Parshas Noach - Parsha Stumpers and Something to Think About

פרשת נח

Parsha Stumpers and Something to Think About

1. A Riddle:

סוף סוף ראשי .

תחילת סוף סופי

ויבא נח...אל התבה

מי אני?ג

2. Where do we see from this week's parsha that the day starts at night?

2. Rashi (6:13) says that despite all the things that the dor ha'mabbul were doing, the gezairah was sealed because of robbery. Why robbery more than avodah zarrah or giluy arayos?

2. Where is there a remez in the beginning of the parsha that Noach was not involved in any of these three things?

2. Rashi both in 6:18 and 7:7 writes that it ws forbidden to have marital relations in the teivah. However, Rashi in 7:7 adds that the reason for this was because the world was in a state of distress...

(a) Why does Rashi repeat himself?
(b) Why does Rashi in 7:7 add the reason?
(c ) Why is this a valid reason? Clearly the people dying in the mabbul deserved it. Shouldn't it have been considered a “joyous” time for the world?

2. The Torah uses the phrase “בעצם היום הזה” in this week's parsha as well as three other times in chumash in the same way. Where are these four times and what is the connection between them?

2. Why did Hashem punish through means of a mabbul of water?

2. There is a machlokes when the mabbul started. The same machlokes exists regarding the creation of the world. What is this machlokes and what is the connection?

2. The passukim (Noach 8:10-11) describe that the second time Noach sent out the dove, it came back with an olive branch in its mouth. Rashi comments that the dove was trying to tell Noach the following: “Better let my food be bitter as an olive and provided by the hand of Hashem, and not sweet as honey but provided by the hand of man.”

(a) The dove should have had hakaras hatov to Noach and his family. Why at the first opportunity does the dove say such a remark?

(b ) The dove's statement makes absolutely no sense! The entire time Noach and the animals were in the teivah they experienced open miracles. The whole teivah was something which opposed teva. Was it really Noach who fed and took care of the dove for the year in the teivah, or was it pretty apparent that Hashem was present every step of the way?

2. Why did Hashem (9:1) need to give Noach a beracha that the animals would fear him? Wasn't this already built into the world from the sheishes y'mei beraishis?

2. How did Noach know it was Cham who dishonored him?

2. One of the reasons Rashi (11:1) gives as the reason behind why the dor haflaga began to build the tower is because they thought that the world was on a cycle that every 1656 years Hashem wold bring another flood. They therefore wanted to be prepared with supports for the skies. According to this why was Hashem so upset? Why not just let the people think this incorrectly and waste their own time as long as they are not bothering anyone?

2. If the dor haflaga wanted to 'wage war' with Hashem, why did they buildמגדל בבל in a valley? They should have built it on top of a mountain!?