Finding Calm in the Current
Managing our stress levels is a challenge we often face when trying to keep up with our daily responsibilities and commitments. Maintaining a healthy balance between family, work, community, and our connection to heritage is essential to living a purposeful and meaningful life. But how can we properly dedicate ourselves to each of these aspects of our lives within the limited time we have, without feeling overwhelmed?
The key to greater productivity is to work smarter, not harder. Working smarter saves precious time and energy for the things that really matter. When our head is in the right place and we set our priorities in the correct order, we can accomplish a lot more in less time.
Think of what happens when someone is caught in an undercurrent, a rip current pulling them away from shore. The natural instinct is to panic and swim harder against the pull. But the more you fight, the more exhausted you become. The safest and wisest approach is to stay calm, conserve energy, and move sideways until you’re out of the current’s grip. Sometimes, simply floating and allowing the waters to settle is what saves you.
The same is true in life. When we feel overwhelmed by the “currents” of stress, pressure, or uncertainty, the answer isn’t always to fight harder or push faster; it’s to pause, stay calm, and find our inner anchor. Spiritually, this mirrors what the Torah teaches us through the story of Noah’s Ark.
In this week’s Torah portion, G-d instructs Noah, the only righteous man in a world consumed by violence and corruption, to build a large wooden Teivah (“ark”). A great flood, says G-d, will wipe out all life from the face of the earth; but the ark will float upon the water, sheltering Noah and his family, and two members (male and female) of each animal species, and seven pairs of Kosher species.
As the verse states, “And the Lord said to Noah, ‘Come into the ark, you and all your household, for it is you that I have seen as a righteous man before Me in this generation.” (Genesis 7:1)
Although G-d’s command was directed specifically to Noah, the lesson is eternal and relevant for all times. The Baal Shem Tov (1698–1760) explained that the Hebrew word for “ark,” Teivah, also means “word.” “Come into the word,” says G-d; enter within the words of prayer and Torah study. Here you will find a sanctuary of wisdom, meaning, and holiness amidst the raging floodwaters of life.
When we are swept by the flood of obligations, anxieties, and daily distractions, G-d is inviting us to enter our own Teivah, our personal ark of calm reflection and faith. Just as floating in an undercurrent conserves our strength until we can safely return to shore, immersing ourselves in words of Torah and prayer allows us to rise above chaos, regain balance, and reconnect with what truly matters.
One of the great lessons we learn from this story is that we should never despair in the face of what’s happening around us. Even when threatened by a devastating flood, financial worries, uncertainty, or personal challenges, G-d forbid, we should retain our optimism and faith, for G-d watches over each of us, and for Him, anything is possible.
We all need to set aside moments in our busy day to enter our own personal arks, to pause, breathe, and reconnect with our souls. This is not only essential for our spiritual growth but also strengthens our ability to advance in our careers and relationships in a calm, meaningful way.
Furthermore, our spiritual “ark” is not just a place of refuge; it’s a source of transformation. Our prayers and Torah study uplift not only ourselves but the entire world, just as Noah “beheld a new world” when he emerged from the ark.
But the story doesn’t end there. After the ground dried completely, exactly one solar year (365 days) after the onset of the Flood, G-d commanded Noah to leave the ark and repopulate the earth. As the verse states, “G-d spoke to Noah, saying: ‘Go out of the ark...’” (Genesis 8:16). It may be tempting to remain within that serene spiritual atmosphere, but G-d reminds us that the purpose of entering the ark is to emerge from it renewed, to bring that calm, faith, and clarity into the world around us.
Although there were all types of animals in the ark, miraculously, they all learned to coexist peacefully. Our sages teach that the peace that reigned between the animals in Noah’s Ark is a foretaste of the redemption when “A wolf shall live with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie with a kid; and a calf and a lion cub and a fatling shall lie together, and a small child shall lead them.” (Isaiah 11:6). This idea is also a mataphor for the era when all nations will leave at peace with one another.
By learning to pause instead of panic, to enter our personal arks instead of fighting against the current, and to bring that peace outward into the world, we can transform our environment into a place of harmony and purpose.
And through this, may we merit soon the coming of Moshiach, when peace, prosperity, and kindness will prevail over the entire world.
