Weekly Torah Portion: Noach (Genesis 6:9-11:32)
In this Torah portion, God punishes the wicked in the world by causing a giant flood. God saves Noah and his family, who will repopulate the world. We are also introduced to Abram and his wife, Sarai. Read an extensive summary on My Jewish Learning
Related D’var Torah
“When you see a rainbow in the sky, a flag, or in other ways you may encounter its colors—what comes to your mind? For me, it’s a reminder of what we share…” – Bracha Yael in 2014. Read the drash
“Families constructed not just by who was born to whom — not that there’s anything wrong with that way — but also deliberately by choice, by affinity, by hearts opening through compassion and instinct, by love and attachment growing stronger day by day. In other words, by every which way today’s “modern families” can imagine (and are experiencing) families being constructed…” – Rabbi Lisa Edwards in 2013. Read the d’var torah
“Paradoxically, the genesis of Noah’s ark is one of the most horrific and problematic stories in the Hebrew Bible…” – Bracha Yael in 2013. Read the drash
“I understand now why the story of the Tower of Babel follows immediately after the story of Noah’s ark and the creation of the rainbow, for it’s quite clear to me now that what appeared to be a punishment from God – the toppled tower, the scattered people, the confusion of languages – turns out instead to be a great blessing, a great gift…” -Rabbi Lisa Edwards in 2006. Read the drash
“As a physician I have seen the pain that lovers experience when they are precluded from being with their partner because family members will not allow it…” – Allison Diamant, MD in 2001. Read the drash
Torah Verse of the Week*
“All the rest of the earth’s days, seed and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”
(Parashat Noach; Genesis 8:22)
Other Suggested Readings
BCC member Maggie Anton has written an article on the Jewish Journal this week, about Rashi’s interpretation on the Noah story. Read here
Noach (Gen. 6:9-11:32) the second portion in the Book of Genesis is a hit list of favorite stories. Noah’s Ark, Rainbows, The Tower of Babel and the marriage of Abram and Sarai (later known as Abraham and Sarah). We’ll focus our discussion on the Meaning of Rainbows including the history of the LGBT Rainbow Flag. Read from our Telephone Torah Study archives
“How do you go on? How do you reconstruct a life for yourself? Is there no one to help or guide you? To comfort you when your nightmares of the devastation become unbearable? Why did you survive when so many others perished?” – Michael Sarid. Read the full article
“In the book of Genesis, there is a very famous story about a great tower that the early generations of human beings built after the time of Noah and the flood. The story goes that all human beings spoke one language, and in an act of extraordinary unity, they built this tower so they could reach heaven.” – Read from Rabbi Gil Steinlauf’s blog
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*Torah Verse of the Week is chosen by the Torah class during Tuesdays’ studies with Rabbi Lisa Edwards. Check out when our next Torah Study takes place
