Rabbi’s Message: October 21, 2025

What do we do after the trauma?

This is the question that I always have when I read this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Noah. 

Yes, in this Torah portion, I love thinking about the woodworking fun that must have been learning how to build a large boat. 

Yes, in this Torah portion, I love imagining all of the animals marching two by two (or seven by seven, depending on which verse you are reading).

Yes, in this Torah portion, I love picturing what it means to keep watch for first the raven and then the dove, in the hopes that indeed the flood waters themselves will eventually recede. 

And, if you know me, you know that I am practically vibrating with excitement over the crafting opportunities for teaching this Torah portion to children.

But really, every single time I read this Torah portion, the part that trips up my heart is how Noah fails to deal with the trauma of watching the death of people within his extended community. Did he know them? Maybe. But did their drowning in the overwhelming flood clearly wound his heart? Most certainly. The problem is that, in response, Noah could not “unclench” from his experience. He could not let go of the trauma, allowing it to flow through and past him; instead, he dammed it up by trying to dull his senses as soon as possible after the event. While it is beautiful that he planted a vineyard as soon as he disembarked, his intention was not to reaffirm the bounty that the earth had to offer; the rabbis say that his intention was to be able to get drunk as soon as possible.

Feelings are funny in this kind of way. It can be so deeply painful to craft healthier adaptations to difficult emotions or trauma. It is hard work to be aware of what might send you spiritually and emotionally reeling and then to find paths towards effective healing afterwards. And yet, avoiding processing the grief, the trauma, the pain that life sometimes brings us simply does not work either. 

This is the challenge of the moment for Noah and for us: what healthy choices are we able to choose in the face of recovery from difficulty? Instead of planting ourselves in the first spot we see, are we able to see that a variety of options might lay before us? Instead of hiding away, are we able to ask for support from our loved ones and reach out to others in our community for a helping hand?