Here’s an attempt to tie together the incredible Game Seven of the World Series (Cubs vs. Indians), this week’s Torah portion of Noah and the Flood, and the upcoming or impending Election Day USA:
Many World Series don’t even get to Game Seven. And since 1985 no team has ever overcome a 3-1 World Series deficit to come back and win. But this was a different type of World Series, especially with all the history behind it, for both the Chicago Cubs (since 1908) and Cleveland Indians (since 1945). It all came down to one single run in extra innings. Imagine – a Game Seven, tied at the bottom of the ninth!
The game instantly recalled a famous Rambam (Maimonides) texts in chapter 3 of Hilchot Teshuvah. The Rebbe quoted this Rambam so often, it may have been his most oft-quoted Rambam. To paraphrase, the Rambam was saying in a way: Every game is a game seven, and everyday is a World Series! We ought to always view both ourselves and the world around us as in a tie-game on bottom of the ninth. Each and every pitch can make all the difference. Everything has consequence, huge consequence, history is in the balance!
OK, you’re right, the Rambam wasn’t talking baseball, but that was his message. Always view the world as in balance between positive and negative, and one single act by one single individual can make all the difference either way.
More on this “Rebbe’s favorite Rambam” in this post about Horton and the Moshiach.
That brings us to Noah. He was just one guy. He could have said we need a committee, there’s no way I can do this alone, we need some NGO’s and multinational support. But G-d asked Noah to do it, because (while G-d has no issues with delegating and communal involvement, of course) G-d believes that a person, even one person, can make a huge difference. One person can save the world, literally.
And this leads us right into Election-Day. This is a hard year for America, it’s been a crazy election cycle and many people aren’t thrilled with either candidate. Too many are voting against the other, rather than for their own candidate. It’s a very sad and sorry state of affairs. And there’s much cynicism of course, that our vote in New York State won’t matter anyways, and the electoral college strips the value of individual votes etc. Much of this is true.
BUT – let me tell you that not long ago in this very district the balance of power in the New York State Senate hung on 18 votes that won that election. And in any election district, no matter the race or what’s at stake, if each individual were to believe that their votes don’t matter, the election would end up looking very different.
So it all links up. Noah’s Ark, the election and the Cubs Game 7 all tell us to see the world as the Rambam tells us: Life is a world series game, it’s Game 7, bottom of the ninth and it’s a tie game. We can and should and must to our very utmost to maximize all our potential and ability to make it happen. All it takes is one run.