Written by: Rabbi David Katz

In Parsha Noach, we find Noach being charged with the monumental task of building the Ark and to provide the world with a better opportunity to not only save the world, but to make it a better place this time around. An obvious mission in the nature of this agenda would be to provide the New World with the tools necessary to succeed in the Seven Mitzvot of Bnei Noach ; ie. planting these 7 laws into the very psyche of the New World, and to make a foundation strong enough for an eventual and inevitable terrain to host a “Matan Torah”, the giving over of the Torah, for all of Mankind.

As nearly everybody knows, Noach did indeed make the Ark, but what was the contribution of Noah’s righteous son Shem? Did he have a part in this? Was it a big part? Was he absolutely necessary? The Midrash can help us fill in the gaps to understand, revealing what Shem’s task and role really was.

חרש זה שם בן נח:שנח עשה את התיבה מ''מ שם בנו היה מתחזק עמו במלאכתו.

Translation: Shem, Son of Noach, was a craftsman; That Noach built the Ark, in any case Shem his son was strengthening him with [contributions] of his Creative Labor.

Let’s focus on this term, “Creative Labor”, or, “Melacha/מלאכה”, in Hebrew.

After the Jewish sin of the Golden Calf, Hashem commanded Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses) to construct the Tabernacle, a traveling sanctuary, such that Hashem could be served while traveling in the desert.

The Tabernacle, according to the Torah, was to be made of general craftsmanship, yet highlighted by and integrally charged with supernatural construction. The master architect of the Tabernacle, was Betzalel, a member of the Children of Israel that was supremely Blessed with intellectual faculties such that the world had never seen: Betzalel could actually build the Tabernacle not only with “bricks and mortar”, but with the Building Blocks of the Universe: The Creative Force of the Hebrew Alphabet.

The Mishkan (Tabernacle) required 39 different labors, creative labors, that would be the vehicle to cater to The Divine Presence that was to be found in the Mishkan, termed “The Shechinah.”

These 39 labors, or “Melachot/מלאכות” (of Melacha) are the 39 actions that a Jew refrains from doing on Shabbat. One example of this, is in the Mishkan, bread was baked; thus cooking is forbidden on the Shabbos. Not only is it not done, it is considered a creative force, to cook…therefore there is the physical cooking that weighs into this forbidden action, and embedded into its essence is its spiritual lifeforce, such that a soul like Betzalel would be able to grasp its essence. That same lifeforce Hashem Himself had applied into the creation of the World, as we are taught the Mishkan is a microcosm of Creation with these 39 Creative Labors.  A Jew is not expected to grasp the full content of the Spiritual Power of something such as cooking, but the Mishkan did indeed contain this action of Creative Labor, along with its supernatural reality, however it manifested itself in the Tabernacle. With the 39 Labors together, the Tabernacle was a finite creation with the ability to contain infinite space, the model of uniting Heaven and Earth..such was the reality of the Mishkan..such was the reality of Noah’s Ark? What about Shem’s Ark?!?!

Now let’s return to our Hebrew quote of the Midrash: Shem strengthened the Ark of Noach his father, with Melacha/מלאכה.  Thus it was Shem who, not only worked with Noach, helped Noach, but Creatively infused Noach’s Ark…as Shem employed the craftsmanship of Betzalel: to make Noach’s ark as an aspect of the Tabernacle, a physical vessel that was the counterpart of Heaven, a supernatural Ark, a vessel able to contain more than its boundary.

With Shem adding the Creative Force into the Ark, it makes us realize that the Ark on its outside, was just a big boat, maybe ahead of its time, yet a boat nonetheless…whereas on its inner dimensions, it may have been multidimensional.

With this in mind, and the notion of who Shem truly was, in his spiritual power, to be a true Tzaddik Ben Tzaddik ( a righteous soul the son of a righteous soul), the sky is the limit to fathom just how fantastic the Ark truly may have been. One must remember, Betzalel made a Mishkan to host Hashem; Shem and Noach may not have been hosting The Lord, but they were hosting the entire world and its continued existence! To contain Creation, Noach’s craft along with Shem’s spiritual development, the Ark would have been a marvel of marvels to take into perspective.

With the knowledge of how powerful Creative Labor is, in conjunction with the Wisdom Hashem employed in Creation, Shem’s [-Hebrew, as his grandson was the original “Hebrew”, thus showing that Shem is the founder and master of Hebrew and its Wisdom] contribution to the Ark is unfathomable in a million lifetimes; it would delight our minds and imaginations to behold even a minute revelation of this level of spiritual caliber.

Eretz Yisrael (The Land of Israel, The Holy Temple, and the Mishkan) are said to be able to host something bigger than itself ; this is why Israel is called Eretz Tzvi: The Land of the Deer: Because Israel, like the skin on a deer’s back, expands to contain its mass(es). The craftsmanship of Noach and Shem’s Ark, is yet another example of “above nature”, even when coming from the toil of man’s labor.

When we think of Noach’s Ark, and Shem’s Creative Labor, that made the spiritual counterpart with Noach’s physical construction, we can understand their mission in the New World a little clearer.

Noach did save the world, the 7 laws did take hold, and there was a Matan Torah; the world also inherited a spiritual power and presence, as it was nourished in the Ark with the powers of Spirituality and Physicality united as one. Without Shem, Noach had a boat. Without Noach Shem had a dream. Together, they had success…One boat that was big enough to save the world…something that we all can learn from and iterate into the world with the help of Hashem.