The earth was corrupt before God; it was filled with lawlessness. When God saw how corrupt the earth was, God said to Noah, I have decided to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with lawlessness because of them: I will destroy them along with the Earth.
This is Parashat Noah. Before God speaks to Noah, we have only one sentence of background - Noah was a righteous man and blameless in his age. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons.
The most extraordinary thing about Noah is the fact that God chooses him to be the sole survivor of humanity's impending destruction. It would seem that God chooses Noah because he was blameless in his age. Our tradition suggests that this isn't as much of an accolade as it might seem ... It simply means that compared to the rest of humanity that was terrible and corrupt, Noah wasn't so bad.
And so, Noah builds an ark with him and his family and every animal, and sets sail for 40 days and 40 nights. When the destruction was over, when the raging waters of the seas stopped, God said: Never again will I doom the earth because of man, nor will I ever again destroy every living being.
We could say that God performed t'shuvah. God recognized that it was a mistake to destroy all of the Earth, and God regretted the decision to do so. God made a promise to never to so again ... and God has kept that promise.
Because after all, the Earth is good. After creating light on the first day of creation, God calls is good. God calls the seas and the insects and the sky and yes, even man and woman good. As such, God needs to care about the creations that God spoke into existence.
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But unfortunately, God's promise isn't enough. Regardless of the beauty and goodness of God's creation, or God's promise, we have the power and ability to destroy the Earth. And it seems that we're doing exactly that.
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You have probably seen news about the recent United Nations climate report. We are dangerously close to a point of no return. If we do not take serious steps now, our planet will face dire consequences within the next 30 years. As I've learned more about climate change in recent months, it seems like the science is indisputable. This question isn't whether or not this is true, the question is whether or not we care enough to change our behaviors.
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In some ways, Noah had it easy, because all he had to do was to listen to God, follow's God's instructions, and then wait 40 days and nights in the safety of an ark. As a matter of fact, Noah's name comes from the Hebrew root that has something to do with rest.
We have no such luxer. The safety of the Earth is no longer up to God - it's up to us. If we are like Noah and do nothing, destruction will come. If we metaphorically hide in an ark and pretend that this isn't happening, destruction will come. We can not be like Noah. We can not rest.
Remember that we were created in the image of God. We must start to save our planet, so that God can continue to hold to God's promise. Creation is good. Let's keep it that way.
