**Noah (נח) / Noah** (Genesis 6:9 – 11:32)
This week's Torah portion is called "נח" (Noah) – the Hebrew name for the well-known biblical figure Noah. The remarkable story of the Flood is familiar to everyone.
The tale of the Flood, in one form or another, is present in the mythology of almost all ancient civilizations, including Babylonian and Sumerian myths. This fact also affirms the credibility of the Flood story as an event of global magnitude. Modern sciences such as geology, paleontology, and archaeology can confirm the existence of visible traces of a destructive water catastrophe on Earth. The problem lies in how these data are interpreted. Unfortunately, modern science, guided by the ideas of Darwinist and Cartesian philosophy, associates the evidence with the movement of a giant glacier that supposedly spread from the North Pole, destroying everything in its path.
However, the biblical account of the Flood is unique in its details, which challenge these speculative theories. Here are a few words about how God undoes the effects of the Flood. The first verse of the eighth chapter of Genesis tells us: "And God remembered Noah, and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided." What does it mean that God "made a wind" and that the waters "subsided"?
We can understand this by examining modern meteorological and hydrological maps, which show the direction of trade winds. These are constant winds, powerful air currents that blow along the equator, always moving from east to west. As they travel from northern Africa from a low-pressure region, influenced by the high temperature of the Atlantic Ocean’s waters, these air masses spiral and turn into hurricanes. Every year, from July to November, these hurricanes wreak havoc on the islands of the Caribbean, the coast of Mexico, and even the shores of Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.
The biblical narrative does not elaborate on the laws of physics, but by following a logical sequence, we can explain the causes and effects of such natural phenomena based on the content of the first verse of the eighth chapter of Genesis. When God "made a wind" pass over the earth, He tilted the Earth's axis, giving it a precessional* rotation. This natural phenomenon led not only to the seasons, as mentioned in verse 22 of the eighth chapter of Genesis:
"While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."
Many paleontologists and other researchers acknowledge the fact that there was a global climate change at a certain point in Earth’s history. What was the starting point? What happened to the excess water from the Flood?
According to the laws of physics, under the influence of the constant direction of the wind and the precession of the Earth’s axis, inertia forms, known as the Coriolis force. This causes water to curve as it moves due to the trade winds from the south and the north, ultimately concentrating at the poles. The formation of winter and summer periods leads to the constant preservation of low temperatures at the poles, which causes the water there to freeze. Today, climatologists are sounding the alarm: if the predicted global warming causes Antarctica to melt, the water from the melting ice would cover the summit of Mount Everest. Isn't this a model of the aftermath of the biblical Flood? To further support the historical accuracy of the Flood, we can turn to certain linguistic theories.
This Torah portion also sheds light on another important event—the division of languages and the story of the Tower of Babel. While the creation narrative described in the first two chapters of Genesis is difficult to explain scientifically, the events of the Flood and the division of languages can find scientific confirmation. The renowned Soviet historian, Orientalist, and linguist Igor Diakonov was an advocate of the theory of language classification by linguistic families, demonstrating that there is almost no linguistic connection between these families. This theory completely refutes the Darwinist claim that humanity evolved from central Kenya and gradually acquired speech skills. Diakonov was amazed to find that the differences between language families are so significant that it seems as though someone deliberately, intentionally, and artificially separated them.
Another important theme in this week’s Torah portion is the concept of God’s covenant with humanity. Is it related to the previous discussion of the Flood and the salvation of Noah’s family? Yes, it is closely connected. Did God isolate the rest of humanity from salvation? Let us explore this important topic.
In biblical Hebrew, the word "Israel" is feminine, as are the names of all countries and cities, including Jerusalem (hence the expression "daughter of Jerusalem"). However, behind this grammatical category lies a deeper meaning. In the book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 54, verse 5, it is written:
"For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of Hosts is His name; and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth." The Bible repeatedly uses the metaphor of Israel, who turns away from God, as an "adulterous wife."
In contrast, God invites His faithful "remnant," often called His "wife" in the Torah, to the marriage supper. The marriage metaphor is always used to emphasize how much God desires to "unite" with His people. The term "unite" or "marry" often causes some discomfort due to its connotation of intimate marital relations. But what does it mean in this context? In Hebrew, marriage or betrothal is called "קידושין" (Kiddushin). The word "קידושין" is derived from the root "קדש" (kadosh), meaning "to be holy."
