It’s
been approximately six weeks since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. As
of now, only 15% of the island has power. There is still a shortage of drinking
water. Recently the President has stated that it was not his job to use the
military to transport and distribute food, nor was it his job to make sure that
power returns to the island. Simultaneously, tensions continue to rise with
North Korea, I can’t help but think of the late President, Harry S. Truman, who
was President when the Korean War was fought and the 38th Parallel
became part of the Western lexicon. President Truman used to keep a paper
weight on his desk with the saying “The Buck Stops Here”. In a sense it became
indicative of President Truman’s view of leadership. The leader is ultimately
responsible and therefore must assume that responsibility.
This
week we read Parshat Noach. Noach’s should be familiar to all of us. God sends
a flood as a means of dealing with the growing disappointment in mankind
abysmal behavior. However one man, Noach, is deemed Ish Tzadik B’dorotav – a
righteous man in his generation and God makes a covenant with him and his
family. As a result, Noach, his family,
and the male and female of every species will be saved in order to re-create
after the flood. God instructs Noach to build a Tevah, an Ark. Noach, his
family, and each species of animal is saved. In a sense, a second creation
ensues, and Noach and is family begin the narrative of re-creation. Generations
pass, and eventually mankind becomes corrupt. This time, the corruption is the
result of the mankind’s passivity by permitting, a certain kind of person to
become the leader and never questioning or opposing his desire to build a Tower.
A Tower is built, God views it as a violation of boundaries and rather than
destroying the world, multiple languages come into being and people are unable
to communicate. As a result, the leadership which lacked respect for boundaries
scatters across the earth. The Parsha concludes ten generations later with the
birth of Avraham Avinu, Abraham the Patriarch.
The
narrative appears quite straightforward and simple. God is unhappy with the way
people behave. He identifies Noach as a worthy partner and instructs him to
build the Ark. However one should keep
in mind that Ark wasn’t built in a few days or weeks. According to the Midrash,
the ark was built over the course of many decades. Even worse the flood didn’t come
right away, that too, was decades in the making. According to the Midrash
Tanchuma, it took Noach 120 years to build the Ark. Also, the Ark was built
atop a mountain in order to give Noach the greatest amount of time to complete
the project. This meant hauling all the materials up a mountain. Imagine
spending roughly 1/8th of your life preparing for the future.
Imagine spending roughly 1/8th of your life engaged in a single
endeavor. Imagine putting off gratification for 1/8th of your life
and then knowing your sense of accomplishment is predicated on the destruction
of so much. Imagine spending 1/8th of your life hauling Gopher wood
up a mountain. Every day Noach spent his time engaged in one activity, building
the first aircraft carrier. Eventually the project would become the purpose of
living. During this time, Noach’s life was not so easy. In fact, from a
practical perspective, Noach’s life seems quite depressing. According to
Midrash Tanchuma, Noach faced ridicule from others and he was threatened with
death. Yet despite it all, he continued building even though the gratification
from the project would not occur for many years. Even with the first raindrops
and the first opportunity to enjoy the fruit of his life’s’ work and enter the
Ark; he didn’t. Rather, he delayed his sense of accomplishment and
gratification. Noach waited until the last possible second when there was no
hope of saving anymore of God’s creation, and then he finally entered the Ark.
Being
the leader can be a rather lonely job. Whether it’s the leader of a family, a
tribe or a community it can be lonely. By no means was Noach a perfect leader.
In fact one of the criticisms was that he really didn’t lead, instead his
concern was limited to himself, his family and the animals that entered the
Ark. That being said, Noach offers a valuable lesson in leadership. Leaders cannot be concerned with immediate
gratification. Rather, a leader takes the long view of history and destiny. A
leader has the strength of his belief and convictions which allows him to worry
about the long term and not be concerned with the short term. When undo
attention is given to the short term, it seems that more people suffer as is
the case in Puerto Rico. Hopefully those in a position to make a difference
will remember President Truman’s paper weight that sat atop his desk: “The Buck
Stops Here”.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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