Genesis Rabbah 33

¹“God remembered Noah, and all the beasts, and all the animals that were with him in the ark; God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided” (Genesis 8:1). “God remembered Noah, and all the beasts…” – and it is written: “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains [ keharerei el ]; Your judgments are great depths. Lord, You save man and animal” (Psalms 36:7). Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva: Rabbi Yishmael says: The righteous, who accepted the Torah that was given from the mountains of God [ meharerei el ], You perform righteousness with them [to the greatest extent,] up to the mighty mountains. But the wicked, who did not accept the Torah that was given from the mountains of God, You are exacting with them [to the greatest extent,] down to great depths. Rabbi Akiva says: With both these and those He is exacting down to great depths. He is exacting with the righteous by collecting His due from them for the few bad deeds that they performed in this world, in order to shower them with tranquility and give them a better reward in the World to Come. And He showers the wicked with tranquility and gives them reward for the few good deeds that they performed in this world in order to exact [a fuller] retribution from them in the World to Come. Rabbi Levi said: The verse metaphorically compares [the reward of] the righteous to their abode and [the reward of] the wicked to their abode. The [reward of the] righteous to their abode, as it is stated: “In a good grazing land I will herd them, and on the mountains of the height of Israel will be their pasture” (Ezekiel 34:14). And the [reward of the] wicked to their abode: “So said the Lord God: On the day that he descended to the netherworld I caused mourning [ he’evalti ]; I covered him in the depths” (Ezekiel 31:15). Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi said: Hovalti is written. instead of an alef, meaning “I led him [to the netherworld].” (In our text of the Bible it is in fact written with an alef .) One does not craft a cover for a vat out of silver or gold, but rather out of earthenware, which is of the same material [as the vat itself]. So too, the wicked themselves are darkness, Gehenna is darkness, the depths of the earth are darkness. I led [ hovalti ] the wicked to Gehenna and covered them over with the depths of the earth, darkness covering darkness. Rabbi Yonatan in the name of Rabbi Yoshiya transposes the [words of the] verse: “Your righteousness is upon Your judgments”; “like mighty mountains are upon the great depths.” Just as the mountains weigh down the water of the deep so it should not rise and inundate the world, so do the righteous suppress [God’s strict judgments and] punishments so they should not emerge and incinerate the world. Just as the mountains are endless, so is the reward of the righteous endless. Just as the mountains are sown and produce fruit, so, the actions of the righteous produce fruit. That is what is written: “Say of the righteous man that it shall be well with him, [for they will eat the fruit of their actions]” (Isaiah 3:10). And just as the depths of the earth are unmeasurable, so is the punishment of the wicked unmeasurable. That is what is written: “Woe to the wicked one who does evil” (Isaiah 3:11). Just as the depths of the earth are not sown and do not produce fruit, so, the actions of the wicked do not produce fruit, as, were they to produce fruit, they would destroy the world. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi once went up to Rome. There he saw pillars covered over with tapestries, so they would not freeze in the cold or split apart in the heat. But when he would walk in the marketplace, he saw a poor man wrapped in a mat, and some say in half a donkey’s saddlecloth. Regarding those pillars, he recited the verse: “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains” (Psalms 36:7) – to the one to whom You give, You give abundantly. Regarding that poor man, he recited the verse: “Your judgments are great depths” (Psalms 36:7) – to the one whom You hit, You hit powerfully. Alexander of Macedonia once went to the king of Katzia, beyond the Mountains of Darkness. He [Alexander] sent for him [to come see him]. He came out and he was carrying a golden loaf on a platter of gold. He said to him: Do I need your money? He said to him: Did you not have what to eat in your land that you came here? He said to him: I came only because I wish to know how you people administer justice. He sat with him. One day, someone came to him with a claim against another person. He said: This man sold me a ruin and I found a hidden treasure in it. The buyer said: I bought [only] a ruin; I did not buy a hidden treasure, [so it belongs to the seller]. The seller said: I sold the ruin and whatever was in it, [so it belongs to the