Parshas Noach: Birds, Clouds and Rainbows

קִנִּים תַּעֲשֶׂה אֶת הַתֵּבָה

You shall make the ark as booths.[1]

The word “קנים – booths” refers to the cubicles in which each of the animals were to be housed. However, the Midrash presents an additional explanation of this term, associating it with the concept of “kinim” as a pair of birds brought as an offering:

אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא לנח: מה הקן הזה מטהר את המצורע, אף תיבתך מטהרתך

Said the Holy One, Blessed is He, to Noach, “In the same way a pair of birds purifies a metzora, so too, your ark will purify you.”[2]

Why does Noach need to be purified like a metzora? We know that tzoraas comes upon a person as a punishment for speaking lashon hara (slander). Where do we find Noach guilty of this sin?

It would appear that Noach’s sin of lashon hara lay not in something that he said, but in what he didn’t say. As is well-known, the Sages take note of the fact that, upon being informed by Hashem that his generation was to be wiped out, Noach did not respond by praying on their behalf. Moreover, even though he administered rebuke to those around him over the course of the many years that he spent building the ark, we see that no one was moved to repent and join him. We can only conclude that his words of exhortation were not said with a great amount of conviction or passion. The question is, why?

It seems that Noach simply felt that the people in his generation had crossed the point where they could be saved and that their situation was beyond repair. Indeed, upon reflection, it is not that hard to understand why Noach held this view, surrounded as he was by the corruption and depravity to which his generation had sunk, with all traces of humanity seemingly eradicated. However, on his level, Noach was expected to harbor hope even for people such as these. In this regard, Noach’s silence when he might have prayed for his generation and the lack of enthusiasm while exhorting them were effectively communicating a message: “There is no hope for them”. This was the lashon hara for which Noach required purification in the form of the ark. Throughout the long months of taking care of every other form of life, Noach may have found himself wishing that there were other people who could have also joined him in the ark.

Indeed, in this regard, R’ Meir Shapiro explains the choice of the rainbow as the sign of the covenant between Hashem and Noach. Primarily, the rainbow is a reassurance to Noach, but it also contains an element of rebuke. When Noach surveyed his generation, all he saw was grey clouds, with no hope of light ever penetrating the darkness of their souls. To this end, Hashem showed him that light can shine through clouds, and when it does, it produces the majestic prismatic effect of the rainbow.

We may wonder, is there any actual benefit of discussing Noach’s failing regarding the people in his generation? It would appear that the answer lies in the goal of such a discussion. If it is in order to accompany our glass of wine and well-seasoned cholent, completing our Shabbos enjoyment with a discussion of Noach’s flaws, then it is hardly likely to be productive or meaningful. However, if the discussion inspires us to ask whether there are people whom we know that we might have condemned as being beyond reach, then it is indeed most worthwhile.

[1] Bereishis 6:14.

[2] Bereishis Rabbah 31:9.