GO INTO THE ARK NOW

GO INTO THE ARK NOW
Spiritually Protecting Ourselves

Dear Friends,
We are in the midst of a deluge, a flood, a metaphysical and very real plague-like flood here in the streets of Israel. And it seems, by the way things are possibly going, that in a short time the streets of the world as well, people want to kill Jews simply because we exist, for no other reason at all.

Don’t buy all that other propaganda about territorial disputes, including the Temple Mount, or any of that other stuff. It’s all just to play upon the diplomatic sensibilities of the world.

It’s simply that we are Jewish. That’s our crime. That’s why they want to kill us.

We’re at a time now where we have to pay attention to what the Torah, the Bible is telling us in this parsha of Noach or Noah. The energy of the parsha of Noah is to our advantage right now because as we all know, it’s about a flood Noah’s Ark was destined to save that seedling of humans and animals from being completely wiped-out by a worldwide flood at that time. 

The parallels are strikingly clear right now, in Israel and in other countries around us, and all over the world, including Europe and America, everywhere. Right now, we ALL have to get ourselves into the Ark.

In the past, Noah’s Ark was a place of safety, a shelter from the storm, from the flood threatening to wipe out everyone and everything that wasn’t inside the Ark. 

So, we need to figure out how to build our Ark and how to get inside it, to save our lives and to be protected from the flood. So, what I’d like to share with you now is a list of what I believe to be ways we can create Arks in our own lives, to save us from the flood. The Ark is the antidote to the dire danger these current floods are creating.

• We need to jump into the Ark of being constructive, as opposed to the flood, which is destructive. We need to build ourselves an Ark which is celebrating LIFE, as opposed to the flood, which celebrates death and murder. We need to get ourselves into the Ark of G-d’s real, true Word, as opposed to murder in the name of G-d.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of being in-sync with our Holy Land here, as opposed to being out-of-sync with it, which is the flood we have threatening us as well.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of Shabbat, and realize that everything that’s happening in our lives is coming from above, as opposed to the flood of thinking that the strength of our hands is really going to save us.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of Prayer, saying to G-d, “I cannot, Hashem… I can only do it if you help me.” We need to save ourselves from the flood of saying we are the ones who determine what will happen with our own fate.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of having true pleasure in the service of G-d, and in the life force of Torah and mitzvoth, as opposed to the robotic, mechanical service in the world of the flood.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of understanding, “I am a wealthy person, an immense treasure chest, full of spiritual gifts I have amassed over the last few weeks of holidays, as opposed to thinking now it’s just the same-old, same-old schedule of the past.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of knowing we are a member of an eternal, invincible people, as opposed to the mindset, the flood-type thinking that we are vulnerable to everyone’s whims and horrible designs against us.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of knowing that every little bit of goodness and overcoming of evil we do in our lives moves worlds and elicits the support of millions and billions of people rooting for us, as opposed to falling into the flood of despair.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of radical belief, 24/7, that G-d is running our lives, no matter what we think is the cause of everything that’s going on, and that it’s coming from us, as opposed to thinking everything is by chance.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of knowing that every minute of our lives is precious, as opposed to the flood of wanting to kill time.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of trust in G-d, and knowing that G-d will come through for me, just as he has endless numbers of times before, as opposed to thinking that it’s all happenstance.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of knowing, “I am a soul and I have control of all the animal parts inside of me,” just like the animals in Noah’s Ark, as opposed to thinking, “I am a human animal who can only succeed with the laws of the jungle.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of encouragement and love for everybody we see and connect with in our lives, as opposed to the flood of hate and depression.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of seeing others with the eyes of G-d, with compassion and with vision of who they can be, as opposed to seeing others as infidels, not worthy of life.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of what G-d said to Noah, “Come into the Ark and make that light shine, meaning the teiva, the holy words of Torah and prayer. We must make that shine by going deeply into it, as opposed to the flood of thinking that everything is purposeless and lifeless, recital without any meaning.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of seeing goodness into being, as opposed to the opposite, which is seeing evil manifest.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of unifying with all the good, as opposed to the opposite.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of the good inclination inside ourselves, prompted by the spice of Torah, to counteract that flood of evil inclination, the Yetzer Hara.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of the mikvah, of purifying ourselves, to counteract the flood of impurity.

• We need to get ourselves into the act of being givers, to save ourselves from the flood of takers.

• We need to get ourselves into the act of 40 days of shelter, of going into a process and sticking with it until it gets done, just like the 40 days of the flood, as opposed to being exposed to whatever may happen in our lives and not completing them.

• We need to get into the Ark of seeing the good in people, even if it’s one little, tiny piece of good that will outshine all the bad inside of them, as opposed to the flood of the opposite.

• We need to get into the Ark of making sacred space of who we are, when we are, how we are, with whom we are, as opposed to seeing the exact opposite.

• We need to get into the Ark of talking soul and heart talk to other people, as opposed to talking hate talk, talking senseless externalities.

• We need to get into the Ark of seeing people as souls, as opposed to seeing them as enemies and something to be killed.

• We need to get into the Ark of the house of study and the house of prayer, as opposed to the flood of the opposite.

• We need to get into the Ark of modesty, as opposed to the flood of flagrancy.

• We need to get into the Ark of knowing that there is nothing else in the world, except for G-d.

Blessings,
Yitzchak Schwartz