Sanhedrin 108b (קח:) — the Talmud in English

They said:

“If so, we will not clear”

the

way

of the

vineyards,

but will continue and walk along it. That is, we will not retreat from our plan; rather, we will go on and ruin the path, along roads obstructed by thorns and briers, resembling vineyard paths.

Rava expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written: “A torch of contempt to those at ease, prepared for those whose foot slips”?

This teaches that Noah the righteous would rebuke them, and he said to them words that were as harsh as torches.

And the

people of his generation

would scorn him. They said to him: Old man! This ark

that you are building,

why?

What purpose does it serve?

He said to them: The Holy One, blessed be He, is bringing the Flood upon you.

They said

to him:

A flood of what

is the Holy One, blessed be He, bringing upon us?

If He is bringing a flood of fire, we have something else, called “alitah,”

which fire does not affect.

And if

a flood

of water is what He is bringing, if He brings it from the earth

upon us,

we have sheets of iron

[pieces of iron]

with which we can cover the earth.

And if He brings it from the heavens

upon us,

we have something called “akev”; and some say: It is called “ekesh,”

and it will protect us from the Flood.

This is the meaning of what is stated in the verse, “To those at ease.” Ashtot means thoughts, as in ashtonot. That is, they sat complacently, devising evil thoughts.

Noah said to them

:

He is bringing

the Flood

from between the heels of your feet.

That is, through your semen [which emerges from between your legs], He can destroy you.

As it is stated

at the end of the verse cited above:

“Prepared for those whose foot slips.”

It was taught in a baraita: The waters of the Flood were as harsh as semen

[that is, they were boiling and thick like semen],

as it is stated: “Prepared for those whose foot slips.”

Rav Hisda said: With boiling semen

they sinned,

and with boiling water they were judged.

And from where do we know that they were judged with boiling water?

It is written here,

regarding the waters of the Flood:

“And the waters subsided,” and it is written there,

regarding King Ahasuerus:

“And the king’s wrath subsided.”

Just as regarding Ahasuerus the meaning is that he ceased boiling with anger, so too here, the waters ceased boiling. By inference, initially they had been boiling.

“And it came to pass after seven days, and the waters of the Flood were upon the earth.” What was the significance of those

days,

seven days?

Rav said: These were

the seven

days of mourning for Methuselah.

This teaches you that mourning for the righteous delays the arrival of calamity.

Alternatively:

What is the meaning of

“after seven

days”? It means

that the Holy One, blessed be He, altered for them

the

order

of the seven days of

Creation. For

during the Flood,

the sun rose in the west

and set in the east.

Alternatively: The Holy One, blessed be He, initially set for them

a

long period

during which they could repent, as stated initially: “And his days shall be one hundred and twenty years,”

and afterward,

when they had not repented throughout all those one hundred and twenty years, He set for them

a short period,

seven days.

Alternatively: “After seven days” means

that He gave

the people of the generation of the Flood

a taste of the World-to-Come,

which will come after seven thousand years [and it is called “seven days,” because one day of the Holy One, blessed be He, is one thousand years],

so that they would know what

[which]

goodness they had forfeited.

It is written that the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Noah:

“Of every pure animal you shall take for yourself seven pairs, each male with its mate.”

And this is perplexing:

Does an animal have marital relations?

[Can an animal have a marital relationship? One female mates with several males, and this is not considered a marital relationship.]

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said

: The Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Noah to take

those that had not been involved in a transgression,

that had mated only with their own partners.

From where

[did]

he know

which were those that had not been involved in a transgression?

Rav Hisda said: He passed them before the ark. Any that the ark accepted—

it was known that they had not been involved in a transgression. And any that the ark did not accept—

it was known that it had been involved in a transgression.

Rabbi Abbahu said: He brought in those that came on their own,

for only those that had not been involved in a transgression came to him on their own.

“Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood.” What is gopher?

Rav Adda said, and some say it was taught in the school of Rabbi Sheila: This is mavliga

[a type of wood].

And some say:

It is

gulamish

[also a type of wood].

“You shall make a light for the ark.” Rabbi Yohanan said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Noah: Set in it

in the ark

precious stones and pearls, so that they will illuminate for you like midday.

“And to a cubit shall you finish it above”—

for only in this manner could it stand

[that is, in this way the structure of the ark could remain stable. Had it been as wide at the top as at the bottom, it could not have remained upright in the water; rather, it would have overturned from side to side].

“Lower, second, and third levels you shall make it.”

It was taught: The lowest level

[the bottom floor]—

for refuse.

The middle level

[the middle floor]—

for animals.

The upper level

[the upper floor]—

for human beings.

“And he sent out the raven.” Reish Lakish said: The raven gave Noah a decisive answer. It

said to him: Your Master

[the Holy One, blessed be He]

hates me

[He hates me]—

and

also

you hate me.

“Your Master hates me”—

since I am among the impure birds.

As for the pure birds,

the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded that

seven

be brought into the ark, whereas

of the impure birds

He commanded that only

two be brought.

And

also

you hate me—

for you leave one of the species of seven and send one of the species of two. And

if

the minister of heat or the minister of cold strikes me

and I die,

will

there

not

be

one creature missing from the world?

Or perhaps you need my mate,

and that is why you are sending me?

Noah said to it

:

Wicked one! With regard to what is permitted to me,

with my wife,

I am forbidden

now, during the Flood.

With

what is

forbidden to me

at all times—the mating of domestic animals, wild animals, and birds—

all the more so

is it forbidden to me now?!

And from where do we know that they were forbidden

to Noah and his sons to engage in marital relations while they were in the ark?

