by Aly Adelstein
In the Parsha of Noach we read how corrupt and cruel mankind had become which is what led G-d to make the flood to destroy the world and begin anew. But what did the animals do wrong? They are not creatures who have free choice. They can not choose to be corrupt and cruel and evil the way humans can. Why destroy the animals?
One answer I saw in the commentaries is that the humans were so corrupt that the animals started to mimic those behaviors. They, too, began to act more cruel than their own nature.
There’s a powerful lesson in this. It shows how much our choices and actions can influence, impact and change our environments. While in the flood story it demonstrates the negative impacts, the opposite is also true, we can change our environments, our surroundings, by the things we say and actions we do. Not only the people around us, but even the animals, and all within our reach.
Let’s be game-changers for the good. May our goodness and kindness be a catalyst for positive change and transformation all around us.