The Ark as a Word: Noah, Prayer, and a Refuge in Stormy Times

This week's Torah portion, Noah, gives us one of the most familiar images in all of Scripture: a vessel of refuge in the middle of a flooded world. A recent opinion piece in The Jerusalem Post, written by Meira Raanan, invites readers to see that image in a fresh way.

One Hebrew word, two meanings

According to The Jerusalem Post, the Hebrew word "teiva" means "ark," but it can also mean "a word." The article notes that the Baal Shem Tov, the 18th-century founder of the Hassidic movement, read God's call to Noah, "Come into the teiva," as an instruction to enter the words of prayer.

Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

Genesis 7:1 (BSB)

The piece explains that this teaching opens "Amud Hatefila," or "The Pillar of Prayer," a compilation of the Baal Shem Tov's teachings on prayer. In it, the writer says, the ark becomes the starting point for an approach to prayer marked by deep concentration and awareness of the Divine.

Praying with the whole self

The article says the Baal Shem Tov taught that we should immerse ourselves in each word "with your whole body and all your powers." Prayer is not meant to be words that simply pass over our lips. We are invited to experience them fully.

Many of us know how easy it is to say good words on autopilot. This is a gentle reminder that God is not looking for a performance. He welcomes us to come in, and to mean it.

A painting of ship and song

The article also describes a painting by the writer's husband, artist Yoram Raanan, titled "Teivah" (acrylic on canvas, 2026). According to The Jerusalem Post, he made it spontaneously, letting paint drip and flow, and a ship emerged. Within the ship's form, a stringed instrument, perhaps a lute, appeared. The curved hull becomes the body of the instrument, and the vertical lines serve as both masts and strings.

The writer reads this as a picture of the Baal Shem Tov's idea: the ship carries us, and the instrument gives voice to prayer. The word becomes both vessel and sound. She adds that music, too, can be a place of refuge when words alone are not enough.

Refuge, and then the journey

The Post piece ties this to the season. We have just come through weeks of Jewish holidays, with their prayer, reflection and celebration, and now we are back in the ordinary rhythm of the year. The writer suggests that the words of prayer can carry us into the year ahead.

She also makes a quiet point about Noah. He could not stay in the ark forever. The waters receded, the door opened, and he stepped onto dry land to begin again. The ark offered refuge, and the lute offers a song for the journey.

A reflection

There is real beauty here. The ark in Genesis is not only an escape from judgment. It is a sign that God makes a way for those who listen to Him. He told Noah to come in, and He shut the door of safety Himself.

The psalmist speaks of God as a hiding place and of songs of deliverance, which sounds very much like the ship and the lute in this painting.

You are my hiding place. You protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

Psalm 32:7 (BSB)

For those of us who follow Yeshua, this carries even more weight. He is the Messiah, the Lord who is our refuge, and prayer is how we step into His presence. The Gospels tell of Him calming a storm for frightened friends in a boat. The One who stills the waters is the One we meet when we pray.

We do not need to agree with every point of Hassidic teaching to be moved by the invitation. Slow down. Enter the words. Let prayer be a shelter when the world outside is stormy, and let it become a song as you step back into daily life.

If you have felt that prayer has grown rote, you might try this week to pray one familiar line slowly, word by word. God is near, and the door of the ark is still open.