If G-d told you to do something, especially something that would save your life, wouldn’t you work as quickly as possible?
Why is it that so many people have a tendency to procrastinate? Shouldn’t we think of life as being filled with opportunities to make our world better?
We see this question played out in this week’s Torah portion of Noach. G-d gives Noach the command to build an Ark so that his family can be saved. Yet, it takes him a long time to get the job done.
Why?
There are several possible reasons:
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Practical: Noach was building it alone. It was simply a massive job that took time.
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Command-based: G-d told him the Ark should be ready at the end of 120 years, not before. Therefore, there was no rush.
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Spiritual: The command wasn’t only that the Ark exist, but that Noach build it. Every moment he spent building was part of fulfilling G-d’s command, so he stretched it out, cherishing every step of the process.
But on a deeper level, there’s something more.
G-d could have saved Noach from the impending flood in a hundred different ways—sheltered him in a cave, surrounded him by a cloud, performed a miracle. Why use an Ark? Because the process itself was the mission. Each hammer strike, each plank fitted, was like a public sermon. It was meant to awaken curiosity, spark questions, and give Noach a chance to urge people to do Teshuva. To come closer to G-d.
Noach didn't procrastinate; his plan was purposeful. The “delay” itself was part of the mission. Sometimes doing is even more important than done.
In our own life, we, too, can and should make the distinction. Some things should get done right away, while for other things, it is important to cherish the process.