The Raven and the Dove

7. И выпустил он ворона, и вылетел тот, отлетая и возвращаясь, пока не высохли воды на земле. 8. И выпустил он голубя от себя, посмотреть, убыла ли вода с поверхности земли. 9. Но не нашел голубь покоя для ноги своей и возвратился к нему в ковчег, ибо вода на поверхности всей земли. И протянул он руку свою и взял его, и внес к себе в ковчег.

With regard to the verse: “And he sent forth the raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from the earth” (Genesis 8:7), Reish Lakish says: The raven provided a convincing response to Noah; when it did not wish to leave the ark the raven said to him: Your Master, God, hates me, and you hate me. Your Master hates me, as He commanded to take from the kosher species seven and from the non-kosher species two. And you hate me, as you disregard those from the species of seven, i.e., the kosher birds, and instead dispatch one from the species of two, i.e., the non-kosher birds. If the angel of heat or the angel of cold harms me and kills me, will the world not be lacking one species of creature, as there was only one pair of ravens? Or perhaps you are sending me because it is my wife that you need, in order to engage in intercourse with her. Noah said to the raven: Wicked one! If with the woman who is generally permitted to me, my wife, intercourse is forbidden to me, then with regard to domesticated and undomesticated animals, which are generally forbidden to me, is it not all the more so the case that they are forbidden to me?