Questions on Parshas Noach to think about and discuss:

1. What was he called the name “Noach”?
2. Why was the structure that he built called a “tayva” that means “word”? Additionally, the dimensions of the Tayva (30 amos by 300 by 50) in gematria spell the word לש”ן meanings tongue referring to speech. What is the connection between them?
3. What is the difference between the ship of the tayva and an ordinary ship?
4. What is the significance of the Mabul’s full force of water flooding for forty days? Surely a few days of such a flood would be enough?
5. Was there any creatures that did not enter the Tayva and still managed to survive?
6. A minimum of two of each animal were taken to ensure their survival, a male and female. Why did he take more from the kosher animals? Why seven more?
7. What leftovers do we have nowadays still from the Mabul?
8. Do we know anything that happened to Noach’s Tayva afterwards?
9. Noach has three sons. What was their order of birth from oldest to youngest?
10. Is there any special reason why Noach did not have any daughters (only three sons)?
11. Why was the world punished in the form of drowning in water more than any other way? Why could all creatures be made to die, except for those that entered the tayva, thereby leaving the ground intact with no need for a tayva?
12. Why was the Mabul sealed because of the sin of stealing more than any other sin or all sins combined?
13. How was the world and earth changed from before to after the mabul?
14. Why did Noach not daven to save his generation like Avrohom davened to save Sedom?
15. If it was already a miracle how everything managed to fit into the tayva then why does the Torah need to say the specific dimensions of it (300 amos by 50 by 30)?
16. How did Noach know how much food to take into the tayva – when he would be allowed out? What did he eat when he left the tayva?
17. Why isn’t the death of Mesushelach mentioned in the Torah?
18. Who lived the longest in history and how old?
19. Why wasn’t Mesushelach also saved in the tayva and instead the mabul only started after his death (and was delayed for the shiva)?
20. Hashem closed the door of the tayva (Noach, 7:16). Why not Noach?
21. The water covered all the mountains and rose above them fifteen amos. Why this number and why not simply just cover them?
22. The fish did not die in the mabul (Rashi, Noach, 7:22). Why?
23. Which other parsha shares the same haftora as Parshas Noach?

 

Ideas for answers on the general parsha:

1. Rashi (5:29) says that this name is associated with “comfort” as he invented the plough that helped man till the land.
3. The difference lies in the shape. Usually a ship is narrow at the bottom and widens as it goes upwards. It also has sails. However, the tayva was the opposite being wide at the bottom and went narrower as it went upwards and was without sails. (Ibn Ezra, Noach, 6:14)
4. We must say that it is coming to tell us a message that is imparted by the number forty. Forty is the number that symbolizes change. This is why Moshe went for forty days to get the Torah that changes man and the mikva that comes to purify and change the status of man has forty soah. Perhaps this is also why malkos, lashes, in the Torah is said to give forty lashes as it comes to atone and change the person for the better.
5. The fish survived in the water and Oig survived near the Tayva, outside it…
6. Noach knew that later he would bring sacrifices from them. The Radak adds that since meat was permitted to makind and Noach kept the Torah, he took more kosher animals to replenish the stocks to enable the eating of meat.
7. Certain hot waters like Chamei Teveria, the hot springs of Teveria (Rashi, 8:2) that were not closed when the Mabul finished.
8. There is a Midrash on Megillas Ester that Homon managed to get such a long piece of wood the size of fifty Amos from the Tayva of Noach.
9. There are three opinions. The Radak (Divrei Hayomim I, 1:2) holds that it is like the order always mentioned in the pesukim, namely Sheim then Chom and then Yefes. The Ramban holds that Yefes was the oldest and then was Sheim with Chom being the youngest. The Sifsei Chachomim learns in Rashi (5:32) that the oldest was Yefes then Chom and Sheim was the youngest.
10. It appears that he did not have any daughters. The reason not to have them before the Mabul is perhaps like the reason why the Ramban (Bereishis, 24:1) brings why Avrohom did not have a daughter. Because the people around him were evil and a woman is under the influence of her husband, therefore she would not find a fitting husband. After the flood, according to some opinions, Noach was castrated and therefore could not have more children.
15. Rabbeinu Bechai (6:15) explains that we see from here an important principle. We need to do as much as we can in teva and then Hashem will do the rest as miracles.
16. Either he knew in advance how long he would be there. Alternatively, he took a reasonable amount and he knew that Hashem would do a miracle and ensure that from that food there would remain plenty with which to feed all of them on the tayva.
18. Mesushelach who lived to the old age of 969.
20. The Bechor Shor says since animals came by themselves Noach was scared to close the door in case there would be more who were meant to enter. Hashem who knew when the last one came in then closed the door.
22. The Maharal says that since they were the only creatures who were not with man when he negatively influenced all the other creatures on land therefore they did not deserve to be punished.
23. It is two of the Shiva Denechemta haftoras together. Roni Akore the haftora of Parshas Ki Seitsei and Aniye Soiare the haftora of Parshas Re’eh.

