Of all the parashiot,  the weekly Torah portions, when it comes to Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies, it has been my experience over these past 29 years that the most popular parasha is this Shabbat’s, Noach - the story of Noah and the flood.  It is not that these young people and their families choose their Bar or Bat Mitzvah dates based upon the portion, but rather, it is more a lucky coincidence.  Noach falls right after all the Fall holidays, and with the weather still being moderate, permitting guests to travel more easily from distances, it is an excellent time to hold such a celebration.

However I believe that if families used the weekly Torah portion as a serious criteria for choosing the date of their simcha, indeed they would jealously vie for Shabbat Noach.  They would vie for it because the Hebrew text is beautiful and relatively easy; because it is a familiar story to Jews and non-Jews alike; and because it is brimming with wonderful opportunities for great Bar and Bat Mitzvah speeches.  Dr. Leonard Kravitz, one of my beloved seminary teachers, was fond of saying that there are just some texts in the Torah that shout out to us, “Darsheini!” - “Preach on me!” - and this text is definitely one of them.

As a result, over the years, I have been treated to hearing young people teach some magnificent lessons born of this Torah portion.  In fact, when I work with Bar or Bat Mitzvah students and their parents, and I explain how a Bar or Bat Mitzvah speech is supposed to work, invariably I use some of those Noah speeches as examples - that is as long as Noach isn’t that child’s Torah portion.  Tomorrow afternoon, when Andrew Moore gives his Bar Mitzvah speech about what he has learned from this story, he will definitely add a worthy chapter to that wonderful collection of Noah insights.

But of all the wonderful Noah speeches I have heard, there was one that stands out in my memory; one, the concept of which has always captivated me.

It was Saturday morning, October 8, 1983 - 21 years ago last Friday.  I was rabbi of Congregation Shir Hadash, in Saratoga, California.  A young man by the name of Michael Engel was celebrating his Bar Mitzvah.  His portion was Noach, and in his speech he asked a fascinating question.  His question: “If God were to repeat the events of this story today, what would be God’s criteria to determine whether a person was worthy of earning a place on the ark?”

I have used Michael’s speech so often as an excellent example of a great Bar Mitzvah speech that as I was considering what to share with you this evening, on this Shabbat Noach, I realized that it is about time that I took Michael’s challenge and asked myself what I think would be God’s criteria for a ticket on the Noah cruise, so to speak.

So then I asked myself, “Where do I begin?”  Being a rabbi, of course my answer was to start with our traditional texts.

The Rabbis of the Talmud were quick to point out that while we Jews live in a special covenantal relationship with God - a covenant first made between God and Abraham and then later confirmed and expanded at Mt. Sinai - our covenant is neither the only, nor is it the first covenant God made.  The first covenant, God made with Noah.  As it says in GENESIS, “I now establish my covenant with you and your offspring to come, and with every living thing that is with you - birds, cattle, and every wild beast as well - all that have come out of the ark, everything on the earth.  I will maintain my covenant with you: never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”^[1]

For the Rabbis, the implications of this statement were profound.  Since Noah preceded Abraham, and therefore preceded the Jewish people, that means that while we Jews live in a special covenantal relationship with God, living in a covenantal relationship with God is not restricted to Jews.  Anyone can live in a covenantal relationship with God - through the covenant of Noah.

But we must remember, covenants are contracts.  So the Rabbis asked the next logical question: What are the terms of this contract?  What does God demand of all people - Jews and non-Jews alike - in return for God’s refraining from future destruction?  Answering their own question, the Rabbis came up with a list of seven laws which have come to be known as the Noahide Laws - the laws of the Covenant of Noah.^[2]

As I looked over the list of these seven Noahide Laws, I came to realize that they are far more than merely an ancient formulation.  Each of them continues to speak to our own day, and together, they do provide an answer to Michael’s question:  “If God were to repeat the events of this story today, what would be God’s criteria to determine whether a person was worthy of earning a place on the ark?”

Let me walk you through each of these laws, with some of my own perspectives on them.

Law #1: DO NOT COMMIT IDOLATRY.

It is easy for us today to write this off as an ancient practice.   However, the truth of the matter is that today far too many of us are still idolaters.  We have just exchanged one set of idols for another.  Some of us worship the idol of success.  Some, the idol of wealth.  Some, the idol of pleasure.  Others, the idol of power.  Still others, the idol of physical beauty of prowess.  And yet others, the idol of social acceptance and adulation.  Indeed, we are so busy identifying other objects of worship in our lives that we have pushed out of our minds and hearts and souls the One who should be our true object of our worship - Adonai - God.  What greater testimony need there be for our idolatry than the empty seats of this sanctuary tonight, and the empty seats to be found in most houses of worship on whatever Sabbath one’s faith observes.  People who would never miss a football game or a basketball game or a concert or a show or a social gathering find it all too easy to miss their weekly opportunity to worship God.  If we want a place on the ark, we have to start by truly believing in God and living in an active mutual relationship with God.

LAW #2 - DO NOT COMMIT BLASPHEMY

Blasphemy is not just taking God’s name in vain and uttering such statements as “God damn it!”  Blasphemy is the act of desecrating God; of belittling God.  There are many ways that we can do that, and all too often do.  If you are standing in the presence of an individual, and that individual is talking to you, and you choose to ignore them as if they do not exist, that is demeaning.  Why would it not be the same when it comes to our treatment of God?

