Bereshith 6:9 – 11:32
The perashá Noaḥ begins by declaring that he, Noaḥ, was an ish ṣadiq tamim, which Onkelos translates as “a completely righteous man.” It is possible to assume from the text that this title was given by someone who came after him, since the author specifies “in his generation.” Some commentators suggest that if Noaḥ had lived in the generation of Avraham, that might not have been the case.
The question arises: What were the criteria by which Noaḥ and his contemporaries were judged, since the Torah does not record explicit commandments until the time of our Father Avraham, and later at Sinai through our Teacher Moshe? Why does the Creator judge Qayin when he kills his brother Hevel? How did Qayin know that doing such a thing was a sin? Likewise, how did Yosef the Righteous know that taking Potifar’s wife was abominable before the eyes of Adonay, blessed be He?
Undoubtedly, before a written Torah existed, there was an oral one. The Torah shebe‘al peh (Oral Torah) was received by Adam and transmitted through nine generations, until Lamekh. Finally, Lamekh transmitted it to Noaḥ. This mesoráh (oral tradition) includes the work of Creation, the positive commandments (of a prescriptive nature), and the negative ones (of a prohibitive nature).
This transmission passed through seven mouths over twenty-six generations: Adam – Lamekh – Noaḥ – Eber – Avraham – Ya‘aqob – Amram – Moshe. From all this we can understand that the Creator, blessed be He, made the world with law and justice; for the Scriptures say that Elohim created and made everything. The word Elohim denotes judgment and applies to every being in a position of authority and/or justice.
“And God spoke to Noaḥ and to his sons with him, saying: Behold, I establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish My covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off anymore by the waters of a flood, neither shall there anymore be a flood to destroy the earth.
And God said: This is the sign of the covenant which I set between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: My bow I have set in the clouds, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
And it shall come to pass, when I bring clouds over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the clouds, and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
And the bow shall be in the clouds; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
And God said to Noaḥ: This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is upon the earth.” (Bereshith 9:8–17)
In this section of the perashá, we are told of the moment when Noaḥ leaves the ark and the Creator, blessed be He, makes a covenant with humanity forever through him. This Noaḥic covenant includes seven principles that humanity must fulfill in order to perpetuate its existence on Earth:
- Do not practice idolatry
- Do not blaspheme the Name of the Creator
- Do not murder
- Abstain from sexual immorality
- Do not steal
- Do not eat from a living animal
- Establish courts of law to promote justice
When the rainbow appears after a strong rain, we have a great opportunity to reflect upon these seven universal principles and examine our conduct. It is also a moment to bless the Creator for His faithfulness; therefore, the Sages instituted the following blessing upon seeing the rainbow:
“Blessed are You, our God, King of the Universe, who remembers the covenant, is faithful to His covenant, and keeps His word.”