Parashat Noach
In Parshat Noach, Hashem tells Noach to build a teiva to protect himself and his family from the mabul that was about to destroy the Earth. Hashem instructed Noach to gather animals on the teiva. Noach did what Hashem said to do, and it then rained for 40 days and nights. Noach, his family, and the animals were saved on the teiva. Hashem shows Noach a keshet in the sky and declares it a sign that He will never destroy the earth again.
"I have set My bow in the clouds, and it shall serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth."
When Hashem sent this flood, Noach was instructed to be proactive as opposed to sitting idly by, planning for people, animals, and plants to be able to continue after the mabul. Let's plan for the future of our garden!
From Parshat Noach, we learn how important it is to plan for the future. Noach planned for the future by bringing the animals onto the teiva and saving them from the mabul. In our garden, we can plan for the future by planting, saving seeds, or taking care of our soil by composting.
Stewarding the Earth: Noach gathered and cared for the animals on the teiva. He saved fig shoots and grape vines to plant after the mabul was over. These actions show us that Noach cared for the Earth. He understood the importance of planning ahead as central to stewarding the Earth in the right way, at the right time.
How do we balance having emunah that Hashem will provide, with the notion that our Hishtadlut is required? Does Hashem need us to steward the earth?
Rashi says (Bereshit 9:20) that Noach brought grape vines and fig tree shoots into the teiva with him. We can learn from here the importance of preparing for the future of our planet by seed saving from one season to the next.
- If available in the garden, find seeds to gather and store them for the right time to plant them.
- Alternatively, find some tomatoes or peppers from the lunchroom to open, clean, and save the seeds for planting in the right season.
To emulate Noach's planning for the future, we can plan for a healthy future in our garden by recycling our plant scraps. Composting is a beneficial way to do that!
- Head: Discuss how to compost and its benefits: improving soil structure, retaining moisture and nutrients, attracting beneficial organisms, and reducing soil erosion.
- Heart: Composting helps future generations of plants.
- Hand: Collect leaves for compost. If possible, collect food scraps from the school kitchen as well. Or create a worm bin!
In Parshat Noach, Hashem put a beautiful rainbow in the sky as His promise that there would never be another flood. Because Hashem made this promise, we can feel safe and make plans for the future. We have a beautiful opportunity for Mah Rabu Moments by appreciating Hashem's creations through color!
- Make a rainbow using bubbles, magnifying glasses, water, etc. How is it possible to see a rainbow through each of these things? Discuss the science behind it.
- Scavenger Hunt: Invite students to explore the garden and find items that match specific colors on the color wheel. See if they can recreate the wheel, or a rainbow, with the items they found.
- Share with your students the bracha upon seeing a rainbow so they are ready for when they do see one.
As seen through our discussion today, Noach can be looked at as a paradigm of environmental stewardship, along with complete emunah in Hashem.