parsha talk Noah 5785 2024

Kol Ramah

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat No’ach [Genesis 6:9-11:32], the second parashah in the Book of Genesis, primarily deals with the flood, the great cataclysm in which God destroys the world he had so carefully created in the opening chapters of The Torah. Noah, in whom God has found favor, is instructed to build an ark and to enter it with his wife, his three sons and their wives, and representatives of all the land animals and birds [there is some disagreement about the actual numbers]. The world is then destroyed by a massive rainstorm which inundates the earth. The ark finds a resting spot on Mt. Ararat. At some point Noah is instructed to leave the ark, after which he makes sacrifices to God. The last chapters of the book include the repopulation of the earth with the mention of the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japhet; the story of the Tower of Babel, and the 10 generations from Noah to Avram, setting the stage for Avram’s dramatic entrance next week. We continue to be mindful of the hostages, may they be speedily returned to their families, and the soldiers defending Israel as members of the Israel Defense Forces, may they be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.