Lesson 1. Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, asher kid'shanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu la'asok b'divrei torah.

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1 Machon Micah Gate of Torah: Noah (Genesis 6:9-11:32) October 15-21, 2017 Tishrei 25- Cheshvan 1, 5778 Lesson 1 Questions to be addressed: How were each of the animals on the ark unique, and what were their unique needs? How is understanding how Noah took care of the unique needs of animals similar to our understanding of how to take care of the unique needs of people? Say the prayer for the study of Torah: Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, asher kid'shanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu la'asok b'divrei torah. We praise You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, who calls us to holiness through mitzvot, commanding us to engage in the study of Torah. Family Discussion Part 1 1. Read or discuss the story of the The Little Engine That Could. Ask, what is the lesson we learn from this story? 2. Ask, Now we all know that this is a very important lesson. But, can you tell me, has anyone ever seen a real train talk? Explain to the students that even though we know that what happens in it (a train talking) couldn t really happen, the story does teach us a valuable lesson. Sometimes people wonder if all the stories that we read in the Torah happened exactly the way they are described. Nevertheless, we always try to figure out the lesson of the story, just like with The Little Engine That Could. 3. Explain that you are going to learn a story that the Jewish people thought had such important lessons in it that they have passed it down for generations and generations the story of Noah and the flood. 1

2 Read the story together: Noah was a good and righteous man who believed in God and tried to follow God s ways. One day God came to Noah and said to him, The people of the earth have become evil and aren t following any rules or laws. I have decided that I have to destroy them, for they will not change their ways. But you, Noah, you are righteous compared to these people, and you try to follow My laws. I want you to build an ark, a huge boat, to save your family and two of every kind of animal on earth. Bring enough food for everyone, so you can take care of them all. I will make it rain for days and days, until the flood waters carry your boat away. Noah did just as God commanded. He built the ark and carefully brought on the animals from the tiny ants to the great elephants, from the roaring lions to the quiet swans. Seven days after God spoke to Noah, the rain started to pour down on the earth. God closed the door of Noah s ark, and the animals and Noah s family were safe and dry inside. For forty days it rained and rained, and the ark floated upon the waters. Even the highest mountains were covered with water. In the ark, Noah and his family took care of the animals and waited for the great flood to end. At the end of 150 days, God remembered Noah and all the creatures on the ark, and blew a great wind across the earth to start drying the land. Each day after the rains had stopped, Noah sent out ravens and doves, to see if they could find dry land. Finally, a dove returned to the ark with a branch in its mouth. You found land! called Noah. The earth is drying! God spoke to Noah, Come out of the ark, your entire family and all of the animals that you have saved. God spread a beautiful rainbow in the sky and said to Noah, I promise I will never destroy the earth again. This rainbow will be the symbol of all times that the rains will always stop and that the earth will never flood again. Family Discuss Part 2 1. Ask everyone to close their eyes and imagine life on the ark. Say to them, Imagine that you live on the ark. The ark is really just a big boat. But on that big boat are people and two of every kind of animal. from all around the world. There is enough food to feed all those people and all those animals for a few months. The boat keeps rocking on the water. There is not a lot of room on the ark. Each animal has to stay in his or her small area on the wooden deck Ask students to open their eyes. Once students have done so, explain that they are going to figure out a bit more about the life of those animals. Ask, what animals do you think were on the ark? What were their needs? 2

