Parashat Noach - Second Aliyah
Read the biblical text and try to understand it on your own, before reading the commentary.
Noah built the ark, prepared it for the flood and did what he had been commanded. Now the moment comes to enter. It is here, after all those preparations, that Rashi points to a hesitation we might hardly expect from a man the Torah describes as righteous.
Righteous, even when faith is incomplete
At the beginning of the aliyah, God commands Noah to enter the ark with his family and speaks of his righteousness. Later we read:
vayavo Noach uvanav ve’ishto unshei vanav ito el hatevah mipnei mei hamabul Translation: Noah, his sons, his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark with him because of the waters of the flood. Genesis 7:7
In its plain meaning, the verse describes the family entering the ark because of the flood. Rashi also reads a criticism of Noah into the reason for his entry. A short excerpt from his commentary reads, in translation:
Even Noah was among those of little faith.
Rashi explains that Noah believed and did not believe that the flood would come, and did not enter the ark until the waters forced him in. This is a sharp judgment: the man who had carried out the preparations still struggled to believe that the destruction would actually happen. Rashi on Genesis 7:7
The Torah presents Noah as righteous, and Rashi does not erase that description. But his commentary reveals a gap between the ability to act on a command and complete faith in what is about to happen. A person can prepare for a long time and still draw back at the moment of crossing the threshold.
Why bring in more clean animals?
Noah is commanded to bring seven pairs of the clean animals and one pair of the animals that are not clean. Rashi explains that the extra clean animals would allow Noah to offer a sacrifice when he left the ark. Genesis 7:2, Rashi there
According to this interpretation, the preparations for the ark already take account of the day after the flood. Within the command given before the destruction, there is also preparation for emerging from it. The ark is meant to preserve lives that can continue outside it.
Seven days before the flood
God tells Noah that the rain will begin in seven days. The verses themselves do not explain this delay. Rashi brings a midrashic explanation: these are the seven days of mourning for the righteous Methuselah, and the calamity was delayed in his honor. Genesis 7:4, Rashi there
This detail pauses the story for a moment. The world is facing destruction, yet in the exposition Rashi brings, there is still room to honor one person. Even when the story concerns the fate of all humanity, the individual does not disappear from it.
The door closes
After describing the entry of Noah and the animals into the ark, the aliyah ends with these words:
vayisgor Adonai ba’ado Translation of an excerpt: And God shut him in. Genesis 7:16
Rashi explains the plain meaning as God closing the ark against the waters. After everything Noah was required to do, the protective closing is attributed to God. Rashi on Genesis 7:16
We can read the end of the aliyah against the sharp criticism that appeared earlier: Noah hesitated, and still the door closes to protect him. His weakness of faith does not cancel his righteousness or the rescue promised to him.
Now all the preparations are behind him. The ark is closed, and in the next aliyah the waters will lift it above the earth. What was built on solid ground is about to become their refuge within a world changing at its foundations.
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