It was hard reading, this year, about the Flood. Was it the climate of hate that I and my fellow sojourners find so painful. Is it having to confront my mistaken belief that there must have been something wrong with the 1930’s Germans to fall into Hitler’s reign of terror? something that could never happen, here? Hubris may be the last thing to conquer in each person’s development. So, why not chauvinistic hubris, aye?
I only read (layned) the part about the raven and the dove (Gen 8) … pretty positive stuff. But the earlier readings made me tear up! How could it be?
Gen 6:12 and beyond:
And God saw the earth and behold it was despoiled for all flesh had despoiled His way for the earth. … “Behold! I’m despoiling the earth. … And, behold me! I am bringing the floods of water onto the earth to despoil all flesh that has life in it under the heavens; everyone of the earth will die. … For in but seven days to come, I will rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights and I will erase all that stands of that which I created on the earth. … And all flesh died from that which crawls on the earth, among the birds and among the cattle and the bests and among all the bugs that crawl on the earth and each and every man.” (The word שיחת is the one I keep translating as despoiled … Man despoils the Earth and God despoils mankind.)
It goes on (beyond Gen 7.22) with death and erasure and detailing of who died.
Where does such anger arise? Thanatos! Killing! Murder! Paternal rage? “As long as you live under my roof!” Maternal? “I brought you into this World and I can take you out!” Where is the Rachamim … the Gmilas Chessed … the Kindness and Grace in our view of others?
It made me very sad, this year.