In this week’s Parsha, Noah was told by G-d to build the ark.  Amongst the directions was the following: “…you shall make a tzohar for the ark…”

Rashi explains that some say a Tzohar means a window, others say it was a precious stone that provided light for them.

There is a difference between the two.  A window allows light in from the outside whereas the light of a gem comes from within, from the very essence of the stone.

Like everything else in the Torah, we can learn a lesson from these different explanations.

We can have different approaches to our daily tasks and our role in the world.  Undoubtedly we often need external help to educate, to further our development and to energize ourselves.  This is the ‘making a window’, getting some light from outside.  It also entails looking out, ‘through the window’, acknowledging what is going on around us and realizing that nothing is arbitrary, that everything is part of the greater scheme of things.

Once we begin this process, we should not satisfy ourselves with merely letting in some light from the outside, like a window.  Our goal should be to reveal the essence, to make the gem shine on its own, without relying on assistance.

Leadership Qualities

According to the Torah, Noah spent many years building the ark.  Yet only he and his own family actually ended up in the Ark.  Sure, if somebody would have asked him he would have explained G-d’s warning and the world’s predicament, but he did not actively seek out others to communicate with them.  As we see, the message clearly did not get too far since nobody else joined them in the Ark.  This is one reason, according to our Sages, that the flood was known as ‘the waters of Noah’ because to some degree he could have done more to prevent it.

The mark of a true leader is one who seeks out to inspire others, not waiting for them to come and ask what is going on but reaching them first.  In this Noah was not ultimately successful.  By contrast, when G-d threatened to wipe out the Jewish people and make a new nation from Moses’ descendants, Moses protested that if G-d was not going save the people, he wanted his name removed from the Torah.  To him, he could not conceive of an existence without his people.  Even though G-d would have saved him, he could not countenance such a scenario.

We may not be on the level of Moses or Noah, but each of us at some time or another is faced with challenges and opportunities to show an example, to inspire others, to take on a leadership role.  Who will be our role model?  Will we simply make sure our conduct is sufficient, that we are doing okay without worrying about those around us?  Or will we seek to have a positive and influential effect beyond our own confines?