Many years after Adam and Eve, the world was filled with people, but sadly, most of them had forgotten about Hashem and His ways. People began to behave in terrible ways—they stole from one another, fought, and hurt each other. The world was filled with violence and sin. People were so corrupt that the very earth itself became spoiled because of their actions.
Hashem saw the wickedness and was deeply saddened by how His creation had turned away from goodness. For many years, He waited patiently, hoping the people would repent and return to the right path, but they did not. Finally, Hashem decided He had to cleanse the world and start over. He would send a great flood to wash away all the evil.
But there was one man who was different: Noah. Noah was righteous in a world full of wickedness. He always tried to do what was right, and he walked in the ways of Hashem. Because of this, Hashem chose Noah to help save the world.
Hashem spoke to Noah and gave him a special mission. "Build an ark," He commanded, "a huge boat made of wood, covered in pitch to make it waterproof. You will take your family inside the ark, along with two of every kind of animal—one male and one female—so that they can survive the flood." Hashem told Noah the exact size of the ark: it was to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high, with three levels inside.
Noah immediately began to build the ark, just as Hashem instructed. He worked on it for 120 years! The entire time, he tried to warn the people around him. "A great flood is coming!" he said. "Hashem wants you to change your ways and do good, or you will be destroyed!" But the people just laughed at Noah. They didn’t believe him and went on with their wicked ways.
When the ark was finally finished, Hashem brought all the animals to Noah—two of every kind—from the fiercest lions to the tiniest insects. But of the kosher animals, Hashem instructed Noah to bring seven pairs. Noah didn’t have to go out and gather the animals; they came to him, walking calmly into the ark as if they knew they were being saved.
Noah, his wife Na’amah, and their three sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—along with their wives, entered the ark. As soon as they were all inside, Hashem Himself closed the door behind them, sealing them in.
Then the heavens opened, and rain began to fall. For 40 days and 40 nights, it rained without stopping. Water gushed up from the ground, too, until the whole earth was covered. The waters rose so high that even the tallest mountains were completely submerged. Every living thing that was not inside the ark perished in the flood.
Inside the ark, though, Noah, his family, and all the animals were safe. The ark floated on the water, tossed by the waves, but it stayed strong and did not sink. During this time, Noah and his family worked hard to care for the animals. They had to feed them day and night, as each animal had its own schedule for eating. It was tiring, but Noah knew it was their responsibility to care for all the creatures Hashem had saved.
After 40 days of rain, the water finally stopped falling from the sky. But the earth was still covered in water. 150 days passed before the waters began to slowly recede. Eventually, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Noah waited and watched, but the world outside was still too wet to leave the ark.
To check if the waters had gone down, Noah first sent out a raven, but it flew back and forth without finding a place to land. Then he sent out a dove, but it too came back, unable to find dry land. After seven days, Noah sent the dove out again, and this time it returned with a fresh olive leaf in its beak. Noah knew that the waters were finally going down.
He waited another seven days and sent the dove out once more, and this time it didn’t return. The earth was dry enough to live on again!
At last, Hashem told Noah, "You can leave the ark now." Noah, his family, and all the animals left the ark and stepped onto dry land. Noah saw the earth, clean and fresh, and his heart was filled with gratitude to Hashem. The first thing Noah did was build an altar and offer sacrifices to Hashem, thanking Him for saving them.
Hashem accepted Noah’s offering and made a special promise: He would never again destroy the world with a flood. To show this promise, Hashem placed a rainbow in the sky, saying, "Whenever you see the rainbow, remember that I have made a covenant with the earth and all living creatures."
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