Tzohar: Window or Gem?

(16) Make a Tzohar for the ark, and terminate it within a cubit of the top. Put the entrance to the ark in its side; make it with bottom, second, and third decks.

(צהר — Some say this was a window; others say that it was a precious stone that gave light to them (Genesis Rabbah 31:11).

"Make a tzohar for the ark" - R' Aba bar Kahana said: [Tzohar] is a window. R' Levi said: An opalescent gem. R' Pinchas said in the name of R' Levi: The entire twelve months Noah was in the ark, he did not need the light of the sun in the day or the moon at night. Rather, he had the gem, and he relied on it. When it dimmed, he knew it was day, and when it brightened, he knew it was night.

(6) At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made

צוהר, “a light,” according to some commentators this source of light was a gem stone which refracted whatever light was available in all directions. Others believe that the reference is to some kind of window (transparent material) Our sages question that seeing that the sun and moon did not operate during the duration of the flood, what good would a window have done? The answer provided is that it would enable the people inside the ark to calculate when 12 months would have passed. This is not a satisfactory answer either; however we know that a window had functions other than the admitting of light from the outside, namely it served as a means to dispatch the raven and the dove, and it is written, "Noah opened the window of the ark, which he had made..." (Gen. 8:6)

(1) "Make an opening [tzohar] for the ark [teivah], closing up to a cubit at the top." (Genesis 6:16) -- The Baal Shem Tov, peace be upon him, explained these words in the following way: let the word (teivah) said in Torah or in prayer radiate light (matzhir)! For in every letter there are worlds, souls and divinity, that rise up and interconnect and cleave to one another and to the divine. Afterwards, these letters connect and conjoin, finally becoming a word. After that, they connect and unify unifications of truth in the Divine - and one must unify one's soul with each of the aforementioned aspects. In this way, all the worlds rise and become as one, and then there is immense joy and immeasurable delight... In each and every word one must listen to what is being spoken, since the Shechinah is the world of speech, as it is says (Zohar III:230a) "She speaks and He is Her escort." "Tzohar" - this 'opening' for light - that everything should be illuminated with clarity, giving pleasure to the Creator. For this, one needs great faith... It could be said that after the word leaves one's mouth, it does not need to be remembered again, one does not see that it rises to an elevated place, just as one can not look at the sun, as it says, "closing up at the top." How does one do all this? "Go into the ark [teivah], you and all your household." (Genesis 7:1) -- this means that with all your body and strengths, you shall enter the word [teivah]!

"Put the entrance to the ark in its side" - ...It is impossible for there to be darkness without light, evil without good, for light emerges and is perceived from within darkness, and similarly good emerges from evil, though it is hidden and concealed there. One must discern the good, so that evil is pushed off and goodness ascends. Through this one can understand what is written in the holy books of R' Yaakov Yosef [of Polnoye] in the name of my grandfather [the Ba'al Shem Tov], on the mishnah in Pirkei Avot (5:14): "There are four kinds of people who go to the beit midrash: [One who attends but does not practice, receives a reward for attendance]..." This applies to prayer, as well: sometimes strange thoughts come to a person, which obstruct the light of Torah and worship, G-d forbid, but one who has eyes of wisdom can understand that there is great light concealed and hidden within this darkness, for "there is no place devoid of G-d" (Tikkunei Zohar). And when one understands this and believes it with whole faith, then one's holy service, light, vitality, and goodness are strengthened, and through this one is able to refine and discern the good from the bad, with the bad falling away, that is, the murkiness and genuine waste falls away and descends, while the good ascends above...

This is what the verse means: If one sees that sometimes the light is obstructed and cannot become apparent or recognizable at all, and one does not know how to break through and reveal the light, regarding this [the Torah] said "Place an opening in the teiva," that is, crack open the word (teiva) so that it is not shut down or closed... "place it in the side," that is, if you search it out, you will find an opening for the word (teiva) in its side specifically, that is, in the darkness itself in which the light still resides though in concealment. It is not in heaven, and it is not across the sea... but rather it is very close, within your mouth." (Deut. 30:13) Understand.

...This is the meaning of: "Make a tzohar for the ark" (Bereshit 6). Rashi explains, "some say a window, and some say a gemstone." This is the difference between a window and a [glowing] gemstone: the window has no light of its own, but through it light enters. When there is no light, it does not illuminate. But a glowing gemstone, even when there is no light outside, gives light of its own. So too, there are people whose speech is a window, and who have no ability to give light on their own. This is like "some say-" their saying is made into "-a window". "And some say-" and their saying is like "-a gemstone" which gives its own light. All of this is because of the greatness of Truth. The essence of light is Hashem, and Hashem is the core of Truth. And the essence of yearning for Hashem is towards Truth...