A Generation of Chaos!
After Adam and Chavah were sent out of Gan Eden, life on earth took a turn for the worse. People forgot about the Creator of the universe. They began praying to the sun, the moon, and even to statues made of wood or stone!
HaShem was very angry and wanted to destroy all the people of the world. But He waited, in the hope that they would stop serving idols and remember HaShem who created them. But instead – things went from bad to worse.
The people who lived in the tenth generation after Adam were the worst of all. Besides the idol worship, they shamelessly stole from each other – even in broad daylight! And the judges in the courts were just as crooked as the thieves, so the bad guys were never punished.
IT WAS TOTAL CHAOS!
Noach: A Good Man in his Times
But there was one bright light in the middle of all of this darkness – Noach. He was a good man who knew about HaShem and tried his best to live a holy life, along with his wife, Na’ama, and their 3 sons, Shem, Cham and Yefes.
HaShem said to Noach, “The people of this generation are completely wicked, so I have decided to destroy the entire world – all of the people, the animals, and even the flowers and trees. I will send a great flood to wipe out everything – except for you Noach and your family.”
HaShem continued: “Do exactly as I tell you. Build a Teivah (ark) that will float on top of the water. This Teivah will protect you and your family. Also, bring into the Teivah one male and one female of each non-Kosher animal, and 7 of each Kosher animal.
HaShem then gave specific instructions for building the Teivah:
Make the Teivah 300 Amos long, 50 Amos wide, and 30 Amos high.” (Amos is plural of Amah, a measurement of about 2 feet). This was going to be some big boat – as long as 2 professional size football fields!
Make the Teivah out of strong wood called gofer.
Build a slanted roof so the rain will run off.
Build a window to let light in.
Waterproof the Teivah by putting tar all over it, inside and out.
Gather together a year’s worth of food… you’ll need it!
An Amazing Ark
The Teivah had 3 floors:
The top floor was for Noach and his wife, their 3 sons, and their son’s wives.
The middle floor housed all the animals – more animals than you’d find in the biggest zoo. After all, at least one pair of every kind of animal in the entire world was there!
The third floor, in the basement of the Teivah, was where all the garbage was kept.
Noach was busy, every day, from early morning to late at night, sawing, hammering, shlepping… you name it, he did it! He was an awesome carpenter and even invented many building tools!
It took Noach 120 years to finish this huge project!
Some Kind of Joke?!
The sound of construction filled the air. Day in… day out. Noach knew that as he hammered each new board, destruction of his generation was coming closer… unless the wicked people REPENT!
Word spread throughout the land that a crazy man was building a boat to save himself from a flood, yet nobody took him seriously. People often stopped by to make fun of Noach as he and his sons sawed and hammered away.
“Hey Noach, what are you doing up there?”
“I’m building a Teivah, because HaShem told me that there will be a great flood that will destroy the world!”
“A flood, eh? That’s a pretty good joke, Noach! Ha, Ha, Ha! Hardy Ho Ho!”
“It’s no joke. The flood will destroy everything, including you, unless you do Teshuvah (repent) and stop your wicked ways!”
“Sure, Noach. Ha! Ha! Ha! Sure, Noach.”
“It’s true! Don’t miss your chance! Before it’s too late!”
“Ooooh, I’m sooooo scared! Well, have fun building your Teivah! A flood you say… now that’s funny…”
And the people would go off, laughing in disbelief. Yet, in 120 years, not even one person repented!
The Great Flood Begins
Days, months, years passed… Decades passed… A whole century passed! Finally, at the age of 600 – 120 years after he struck his first hammer blow, Noach completed the Teivah. And on the 17th day of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, the Mabul, the GREAT FLOOD, began. HaShem commanded Noach, “Come to the Teivah.”
Noach and his wife Na’ama, and his sons Shaim, Cham and Yefes, with their wives entered the Teivah, in broad daylight, for all to see. And from the four corners of the earth, the animals came peacefully – walking, creeping, flying, and leaping – to Noach’s Teivah.
It’s Pouring!
At first it was just a little drizzle and the wicked people continued to laugh.
“Sure, Noach. Some flood. I think I felt a few drops on my head. Let me rush back to my house to get my umbrella… Ha! Ha!”
But before long, the windows of heaven opened and the drizzle turned into a massive downpour. Hot springs from deep down in the earth broke open and began gushing out boiling hot water! Oceans, lakes, and rivers started to overflow.
As the water level began to climb higher and higher, the wicked people tried to find safety in tall trees and on mountaintops. But it was too late. They had missed their chance.
The mabul destroyed everything and everyone (except the fish). The only safe place on earth was now inside Noach’s Teivah.
The waters continued raging for 40 days and 40 nights. The entire world was covered with water – even the tallest mountain!
Noach the Zookeeper
Day and night, Noach and his family tended to the needs of thousands of animals, giving them food and water and cleaning up after them.
But miraculously, the animals did not fight while on the Teivah. Even the wild animals were as tame as house pets – besides for one incident. One day, Noach was late bringing the lion his food. The king of the jungle was furious and bit Noach’s leg. Ouch! Otherwise, it was very calm and peaceful for the entire stay in the Teivah.
The Raven’s Mission
After 40 days and 40 nights the rain finally stopped. But water still covered the earth. Months passed by as Noach and his family floated on the water.
One day, the Teivah landed with a thud on the highest peak of Mount Ararat. Noach looked out the window and saw that the waters had started to go down, and were now low enough that he could see the tops of the mountains. He wondered whether the water had dried up completely. So Noach sent out a raven to see if there was any place on earth with dry land.
The raven circled and circled, around and around, but with no place to land, she flew right back to the Teivah.
