(Genesis 8:1)
Marcheshvan 3, 5779/October 12, 2018
The Torah reading of Noach opens as a long dark cloud descends upon all of creation. Gravely disappointed by the downward moral turn that man has taken, G-d has declared of the sons and daughters of the crown of His creation, that "I regret that I made them," (Genesis 6:7) and has set out to destroy all living things, save for Noach and his family, and the animals that Noach is instructed to lead onto the Ark that G-d has commanded him to make. Noach follows G-d's instructions precisely and soon finds himself, his wife and sons, and their wives, and the animals that he brought aboard, adrift upon an angry sea in a ceaselessly raging rainstorm. G-d's oral communication with Noach ended the day that the rains began, and for one hundred and fifty days Noach has heard nothing but the pounding rain upon the deck of the ark, the roar of the waves which rock the ark, and, of course, the ceaseless sounds of the animals on board. But not a word from G-d. The waters rose to fifteen cubits above the earth and the sun was hidden behind thick rain clouds. Din and darkness defined G-d's world.