3 3. Explain to the students that the great Rabbis from a long time ago tried to figure out how Noah took care of all of the animals and all of their special needs. They thought perhaps that he never got to sleep. Since some animals ate at night and some ate during the day, Noah was always up feeding them. The Rabbis also imagined that Noah didn t even know what to feed the animals and had to just guess or watch them carefully to see what they would eat. The Rabbis believed that Noah was a righteous person (someone who does the right thing) because he worked hard to take care of all the animals and gave them what they really needed. 4. Read together the following midrash (story) from the Talmud: R. Chana b. Bizna said: Eliezer [Abraham s servant] to Shem [Noah s son], What was it like for you [in the ark]? He replied, We had much trouble in the ark. The animals that usually feed by day we fed by day, and those that normally feed at night we fed by night. But my father didn t know what was the food of the chameleon. One day he was sitting and cutting up a pomegranate, when a worm dropped out of it, which [the chameleon] ate. From then on he mashed up bran for him, and when it became wormy, he ate it. -Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 108b 5. What does the Talmudic tale suggest about Noah? 6. Explain to the students that just like the animals on the ark needed special things to make them happy, so do people. For example, if milk gave you a stomachache, and the only drink you had in your kitchen was milk, that wouldn t be good would it? Or, if you love to read, but there were never any books around, you wouldn t feel happy or well taken care of, would you? Ask students to imagine that they live on the ark. What things would they need to be happy and feel well taken care of? (Possible answers: their favorite foods, books, or toys; their friends and family; clothes; a jungle gym to play on.) 7. Remind students that at the end of the Noah story, God puts a rainbow in the sky to promise that there will never be a great flood like this again. Ask students to think of one thing that they promise to do to take care of their family and friends (e.g., help with chores, be kind to each other, share and play nicely). Tell students that everyone has different needs. When they learn to recognize those needs and respond to them, they are acting like Noah, who fulfilled the needs of each animal on the ark. Key Torah Verse- Genesis 6:9 א ל ה, תו ל ד ת נ ח--נ ח א י ש צד יק ת מ ים ה י ה, ב ד ר ת יו: א ת- ה א לה ים, ה ת הל ך-נ ח. 9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was in his generations a man righteous and wholehearted; Noah walked with God. Aleh toldot Noach noach ish tzadik tamim ha yah b dorotav. Et Elohim, hithalach Noach. 3

4 Lesson 2 Say the prayer for the study of Torah: Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, asher kid'shanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu la'asok b'divrei torah. We praise You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, who calls us to holiness through mitzvot, commanding us to engage in the study of Torah. Family Discussion part 1 Read together a synopsis of the Noah story. (You may also elect to read the actual text, probably a better idea!) Synopsis: Noah is a righteous individual in his generation. The rest of humanity, however, is corrupt and God decides to build an ark and to bring into it seven pairs (male and female) of all clean animals and one pair of all unclean animals found on earth. Noah also takes along his wife, their three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives. A great flood lasting 40 days and nights covers the earth, destroying all living creatures save Noah, his family, and the paired animals on the ark. Once the flood subsides, Noah and his family inhabit the earth and multiply. God s promise not to destroy the earth again becomes a covenant with people and is symbolized by the rainbow. An incident follows in which Noah becomes drunk and disrobes. His son Ham sees his nakedness, but Shem and Japheth cover their father without looking at him. Because of Ham s sin, Noah curses Canaan, who represents the descendants of Ham. The text then lists the generations of Ham and Japheth. Prior to the description of Shem s line, the story of the tower of Babel is told. When all the inhabitant of the earth spoke the same language, they decided to build a city and a tower which would reach to the sky in order to make a name for themselves. When God sees what one people with one language can do, God confounds their speech and scatters them all over the earth. 4

5 The genealogical narrative resumes with the names of Shem s descendants. From Shem s line, Abram descends. The portion ends with Terach, his son Abram, daughter in law Sarai, and Abraham s nephew Lot settling in Haran. Discuss This portion describes Noah as a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9) This verse has been interpreted both to Noah s credit and to his discredit. In the Tanchuma, we are told: Righteous in his generation, but not in others. To what may this be compared? If a man places a silver coin among copper coins, then the silver appears attractive. So Noah appeared righteous in the generation of the flood. Others interpret it to his credit. How so? It may be compared to a jar of balsam placed in a grave; it gave off a goodly fragrance. Had it been in a house, how much the more so! 1. What are some characteristics of a righteous person in our generation? 2. Who are some of the righteous people in our generation? 3. Would a person who is considered righteous in our generation have been considered so in a past generation? In a future generation? Key Torah Verse- Genesis 6:9 (with Rashi s commentary) א ל ה, תו ל ד ת נ ח--נ ח א י ש צד יק ת מ ים ה י ה, ב ד ר ת יו: א ת- ה א לה ים, ה ת הל ך-נ ח. 9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was in his generations a man righteous and wholehearted; Noah walked with God. Aleh toldot Noach noach ish tzadik tamim ha yah b dorotav. Et Elohim, hithalach Noach. RASHI- בדורותיו IN HIS GENERATIONS Some of our Rabbis explain it (this word) to his credit: he was righteous even in his generation; it follows that had he lived in a generation of righteous people he would have been even more righteous owing to the force of good example. Others, however, explain it to his discredit: in comparison with his own generation he was accounted righteous, but had he lived in the generation of Abraham he would have been accounted as of no importance (cf. Sanhedrin 108a). Sources: Level 1, 7 Chai, Learning for Jewish Life (URJ Press) Teaching Torah, Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder 5