Welcome to a new beginning! Although this is the second Shabbat after the holidays, it is really the first full “normal week,” hence a new beginning. The Torah itself calls the world after the flood a “new world.”
In the beginning of this week's portion, the Torah relates how G-d told Noah that he and his family would be saved because of the merit of his righteousness. Although the rest of mankind would be punished for their wickedness and annihilated in a terrible flood, Noah and his family would be kept alive in the ark that Noah would build. When the rains came, he and his family entered the ark, along with a pair of all existing non-kosher animals and seven pairs of each of the kosher animals.
Noah's stay in the ark was far from a pleasure cruise. For an entire year he played the role of zookeeper, feeding and taking care of the animals' needs, with no appreciation from his charges. On one occasion, when Noah delayed bringing food to one of the lions, the beast took a swipe at him and wounded his leg. Is this a befitting reward for a person whom G-d told was righteous?
No person exists for himself; we were created to make a change in the world. The World to Come is described as a place where souls bask in the Divine light, but that is not the ideal mode of existence for a Jew. A person must work until he reaches that state. Our task in this world is to create a dwelling place for G-d, transforming every element of creation and revealing its G-dly spark. As mortals living in a materialistic world, we have the ability to work, to elevate the mundane aspects of our daily lives, and to reveal its purpose in creation.
Shabbat Shalom,