1. Introduction
2. Chapter 6
   1. 6:9] Righteous man
   2. 6:11-13] Corrupt(ion) (תשׁחת) & Robbery (חָמָס)
   3. 6:13] Flood because of Robbery
   4. 6:16] Window on the Ark
   5. 6:17] Flood - all will perish
   6. 6:18] Covenant
   7. 6:19] The Ark was too small
3. Chapter 7
   1. 7:1] Righteous (2x)
   2. 7:2] Clean animals
   3. 7:4] Flood - Blot out all beings
   4. 7:6] 600 years old
   5. 7:7] Sexual relations
   6. 7:8] Clean beasts
   7. 7:9] Two-by-Two they came
   8. 7:11] Fountains and windows
   9. 7:13-15] Gathering into the Ark
   10. 7:16] HaShem closed the Ark
   11. 7:17-24] A description of the flood
       1. 7:21-23] Flesh expired, not vegetation
4. Chapter 8
   1. 8:1] Spirit (רוח) passes over the waters
   2. 8:3-4] Diminished after 150 days
   3. 8:7] The Raven
   4. 8:8-12] The Dove
   5. 8:13-14] Waters dried
   6. 8:16] Leave the Ark
   7. 8:20-21] Alter for sacrifice
   8. 8:22] Continuity promised
5. Chapter 9
   1. 9:2] Fear you
   2. 9:3] Meat allowed
   3. 9:4-5] No blood allowed
   4. 9:8-17] Rainbow
   5. 9:18-19] Noah’s sons
   6. 9:20] Noah: Man of the earth
   7. 9:21] Noah drunk
   8. 9:22] Ham saw
   9. 9:23] Shem & Japhet did not see
   10. 9:24] Noah awoke
   11. 9:25-27] Curses Ham
6. Chapter 10: The seventy nations
   1. 10:5] Separated into nations
   2. 10:9] Nimrod
   3. 10:31-32] According to their
7. Chapter 11: Babel
   1. 11:5] G-d descends
   2. 11:7] Let us descend
   3. 11:26-27] Terach, father of Abram
   4. 11:29] Terach, father of Abram
8. The Seven Noahide Laws
9. Chronology/Time Lines
   1. Shem to Abram
   2. Adam to Abram

Introduction

Note

Chapter 6

6:9] Righteous man

n6:9] נֹ֗חַ אִ֥ישׁ צַדִּ֛יק — Noah was a righteous man. The primary “offspring” of the righteous are their good deeds, for the worthwhile things that a person does are his prime legacy. (Rashi) A person should work hard to perfect his deeds, just as he spares no effort to help his children. (R’ Moshe Feinstein)

Note Noah is the only person in the Torah that is referred to as righteous. Yet, he promptly got drunk upon surviving the flood (perhaps his mind couldn’t handle it). These contradictions are always challenging. How to balance them, and make sense of them. Jacob is known as Truth, yet he stole the birthright from His brother, and lied to deceive his father.

Note “… perfect your deeds…” This implies that it is, indeed, possible to reach such a height of perfection.

n6:9] בְּדֹֽרֹתָ֑יו — In his generations. There are two ways to look at this statement. The first is that it is in praise of Noah, who was righteous even while his generation was corrupt. How much more righteous would he have been had he been surrounded by righteous people?

Question ”In his generations”: Though if he lived for 600+ years, was he surrounded by people who lived as long as he did? Because that would be many generations, if not. This is pre-flood, the earth was populated at that time.

Question “How much more…?” This implies that, although righteous, he had not yet reached perfection. It also implies that the righteousness of his deeds would have reached higher levels if he had been surrounded by others who were righteous… But is that true? Does this not contradict the statement that “the single candle shines brightest in the darkest hour”? Or that it is easy to be righteous when surrounded by righteousness – is that not the very argument Moses uses against the angels objections to the Israelites receiving the Torah – as opposed to the righteousness of one who is righteous when everyone else is practising their evil ways?

The second is more critical of him, claiming that he was righteous only in his generation, by comparison to his wicked brothers (Rashi). Accordingly, the righteous of each generation are judged in terms of their own time (Sefer HaParshiyot).

Question Who were the wicked brothers Rashi is referring to here? Actual brothers, or just brothers in the same tribe?

