‘As he, or she, ought to be’ Noah - Genesis 6:9-11:32 If Noah
wasn’t before that big fish… – Ron Kaplan October 17, 2012 The
three women favored one point of view; the six men were evenly
split, three siding with the women, the others disagreeing
vehemently. In my class in which I use Genesis as a text for
teaching matters of contemporary relevance, the topic was
leadership in the Jewish community. The students had been
selected by a national Jewish organization that had identified
them as potential synagogue leaders. I began by urging them to
consider the major themes of Noah, and then to find the
connection between one or more of those themes and our topic.
Carol spoke up first. “This may seem paradoxical,” she began,
“but I see this parsha as demonstrating the human being’s
potential for good.” Alex reacted with incredulity. “What on
earth are you talking about? Perhaps you read a different text.
Let me quote: ‘...the inclination of the heart of man is evil
from his youth….’ That’s about as clear a stateme