buyer]. He said to one of them: Do you have a son? He said to him: Yes. He said to the other: Do you have a daughter? He said to him: Yes. He said to them: Go marry them off to each other, and the money will belong to both of them. He [the king] saw that he [Alexander] was sitting there in astonishment. He said to him: What, did I not judge well? He said to him: Yes, [you judged well]. He said to him: Had this case come before you, how would you have ruled? He said to him: I would have killed them both, and the royal treasury would have taken the money from both of them. He said to him: Do you have rainfall [in your land]? He said to him: Yes. He said to him: Do you have sunshine? He said to him: Yes. He said to him: Do you have flocks of sheep and goats? He said to him: Yes. He said to him; May the spirit of that man [you, Alexander] depart from his body. It is not for your sake that rain falls on you, and it is not for your sake that the sun shines for you. It is, rather, for the sake of the animals, as it is written: “Lord, You save man and animal” (Psalms 36:7) – the Lord saves man for the sake of the animals. Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon interpreted the verse regarding Noah. The Holy One blessed be He said: The righteousness that I performed with Noah in the ark, I performed specifically through the “mighty mountains” (Psalms 36:7) – “The ark rested during the seventh month…[upon the mountains of Ararat]” (Genesis 8:4). “Your judgments are great depths” (Psalms 36:7) – the suffering that I imposed on his generation, I imposed on them specifically through the great depths, as it is stated: “[All the wellsprings of the great depth] were breached” (Genesis 7:11). [“Lord, You save man and animal”] (Psalms 36:7) – when I remembered him, it was not him alone that I remembered, but rather, him and everything that was in the ark with him. That is what is written: “God remembered Noah and all the beasts…” ²Another interpretation: That is what is written: “There was a small city, with few men in it, and a great king came against it [and surrounded it]” (Ecclesiastes 9:14). “A small city” – that is the world. “With few men in it” – that is the generation of the Flood. “And a great king came against it and surrounded it” – that is the Holy One blessed be He. “And built great siege works against it” (Ecclesiastes 9:14) – He surrounded it and set ambushes [all around]. “A poor and wise man was found in it” (Ecclesiastes 9:15) – that is Noah. “And he saved the city in his wisdom” (Ecclesiastes 9:15) – “he offered up burnt offerings on the altar” (Genesis 8:20). “But no person remembered that poor man” (Ecclesiastes 9:15) – the Holy One blessed be He said [to those people]: It is you who do not remember him, but I do remember him: “God remembered Noah.” ³“The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is upon all His works [ maasav ]” (Psalms 145:9) – Rabbi Levi said: “The Lord is good to all, [and His mercy is] upon” everything, because they are “His works.” Rabbi Shmuel said: “The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is upon” everyone, because that is His attribute, that He is merciful. to mean: This is His attribute. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: “The Lord is good to all” and imparts some of His mercy to His creations [ maasav ]. Rabbi Tanḥuma and Rabbi Abba bar Avin in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: Tomorrow a year of drought may come and [you will see that] people have compassion for one another, and the Holy One blessed be He [in turn] becomes filled with mercy upon them [and grants rain]. In the days of Rabbi Tanḥuma, the people of Israel needed to declare a fast [due to a drought]. They came to him and said to him: ‘Rabbi, decree a fast.’ He decreed a fast one day, a second day and a third day, 1:5). but rain did not fall. He came in [to the synagogue] and preached to them, saying to them: My children, fill yourselves with mercy for one another, and the Holy One blessed be He will then become filled with mercy for you. While they were distributing charity to their poor, they saw someone who was giving money to his divorcée. They came to him [Rabbi Tanḥuma] and said to him: Rabbi, why are we sitting by while there is a transgression taking place here among us? He said to them: What is it that you saw? They said to him: We saw so-and-so giving money to his divorcée. He sent for them and brought them into the congregation. He said to him: What is this woman to you? He said to him: She is my divorcée. He said to him: Why were you giving her money? He said to him: Rabbi, I saw that she was in distress, and I became filled with compassion for her. At that moment, Rabbi Tanḥuma lifted his face heavenward and said: Master of the universe, if this man, who has no obligation to support her [his divorcée], saw her in distress and became filled with compassion for her, then regarding You, of whom it is written: “Gracious and merciful” (Psalms 145:8), and us, who are the descendants of Your beloved ones, the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – all the more so that You should become filled with compassion for us. Thereupon rain fell, and the thirst of the world was quenched. Our Rabbi was once occupied in Torah study in front of the synagogue of the Babylonians in Tzippori. A certain calf passed by him. It was going off to be slaughtered, and began lowing, as if to say: Save me. He said to it: ‘What can I do for you? It was for this purpose that you were created.’ Rabbi suffered from toothaches for thirteen years. Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said: All those thirteen years that Rabbi suffered from toothaches, no woman in the land of Israel miscarried, and women in childbirth suffered no pain. Sometime later, a small creeping animal passed in front of his daughter, and she was going to kill it. He said to her: ‘My daughter, leave it, as it is written: “His mercy is upon all His works”’ (Psalms 145:9). Our Rabbi was exceedingly humble, and he would say: Anything a person might ask me to do [to show him deference] I would do, except for what the sons of Beteira did to my ancestor, 66a). when they stepped down from their prominent positions and promoted him [in their stead]. But if Rav Huna the Exilarch were to come up to here, I would stand up before him. Why? Because he is from [the tribe of] Judah, and I am from Benjamin; he is from the males of Judah, and I am from the females. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great said to him: ‘Why, he is standing right outside.’ Rabbi’s face became ashen. When he [Ḥiyya] saw that his face had become ashen, he said to him: ‘It is his coffin.’ He [Rabbi] said to him [Rabbi Ḥiyya]: ‘Someone wants you outside, go out and see who it is.’ He went outside and did not find anyone there. He realized that he had been placed under admonishment [by Rabbi], and admonishment lasts for no fewer than thirty days. Rabbi Yosei bar Rabbi Avin said: All those thirty days during which Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great was under admonishment from our Rabbi, he taught his nephew Rav all the principles of the Torah, and those are the Torah principles that comprise Babylonian halakha . At the conclusion of thirty days, Elijah of blessed memory came to our Rabbi in the guise of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great, placed his hand on his tooth and it was cured. When Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great came before Our Rabbi, he [Rabbi Ḥiyya] said to him: ‘What did you do to your tooth?’ He said to him: ‘From the time that you placed your hand on it, it was cured.’ He said to him: ‘I do not know anything about that.’ When he [Rabbi] heard this, he began treating him with respect, and when he would gather students, he would position him in the inner circle. Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Yosei said: ‘[Will he be placed] even closer [to you] than I?’ He said to him: ‘God forbid, such a thing shall not be done in Israel.’ Our Rabbi used to relate the praises of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great before Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Yosei. He said to him: ‘He is a great man, a holy man.’ One time, he saw him in the bathhouse, and he [Rabbi Ḥiyya] did not show him deference. He [Rabbi Yishmael] said to him [Rabbi]: ‘That student of yours whom you praise, I saw him in the bathhouse and he did not show deference to me.’ He said to him [to Rabbi Ḥiyya]: ‘Why did you not show deference to him?’ Rabbi Ḥiyya said to him: ‘I was deep in thought about the aggada of Psalms [and did not notice him].’ When he [Rabbi] heard this, he appointed for him two students who would enter with him to the caldarium, so that he would not tarry there and have his life compromised. Another interpretation: “The Lord is good to all…” (Psalms 145:9); “God remembered Noah….” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: Woe unto the wicked, as they transform [God’s] attribute of mercy into the attribute of strict justice. Everywhere that “the Lord” is stated, it refers to the attribute of mercy – “the Lord, the Lord, merciful and gracious God” (Exodus 34:6); yet it is written: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth” (Genesis 6:5); “the Lord regretted that He had made man” (Genesis 6:6); “the Lord said: I will obliterate…” (Genesis 6:7). Fortunate are the righteous, as they transform the attribute of strict justice into the attribute of mercy. Everywhere that God [ Elohim ] is stated, it refers to the attribute of justice. “You shall not curse judges [ elohim ]” (Exodus 22:27); “the please of both of them shall come to the judges [ elohim ]” (Exodus 22:8); yet it is written: “God [ Elohim ] heard their groan, and God [ Elohim ] remembered His covenant…” (Exodus 2:24); “God [ Elohim ] remembered Rachel…” (Genesis 30:22); “God [ Elohim ] remembered Noah.” What [favorable] memory did [God] remember to his credit? It was that he fed and sustained them [the animals] all twelve months in the ark. “God remembered Noah” – and it is only reasonable that it was [also] due to the merit of the kosher animals that he took with him. Rabbi Eliezer says: He [Noah] got his name from the offering [he made to God], as it is stated: “The Lord smelled the pleasing [ niḥoaḥ ] aroma” (Genesis 8:21). Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: He got his name from the resting of the ark, as it is stated: “The ark rested [ vatanaḥ ] in the seventh month…” (Genesis 8:4). Rabbi Yehoshua says: “[Planting and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night] shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22) – the implication is that they had ceased [during the Flood]. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The constellations did not function all twelve months [of the Flood]. Rabbi Yonatan said to him: They functioned, but their effect was not noticeable. ⁴“The wellsprings of the depth and the windows of the heavens were dammed, and the rain from the heavens was terminated” (Genesis 8:2). “The wellsprings of the depth…were dammed” – Rabbi Elazar said: In a bad context [it states]: “On that day all the wellsprings of the great depth were breached” (Genesis 7:11), but in a good context [it states]: “The wellsprings of the depth…were dammed” – but not all the wellsprings, to exclude the [hot] spring of Tiberias, Ḥamat Gader, and the Banyas Cave. “The ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:4). “The ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth [day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat]” – on the Corduene mountains. ⁵“It was at the end of forty days, and Noah opened the window of the ark that he made” (Genesis 8:6). “It was at the end of forty days, and Noah opened [the window of the ark]” – this supports what Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said [earlier], that [the ark’s tzohar ] was a window. (Genesis 6:15) in Bereshit Rabba 31:11. “He sent the raven, and it went back and forth, until the drying of the water from upon the earth” (Genesis 8:7). “He sent the raven” – that is what is written: “He sent darkness and made it dark” (Psalms 105:28). “And it went back and forth [ vashov ]” – Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: It began presenting arguments [ meshivo ] to him [Noah]. He said to him, [as it were]: Of all the animals, beasts, and birds that are here, you are sending only me? He said to him: What need does the world have for you – [you are fit] neither for food nor for an offering. Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana: The Holy One blessed be He said to him [Noah]: Accept it [back into the ark], as the world will have a need for it in the future. He said to Him: When? He said to him: “Until the drying of the water from upon the earth” – a certain righteous man is destined to arise and dry out the world, and I will bring it about that he will have a need for it [the raven]. That is what is written: “The ravens [ orevim ] would bring him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening” (I Kings 17:6). Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya: Rabbi Yehuda says: There is a city in the environs of Beit She’an whose name is Aravi. Rabbi Neḥemya said: They were actual ravens. From where did they bring it [the food]? From the table of Yehoshafat. Rabbi Akiva delivered a homily in Ginzak regarding the generation of the Flood, and they did not weep, but when he mentioned to them the story of Job, they immediately wept. He applied this verse to them [to the generation of the Flood]: “The womb will forget him; he will be sweet for the maggots; he will no longer be remembered, and injustice will be broken like a tree” (Job 24:20). “The womb [ reḥem ] will forget him” – they caused mercy [ raḥamim ] to be forgotten among mankind; the Holy One blessed be He, too, caused His mercy to be forgotten from them. “He will be sweet for the maggots” – their flesh will be sweet for the maggots. “He will no longer be remembered, and injustice will be broken like a tree” – Rabbi Abbahu said: It is not written, “will be uprooted,” but rather, “will be broken” – like something that is broken and does not produce a replacement. What is it? It is the generation of the Dispersion. ⁶“He sent the dove from him, to see if the water abated from upon the surface of the ground” (Genesis 8:8). “But the dove did not find rest for its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, as water was upon the surface of the