The concept of "holiness" has been greatly distorted over time within Christian culture. In modern usage, the word "holy" is often contrasted with "sinful." In reality, the opposite of "holy" is "not holy," while the opposite of "sinful" is "sinless." It’s not about our "holiness" as "sinlessness." The biblical meaning of this concept is well illustrated in the Jewish wedding ceremony, specifically during the betrothal.
The groom approaches the bride and offers her a piece of gold, declaring that from now on, she is holy to him, according to the Law of Moses and Israel. If the bride agrees, she accepts the gold, symbolizing that she is now "holy" to her young man, meaning she is "forbidden" to all other men except her groom. This is why God calls Himself Jealous in the Ten Commandments, and in the first commandment, He says, "You shall have no other gods before Me." This is why He desires us to be His "holy nation," meaning a people belonging exclusively to Him. This is what the words in the passage from the prophet Isaiah mean, where the Lord calls Himself "your husband," because His bride is holy.
What relevance does this have to the texts of our Torah portion? Genesis 9:9-11:
"And I establish My covenant with you and with your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you—the birds, the livestock, and all the beasts of the earth with you, all that come out of the ark—every beast of the earth. I establish My covenant…"
The covenant is nothing other than God’s marriage with His people, not a mere contract. Unlike any political or economic agreement reached through negotiations, a marriage—especially God’s covenant—is something entirely different. It does not involve negotiations. God comes and offers His covenant, which is why the covenant is "established," not "negotiated." If we accept it, we become His "holy nation," His "bride." We can either accept or reject the offered gift. How did the biblical figures respond?
Noah accepted God’s covenant. How? He responded to His call earlier by believing in the promised salvation from the Flood. But the expression of this agreement can be found in the eighth chapter of Genesis (Genesis 8:20). The very first action Noah takes after leaving the ark is:
"Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar."
The Lord responds to Noah’s sacrifice in a particular way: He "smells a soothing aroma." The smell of burning animal flesh is far from pleasant, but that’s not the point. Smells are powerful triggers of associative memory! We remember the smell of pastries our mother baked, or the smell of the house we grew up in—they immediately evoke memories of a happy childhood. In this case, Noah’s sacrifice evoked favorable associations in God, reminding Him of the man He created, who accepted His gift. As a result, God establishes His covenant with Noah.
Could the people of the pre-Flood world have become part of this covenant?
Unlike the Near Eastern myths where the gods are portrayed as tyrants disturbed by the noise of humanity, the God of the heavens and the earth acts differently. According to these myths, Utu-Napishti, the Babylonian counterpart to Noah, secretly learns of the upcoming flood from the gods and begins building a rescue vessel.
The God of the Bible is not like that. Let us consider the size of the ark. Its volume exceeds that of the famous Titanic, on which, if all the restaurants, ballrooms, boiler rooms, fuel storage, and other service areas were removed, it could accommodate about 20,000 people, including all the animals taken aboard the ark. According to estimates by many modern scientists, this was approximately the population of the Earth at that time—no more than 20,000 people. This means that God intended to save all the inhabitants of the pre-Flood world, inviting everyone to enter into a covenant with Him. The only condition was that the covenant had to be accepted. But the "piece of gold" extended by God was accepted only by Noah and his family. In the last days, only those who take this precious gift from God's hand will be able to partake in the marriage supper of the Lamb. The choice is ours. God desires to "unite" with each one of us. What will your answer to God be?
*Precession – the slow movement of the Earth's axis of rotation, which, to maintain a constant tilt relative to the plane of the Earth's orbit, changes its direction in space. Over a period of 26,000 years, the Earth's axis completes a full rotation. The tilt angle remains constant, approximately 23 degrees 27 minutes.
A beautiful tradition that many Jewish families or perhaps even congregations embrace is the blessing of their children on Friday nights as Shabbat is soon arriving or has just started. The words of the blessing are derived from the Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26), and the format varies slightly depending on whether the child is male or female. In addition to Friday nights, some parents may choose to bless their children using this blessing or a similar variation at a brit milah, a naming ceremony, a birthday, a bar or bat mitzvah, graduation day, or any other special occasion.
We have witnessed three global events. One of them is now in the past. The other two are not yet in the past, but many would like to see them in the past as soon as possible.