"Noah opened the window of the ark?and sent out the raven; it went to and fro until the waters had dried up..." (Genesis 8:6-7)

Said Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish: The raven said to Noah ... ?You must hate me! You did not pick (a scout) from species of which there are seven, but send out a species of which there are only two. If the prince of heat or the prince of cold injure me, would not the world be lacking a species?..."

The Midrash introduces the thought process behind preserving the species and begins to help students see the difficulty in the story of Noah. Why did Noah send out the raven? Certainly the raven understood the danger in what might happen to the species. What may have been Noah's motivation? What may Noah have learned or not learned from this experience?

When Noah came out of the ark, he opened his eyes and saw the whole world completely destroyed. He began crying for the world and said, God how could you have done this?...God replied, Oh, Noah, how different you are from the way Abraham will be. He will argue with me on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah when I will tell him that I plan their destruction. But you, Noah, when I told you I would destroy the entire world, I lingered and delayed, so that you would speak on behalf of the world. But when you knew you would be safe in the are, the evil of the world did not touch you. You thought of no one but your family. And now you complain? Then Noah knew that he had been mistaken/had erred. Midrah Tankhuma, Parshat Noah

Discussion Questions:

What is happening in this story? (passive observation!!, care but don't know what to do, aren't certain what we could do, if we can do)
What was Noah's role in preserving the species? Can we say he preserved the species when so many others dies?
What would you do if you were in that situation?
How might you agree or disagree with God's anger?
Why is it important to ask these questions? (we may be in similar situations)
What are the ways in which we are like Noah as he is characterized in this Midrash in our daily lives? We've talked a lot about being a shomer, is or isn't Noah being a shomer here?
What does this story tell us about faith?
In what ways are you a shomer/et? Or a helper/worker? What are the ways and times in which you are silent? Faithful? How if at all would you like to change the behavior/response?

Daf Talmud: The center text is one of the Midrashim that we have just read.
1. From the voice of you as a member of the ecosystem please comment on whether you think Noah did the right thing. Remember you may have been in the Ark or left behind. Back up your argument.
2. From the perspective of a human today what do you think about what Noah did? What would you do? Why?
3. Thinking about the statue exercise and the story of Noah, what are the skills or tools that you have to say no, help some being, to make change? What are the ways in which you can facilitate that?

Closure: In Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers, there is an appropriate song or verse to teach conclusion. Im ain ain li mi li? U'cshani l'atzmi mah ani? V'im lo achshav aimatai? If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?