Torah Portion:	Noach
Synagogue:	Shira Chadasha (Partnership Orthodox)
Walking time from home:	25 minutes
Reason for going:	Old favourite
Kiddush:	Small but plentiful with two Cholents!

In many shules across the country and no doubt around the world, this Shabbat was considered the first quiet one since before the start of the Jewish holy day season some two months ago. Whilst last week was the first portion of the year, the portion of Bereshit also signified the official transition to a new board, so although it was not a festival, it was still busy for the rabbi and the board.

This week however, after the first week without any religious disruptions for a month, synagogues settled back into their normal routines, and therefore in some shules, it was actually the first opportunity for months that some rabbis could take time off. I know of at least a few rabbis who had the week off this week as a result.

In a practical sense, it meant that there were no events, no special guest speakers or fancy kiddushes, so for a synagogue-hopper like me, it was hard to decide where to go.

I ended up going to Shira, in part because it is one of my old favourites, but in part because they regularly don’t have a rabbi and each week the sermon is thus delivered by one of the congregants. The speaker this week – who always tells a good story – began by saying that for him, Shira is also an old favourite because it is a shule for Torah grapplers: people who absolutely believe in and love Jewish culture and tradition, but aren’t quite sure if the stories of the Torah are supposed to be taken literally or figuratively. Did the story of Noach and the flood and all the other stories of the Torah actually happen, or are they supposed to be an allegory? And either way, what lessons can be learned? Shira is the kind of place that accommodates both views, because whilst it is nominally orthodox, it also has very contemporary, progressive values and as an institution is extremely non-judgemental, thus making almost everyone feel comfortable and welcomed.

Whether real or imagined, Noach was a complex character: someone who liked stability but also craved adventure and seemingly didn’t do anything in moderation, from being one of the only ones who saw the impending doom, to building an enormous ark, to getting stupendously drunk. In many ways, he was what we might now call – somewhat derogatorily – a raving environmentalist. And whilst the portion can teach us a lot about balance, it is also very relevant to us in Australia at the moment, with floods across much of the east coast. Many of us feel completely out of sorts when it rains for just one day, with the roads barely being unable to cope and minor flooding in some areas. Imagine if it rained for 40 days straight?!  

The portion ends with the building of the tower of Babel, which is also a confronting tale. The people of that episode had great uniformity (they lived the same way, spoke the same language, etc), but what they lacked was unity. The idea to become more united may have been a good one, but the execution clearly was not.

In our day, there is a lot we can learn from these stories, and this week in shule they were honoured by duality as well: the same family celebrated the birth of a new baby and the commemoration of grandparents who never got to see their new grandchild. The circle of life continues, and my synagogue exploration also continues.