A Thought on Parshas Noach

"...va'yachel Noach ish ha'adama va'yita karem..." (9:20) "...and Noah, man of the earth, debased himself and planted a vineyard..." What can be learned from the Torah's retelling the saga of Noach and the wine? It seems somewhat anticlimactic: he has virtually rescued the remnant of humanity and living things from the deluge of destruction. He is a pure and righteous man. He gets out of the Ark and soon after plants a vineyard, beginning again the task of preparing the world for habitation. Then, he gets drunk, is defiled horribly, and the rest is, or becomes, history as well as the conflict-ridden future of civilizations in conflict. Ibn Shuaib suggests that this is to teach us all a "sobering" lesson. He draws on a lesser-known midrash, which relates that as Noach went to plant his grapevines, he experienced an oppositional struggle. The midrash says that rather than set aside (or work past) his conflicts, the internal struggle accompanied him to the field. He offered up, at that moment. some sacrifices. These consisted, curiously, of a lamb, a lion, a monkey and a pig. Now, given that Noach had been instructed in the criteria for "pure animals" and "impure beasts", it seems puzzling that he would select one pure animal followed by three impure choices. Lions? Monkeys? Pigs? Ibn Shuaib darshans that the deeper message of the midrash is to portray a person's relationship with addictive substances, such as wine. The midrash means that as Noach approached the grapes, he may well has been docile, subdued, submissive, devotional, in the same way that a lamb displays such qualities. He may well have looked at wine as a means of further soothing himself, and humanity, in the wake of stress, loss and tragedy. A post-flood drink does not sound like a bad idea at all. It can seem like a remedy for one's intense conflicts and traumas. However, explains ibn Shuaib, when one turns to addiction in attempting to get past his misery and woe, no matter how sincere and soft he is in his first steps, he has entered a deeper stage of conflict. The first drink empowers and invigorates. A person now feels confident, strong and has no fear. He shifts from the lamb to the lion. He sacrifices his contrite meekness and out comes his brashness. This too can be rationalized. Isn't it better to feel strength than to feel humbled and lowly, in the aftermath of trauma? Isn't the lion better equipped than the lamb to fight off trauma? The midrash, in the view of ibn Shuaib, thinks otherwise. Once emboldened by drink, the person begins to disinhibit. His woes suppressed, he veers in the opposite direction, acknowledging no pressures, no limitations, no structure. He now sacrifices the might of confidence for the looseness of being nonsensical. In short, what emerges now is the monkey-like antics of the inebriated person. But this too is temporary. The fun and unbridled acting out soon fades. The drink takes a toll on the person, and disinhibition leads to utter lack of control. He is falling-down drunk. He is no longer conscious of his identity, dignity or responsibility. He sacrifices liberation and collapses into squalor and self-neglect. He is the veritable swine, wallowing in filth and disarray. This is important information, says ibn Shuaib. The Torah informs us of the vain efforts people take to flee from their struggles, rather than seek help from Above. Once we discard the lamb, we lose the lion, we exhaust the monkey, and we are left with the rock-bottom sloth of the chazir. A thought to ponder and appreciate. Good Shabbos. D Fox