(טז) צֹ֣הַר ׀ תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה לַתֵּבָ֗ה...
(16) Make a Tzohar for the ark...
When a word is only found once in a literary work it is very difficult to decipher its exact meaning.
צהר. מקום שיכנס ממנו האור והוא מגזרת צהרים.
A LIGHT. Tzohar (a light) means an opening through which light would enter. It comes from the same root as tzohorayim (noon).
"צהר תעשה לתיבה"
ר׳ אבא בר כהנא אמר חלון
ר׳ לוי אמר מרגלית
Make a tzohar for the ark:
R’ Aba bar Kahana said, “[Tzohar means] window.”
R’ Levi said. “[Tzohar means] precious gem.”
With regard to the verse: “A tzohar you shall make for the ark” (Genesis 6:16), Rabbi Yoḥanan says that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Noah: Set precious stones and jewels in the ark so that they will shine for you as the afternoon [tzohorayim] sun.
Targum Yonatan may be the first source to claim the tzohar was a luminous stone, pulled from the primordial river Pishon (T. Y. Genesis 6:16). This is elaborated on in Genesis Rabbah 31:11:
During the entire twelve months that Noah was in the Ark he did not require the light of the sun by day or the light of the moon by night, but he had a polished stone which he hung up – when it was dim, he knew it was day, when it was bright, he knew it was night.
It appears that Noah had a practical problem the tzohar was meant to address - where was he to get light? One option was to make a window. Ancient windows were simply holes with planks that could be removed. When the plank was removed, the window was “opened” and light could enter the ark from the outside. This poses a challenge, as he had to ensure the rain would not come in the opening.
The alternative was to place a precious metal in a wall of the ark that could disperse the limited light from within the ark in different directions and locations, almost like a small chandelier. Perhaps the tzohar was just this kind of precious gem that could sparkle inside the ark.
צהר תעשה לתיבה “you are to provide means of illumination for the ark.” According to most opinions this is a reference to the window that Noach used later on to dispatch the raven and the turtle dove. During the period that this “window” was kept closed he suspended in that area a jewel which sparkled and provided interior lighting. When we understand this in this manner, our sages, some of whom spoke only of the jewel and others only of the “window,” are both correct, except that neither of them gave us the full explanation. When the Torah told Noach to provide interior lighting it was because during most of days of the deluge illumination from the sky was totally absent, neither sun, nor moon or stars being visible. Noach had to use his ingenuity to provide for interior lighting.
Degel Machaneh Efrayim Teaches:
My grandfather, the Baal Shem Tov, illuminated the following point: “Tevah” hints at the word, which is also called “tevah.” This, then, is the intent of “Make a window for the ark (tzohar ta’aseh la’tevah)”—see to it that you illuminate the word that issues from your mouth.
The Besht Teaches: words that come out of our mouth, especially words of prayer, should have light. Words are significant, and they carry meaning and spirit; they can’t be empty or dark.
וְזֶה פֵּרוּשׁ: (בראשית ו׳:ט״ז) צֹהַר תַּעֲשֶׂה לַתֵּבָה, פֵּרֵשׁ רַשִׁ"י: יֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים חַלּוֹן, וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים אֶבֶן טוֹב. וְהַחִלּוּק שֶׁבֵּין חַלּוֹן לְאֶבֶן טוֹב – כִּי הַחַלּוֹן אֵין לוֹ אוֹר בְּעַצְמוֹ, אֶלָּא דֶּרֶךְ שָׁם נִכְנָס הָאוֹר, אֲבָל כְּשֶׁאֵין אוֹר, אֵין מֵאִיר; אֲבָל אֶבֶן טוֹב, אֲפִלּוּ כְּשֶׁאֵין אוֹר מִבַּחוּץ, הוּא מֵאִיר בְּעַצְמוֹ.
כֵּן יֵשׁ בְּנֵי־אָדָם, שֶׁדִּבּוּרָם הוּא חַלּוֹן, וְאֵין כֹּחַ לְהָאִיר לָהֶם בְּעַצְמָם. וְזֶה: יֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, וַאֲמִירָתָם נַעֲשֶׂה חַלּוֹן; וְיֵשׁ, שֶׁאֲמִירָתָם נַעֲשֶׂה אֶבֶן טוֹב וּמֵאִיר:
Reb Nachman of Bratslav
This is the explanation of, “Make a tzohar for the ark” (Gn. 6:16). Rashi explains: “some say tzohar is a window, and some say it is a luminescent jewel/stone [that provides light].” The distinction between the two is that a window allows other light to enter, it does not generate light on its own.
When there is no light [to enter] a window, there is darkness. Not so with a luminescent jewel, which can light up even in the darkness, because it shines of its own accord.
Similarly, there are some people whose words are [like] a window, and they don't have the potential to illuminate [the room] by themselves. This is [what Rashi means by] “some say tzohar is a window.” The speech of some people is merely a window. And "some say it [the tzohar] is a luminescent jewel" means there are some whose speech is like a luminescent jewel, and [their words] radiate [their inner light].
