soil with it. We don't have to be alienated anymore. But when we find comfort in the 'plow' that's when the relationship loses its Garden intimacy and the Lord says, it's time to start over.

As it was in the days of Noah...

Fortunately, He's not done calling out individuals, who are building 'Arks' for the saving of His house (Heb. 11:7).

Happy Preparation Day and Shabbat Shalom

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