This week's 10-Minute Torah (October 29, 2022): "Parashat Noah" 5783

https://youtu.be/FCcJlRfGwS4

Parashat Noach 5783 / פָּרָשַׁת נֹחַ

29 October 2022 / 4 Cheshvan 5783

Parashat Noach is the 2nd weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading.

Torah Portion: Genesis 6:9-11:32

Noach (“Noah”) begins as God decides to destroy mankind with a flood. At God’s command, the righteous Noah builds an ark, where Noah, his family, and select animals survive the flood. Noah’s children bear children, and several generations develop. God confounds the speech of people building the Tower of Babel. [1]

Triennial year 1

1: 6:9-16 · 8 p’sukim ·

2: 6:17-19 · 3 p’sukim ·

3: 6:20-22 · 3 p’sukim ·

4: 7:1-9 · 9 p’sukim ·

5: 7:10-16 · 7 p’sukim ·

6: 7:17-24 · 8 p’sukim ·

7: 8:1-14 · 14 p’sukim ·

maf: 8:12-14 · 3 p’sukim ·

Haftarah for Ashkenazim: Isaiah 54:1-55:5 · 22 p’sukim

Commentary and Divrei Torah Sefaria OU Torah Jewish Theological Seminary

Soncino Chumash: pp. 26 - 31 Triennial Year 3 (Full Kriyah pp. 26 - 40)

Artscroll Chumash: pp. 30 - 38 Triennial Year 3 (Full Kriyah pp. 30 - 53)

Etz Chaim Chumash: pp. 41 - 48 Triennial Year 3 (Full Kriyah pp. 41 - 63)

As we had been introduced to Noah at the end of the last Sidrah, we now see his mission, to continue humanity. Hashem’s ultimate creation, humankind, had grown corrupt in the ten generations from Adam. They freely engaged in robbery and the human-made courts had abrogated their responsibility in not punishing them. With the threat of consequences, people became more bold in their disregard for the rights of others.

Noah was righteous in his generation. Does this mean that he was a righteous man or just the best of the corrupt people of him time? Does it really matter? Righteous is righteous. In either case, his righteousness could have been an example to his fellows. Instead, they pursued their criminal activities.

It took Noah one hundred and twenty years to build the ark from the gopher wood. This was so people could ask him what he was doing, and he could inform them of the impending flood that would wipe out beings all over the Earth. This would allow them to repent and prevent their doom. They didn’t and Hashem did. Noah and his family survived, again because of his righteousness, to rebuild humanity from an ostensibly better stock.