As it is written

when they were commanded to enter the ark:

“And you shall enter the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.”

This indicates that the men were separate and the women separate, because they were forbidden to engage in marital relations.

And

when they were commanded to leave the ark,

it is written: “Go out of the ark, you, and your wife, and your sons, and your sons’ wives with you”.

Here each man and his wife are mentioned together, indicating that they were again permitted to engage in marital relations.

And Rabbi Yohanan said: From here they said that they were forbidden marital relations

while they were in the ark.

The Sages taught: Three engaged in marital relations in the ark, and all of them were punished.

And they were

the dog, the raven, and Ham.

The dog—

it was punished in that it is accustomed to be

tied

by its owner.

The raven—

it emits semen

[it spits seed from its mouth toward the female].

Ham—

he was punished in his skin.

A Cush emerged from him, whose skin was black.

It is written concerning the sending of the dove:

“And he sent out the dove from him to see whether the waters had subsided.”

But concerning the sending of the raven, “from him” is not written. This indicates that only the dove was present near Noah.

Rabbi Yirmeya said: From here it follows that pure birds dwell with the righteous.

Pure birds recognize the righteous [as we find in several places in the Talmud] and wish to dwell with them. “

And the dove came to him toward evening,

and behold, an olive leaf plucked off was in her mouth.”

It must be understood: Why did she bring an olive leaf with her? Noah supplied her with all her food requirements!

Rabbi Elazar

said: She intended to convey a hint to him. This is what the dove

said before the Holy One, blessed be He:

Master of the Universe! Let my food be as bitter as an olive and entrusted to Your hand, and let it not be as sweet as honey and entrusted to the hand of flesh and blood.

That is the meaning of “an olive leaf plucked off was in her mouth”: With her mouth she was asking for food that was plucked and bitter like an olive.

What indicates that this word “plucked”—

is an expression for food?

As it is written: “Feed me my allotted bread.”

“They went out of the ark according to their families.” Rabbi Yohanan said: The word “according to their families” is expounded as follows:

“According to their families,”

but not they themselves.

This indicates that the living creatures in the ark were arranged as families, each one eating separately, rather than all of them from a single trough.

Rav Hana bar Bizna said: Eliezer

the servant of Abraham

said to Shem the great

[the elder], the son of Noah:

It is written: “They went out according to their families from

the ark,”

875 “Where were you?”

[Where were you]? That is, how were you able to arrange their needs in this way, with each species by itself, and provide each one with what it required?

They said to him

to Eliezer: Indeed,

we suffered great distress in the ark. A creature whose practice is to be fed during the day—

we fed it during the day. One whose practice is to be fed at night—

we fed it at night.

As for this lizard

876, our father Noah did not know what it ate

[that creature, whose name was “zekitah”; our father Noah did not know what its food was].

One day he was sitting and cutting open a pomegranate

[one day our father was sitting and cutting a pomegranate].

A worm fell from it

[a worm fell out of the pomegranate]—and

it ate

the lizard.

From then on he would prepare bran mash for it

[from that day onward our father would mix bran with water],

and when it became infested—

it ate

[when the bran became worm-infested, the lizard would eat the worms].

He further related there to Eliezer:

The lion

[the lion]—

a fever seized it

[it was stricken by fever], and because of this illness it did not prey upon the other animals in the ark.

For Rav said: No fewer than six

[not fewer than six days],

and no more than twelve

[and not more than twelve days],

does fever sustain

[can fever provide nourishment]. That is, there is no fever that cannot sustain an animal for at least six days, so that it will not die without food and drink; and there is no fever that sustains it for more than twelve days.

He also related there:

Orshina

[It is a species of bird. In the language of Scripture, its name is “Hol,” and it never dies],

Aba found it lying in the room paneled for it in the ark

[Aba—Noah—found it lying in the room paneled for it in the ark], and it did not come to request food.

He said to him

Aba:

Do you not need food

[Do you not require food]?

He said to him: I saw that you were occupied, and I said: I will not distress you

[I saw that you were occupied, and I said to myself that I would not distress you].

He said to him

Aba:

May it be Your will

[May it be Your will]

that you not die

As it is stated: “And I said: I shall expire with my nest, and like the hol I shall multiply my days.”

Thus, this bird, whose name is “Hol,” multiplies its days .

Rav Hana bar Lovai said: Rava said to Eliezer

Abraham’s servant,

When the kings of the east and the west came against you

[when the kings of the east and the west came to wage war against you, during the war of the kings, when Abraham and the members of his household pursued them],

how did you act

[how did you act; by what means did you defeat them]?

He said to him: The Holy One, blessed be He, brought Abraham and seated him at His right

[the Holy One, blessed be He, brought Abraham and seated him at His right side],

and we would throw

earth –

and it would become swords

[we would throw earth, and it would turn into swords],

straw –

and it would become arrows

[we would throw straw, and it would turn into arrows].

As it is stated: “A psalm of David. The utterance of the Lord to my master: Sit at My right hand until I set your enemies as a stool for your feet.”

Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, seated Abraham at His right until he defeated his enemies.

And it is written: “Who has roused him from the east, whom righteousness called to follow him? He gives nations before him, and subdues kings; he gives his sword like dust, his bow like driven straw.” " ממזרח" זה אברהם, שבא מארם נהריים, שהוא במזרח "From the east" refers to Abraham, who came from Aram-Naharaim, which is in the east.

Nahum of Gam Zo was accustomed that whatever befell him

[whatever event happened to him], even an event that appeared bad in people’s eyes,

he would say: “This too is for the good” .

One day, the Jews wanted to send a gift to the emperor

[one day, the Jews wanted to send a gift to the emperor].