TORAH: Genesis 6:9-11:32
HAFTARAH: Isaiah 54:1-55:5
GOSPEL: Luke 17:20-27
Portion Summary
The second reading in the book of Genesis is named after Noah. In Hebrew, the name Noah is spelled Noach. The word Noach is related to the Hebrew word for “rest.” Genesis 5:29 says that his parents named him Noah (Noach, נח) because they hoped their son would give them rest (nacham, נחם) from their toil. The contents of section Noah tell the story of Noah’s flood, the tower of Babel and the beginning of the Abrahamic line.
Portion Outline:
Torah
Genesis 6:1 | The Wickedness of Humankind
Genesis 6:9 | Noah Pleases God
Genesis 7:1 | The Great Flood
Genesis 8:1 | The Flood Subsides
Genesis 8:20 | God’s Promise to Noah
Genesis 9:1 | The Covenant with Noah
Genesis 9:18 | Noah and His Sons
Genesis 10:1 | Nations Descended from Noah
Genesis 11:1 | The Tower of Babel
Genesis 11:10 | Descendants of Shem
Genesis 11:27 | Descendants of Terah
Prophets
Isaiah 54:1 | The Eternal Covenant of Peace
Isaiah 55:1 | An Invitation to Abundant Life
Portion Commentary:
The Door in the Ark
God commanded Noah to place a door on the side of the ark. In Chasidic teaching, the door in the ark symbolizes repentance.
The LORD gave Noah instructions for building the ark: “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch” (Genesis 6:14). The word “ark” translates the Hebrew word “tevah ().”
The Torah uses the same word for the basket in the story about baby Moses: “When she could no longer hide him, she got him a wicker tevah and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile” (Exodus 2:3). Both arks, coated with tar and pitch, float on the waters and preserve the lives of their passengers.
Chasidic teachings note that, in Rabbinic Hebrew, tevah also means “word.” Based on this equation, Noah’s ark might symbolize a person’s prayers which he offers with words:
In the face of the flood of concerns over one’s livelihood, one should get into one’s tevah, the words of prayer, which have the ability to keep one afloat, and even more—to raise one up above the waters. (Torah Or, Noach)
Read complete commentary at First Fruits of Zion.
