Consequences of our choices

Let us pick up the story of Noah from the point of his becoming a master of the soil. Obviously, there was a need to satisfy the basic needs – simple fruit and vegetables, plus Noah was the first one who was allowed to add meat to his diet. Sounds like a healthy diet, so why would one spend at least 3 years planting and growing grapes just to make them into wine?

In our previous chat, we spoke about the possibility of trying to rectify the misuse of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. This is becoming even more obvious once we compare
the language used to describe Noah planting the vineyard. The word for planting is the same as describing the Almighty planting trees in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, we see that it is
not just an action, but an intent in it – trying to bring more holiness in the world through becoming a co-creator.

When we are reading the text, we understand that it is not all the knowledge, but knowledge of good and evil. What did it mean? Did it assume knowledge in a scientific way? Or was it a moral way? Or maybe it was even in the Biblical way? We will see that it is actually all of the above and much more. For now, we are going back to Noah.

It is highly probable that Noah knew the story, and therefore, he wanted to rectify the misuse of the fruit. As such, he could have decided to have wine and try to use it in the appropriate way. Since patience is one of the main character traits for Noah, as we saw him committed to the building of the ark for 120 years, growing crops for 3 or even 5 years sounds like not much. So the fruit is grown, and wine is made. It is time to enjoy the product.

Enjoying the fruit of our labour is a great thing as long as we remember that all of the physical world and beyond are created by the Almighty. If we are ready to view it as a gift of the loving father and our king, we will ensure to treat it with utmost respect. Wine is no exception to the rule – we need to be careful in consumption and appreciate it. It means knowing when to stop. How much more so, if one is trying to be an example of good behaviour, so that others’ misuse can be rectified.

This is what is written about Noah – he made wine, became drunk and uncovered himself in his tent. It is always very hard to read it. If he wanted to make things better, why get drunk? As a righteous man, does Noah not know when to stop? What has happened to the hardworking patient man? And why the need to uncover, even in his tent? This kind of behaviour paints the picture of the local drunk, rather than the man of such great character. It looks like there are no excuses for such a poor choice.

There is a saying – the greater the person, the harder the fall. This is what has happened to Noah. The great person who was chosen to be saved from worldwide destruction got drunk to the degree of getting naked. He still had some dignity to do it in the privacy of his tent, but it feels more like a consolation if we are clinging to straws. Even our sages are divided on how to view all of the above. With all the explanations, it is still hard to give it a clean pass.

So the lesson for me is to know my strengths and weaknesses. Maybe Noah should have learned his ability to consume alcohol and his tolerance level? Or maybe consuming anything should be in moderation only, so embarrassment can be avoided? Or could it be that it was his choice to act alone, so he had nobody to tell him when to stop? Or maybe his wife tried to stop him, but he would not listen? Personally, it looks to me like Noah has made a decision to act alone in a similar way that he built the ark alone. Self-reliability is a good thing, however it has to be balanced with the ability to be a team member.

There are so many more possibilities. At times, it is hard to say if we are questioning the main character of any story or just trying to question our own behaviour. One thing seems to be clear, although Noah’s intentions were good. Maybe he did not fully succeed in rectifying the consumption of forbidden fruit, but he definitely continues teaching us many more lessons. Let us continue to dive into the story soon.