Question This is another human interpretation. Does God (or the avenging angels) recognise the generations? Is not each one judged by the choices he makes in a specific situations? Is not a man righteous in his own right, and judged according to his own internal, true impulses? A benoni might be influenced by the corruption around him, whereas a tzadik would not.

6:11-13] Corrupt(ion) (תשׁחת) & Robbery (חָמָס)

Note Why include this whole verse, you might ask? I do so, often because the language has a certain lilt to it, even in English. It is full of vivid images, of robbery - “the earth became full of…”; and corruption - “all the flesh …”

So God appears, and says (to Noach), “the end of all flesh… destroying them from earth.” What powerful words. As one would say, He, the Lord, Sovereign over all, does not mince words – nor as any true sovereign ever should – especially one who is sovereign unto himself.

n6:11-12] The behaviour of the people had deteriorated. At first they were corrupt — being guilty of immorality and idolatry. They sinned covertly (before G-d). Later, the earth had become filled with robbery. This robbery was obvious to all.

“Man is the essence of the world, and his behaviour affects (infects) all of Creation.” (Zohar)

Such is the progression of sin. It begins in private, when people still have a sense of right and wrong. But once people develop the habit of sinning, they gradually lose their shame, and immoral behaviour becomes accepted — even the required — norm.

Note Does that mean that everyone participated in it? Then it would imply that it was not “obvious”, as people were ignoring it. However, in the present situation today, it seems that even though robbery is rampant, it is certainly not obvious to all! In order for “robbery” to be obvious, there must have been people that were not “corrupt” enough to look at robbery as normal behaviour. At this stage of our evolution, a system of robbery (I like to refer to it as piracy) has emerged and is now rampant upon the earth. In addition, it has become a norm.

The Midrash teaches that they stole from one another in petty ways that were not subject to the authority of the courts. Though this is not the gravest kind of sin, it is morally damaging in the extreme, because thievery within the letter of the law weakens the conscience and corrupts the fabric of society. (R. Hirsch).

Law That is why the concept of common(sense) law is so important. There are certain things that are “normal”, and one has to base a legal system on these foundational things. As the society grows and becomes more complex, laws arise that have nothing to do with these foundational aspects of the system. As long as the system does not become corrupt (which they inevitably tend to do, as a consequence of concentration of power and resources) the society will remain stable and functioning well. The above Midrash expresses the gradual decline from petty theft to sin, which requires the society to be vigilant, else the system will suffer from that creep until it becomes authoritarian and corrupt itself.

6:13] Flood because of Robbery

Box לשׁן ־ ל = 30, שׁ = 300, נ = 50. The טבע is a box, but also a word.

n6:15] Cubit. According the to smallest estimate of 18 inches per cubit, the dimensions of the Art were 450 x 75 x 45 feet = 1,518,750 cubic feet. Each of its three stories had 33,750 sq. feet of floor space for a total of 101,250 sq. feet.

Cubit This is the first time the cubit is mentioned in the Torah. Was it 18 inches at that time, or did it become 18 inches upon the standardisation that occurred later? Could it not be that the size of a cubit in those ancient times was variable, just as the foot (the “royal” foot) was for many years in Egypt? It could also have been contextual, and change according to the context within which you are working. That is if you are building a massive structure like the Ark, perhaps the cubit was different to that used for the measuring of a room, for instance. In those days, there was no standards commitee.

6:16] Window on the Ark

n6:16] צֹ֣הַר—A window.

Some say it was a skylight— most say it was a window, and some say it was a precious stone that refracted the outside light to illuminate the interior. (Chizkuni)

6:17] Noah’s_flood - all will perish

6:18] Covenant

n6:18] וַֽהֲקִֽמֹתִ֥י אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֖י—I will set up My covenant with you.

Covenant What covenant is this? Is it the one Rashi claims regarding the food not spoiling? But why would we need a covenant to cover that? Is not a covenant something regarding a relationship? That does not seem to fit in relation to the animals food. Is it referring (circularity) to the promise of the rainbow subsequent to the flood, which is Sforno's view? I myself would hope that it was a covenant of continuation—G-d was promising them that they would survive after the flood, and that is why he includes them all and says “You shall enter the ark, you and your sons, your wife and your son’s wife with you.” Because the Torah does not specify what the Covenant between G-d and Noah was, I can only conclude that it was the original covenant of פרוּ וּרִבוּ—(you will) be fruitful and multiply. What would have been the use of destroying everyone?

