麻豆社

From Julia Neuberger, Senior Rabbi at the west London Synagogue:

After a bright cold day walking along the beach in Suffolk last weekend, storm Angus hit on Saturday night. The rain pounded the windows. It was impossible to sleep. The trees were battered by the wind. By morning, several roads were flooded and everywhere looked mistily damp. And that was in an area that 飞补蝉苍鈥檛 badly hit.

Every time we have a real storm, every time we batten down the hatches and sit by the fire, hoping there won鈥檛 be a power cut, I think of that first great Biblical storm in Genesis, the one that caused Noah鈥檚 flood. It rained for forty days and forty nights. Presumably, somewhere in modern day Iraq or Armenia, heavy prolonged rain was not the norm - unlike the UK. Noah and his family prepared themselves for trouble. They battened down the hatches of the Ark, assuming the Ark had hatches. The phrase is a much later nautical expression from the strips of wood and tarpaulin used to cover deck openings when bad weather was on its way.

We use the phrase to mean preparing for tough times. Spending less, eating less, being careful, knowing there鈥檚 a threat out there.聽 We humans often see storms as a precursor to something much worse, even though rationally we know that winter brings storms every year. We have a healthy respect for nature, and its attendant uncertainty. For we like to feel we鈥檙e in control.

Yet life is uncertain. One day we鈥檙e healthy, the next day illness strikes. One day everything in the garden is rosy, next day we鈥檝e lost a job. Uncertainty. Storms remind us of that. But the Noah message is that we can prepare for uncertain times. We can batten down the hatches. We can try to stay healthy, look after our relationships, work hard and productively. Even then, we may not be able to control everything. But if we give up and let the storm flatten us without even trying to protect ourselves, we will have denied the fact that human beings have free will. We are not entirely creatures of the elements. We can make a difference, for ourselves and others. And storms should remind us to try.