(א) טו. צהר תעשה לתבה ואל אמה תכלנה מלמעלה וגו', ריב"ש ע"ה אמר, צהר תעשה לתבה, שתהיה התבה [שאדם מדבר בתורה ובתפלה] מצהיר, כי יש בכל אות עולמות ונשמות ואלהות, ועולים ומתקשרים ומתייחדים זה עם זה, עם אלהות, ואחד כך מתייחדים ומתקשרים יחד האותיות ונעשה תיבה...
צהר, שתצא בבהירות, ולעשות נחת רוח ליוצרו, וצריך אמונה גדולה לזה...
ובמה אתה יכול לעשות כן, בא אתה וכל ביתך אל התבה היינו בכל גופך וכחותיך תבא אל התבה:
(צוואת הריב"ש ד"ח ע"ב, ובס' אור התורה).
((1) "Make an opening [tzohar] for the ark [tevah], " (Genesis 6:16) -- The Baal Shem Tov, may peace be upon him, explained these words in the following way: let the word (tevah) of Torah or prayer that a person speaks be radiant/should radiate light (matzhir)! For in every letter, there are worlds (olamot), souls (neshamot), and Divinity (Elohut) that rise up and interconnect and cleave to one another, and to the Divine. In this way, the letters become unified and bound together, and a word (tevah) is formed...
An opening (Tzohar) - this 'opening' for light - that your words should be illuminated with clarity and bring pleasure to the Creator...
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]!
The Ba'al Shem Tov re-translates these 2 words – tzohar and tevah. Tzohar not only means window, but an illumination, a spark, a radiance, a transformative liminal moment, a transition from dark to light. And tevah is not only an ark, but a "word" and also the letters themselves. These letters are sparks, the building blocks of creation. So the story is not only about arks and windows, but also about sparks, words and letters that in combination re-enact every moment as a moment of creation.
A liminal window is always being opened to let our innermost being, our ecstatic outpouring of prayer and devotion, and the letters of our life ascend. We go from darkness in the world, the world of the flood, to light.
When God tells Noah to enter the ark -- so teaches the Baal Shem Tov -- God is also saying, "Enter the word." Go deeply into the word. Which word? The words of prayer. God's instruction to Noah is also an instruction to all of us. We're meant to go deeply into the words of prayer.
The instructions in Torah continue: Noah should make a tzohar, a window, in the ark to let in light. We need to make spaces for light in our words, to ensure that every word we speak is one which brings light to the world.
We are, like Noah, surrounded by a flood, a flood of violence, death and destruction. And we are in danger of falling into this storm, being sucked under, emotionally flooded, overwhelmed by despair and dread and powerlessness.
God tells Noah to include in the ark a tzohar, which the gemara understands as a precious jewel to be set in the ark so that it shined katzharayim, as brightly “as the afternoon sun” (Sandhedrin 108b). The ark was to be aglow with light. Maybe you can imagine yourself this way, as a vessel of light, like the ark, a shining lantern, floating along on a wild dark sea. The raging waters threaten to overwhelm you, but you hold on to the light of love inside you with all your might, unwavering in your commitment. In the face of darkness, you are light. In the face of hatred, you are love, fierce unshakable love.
Amidst the concreteness of the images of violence and destruction that we see, this love may seem like a mirage. That’s ok. It does have an ephemeral quality to it, like the otherworldly light that shined through the prism of the precious gem. This light is a dream, a hope, an imagining. It comes to us from another plane and speaks another language. It is not of the storm, but is the boat that floats through the storm. If we lose ourselves in the storm, there is only storm. So now, especially in this moment, even if we are also by necessity in some way involved in the storm, we can still always hold fast to the light of love and kindness and hope, still cultivate it, treasure it, preserve it like a precious stone inside us. It may be otherworldly and ephemeral, but it is our essence. This is God in us.
רִבִּי פִּינְחָס הֲוָה שְׁכִיחַ קַמֵּי דְּרִבִּי רְחוּמָאִי בְּכֵיף יַמָּא דְּגִנוֹסָר. וּבַר נַשׁ רַב וּקְשִׁישָׁא דְיוֹמִין הֲוָה וְעֵינוֹי אִסְתַּלָּקוּ מִלְּמֶחמֵי. אָמַר לְרִבִּי פִּינְחָס וַדַּאי שְׁמַעְנָא דְּיוֹחָאִי חַבְרָנָא אִית לֵיהּ מַרְגָּלִית אֶבֶן טָבָא, וְאִסְתַּכְּלִית בִּנְהוֹרָא דְּהַהִיא מַרְגָּלִית נָפְקָא כִּנְהִירוּ דְּשִׁמְשָׁא מִנַּרְתְּקָהּ וְנָהֲרָא כָּל עָלְמָא.
Rabbi Pinchas frequently visited Rabbi Rechumai, who lived at the shore of the Sea of Galilee. He was a great man who was full of years and had lost his eyesight. He said to Rabbi Pinchas, 'I have heard that our friend Yochai has a jewel, a precious stone (his son). And I have observed the light that shines from that jewel; and it shines like the radiance of the sun as it emerges out from its sheath and illuminates the whole world.