A note on the miracle of the food not spoiling. Remember, there was no refrigeration on the Ark. Not only would the meat for the carnivors need to remain fresh, but there would also be the fruit and vegetables for the animals that needed it that would have rotted under normal circumstances.

The commentators claim that it took him 120 years. Now there is no mention of how long the “others” lived for we know there were other people alive on the earth. Noah could not have build an Ark of such proportions alone with his sons. The amount of lumber that would be required to be gathered for such an undertaking. Now how old were his sons when he began, and obviously they—and his wife–lived to a ripe old age, if there were still around 120 years later. I wonder how long it would realistically take 4 men to build an ark of such proportions. In addition, there is no mention of his sons helping him.

6:19] The Ark was too small

Circularity This is a repeat of v6:13 in which the flood is first mentioned. It is referenced again in v7:4. Is this an example of the circularity of the narrative?

Chapter 7

7:1] Righteous (2x)

n1-10] Up to now, the Sidrah has spoken of Elohim, indicating G-d’s Attribute of Justice. Here he is called HaShem, the G-d of Mercy. Sforno thinks that this is because He is saving Noah from the flood, which they did not deserve.

7:2] Clean animals

7:4] Flood - Blot out all beings

7:6] 600 years old

Note And we only hear of 3 children?

7:7] Sexual relations

n7:7] נֹ֔חַ וּ֠בָנָ֠יו—Noah and his sons. The men and women are listed separately because marital intimacy was forbidden at a time when the whole world was steeped in pain (Rashi).

Sex That they refrained from any intimacy during the time they were on the Ark is mentioned by the commentators in a number of places. However, this is contrary to normal human behaviour. The impetus in a situation of immanent annihilation would be to procreate because the birth of a child is the primary event that speaks of the continuation of our people. A response by the Sages might be that they were in such a holy state knowing they had the weight of the world to carry that they refrained. But again, that is not human behaviour, that is angelic.

n7:7] מִפְּנֵ֖י מֵ֥י הַמַּבּֽוּל—Because of the waters of the flood. The implication being Noah, too, was of those who had little faith, not believing that the Flood would come, and he did not enter the ark until the waters forced him to do so. — Gen. Rabbah 32:6… Man should not allow his calculations to stand in the way of his compliance with G-d’s command (Me’am Loez).

Note Today, the implication is that we do not hear G-d’s command except as transmitted by the Torah. It says often (Nitzavim?) for us to “hear G-d’s voice”. That is what we should be aiming for in our studies of Torah.

7:8] Clean beasts

n7:8] אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵינֶ֖נָּה טְהֹרָ֑ה—That is not clean. By using this long expression instead of the single word הַטְמֵאָה, unclean, the Torah teaches a moral lesson: One should never utter a gross expression, for the Torah, which stresses brevity, added several letters to the Hebrew text of our verse to avoid using the unseemly expression unclean (Pesachim 3a).

7:9] Two-by-Two they came

n7:9] The unclean animals came to the Ark of their own free will, whereas the clean animals Noah had to go seek out. For G-d to have sent those animals to Noah without any effort on his part would have diminished the significance of his offerings. A person’s free-willed offering is an expression of his gratitude or an effort to increase his closeness to … G-d. It is his own desire and his own exertions that give value to his offering.

“Clean” animals It also mentions the loading up of all the animals, and that G-d brought them to Noah, except for the “clean” animals—at a time when there was no Torah, and thus no specification of “clean” regarding animals. There was no concept of kashrut yet, as kashrut is based solely on the inclusion of meat in your diet. Even if G-d had done that, how long would it take to situate all the animals? It is useless to discuss the Ark, as it was a miracle — because little of it makes any logistical sense.

Note This method is a fundamental protocol. If you want to endear someone to you, or get closer to them, offer them something on their behalf. Whether it is material of immaterial: your kindness, your time, your money, your transport, your food.

7:11] Fountains and windows

n7:11] וַֽאֲרֻבֹּ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם —split the fountains of the great deep and the windows of heaven opened up.

