English translation — נח ב

A.

Regarding the first forty days of the Flood, there are two verses that are seemingly contradictory to each other: Earlier it says¹

: "And the <b>rain</b> was upon the earth forty days and forty nights,"

but afterwards it says²

— "And the <b>Flood</b> was forty days upon the earth"

(So that already in <b>those</b> forty days there was not only rain,

but also "<b>Flood</b>"<b>³</b>

— "which destroyed everything etc."⁴).

Our Sages⁵

explain — and Rashi brings it in his commentary on the Torah⁶

: "When the Holy One, blessed be He, brought down the waters, He brought them down first with mercy ..

so that if they repented, they would be rains of blessing; [if] they did not repent, it would be a Flood."

As one learns in plain sense,

the intention in this answer — that the two verses speak about separate times: "Vayehi hageshem" speaks about the time of the <b>beginning</b> of the descent of the waters,

that then it was in a manner that "if they would return they would be rains of blessing"; and "Vayehi hamabul" speaks about the later time,

after it became clarified that "they did not return" and the rain was transformed into a flood; and this occurred already on the <b>first</b> day

(of the forty days),

and as explained "Vayehi <b>hamabul</b> <b>arbaim</b> <b>yom</b>"

it was not possible that one should remain alive even a short time.

It turns out,

that the possibility of repentance was a short time⁸].

It is however perplexing: In the verse it states explicitly "Vayehi hageshem upon the earth <b>forty days and forty nights</b>",

that all these forty days

(and not only at the beginning of the descent)

it was <b>a</b> <b>rain</b>?

— When in the verse "And the rain was" it would not have stood "upon the earth",

one could have explained&lt;sup&gt;9&lt;/sup&gt;,

that the reality of the &lt;b&gt;Flood&lt;/b&gt; — "that destroyed everything etc." — occurred when the waters came "upon the earth".

d.

e.

When descending from "heaven"

(all those forty days)

"When the &lt;b&gt;Holy One, blessed be He&lt;/b&gt; brought down etc." — it was rain

(rain of blessing),

only coming "upon the earth",

because on earth &lt;b&gt;below&lt;/b&gt; there was a state of "And the &lt;b&gt;earth&lt;/b&gt; was corrupt ..

all flesh had corrupted ..

&lt;b&gt;upon&lt;/b&gt; &lt;b&gt;the earth"&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;,

there&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;

from that "rain" became a "Flood".

The verse says however "And the rain was &lt;b&gt;upon&lt;/b&gt; &lt;b&gt;the earth&lt;/b&gt;" — that not only the descent from heaven was with mercy,

but also when it came upon the earth it was "rain"&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;,

and this lasted &lt;b&gt;forty&lt;/b&gt; &lt;b&gt;days&lt;/b&gt;,

as above.

B.

And one may say the explanation of this:

On the verse¹³

"For in another seven days etc. I will cause it to rain etc. forty days and forty nights" Chazal say¹⁴

— and Rashi brings it down

(with changes)

in his commentary on the Torah¹⁵

— that the reason that this was specifically in the number forty is: "Corresponding to¹⁶

the formation of the fetus, which they corrupted, to trouble their Creator to form etc."

From this it is understandable,

that that which the waters of the flood descended forty days means

(not that each day an additional punishment was added,

another day of flood,

but)

that this is <b>one</b> punishment that lasted forty days.

In other words - that all these forty days are

(in the language of the Rogatchover regarding several matters¹⁷)

one point.

And along these lines, just as the forty days of the formation of the fetus are <b>one</b> matter,

a formation that lasts forty days — in the time after the forty days until the end of the nine months of pregnancy the <b>details</b> of the fetus are created,

the form of its limbs and sinews,

which is accomplished step by step and each of them is a thing unto itself; for example: the entirety of the hand,

then — division into fingers,

then each finger into joints,

then nails and <b>at the very end</b> of the time — <b>completed are</b> his nails¹⁸.

Not so during the first forty days, only <b>one</b> matter unfolds — <b>the entirety</b><b>¹⁹</b>

of the formation of the fetus²⁰.

Based on this, it is understandable that there is no contradiction between the two verses — because also according to the aforementioned explanation that "and the rain was" refers to the beginning of the descent of the water

("He brought them down initially")

— that the descent was in a manner of "if they return they will be rains of blessing" — it included the waters of all forty days.

For the "bringing down" by the Holy One, blessed be He, was <b>one</b> bringing down that included the quantity of water,

all the water that descended upon the earth

(as rains of blessing)

in the forty days

(as above).

But immediately after the descent, when it became clear that "they did not return,"

was "and the flood was forty days" — the waters of each of the forty days became

(instead of rain of blessing —)

a flood water*²⁰.

Gimmel.

According to this explanation, the change of language in the two verses will also be answered: in the first verse it says "and the rain was upon the earth

(and only afterwards come the words)

forty days and forty nights,"

but not so in the second verse

(regarding the flood)

it says "and the flood was forty days upon the earth" —

Because according to the above, the meaning of the words "forty days" in the second verse is different than in the first:

The verse "And the flood was etc." comes to tell how much time the flood lasted,

and therefore the words "forty days" come immediately adjacent to "and the flood was" — "and the flood was forty days

(upon the earth)

" — which means simply,

that the flood lasted

(in actuality)

forty days

(upon the earth)

Not so the verse "And the rain was etc." comes

(does not tell how much <b>time</b> the rain lasted — because the matter of "rain"

h.

the possibilities for rains of blessing)

was only at the <b>beginning</b> of the descent

(and immediately afterwards it was transformed into a flood),

as above — rather the verse comes out to)

say "And the <b>rain</b> was <b>upon</b> <b>the earth</b>": the waters "upon the earth" were in a manner of "And the <b>rain</b> was" — "if they return they will be rains of blessing" — <b>and adds</b><b>²¹</b>

but)

of all the forty days and forty nights,

already then at the beginning of the descent the rain had the quantity of water of forty days

(rains of blessing).

