The Meaning of the Name Noah
When Noach was born, his father Lemech prophetically exclaimed: “This one will bring us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands, from the ground which God has cursed.”[1] The name “Noach” (נֹחַ) is cognate to the word meaning “solace” (נֶחָמָה) and to the word meaning rest (מְנוּחָה). Rashi then quotes the Sages who identify Noach as the individual who invented the plow. With it, mankind would now be able to more easily work the earth,[2] which had been cursed since Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Furthermore, once the plow was invented, the earth itself rested from the curse that had been in effect during Adam’s lifetime.[3] As a result of these two events, people had a sense of respite from their unproductive and backbreaking labor.
Noah and the Rest of Shabbat
Given the meaning of his name and the rest he brought mankind, it is no surprise that the Zohar links Noach to Shabbat, the day of rest.[4] In Kabbalah and Chasidut a tzaddik, an exceptionally righteous person, is commonly called “Shabbat,” as his or her state of consciousness even during the week continually draws from and is connected to Shabbat. Noach in fact is the first person referred to in the Torah as a tzaddik.
Noach and his family’s experiences in the ark, riding upon the turbulent waves of the Flood, mirror the reality of Shabbat. After a week of navigating the sometimes chaotic and unpredictable realities of this world, the Shabbat provides a refuge and welcome rest from the difficulties of making a living and dealing with the trials and tribulations of day-to-day life.
But in fact, the opening verse of this week’s parashah mentions Noach’s name twice, one immediately after the other, “These are the generations of Noach, Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations; Noah walked with God.”[5] Because of this, the Zohar speaks of a “higher rest” and a “lower rest” on Shabbat.[6] The lower rest is attained by observing the Shabbat’s prohibitions, whereas the higher rest is attained by connecting to the elevated state of consciousness available on Shabbat. Establishing this connection allows a Jew to experience the awesome joy, spirituality, and peace that the Shabbat holds.
A Jew can observe all the laws of Shabbat but by thinking and speaking about mundane matters, remain totally out of sync with the Shabbat’s essential spirit. The lower and higher states of rest on Shabbat can only be experienced together when a Jew’s thoughts, speech, and actions all reflect the peace and tranquility of the holy Shabbat.
Making Your Words Shine
When God told Noach to build an ark to save himself and his family from the impending flood, the ark is described in the following way: “A window you will make for the ark and to a cubit finish it above. Put the entrance of the ark in its side, make it with a bottom, second, and third floor.”[7] Two of the Ba’al Shem Tov’s most importance teachings are based on this verse.[8]
His first teaching is based on the beginning of the verse, “A window you will make for the ark.” The Hebrew word for “window” (צֹהַר), pronounced tzohar, which literally means “shining,” and the Hebrew word for “ark” (תֵּבָה) also means “word.”[9] The Ba’al Shem Tov taught that when we recite words of prayer or Torah, we have to make them “shine,” infusing them with all of our intent. By doing so, we enable the words to connect to all the physical and spiritual worlds and ultimately to God Himself and to simultaneously illuminate the deepest recesses of our souls. The ark becomes a metaphor for how prayer saves us from the raging waters of the world, offering us shelter and comfort in times of trouble by keeping us constantly connected to God.
The Ba’al Shem Tov, based on his predecessors’ teachings, especially those of the Arizal, emphasized the unique opportunity prayer offers to directly connect to God. Reintroducing joy, song, and profound kavanah (deep intent) as integral elements of prayer, he transformed the Jewish people’s prayer experience. What had become for many a somewhat mechanical experience was transformed into a joyous, deeply personal, and spiritual one. A great deal of Chasidic thought and custom regarding prayer derive originally from the Ba’al Shem Tov’s teachings on this matter. He forged a renewed sense of how to make the words of prayer truly shine.
The Ark’s Three Stories
The Ba’al Shem Tov’s second teaching derives from the ark’s division into three distinct levels. The ark’s three stories symbolize the three levels of consciousness that encompass all human experience and physical and spiritual reality: Worlds (Olamot), Souls (Neshamot), and Divinity (Elokut). The middle floor, symbolizing the dimension of Souls, links the bottom floor—the physical and spiritual worlds with their myriad creatures, from animals to angels—to the top floor, the Divinity that permeates every point in space and time.[10]
Our own experience as human beings can be divided into these three types: On the level of “Worlds,” man searches for God; on the level of “Souls,” man attempts to serve God; and on the highest rung of “Divinity,” man longs to unite with God.[11] In the realm of “Worlds,” man’s task is to uplift all of reality, enabling ascension above the limited mundane dimensions—physical and spiritual. In the “Souls” realm, souls are drawn to connect with other souls in intimacy and shared friendship. On the level of Divinity, the soul passionately wishes to unite with God, foregoing any sense of individuation.[12] The three levels of Worlds, Souls, and Divinity and the interaction between them are reflected in our constant processing of our internal experiences and in our daily encounters with external reality.
| level | service | experience |
| Worlds | searching | to uplift |
| Souls | serving | to connect |
| Divinity | uniting | to unite |
The Ba’al Shem Tov united these two insights of how to approach prayer and Torah learning with the three levels of experiencing reality by explaining that every Hebrew letter in our prayers contains the three dimensions of: Worlds, Souls, and Divinity.[13] He concluded his famous letter to his brother-in-law, Rabbi Gershon of Kitov, with the following thoughts:
With every word of your lips intends to unite: for in every letter there are Worlds, Souls, and Divinity and they ascend and connect and unify with each other and afterwards the letters connect and unify to become a word and then unify in true unification in Divinity. Include your soul with them [words of prayer and Torah] in each and every state. And all the worlds unify as one and ascend to produce an infinitely great joy and pleasure, as you may comprehend from the joy of the bride and groom in miniature, in the physical realm; how much more so [is the joy and pleasure experienced] on such an exalted level as this. Surely God will be your aid and wherever you turn you will succeed and reach greater awareness. “Give to the wise and he will become wiser.”[14]
[1]. Genesis 5:29.
[2]. Rashi on Genesis 5:29.
[3]. Genesis 3:17-19.
[4]. Tikkunei Zohar 54a.
[5]. Genesis 6:9.
[6]. Zohar Chadash 3:94a.
[7]. Genesis 6:16.
[8]. Degel Machaneh Efrayim, Noach.
[9]. For more perspectives on the word “window,” see Sha’ashuim Yom Yom, Noach.
[10]. Degel Machaneh Efrayim, loc. cit.
[11]. The Hebrew Letters, pp. 14-19.
[12]. Ibid.
[13]. Degel Machaneh Efrayim, loc. cit. HaRav Ginsburgh’s classic work, The Hebrew Letters, is based on this teaching from the Ba’al Shem Tov. Along with explaining how each letter manifests in Worlds, Souls and Divinity, the book shows how each letter is also expressed according to its form, name and number. Thus, each letter has nine levels: Worlds, Souls and Divinity in its form, and the same in name and number.
[14]. From a letter by the Ba’al Shem Tov to his brother-in-law, Rabbi Gershon of Kitov.
