Adi Eshet is an Israeli who lives in Driggs, Idaho. He is currently visiting family and friends in Israel and was attacked this Sunday while he tried to save the life of a 15-year-old girl. Adi says, "I was driving my car and I saw a teenage girl screaming from the top of her lungs. Obviously I pulled over and got out of the car to see what's going on. As I came around the car to the sidewalk... The girl was gone...
I came back to the car and a [Palestinian] guy with a knife in his hand about 6 feet away was coming toward me. I tried to kick him and got stabbed in the leg then he tried to stab me again. I blocked him with my hand and although I did get stabbed I grabbed his wrist and then choked him down to the ground. It took a minute or two but people came and helped get him under control. The girl says I saved her life. So I'm in the hospital getting lots of antibiotics for a couple of deep lacerations and getting lots of rest."
These are troubling times. But it’s the heroism of people like Adi that help us move forward.
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In this week’s parsha, Noach, we read about the great Flood. G-d was angry with mankind’s corrupt behavior and elected to start over. He caused a great flood to wipe out all creatures. The only human exceptions were Noach and his family.
The Torah relates that after the flood Noach “remained alone.” We can only imagine how lonely Noach must have felt at that moment. The vast earth was desolate. There was no one else.
It was then that it dawned upon him how great a failure he had been. Yes, he was worthy of being spared. But, in all his time, he had not succeeded in influencing even one person to improve. He and his family were the lone survivors.
Far from celebrating his survival, Noach recognized his shortcoming. He could have easily slipped into despair. How would he succeed in a world that had just experienced such utter destruction?
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The true sign of a hero is not how she deals with victory, but how she overcomes challenges and keeps on going and going. Never giving up – that’s the hallmark of a hero.
Noach, though he neglected to save a generation, is tasked with rebuilding the world. He is a broken man. Yet he perseveres and becomes the father of mankind.
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We all have our personal struggles. We are all in the midst of a divine mission. We cannot look at our faults and conclude that we are destined to disappoint. We may have ‘tried’ a mitzvah, but the magical progress we expect eludes us. As Noach, we must move forward. If we step into the next mitzvah, we are on our way to becoming heroes.