(d.

d.

One still needs, however, to have an explanation:

The concept of "forty days corresponding to the formation of the child" is only a reason for that the forty days of the &lt;b&gt;Flood&lt;/b&gt;

(as a punishment)

are one point

(in the manner of the forty days of the formation of the child)

; what connection, however, does the number of forty days have to the "rains of blessing" that because of this they also were in number forty and as one point?

It will be understood from the explanation

(inner)

in the matter of the Flood,

that "the Flood came to purify the land ...

for the land was filled with violence and became very corrupted, and it was necessary to purify it, and for this the Flood came ...

like the example of the mikveh of forty se'ah which purifies the impure"&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;.

And therefore the flood itself is called "&lt;b&gt;Mi&lt;/b&gt; &lt;b&gt;Noach"&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/b&gt;

for the name "Noach" is on account of nachas — "nachas for the upper ones, nachas for the lower ones"&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;

— because that which the flood is a matter of punishment etc. is only from the side of the people of the generation of the flood; but from the side

(of itself it is &lt;b&gt;Mi Noach&lt;/b&gt; — as from the side)

of Noach it is a matter of nachas&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;,

purification of the land.

Based on this one can interpret "And the rain was upon the earth forty days etc." according to its simple meaning — that the rain

(rains of &lt;b&gt;blessing&lt;/b&gt;)

continued

(in actuality)

forty days,

and nevertheless this is no contradiction that in these same forty days there was &lt;b&gt;flood&lt;/b&gt; — because the flood is in its innerness rains of blessing

("nachas")

for the world,

Furthermore, it can be said: <b>every</b> <b>day</b> the waters did two things: cleansing the land²⁶

and "consuming everything".

(with the addition of a mem at its beginning)²⁷,

that the word "bul" indicates

(rain)

blessing,

as our sages, of blessed memory, [said]²⁸

on the verse²⁹

"in the month of Bul"

(which refers to the month of Cheshvan when rains of blessing come)

— "at the time when the land produces lumps [of grain]"³⁰].

And this is also the reason why the forty days of rain of blessing are one point — because the number forty days of purification of the land corresponds to the forty se'ah of a mikveh,

that the measure of forty se'ah is

(as the Rogatchover elaborates³¹)

a "single essence."

5.

This blessing in the matter of the flood — that through it the purification of the land occurred — is also hinted at in the aforementioned statement of our Sages⁵

"When the Holy One, blessed be He, brought down the waters, He brought them down first with mercy, to show the world that if they repent He would accept them ..

that if they repent they will be rains of blessing":

The corruption of the land³²

before the flood led to such a low state of the world,

until that "it was not possible [to have] clarification"³³,

therefore the generation of the flood did not repent³⁴

; and this was the effect of the flood — "to purify the land",

that this gave into the world the power for repentance,

"to show to the world³⁵

that if they return He will accept them".

And this is the hint and intention of the verse "And the rain was <b>upon</b> <b>the earth</b>": although the people of the generation of the flood "did not return"

(and for them there was a flood),

the "rains of blessing" which "the Holy One, blessed be He, brought down ..

with mercy" did not remain above

(not descended <b>in actuality</b> down here below),

but this effected <b>in</b> <b>the land</b>

("And the rain was upon the earth")

an action,

that they had the power for repentance.

And through this one nullifies the flood

(in the heavens — boiling and the like)

and it becomes "rains of blessing" simply&lt;sup&gt;36&lt;/sup&gt;.

And as our sages of blessed memory&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;

say regarding the forty days,

that "forty days each year those same days make an impression in the world,

until Solomon stood and built the Holy Temple and those forty days ceased",

and therefore the month

(Cheshvan)

is called "Yerach Bul" — "flood ..

spelled deficiently mem corresponding to the forty days that ceased",

and consequently it became "Bul" — "that the earth produces bales bales"&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;,

rains of blessing simply.

Because through the building of the Beis HaMikdash,

which brought about a change and refinement in the world,

a light of the Mikdash — through the windows that are transparent yet sealed&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;,

the "impression" that remained from the flood was nullified,

until it became material blessing in its simple sense,

"Bul".

And the perfection of the purification of the land will be in the future,

when we will have not only the "Bul",

but also the Mem of "Mabul" will be transformed for good,

Because the forty days of the purification of the land — "like the mikveh of 40 se'ah" — are indeed the aspect of the closed mem

which was illuminated in revelation in Noah's ark⁴⁰,

And from this one had the power to <b>transform</b> the mem of the flood — the open mem which hints⁴¹

to exile — that it should become a closed mem,

which hints⁴¹

to redemption⁴²,

"Lemarbeh hamisrah u-leshalom ein ketz"⁴³,

In the true and complete redemption through our righteous Moshiach,

speedily in our days, literally.

(From the sicha of Shabbos Parshas Noach 5743)