Questions on the rainbow:

1. What exactly is a rainbow?
2. If a rainbow a natural result of rain and sunshine then how can it be taken as a sign that a mabul should come but because of Hashem’s promise it isn’t but a rainbow comes as a reminder instead?
3. What is the significance of the shape of the rainbow and it’s colours?
4. What is the special brocho to say on the rainbow and how much of the rainbow do you need to see it in order to say it?
5. Why is it wrong to tell someone else if you see a rainbow?

Questions on the Dor Haflaga:

1. Why are they called the Dor Haflaga?
2. What did they do wrong?
3. Why were they not destroyed like the Dor Hamabul?
4. Why is our introduction to them that they all spoke one language (Noach 11:1)?
5. Who was the leader of the Dor Haflaga?
6. When did it happen? How soon after the mabul?
7. The Dor Haflaga said to build a city and a tower so high as to reach heaven and make a name for themselves (Noach, 11:4). What are all these things?

Ideas for answers on the Dor Haflaga:

1. Dor means generation and Haflaga means to split and divide. They are called so (like the Dor Hamabul) after the name of their punishment that they were separated and spread out to all different parts of the world.
3. Rashi (Noach, 11:9) brings that their strong point was unity while the Dor Hamabul were divided through their actions. We see from here the great power of unity and the destruction powers of division.
5. Nimrod tried convincing the whole world to rebel against Hashem and led the Dor Haflaga (see Rashi Noach (10:9 and 10:11).
6. See Rashi (Noach, 10:25)…

Questions on the end of Parshas Noach:

1. At the end of Parshas Noach it recaps and brings the lifespan of each of the ten generations from Noach until Avrohom. Why does it need to repeat this again? Why split it up between the years before they had children and the number of years after this? Why here does it not repeat again their total years at the end, like it does by the other ten generations at the end of Parshas Bereishis?
2. We find that when it says until how long they lived it misses out the word “Vayomos” – “and they died” (unlike at the end of Parshas Bereishis)?
3. Avrohom had two brothers, Nochor and Horon. Are they in any way connected to Judaism?
4. How was Horon, Avrohom’s brother, influenced by him? What was his reward?
5. Why does it mention that Terach, Avrohom’s father, died (Noach, 11:32) even though he lived many more years and into the events of the next parsha?

Ideas for answers on the end of Parshas Noach:

3. Horon was the father of Loit (Noach, 11:27). He had a daughter, Milke who married her Uncle Nochor. They had a son called Besuel whose daughter Rivka later married Yitzchok (see end of Parshas Vayeira). His other daughter was Soro who married her Uncle Avrohom (see Rashi Noach 11:29).
4. Rashi (Noach, 11:28) brings that when Avrohom was about to be thrown into the furnace for believing in Hashem, Horon said that whoever wins this battle he will follow. When Avrohom was miraculously saved, Horon also pronounced his belief in Hashem and was thrown into the fire and died. The reason for this is that when you trust in Hashem you must really be willing to die and not rely on any miracles and then you might be saved. However, Horon’s belief was based on an outcome of the victor. However, for his self sacrifice he was rewarded that the Imohois, Matriarchs, descended from him (see answer 3 above). The Chasam Sofer adds that this is because the woman’s function is to follow on from her husband as the second one. Avrohom who did the original action therefore merited that he was the Father of the Avos while Horon who did the follow on action fathered the Imohois.