7:13-15] Gathering into the Ark

n7:15] Here we find Man in his loftiest state, for the entire world comes to Noah. (R’ Hirsch). The verse stresses that they came in matched pairs, and not one species was missing—which was a miracle! (Ibn Caspi)… Such precision would have been impossible by natural (non-Divine) means. (R’ Bachya)

7:16] HaShem closed the Ark

n7:16] וַיִּסְגֹּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה בַּֽעֲדֽוֹ—The door was shut by the Lord for him.

7:17-24] A description of the flood

The flood was 40 days on the earth; the waters became powerful, and they increased very much; and the waters became exceedingly powerful, and the mountains were covered up.

All the flesh that moved upon the earth perished: the fowl, the cattle, the beasts, all creeping creatures and all mankind. Everything that had the breath of the spirit of life, of all on dry land, died (but not the fish). It blotted all beings on the face of the earth, from man to animal to creeping thing and all the flow of the heavens.

Question Now, again, we have the practical question of what did Noah and his family eat after they alighted from the Ark? And what did the animals eat, especially those that returned to the wild. How did they survive until things started growing again?

7:21-23] Flesh expired, not vegetation

Question If, as the commentary says, the trees were uprooted by the floods, how could Noah have expected the dove to return with some evidence (an olive branch) if all the vegetation had been destroyed in the flood as well? That then raises the question of what did Noah and his family eat after they alighted from the Ark? What did the animals eat, especially those that returned to the wild. How did they survive until things started growing again?

Note For me the mystery is around the concept of “waters”. Just as when the strange waters were separated into upper and lower, so there is a question as to whether this was truly water as we know it.

Chapter 8

8:1] Spirit (רוח) passes over the waters

n8:1] וַיִּזְכֹּ֤ר אֱלֹהִים֙—G-d remembered. To say G-d “remembers” implies that forgetfulness—or lack of awareness—is possible for Him, which is clearly an absurdity… Noah earned this mercy because he fed and cared for the animals during all the months in the Ark (Midrash).

Note Aviva Zornberg uses this Midrash to put forward the idea that Noah went through a deep change in his personality through this duty.

n8:1] ר֨וּחַ֙—A spirit. This spirit or wind caused the waters to stop their seething, boiling fury and (v8:2) sealed the sources of the waters so that they could begin to recede.

Note In this case the Spirit of G-d passed over the waters, however in v1:2, the Spirit of the Lord hovered over the waters.

Sealing of the waters?
If the sources were sealed, where did the water “recede” to? They could fill the great deeps but could not return through the windows of heaven.

8:3-4] Diminished after 150 days

Note The waters rages for 40 days, and it took it a 150 days to recede. But there is no mention of how long it took for them to rise. But assuming 190 days at least—more than six months—they were on the Ark.

n3-6] On the first of Sivan—the seventh month and 150 days from 27 Kislev when the rain ended—the water began to recede, and on the 17th of Sivan, the bottom of the Ark rested on the mountains of Ararat. It was not until the 10th month from the beginning of the rain that the mountaintops became visible. Forty days after that, Noah opened the window of the Ark.

Note The above is clarified here. Ten months plus forty days, just shy of a year.

Note
Again, a shifting of reality.

• there were no trees.
• how did the dove know to return with an olive branch? Was Noah some sort of magician and he knew that the calamity was coming, and so trained the bird to behave that way?
• It it could not find an olive branch, how did it manage to fly for the day.

Perhaps the relationship with the animals at that period of our evolution was much more intimate than that of today. Some say that we still spoke the Sinactic dialect, which was much closer to a root language. Perhaps we could speak (or understand) the “language” of the animals, which would be very different to our human language. It would be far more “telepathic”.

8:7] The Raven

8:8-12] The Dove

n8:11] וַתָּבֹ֨א אֵלָ֤יו הַיּוֹנָה֙—The dove came back to him.

The Torah implies that the dove came back to Noah in fulfilment of its mission to bring back a sign of G-d’s response (Haamek Davar). By bringing back an olive leaf, it was saying symbolically, “Better that my food be bitter but from G-d’s hand, than sweet as honey but dependent on mortal Man” (Rashi). R’ Hirsch elaborates: For a full year the dove could not find its own food to eat; hunger forced it to rely on Noah’s kindness. Then it found a bitter leaf that it would ordinarily not eat—and carried it back to Noah. The lesson that the Sages teach from this is that even the bitterest food eaten in freedom is better than the sweetest food given in servitude.