One of my favorite Hasidic stories tells about a Jew who was hitchhiking along a road when a wagon driver pulled up.  The driver offered him a ride if he were willing to pay.  The Jew paid and mounted the wagon.  Along the road, they came across a wheat field.  The driver stopped and said, “I am going over to that field, pick some wheat to sell in the next town.  You stay here and keep guard to see if anybody is watching.”  Not long after the driver got down and was heading toward the field, the Jew started shouting, “Somebody’s watching!  Somebody’s watching!”  Well, the driver immediately jumped back on the wagon, whipped the horses, and headed down the road as quickly as possible.  A short while later he stopped, looked around and saw no one.  “You said someone was watching!  Who was watching?” he angrily shouted.  “God was watching.”  When we forget that God is watching; that God is concerned with our every deed and every word, and we need to act accordingly, that is blasphemy.

There is another form of blasphemy as well; a more obvious form.  It is blasphemy when we try to use our beliefs about God as a club with which to beat others.  This is the type of blasphemy in which all too often religious fundamentalists are engaged.  When people proclaim in the name of God that gays and lesbians are not worthy of being treated as equal human beings, that is blasphemy.  When people profess that it is God’s will that others be killed because of their differences and that those who do the killing will be rewarded in heaven, that is blasphemy.  When people insist that God only listens to their prayers and rejects the prayers of those who pray differently, that, too, is blasphemy.  If we want a place on the ark, we must take God seriously, we must treat God respectfully, and we must acknowledge that we are all God’s children and must treat others accordingly.

LAW # 3 - DO NOT SHED BLOOD

It is interesting that while the Talmud text uses the term for bloodshed, most of the subsequent writing on these laws identify this law as being against murder.  There is a difference between killing someone and murdering someone.  Murder implies malicious intent.  A soldier fighting in a war may kill the enemy, but that is usually not considered murder.  Jewish law itself makes a clear distinction between killing in self defense and murder.

All that having been said, I prefer the original language.  Bloodshed is shedding blood, even if the victim doesn’t die.  The prohibition against bloodshed is a prohibition against hurting other human beings.  And you know what?  You don’t necessarily have to physically hurt them to shed their blood.  There is plenty of bloodless bloodshed that goes on in our world as well as the bloody bloodshed.  When we deny people their rights and their freedom, that is bloodshed.  When we keep people in poverty and hunger, that, too, is bloodshed.  For every human being - especially the children - who dies of hunger on our planet, we are all guilty of bloodshed.  For every life that is lost in places like the Sudan, where genocide is going on while we sit quietly by and allow it to happen, we are guilty of bloodshed.  While we are not guilty of bloodshed when we take up arms in defense of our lives and the lives of our loved ones, we are guilty of bloodshed when we do not hold our soldiers, whether they be American soldiers or Israeli soldiers, to the highest moral standards of warfare, and as a result, innocent lives are needlessly lost with the guilty.

If we want a place on the ark, we must strive to do no harm to others.  We must hold life as precious and reserve whatever violence we commit to being clearly in the cause of self defense.

LAW #4 - DO NOT STEAL

This law is not just about grand larceny.  It is about our respect for the property of others as well as our honesty in fulfilling our commitments.  Indeed, it is the smaller incidents of cheating that destroy our souls.  Did we ever cheat on an exam in school, copying off of somebody else’s paper?  Did we ever write a paper and include somebody else’s scholarship but neglect to properly cite them in the footnotes and bibliography?  Have we ever fudged on our income tax returns?  What about our Temple dues?  Do they honestly reflect our fair share or are they whatever we think we can get away with paying?  When we are in a store and the cashier gives us more change than is our due, what do we do?  Do we say,“Excuse me.  I think you gave me too much” or do we quietly and slyly pocket it, counting it as our good fortune?  If we want a place on the ark, we must be honest and fair with all people.

LAW #5 - DO NOT ENGAGE IN SEXUAL IMMORALITY

The traditional Jewish interpretation of sexual immorality includes incest and adultery.  One might think that this law speaks for itself, and on one level - the obvious level - it does.  But our society has created new ways for us to violate the sanctity of our families.  We also damage our children and betray our spouses when we abandon ourselves to our careers; when we consistently put our professional needs above the needs of our families.  Our selfish pursuits of our own ego fulfillment at the expense of those we love can be as devastating a betrayal of our families as any sexual misconduct.  If we want a place on the ark, we must keep the well being of those we love as our highest priority.

LAW #6 - DO NOT REMOVE AND EAT THE FLESH OF A LIVING ANIMAL

What’s this all about?  Unfortunately, in the ancient world it was a common practice to do precisely this.  It was considered a delicacy, far superior in taste to replicating the natural body heat of the animal through the cooking of the meat.  Well, we don’t do that any more, or do we?

Why did the Rabbi prohibit this?  Because it is fundamentally cruel.  It was an act of placing our pleasure over and above whatever suffering might be wrought in our pursuit of that pleasure.  While we no longer tear flesh off of living animals, we still are engaged in similar cruel practices.  For example, whenever we purchase of piece of clothing that was produced in some third world sweatshop by workers who are earning mere pennies for their labors, and we enjoy the bargain we have found and the money we have saved, we are violating this law.  Our savings on that inexpensive piece of clothing comes out of the flesh of that exploited worker and his or her family.  If we want a place on the ark, we have to be ever vigilant that the joys of our lives are not paid for by the suffering of others.

LAW #7 - SET UP COURTS OF JUSTICE

Justice.  It is the bottom line.  Justice for everyone and not just for ourselves.  If we want to fulfill the will of God then we must be engines for justice.  We must never rest until justice is universal.  As long as one individual in this world is denied justice, the world is innately unjust, and we are responsible.  If we want a place on the ark, then we must be tireless in our pursuit of justice for all.