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Shalom to Everyone in the Forum-
My question is -
Were there only eight people who survived the flood, or was there a giant holding on the ark or something, and if so, was he simply a big human and did he procreate with humans after the flood?
Thank you!
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06-26-2007, 06:36 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-29-2007, 10:16 PM by Director Michael.)
The Talmud in Nidah 61a states:
Rabbi Johanan explained: "This refers to Og who escaped the fate of the generation of the flood."
The Talmud in Zevachim 113b states:
The people in the generation of the flood sinned with hot passion, and with hot water they were punished, [If so] how could the Ark travel [at all]? Moreover, how did Og king of Bashan stand? Rather, a miracle was performed, and it [the water] was cooled at the side of the Ark.
Yes, Og did procreate with human women, and his sons were also mighty.
Rabbi Yitz
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Shalom Academy Rabbis-
Why did G-d tell Noah to bring the "pure" animals and birds into the ark in sets of seven pairs, while the animals and birds which were "not pure" were brought in as one pair of each type (Gen. 7 2-3)?
Does this mean that Noah was commanded to observe restrictions as to the types of animals he was permitted to eat?
Thank you, Torahstudent
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07-16-2007, 03:18 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-16-2007, 03:26 AM by Director Michael.)
Noah was told to gather the additional pairs of the "pure" animals and birds into the ark. When he left the ark, he was told by G-d that he and his descendents were permitted to take any creatures for food. Noah learned from this that G-d desired that any subsequent sacrificial offerings should be brought from the "pure" species. Additional pairs of these species were gathered into the ark, because their numbers would be depleted by the sacrifices Noah would offer when he left the ark.
Noah was given no restrictions on the types of animals he could eat. The designation of "pure" means that these were the animals and birds that were destined for the future to be allowed for consumption by the Jewish people (i.e., "kosher"). These verses therefore inform us that Noah learned Torah, G-d's "blueprint" for the creation, for otherwise he would not have known which animals and birds were destined to be designated as kosher.
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02-03-2010, 11:19 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-12-2010, 04:23 AM by Director Michael.)
please could you answer this question what did the animals eat on the ark especially the ones we regard as meat eaters.
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The spiritual radiance of the Messianic Era rested within Noah's ark. The carnivorous animals ate the same plant fodder as the herbivorous animals, just as it will be in the Messianic Era, as described by Isaiah 11:6-7: "The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, ... the lion shall eat straw like the ox."
This is why Noah had to be commanded to bring out the animals from the ark. They didn't want to leave this higher spiritual level: "Every living thing that is with you of all flesh, of fowl, and of animals and of all the creeping things that creep on the earth, bring out with you..." (Genesis 8:17).
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Hi Michael,
I want to say thanks for sharing nice details with us.
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You are correct that the Torah only identifies the mountain range where the ark landed, but not any specific mountain.
The Midrash is the source that says that Haman chose a beam from the ark for the gallows he built for Mordechai (and upon which Haman himself was hung). Many statements in the Midrash are actually metaphorical, for the purpose of teaching some lesson, and are not meant to be taken literally.
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11-05-2010, 05:26 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-11-2010, 07:59 PM by Director Michael.)
Please explain further the laws of appropriate partners to me. An objection someone who does not believe in there being a real Flood and Ark is that there were only four male/female couples on the ark, and after they left the ark, their children would have had to find mates from among their own cousins on their paternal side. Does the Noahide Code only restrict relations from among one's mother's relatives but permit the father's side?
Also, a Jewish friend says she has been taught that there were other floods before the one Noah & his family survived, and that the Flood in Noah's days only covered 1/3rd of the land, so there could have been other survivors.
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11-11-2010, 07:58 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-06-2019, 11:06 AM by Director Michael.)
Mattityahu ben Noach Wrote:Please explain further the laws of appropriate partners to me. An objection someone who does not believe in there being a real Flood and Ark is that there were only four male/female couples on the ark, and after they left the ark, their children would have had to find mates from among their own cousins on their paternal side. Does the Noahide Code only restrict relations from among one's mother's relatives but permit the father's side?
That is correct in regard to the category of restrictions on relations between blood relatives. See our web page
https://asknoah.org/7-commandments/forbidden-relations
Mattityahu ben Noach Wrote:Also, a Jewish friend says she has been taught that there were other floods before the one Noah & his family survived, and that the Flood in Noah's days only covered 1/3rd of the land, so there could have been other survivors.
Your friend is just a bit confused about this. The Midrash says that there was a limited flood (covering 1/3 of the world) as a warning to mankind in the days of Enosh, before the world-wide flood in the days of Noah. See Rashi's explanation on Genesis 6:4 (in which he cites this Midrash) -
Quote:"The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward..." Although they had seen the destruction of the generation of Enosh, when the ocean rose up and inundated a third of the world, the generation of the Flood [in Noah's time] did not humble themselves to learn from them.