We are first introduced to Noach at the end of Parshat
Bereishit: “And he named him Noah, saying, "This one will give us rest
from our work and from the toil of our hands from the ground, which the Lord
has cursed." According to this verse, the name Noach is related to the
word “Menucha” which means rest. Right before Noach’s birth there were a number
of inventions and technological advancements in the field of agriculture that
made farming an easier endeavor. Noach was named as a prayer that these
developments would usher in a Golden Era. Rav Avraham Pam explained that this
phenomenon directly impacted the moral standards during Noach’s time. The onset
of technological advancement meant the sudden emergence of free time. As
animals, plowshares, sickles and other agricultural tools substituted
time-consuming, backbreaking labor, people came upon spare time. This spare
time presented the opportunity for spiritual growth and personal development.
Sadly, however, the spare time was misused. People instead used the opportunity
to fight, indulge, accumulate luxuries, compete with one another, and pursue
pleasure and physical gratification at the expense of others. Only Noach took
proper advantage of the extra time provided by the eased working conditions. He
pursued spirituality over materialism, piety over indulgence.
This may also explain why specifically Noach was chosen to
bear the name alluding to the lighter workload. Many children were presumably
born around the same time; why was it Noach who was named after the new
conditions that developed during that period? Perhaps the Torah seeks to teach
us that only Noach represented the proper outlook on free time. If we want to
learn how the Torah views comfort and spare time, we should look to Noach, not
his contemporaries. If technology and progress has resulted in shorter, fewer
and easier workdays, granting us the great gift of free time and spare physical
energy, then we must turn to Noach to learn how to use it - for spiritual
growth. Otherwise, we run the risk of producing another Dor Hamabul, when extra
time results in crime, excessive indulgence and sin.
We are blessed to benefit from tremendous technological
advancements that have gifted us with more free time. The question is: What do
we do with our free time?
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