entire earth; and he extended his hand and took it, and brought it to him to the ark” (Genesis 8:9). “He sent the dove…but the dove did not find rest…” – Yehuda bar Naḥman said in the name of Rabbi Shimon: Had it found rest, it would not have returned. Similarly, “it dwells among the nations, finding no rest” (Lamentations 1:3) – had it found rest, it would never have returned [from exile]. Similarly, “and among these nations you will not be calm, and there will be no rest…” (Deuteronomy 28:65) – but had it found rest they would never have returned. “He waited yet another seven days and again sent the dove from the ark. The dove came to him at evening time, and behold, it had a plucked olive leaf in its mouth; and Noah knew that the water had abated from upon the earth” (Genesis 8:10–11). “He waited yet another seven days” – Rabbi Yosei said: There were three sets of seven days. And again sent the dove from the ark…the dove came to him…plucked [ taraf ]…in its mouth” – what is taraf ? “Killed,” just as you say: “Joseph had been mauled [ tarof toraf ]” (Genesis 37:33). He said to it: Had you left it, it would have become a great tree. From where did it [the dove] bring it [the leaf]? It was from the branches in the Land of Israel that it brought it. Rabbi Levi said: It brought it from the Mount of Olives, as the Land of Israel was not inundated in the Flood. That is what the Holy One blessed be He said to Ezekiel: “It is a land that has not been purified, that was not rained upon on the day of fury” (Ezekiel 22:24). Rav Beivai said: The gates of the Garden of Eden opened up before it, and it brought it [from there]. Rabbi Abbahu said: Had it brought it from the Garden of Eden, would it not have brought an item of greater excellence, either cinnamon or balsam? It is, rather, that it was alluding to a lesson for him. It was saying to Noah: Better this bitter item, and not something sweet dependent upon your hand. “He waited yet another seven days and sent the dove, and it did not return again to him anymore” (Genesis 8:12). “He waited yet another seven days” – this supports what Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: There were three sets of seven days; “He…sent the dove, and it did not return again to him anymore.” ⁷“ It was in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water began to dry from upon the earth; Noah removed the cover of the ark, and he saw, and behold, the surface of the ground had begun to dry” (Genesis 8:13). “It was in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month” – we learned: The judgment of the generation of the Flood lasted twelve months. How [did it progress]? “In the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month” (Genesis 7:11); and it is written: “The rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 7:12) – that is [the remainder of] Marḥeshvan and [nearly all of] Kislev. “The water accumulated upon the earth for one hundred and fifty days” (Genesis 7:24) – that accounts for Tevet, Shevat, Adar, Nisan, and Iyar. “The ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:4) – this refers to Sivan, which was the seventh [month counting] from the cessation of the rain. For sixteen days the water receded, one cubit every four days, being one and a half handbreadths per day. You thus come to the conclusion that the ark was submerged eleven cubits into the water. And it [the water] receded completely over the course of sixty days. That is what is written: “The water gradually receded until the tenth month” (Genesis 8:5) – this is Av, which is the tenth [month counting] from the falling of the rain. Another interpretation: “It was in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water began to dry from upon the earth” – it [the earth] became like a soaking wet object. “And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth dried” (Genesis 8:14) – it became like completely dry land. They sowed it, but it did not grow anything. Why? Because it represented a curse, and that which represents a curse cannot bring about blessing. So they waited until rain fell, and they sowed [again]. The verse should have rather said: “And on the sixteenth day of the second month, the earth dried.” Why, then, does the verse state: And on the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth dried” (Genesis 8:14)? These [extra days] were the eleven days that the solar year is longer than the lunar year. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: Anyone who wishes to ascertain that the solar cycle is eleven days longer than the lunar cycle, let him make a scratch on the wall [where the sun reaches at a given time of day] during the season of Tamuz. The next year at the same time, the sun will not reach that point until eleven days later. From this you can ascertain that the solar cycle is eleven days longer than the lunar cycle.