Parashat Noach (Genesis 6:9 - 11:32)

A weekly Torah exploration for families by Michael S. Raileanu, M.A.Ed.

A weekly Torah exploration for families by Michael S. Raileanu, M.A.Ed.

We are now at Parashat Noach, Genesis 6:9 - 11:32, and is it going to rain and rain and rain and rain some more. In the last few years we have seen so many times just how much damage unruly weather can do. Noach had no idea what lay ahead of him. He didn't ask any questions nor did he question why God was doing what He was going to do. I wonder about that.

In the opening line we are told that Noach is a Tsadik in his generation. What does that mean? Is he really a tsadik or is he just a tsadik because everyone else around him was so evil? How good did he really have to be?
Pretend you are Noach, what might you have told you neighbors when they saw you doing your work? Listen to the old Bill Cosby routine about Noach. Did your version of the Noach story sound the way Mr. Cosby's did? Why do you think that Noach is silent? Why isn't Evan silent in the movie "Evan Almighty"? Have you seen the movie? How is similar to the story of Noach? How is it different?
God makes a point of telling Noach to put a window into the ark. Why? Why shouldn't the ark have been sealed up completely with a couple of little air holes? What other purposes might there have been for the window? What lesson is there is seeing the storm?
The first bird Noach sends out is a raven. The raven just flies around until the waters have receded. What was the raven thinking? Why didn't the raven come back to the Ark? Was it a choice? What migt have happened if Noach sent out a seagull? Or an eagle? Or a parakeet?
There are a lot of days, months and years listed in this parasha. Why does the Torah tells us so specifically when things were happening? What might we learn from this? Who are the famous people who are born at the end of this parasha? When it come to righteousness how are they or will they be different from Noach?