Parasha Noach –
Get out of your Noach Zone!!
“We have been trying to get a New Attitude, a New Relationship with our Creator, and to discover the obstacle in our path” (the Mission Statement on BB pg 72)
We are are continuing our weekly Series:
Today, we are learning, how Parasha Noach speaks to those who seek Recovery.
Noach – the most Mysterious Figure in the Torah
Tucked smack in the middle of the generations between Adam HaRishon and Abraham is a somewhat peculiar man named Noach. As we all know, Noach was commanded by G-d to build an Ark since G-d intended to destroy all the inhabitants of the Earth for their slide into perverse behaviors. If we use the timeline of Noach and his sons, our Sages calculate that is took Noach 120 years to build the Ark.
Did you know that the translation of the word Noach is “COMFORT.”
Why did G-d name this righteous carpenter and the last living man on the earth during the Flood (along with his sons and family) “Noach?”
Let’s consider what the Parasha can teach the addict...
Of course you’ve heard of the phrase –“The Comfort Zone.” Consider people (maybe ourselves) who live in the Comfort Zone. In fact, it is recognized that 98% of the population lives in the comfort zone. These are people who:
- Choose to live like everyone else
- Who are insecure
- Who are just getting by
- Who play it safe
- Who Procrastinate
- Who settle for less and
- Lead a Dull Life!
Does this sound like you? Well for certain reasons, Noach represents living in the Comfort Zone! We learn that the main reason that it took Noach 120 years was so he could try to influence others to abandon their evil and destructive ways. But we see that Noach was unable to do so.
Take a look at Genesis Chapter 6 Verse 14:
“Make for YOURSELF an Ark…עשה לך תבת”
For the Addict, everything is about Him/Her. Their choices, what they focus on, how they interpreted the world and the people around them is all about themselves.
We know that the core of the Program is the 12 Steps. Our Recovery depends on our working ALL 12 STEPS! Notice that Step 12 is “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”
Torah Commentators criticize Noach precisely for his ineffectiveness in “Working with Others.” That’s why he was commanded to “Make for YOURSELF an Ark.” Why wasn’t Noach told to Make an Ark for Others?!
Isn’t it time that we GET OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE – to pay attention to our loved ones – to spend less time being a TAKER and spend more time being a GIVER?! We can only do this by remembering to practice Step 12!
Isolation is I-Solution
Fortunately, G-d gives us a great piece of advice on what is the primary cause of our acting out: ARROGANCE.
As we learn from Steps 6 and 7 in our Program, when we are entirely ready, we HUMBLY ask G-d to:
Remove our Defects of Character!
And when He does, it is then our obligation and opportunity to replace the void when giving up our Selfishness and Dishonesty with being in alignment and replacing these defects with the G-dly traits of:
- Humility
- Honesty and
- Generosity
Thanks to Parsha Noach, I learn to shift my focus from Self-Consciousness to Other Consciousness and ultimately to G-d Consciousness!!
