Marcheshvan and the Flood

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day / All the fountains of the great deep burst apart, / And the floodgates of the sky broke open.

As it is taught in a baraita: “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month....” (Gen. 7:11). Rabbi Yehoshua says: That day was the seventeenth of Iyyar [the second month from Nisan]....Rabbi Eliezer says: That day was the seventeenth of Marcheshvan [the second month from Tishrei].

(37) In the fourth year, in the month of Ziv, the foundations of the House of the LORD were laid;(38) and in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul—that is, the eighth month—the House was completed according to all its details and all its specifications. It took [Solomon] seven years to build it.

As Rabbi Hanina said, the names of the months came up with [the Israelite exiles] from Babylonia.... Originally [the second month from the New Year was]“in the month of Bul” (1 Kgs 6:37), when the leaves are falling, and the earth is made into lumps, and one gives fodder to domestic animals inside the house.

You find that from that time until Solomon erected the Temple, it rained continuously for forty days each year as a reminder of the waters of the flood that lasted forty days. After Solomon completed the Temple, he pleaded for mercy on behalf of [Israel], and the continuous rains ceased, as it says: “And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul” (I Kings 6:38). What does “in the month of Bul” mean? It refers to the month when domestic animals are given fodder from inside the house.

“In the month of Bul.” This is Marcheshvan.

“And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul,”when fodder is given to domestic animals inside the house. Another option: What does “in the month of Bul” mean? In the month of Bul the earth is made into lumps. Another option: What does “in the month of Bul” mean?" It was the month of the flood ... and even though the Holy-One- Blessed-Be-God swore that “this to me is like the waters of Noah [as I swore that the waters of Noah would nevermore cover the earth]” (Is. 54:9), nevertheless for forty days every year those days would make a mark [or: rain] on the world, until Solomon arose and built the Temple.... [a very long explanation of why the Temple was not dedicated until the following Tishrei] .... R’ Chanina said: on the twenty-fifth of Kislev the work of the tabernacle was completed, but it was left folded up until Nisan, as it is written “On the day of the first month, on the first of the month, you shall set up the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.” (Ex. 40:2) ... Now because of this the month of Kislev, in which the work of the tabernacle was completed, lost out. The Holy One said: It is incumbent upon Me to make restitution. What restitution did the Holy One make? The rededication of the Temple by the Hasmoneans, and so too the Holy One will compensate Marcheshvan in the future.