When it became known to Noah that a catastrophic weather event was to destroy every living thing on Earth he did as  instructed and embarked on the ultimate adaptation plan by building an ark for himself, his family and enough animals to ensure the survival of every species.

He accepted the word of a higher authority, whom he realised would have greater knowledge than him regarding such matters. He did not demand to see irrefutable evidence and he did not insist on 100% certainty regarding the event, its severity, time and place before acting. Although he was not told of the exact date of the flood, he set about his plans immediately and didn’t wait until the rains began before being convinced that now was the time to act. From the date he was told about the forthcoming doom, until the rains fell, 120 years passed. Year after year after year Noah prepared for a catastrophe which did not yet materialise but he knew, despite the persistent mocking of his neighbours, that complacency was dangerous. His preparations took up a considerable proportion of his time, leaving him with fewer resources to allocate to everyday business and flock-tending, and undoubtedly this would have been detrimental to his family fortunes. Fortunately he, Mrs Noah, Ham, Shem and Japheh (plus their wives, kids etc) had the foresight to realise that survival takes precedence over the amassing of wealth.

There are so many lessons to be learnt from this week’s Torah portion.