Parashat HaShavua 5782: Noach

(4) R. Berechiah said: The men of the generation of the flood were exceedingly strong and tall, as it is written: These same were the mighty men (Gen. 6:4), and if He had not punished them with fire that descended from above, nothing would have been able to destroy them. Hence Job said: Surely their substance is cut off, and their abundance the fire hath consumed (Job 22:20).

(5) After the Holy One, blessed be He, realized that they would not be drowned by the waters that gushed forth from the deep because of their height, He sent the fire upon them from above, as it is said: And their abundance the fire hath consumed. Furthermore, He turned the birds, the wild beasts, and the animals against them to reduce their numbers, as it says: And all flesh perished that moved upon the earth, the birds, the animals, and the beasts, etc. (Gen. 7:21). How did they perish? It was through the birds, the beasts, and the animals. When at long last they realized that they were about to be destroyed, they attempted to overturn the ark. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He surrounded the ark with lions, as it is said: The Lord shut them in (Gen. 7:16). The word shut in Scripture alludes to lions. How do we know this? We know it from the verse My God hath sent His angels and hath shut the lion’s mouth (Dan. 6:23).

(16) Thus they that entered male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in.

The Rabbis taught: If a person is buried under a collapsed building, until what point does one check to clarify whether the victim is still alive? They said: One clears until the victim’s nose. And some say: One clears until the victim’s heart to check for a heartbeat.

(1) Go forth from the ark (Gen. 8:16). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to Thy name; the righteous shall crown themselves because of me; for Thou wilt deal bountifully with me (Ps. 142:8). Bring my soul out of prison refers to Noah, who was imprisoned in the ark. R. Levi said: Neither Noah nor his sons were able to sleep during the entire twelve months (in the ark) because they were obliged to feed the animals, the beasts, and the birds. R. Akiba stated that they even brought into the ark tree branches for the elephants and glass beads for the ostriches. Some of the animals had to be fed at the second hour in the night and others at the third hour of the night.

(2) Further proof that they did not sleep is presented to us by R. Yohanan. He tells us in the name of R. Eliezer the son of R. Yosé the Galilean that because Noah once delayed feeding a lion, the lion bit him so severely that he left the ark crippled, as it is said: And only Noah was left (Gen. 7:23). The word ah (“only,” also “to be afflicted”) indicates that his body was no longer whole. He became, thereby, unfit to bring sacrifices to the altar, and his son Shem had to do it in his stead. Concerning him it is said: Behold, the righteous shall be made whole in the earth (Prov. 11:31).

(3) R. Huna said in the name of R. Yosé: He left the ark coughing and spitting blood because of a cold he had contracted, and it is for this reason that Scripture states: Bring out of prison my soul … the righteous shall crown themselves because of Me (Ps. 142:8), that is, through me the Holy One blessed be He took a crown. They shall reason: Though Noah was righteous, he was not wholly righteous. The Holy One, blessed be He, nevertheless performed miracles in his behalf, as it is said: He delivereth him that is innocent (Job 22:30). In this verse i-naki (“innocent”) should be interpreted as velo naki, that is, he was not wholly righteous. How many more miracles would He have performed in his behalf if he had been wholly righteous!