Parashat Noach: Escape from dystopia

• Published date: 07 October 2021
• Author: MOSHE TARAGIN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

As Jews, we don't just believe in the possibility of better tomorrow – we actively yearn and pray for it. As advanced as our world sometimes feels, ultimately, our world is a fallen shell of the more perfect world from which we were banished. Through original sin, Man was expelled from that world, and through repeated national betrayals Jews fell into dark exile. We constantly yearn for national restoration, religious renewal and a return to Eden.

Though Man can improve his condition and advance that future, only God can provide comprehensive redemption of history. While humanity, in general, dreams of a better world, Jews assert that restoration is the inevitable terminus of history. The phrase hadesh yameinu c'kedem (restore us as in days of yore) is both prayer and prediction. Humanity in general, and Jews in particular, all gaze across the horizon for a better tomorrow. Utopia beckons us all.

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In 1516 Thomas More, a Renaissance humanist, authored the book Utopia and this word – adapted from Greek – has encapsulated humanity's hopes and dreams for that better place. Ironically, a culture of "dystopianism" has recently become popular. As opposed to a utopian dream of a more advanced world, dystopianism describes a world of disorder and dysfunction.

Typically, in these story lines, an apocalyptic event such as war, contagion, or natural disaster reshuffles the world order, replacing it with a condition of suffering and injustice generally characterized by oppressive governmental control, rampant medical challenges, severe shortages of food, loss of liberty and environmental calamity. Perhaps the most well-known examples from the past century are the books of George Orwell (1984, Animal Farm). In fact, the term "Orwellian" is often employed to characterize a dystopian state of affairs. In the 2010s, numerous books, movies and TV programs have been cast against dystopian backgrounds.

Dystopian narratives offer a glimpse of the fragility of human society and the dangers of irresponsible political, social or environmental policies. Dystopian story lines also invite artificial escape from the challenges of our reality. As we face the adversities of life, our triumphs empower us just as our failures and struggles dispirit us.

For those trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare, Orwellian or dystopian prophecies offer an imaginative...