Parshat Devarim – Og, King of Bashan

(32) ..."Do not fear him" - this is [the meaning of] that which Scripture stated (Proverbs 28:14), "Happy is the man who always fears." And this is the trait of the righteous: even though the Holy One, blessed be He, reassures them, they do not relinquish fear. And so [was it] with Jacob - "and Jacob feared" (Genesis 32:8). Why did he fear? He said, "Maybe I have been tarnished by something [when I was] with Laban... so the Holy One, blessed be He, abandoned me." And so too did Moses take hold of fear corresponding to his [fore] father. And why did he fear? He said, "Maybe Israel misappropriated [some goods] in the war with Sichon or became tarnished with a sin." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Do not fear"...

(1) THE ARK AND THE FLOOD
"And this is how thou shalt make the ark" (Gen. 6:15). R. Shemiah taught: The Holy One, blessed be He, showed Noah with a finger and said to him, Like this and that shalt thou do to the ark. One hundred and fifty rooms were along the length at the left side of the ark, thirty-three rooms across the width in the side within, and thirty-three rooms in the side across the width on the outside; and ten compartments in the centre, which were for the storerooms for the food. And there were five protected cisterns on the right side of the ark, and fifty protected cisterns on the left side of the ark, and the openings for the water pipes opened and closed, and so was it in the lowest division; and so || on the second floor, and so on the third floor.

(2) The dwelling-place of all the cattle and animals was in the lowest compartment, the dwelling-place for all fowl was in the second compartment, and the dwelling-place for the reptiles and the human beings was in the third compartment. Hence thou mayest learn that there were 366 kinds of cattle on the earth, and 366 kinds of fowl on the earth, and 366 kinds of reptiles on the earth, for thus was (the number) in the lowest compartment, so in the second compartment, and so in the third floor, as it is said, "With lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it" (Gen. 6:16).

(3) Rabbi Tachanah said: Noah made the ark during fifty-two years, so that they should repent of their ways. But they did not repent. Whilst yet the Flood had not come, the unclean (animals) were more numerous than the clean (animals). But when the waters of the Flood came, and the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to increase the clean and to diminish the unclean (animals), He called to Noah and said to him: Take to thee into the ark of all clean beasts seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the unclean beasts two and two, the male and his female, as it is said, "Of every || clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female" (Gen. 7:2).

(4) Noah said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Sovereign of all the world ! Have I then the strength to collect them unto me to the ark? The angels appointed over each kind went down and gathered them, and with them all their food unto him to the ark. They came to him of their own accord, as it is said, "And they came unto Noah into the ark" (Gen. 7:9); they came by themselves. "And they brought (them) to Noah" is not written here, but, "And they came unto Noah into the ark."

(5) Rabbi Mana said: When all the creatures had entered (the ark), the Holy One, blessed be He, closed and sealed with His hand the gate of the ark, as it is said, "And the Lord shut him in" (Gen. 7:16).

(6) Rabbi Meir said: One pearl was suspended in the ark, and shed light upon all the creatures in the ark, like a lamp which gives light inside the house, and like the sun yonder which shines in his might, as it is said, "A light shalt thou make to the ark" (Gen. 6:16).

(7) Rabbi Zadok said: On the 10th of Marcheshvan all the creatures entered the ark; on the 17th of the same (month) the waters of the Flood descended from heaven upon the earth, for they were the waters (endowed with the) male (principle). And there came up the waters of the depths, for they are the waters (endowed) with the female (principle), and they were joined with one another, and they prevailed so as to destroy || the world, as it is said, "And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth" (Gen. 7:19).

(8) And all living things which were upon the face of the earth decayed, as it is said, "And every living thing was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground" (Gen. 7:23), except Noah and those who were with him in the ark, as it is said, "And Noah only was left, and they that were with him in the ark" (ibid.), except Og, king of Bashan, who sat down on a piece of wood under the gutter of the ark. He swore to Noah and to his sons that he would be their servant for ever. What did Noah do? He bored an aperture in the ark, and he put (through it) his food daily for him, and he also was left, as it is said, "For only Og, king of Bashan, remained of the remnant of the giants" (Deut. 3:11). (The Flood was universal) except in the land of Israel, upon which the water of the Flood did not descend from heaven, but the waters were gathered together from all lands, and they entered therein, as it is said, "Son of man, say unto her, Thou art a land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon, in the day of indignation" (Ezek. 22:24).

(9) He sent forth the raven to ascertain what was (the state of) the world. It went and found a carcase of a man cast upon the summit of a mountain, and it settled thereon for its food, and it did not return with its message to its sender, as it is said, "And he sent forth the raven" (Gen. 8:7). He sent forth the dove to see what was (the state of) the world, and she brought back her message to her sender, as it is said, "And the dove came in to him at eventide, and, lo, in her mouth an olive leaf pluckt off" (Gen. 8:11). And why in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off? || The dove spake before the Holy One, blessed be He, saying: Sovereign of all worlds ! Let my food be bitter like this olive, and let it be entrusted to Thy hand, and let it not be sweet (even) as honey, and given by the hand of flesh and blood. Hence they said: He who sends a message by the hand of an unclean (messenger) is (like) sending by the hand of a fool, and he who sends a message by the hands of a clean (messenger) is like sending by the hand of a messenger faithful to his senders.

(10) Rabbi Zadok said: For twelve months all the creatures were in the ark; and Noah stood and prayed before the Holy One, blessed be He, saying before Him: Sovereign of all worlds ! Bring me forth from this prison, for my soul is faint, because of the stench of lions. Through me will all the righteous crown Thee with a crown of sovereignty, because Thou hast brought me forth from this prison, as it is said, "Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks unto thy name: for the righteous shall crown me, when thou wilt have dealt bountifully with me" (Ps. 142:7).

