Human goals... are they for the birds?

Parshat Noach

 by Rabbi Avi Billet

 “And he sent the raven, which went back and forth until the water dried up from upon the land. And he sent the dove from being with him, to see whether the water had lowered from being on the earth.” (8:7-8) 

 A few questions strike us.

Why send the raven – it didn’t seem to have a mission? Did the raven return to the Ark? Considering that it went out around three months before the occupants of the Ark were able to leave, was it able to fly around for that length of time? Why send the dove? Why not a different bird? Considering that the dove came back – seemingly unsuccessfully – why send it out again, why not change birds as he did from raven to dove?

Rabbi Chaim Paltiel notes that the raven was not sent “from being with him” nor was it sent “to see.” Firstly, the pure (what we might call “kosher”) birds lived with Noach in his domicile, while the impure (nonkosher) birds were elsewhere in the Ark. Secondly, the raven was not sent to see anything, because he was not sent on a particular mission. The Talmud tells us (Sanhedrin 108) that the raven was one of three beings (the others being the dog and Noach’s son Cham) that violated the moratorium on mating in the Ark. The raven was being sent out as a punishment – and it went back and forth, hoping Noach would take him back. Noach sent him out with the thought process that God had brought the flood on all living creatures, humans AND animals and birds, on account of sins of this nature. Noach felt he needed to send the raven off the boat.

Alshikh adds that the raven was sent out, after all rain ended, and he could perch himself on the deck of the Ark, because it is used to living on wood (branches). This kind of treatment was available to the raven, who had the gift of flight and the ability to survive in the elements, while the dog and Cham would not survive under such circumstances.

So why the dove? Alshikh quotes the Rabbis who say that the raven was not willing to go very far because he did not want to abandon his mate (I assume, even though Noach was blocking off access to her). But the dove is of a different mentality. It is very trusting of its mate – even if it is separate from her for a while, it did not enjoy being fed by Noach for it preferred to eat the bitter olive from God than any sweets from a human of flesh and blood. And Noach recognized this, saw that if the dove would find a place to live it wouldn’t come back, and through this he would know the land was dried up.

The only piece that is missing is why Noach would need such a sign. Wouldn’t he trust that God would tell him when to leave the Ark, as God in fact did in 8:16?

To summarize our answers, we see the raven was sent out for a very different reason than the dove – with no particular mission. It did not fly around aimlessly, as it simply moved its perch to the Ark’s deck. The dove was the bird that was itching to get away from the human, and ready to stay wherever it would find a place to stay. This is why the dove was sent again and again.

 Which leaves us with Noach and his trust of God concern. This is a shot in the dark, but Noach demonstrated even at the beginning of the flood that he wasn’t going to wait for God to tell him what to do. (see Chapter 7:7-16, which is somewhat confusing) As such, waiting for God to tell him to leave wasn’t necessarily in his lexicon either.

The message we take from all this is that humans and animals all have character traits inherent in their nature. Some animals are more trusting of humans, some less so. Some march to the beat of their own drum, and some can be trained.

 Humans also have their own issues with trust, and seeking out their own destiny. It is important to have trust in God. But sometimes it is also important not to wait for a sign from God, because that sign is not always coming. Some people are blessed to see signs in some or many of their experiences. But those who see that their destiny lies in the good decisions they make, and the initiatives they undertake to shape their future (“hishtadlut”) often see the true benefits of their efforts.

 Like Noach, who – in general – did not wait around for things to happen, we should be blessed to take charge of our future, so we can see success in the areas of life which are in our control.