(11) Rabbi Levitas, a man of Jamnia, said: He separated the males from the females of all which came to the ark when they came into the ark, as it is said, "And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives" (Gen. 7:7). Verily the males were on one side. When they went forth from the ark, He caused the males to be joined with the females, as it is said, "Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee" (Gen. 8:16). Verily a man with his wife (went forth), "Thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee" (ibid.) || He blessed them, that they might increase and multiply on the earth, as it is said, "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth" (Gen. 9:1). The sons of Noah were fruitful and multiplied, and they begat sons with their twins with them.

(12) Noah found a vine which was lying there, which had come out of the garden of Eden. It had its clusters with it, and he took of its fruit and ate, and rejoiced in his heart, as it is said, "My wine, which cheereth God and man" (Judg. 9:13). He planted a vineyard with it. On the selfsame day it produced and became ripe with its fruits, as it is said, "In the day of thy planting thou dost make it grow, and in the morning thou makest thy seed to blossom" (Isa. 17:11). He drank wine thereof, and he became exposed in the midst of the tent, as it is said, "And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent" (Gen. 9:21). Canaan entered and saw the nakedness of Noah, and he bound a thread (where the mark of) the Covenant was, and emasculated him. He went forth and told his brethren. Ham entered and saw his nakedness. He did not take to heart the duty of honouring (one's father). But he told his two brothers in the market, making sport of his father. His two brothers rebuked him. What did they do? They took the curtain of the east with them, and they went backwards and covered the nakedness of their father, as it is said, "And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness" (Gen. 9:23).

(13) Noah awoke from his wine, and he knew what the younger son of Ham had done unto him, and he cursed him, as it is said, "And he said, Cursed be Canaan" (Gen. 9:25). Noah sat and mused in his heart, saying: The Holy One, blessed be He, delivered me || from the waters of the Flood, and brought me forth from that prison, and am I not obliged to bring before Thee a sacrifice and burnt offerings? What did Noah do? He took from the clean animals an ox and a sheep, and from all the clean birds, a turtle-dove and pigeons; and he built up the first altar upon which Cain and Abel had brought offerings, and he brought four burnt offerings, as it is said, "And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and he offered burnt offerings on the altar" (Gen. 8:20). It is written here only, "and he offered burnt offerings on the altar," and the sweet savour ascended before the Holy One, blessed be He, and it was pleasing to Him, as it is said, "And the Lord smelled the sweet savour" (Gen. 8:21). What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He put forth His right hand, and swore to Noah that He would not bring the waters of the Flood upon the earth, as it is said, "For this is as the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth" (Isa. 54:9). And He gave a sign in the rainbow as a sign of the covenant of the oath between Himself and the people, as it is said, "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant" (Gen. 9:13).

(14) And thus our sages instituted that they should (mention) the oath to Noah every day, as it is said, "That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, upon the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth" (Deut. 11:21).

(7) 'You, and your wife, etc.' (Gen. 8:16) Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Simon, and Rabbi Yochanan in the name of Rabbi Shmuel ben Rabbi Itzchak said: As soon as Noach entered the Ark, cohabitation was forbidden to him, that's why it is written: 'And you shall come into the ark, you, and your sons' (Gen. 6:18) - apart; 'and your wife, and your sons’ wives' - apart. When he went out, God permitted it to him, as it is written: 'Go forth from the Ark, you and your wife'. Rabbi Aivu said: 'They are lonely in want and famine' (Job 30:3) - when want and famine visit the world, regard your wife as though she were lonely [i.e. monstrous]. R. Huna said: it is written 'and to Yosef were born two sons' (Gen. 41:50) - when? 'Before the year of famine came' (Gen. 41:50).

(1) And the Lord appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre (Gen. 18:1) Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, appear by the terebinths of Mamre? May the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, be blessed, for He does not withhold a reward from any of His creatures. Abraham had three friends, Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, and when the Holy One commanded Abraham to circumcise himself, he consulted each of them. He went first to Aner and related to him what the Holy One had said. Aner replied: “Do you wish to cripple yourself so severely that when the descendants of the kings whom you have slain attack, you will be unable even to flee from them?” He left him and went to Eshkol and told him what the Lord had commanded. Eshkol responded: “You are an old man, and if you are circumcised, considerable blood will flow from you, and you will not be able to survive the loss and will perish.” Whereupon he departed from him, and went to Mamre and said: “What do you advise?” Mamre retorted: “Need you seek my advice in such a matter? Did He not release you from the fiery furnace, perform miracles in your behalf, and rescue you from kings? The fact is that you would have been destroyed long ago were it not for His strength and His might. He saved your two hundred and forty-eight limbs, and yet you ask advice concerning merely a piece of one of your organs. Do as He has commanded!” Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, exclaimed: Blessed shall you be for having advised him to be circumcised; I shall reveal Myself to him only in your territory. Hence, it is written: The Lord appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre.

(2) And he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day (Gen. 18:1). Why the heat of the day? It indicates that the Holy One, blessed be He, had made the day extremely hot so that no travelers would pass by, necessitating Abraham to fuss over them.

(3) Another explanation. Until the day breatheth (Song 4:6). This refers to judgment day, as it is said: For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall set them ablaze, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch (Mal. 3:19).

(4) And the shadows flee away (Song 4:6). This indicates that on that day there will be no shadow for the wicked, as it is said: There is no darkness and shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves (Job 24:32).

(5) I will get me to the mountains of myrrh (Song 4:6) refers to the Temple, in which they brought offerings of myrrh. And to the hill of frankincense (ibid.) alludes to Jerusalem, whither they brought their offerings of frankincense.