Someone Finally Listened to God…..Noach — and Rosh Chodesh and the Temple

 

The Temple Institute

Noach did so; just as G-d commanded him, so he did"

 

(Genesis 6:22)

 

Cheshvan 2, 5786/October 24, 2025

 

Noach, among his other well deserved claims to fame, is the first man in recorded history to actually do as G-d told him to do. Adam, together with Chava (Eve), defied G-d's single prohibition. Cain was not able to pull himself up out of his spiritual malaise, despite G-d's pep talk, (“Sin couches at the door; Its urge is toward you, yet you can be its master." Genesis 4:7) Nor was he honest with G-d when questioned as to Abel's whereabouts. 

And this is where the Torah leaves off recording any spoken words between G-d and man. Until, of course, this week's Torah reading, the second reading from Genesis, in which G-d, having discovered a righteous man in Noach, instructs him to build an ark and thereby save himself, his family and the animal kingdom from extinction. And how does Noach respond? "Noach did so; just as G-d commanded him, so he did." (ibid 6:22) With that simple act of following G-d's instructions, Noach made a giant leap for mankind. At last - man listens and does! 

 

G-d's instructions for building the ark are quite complex and the building of the ark itself was extremely time consuming. It took Noach one hundred and twenty years to complete his task! He never wavered during all those years in his dedication to completing the job that G-d had given him. He never strayed from any of the details of his task, nor second guessed anything G-d told him. Significantly, the Torah does not record a single word spoken by Noach to G-d, or to any one else, during the entire time of his preparations for the flood. He was totally consumed by his mission: build an ark and save humanity! For that we literally owe Noach our lives. For that we are eternally grateful.

 

G-d had despaired of man ever coming around, which is why He brought on the flood in the first place. But Noach, a single righteous man among a generation of depraved sinners, gave G-d hope for a better tomorrow. Noach gathered all the beasts onto the ark, just as G-d commanded him. He and his wife, his three sons and their wives all boarded the ark.  HaShem shut the door and away they went, buoyed by the rising waters. We don't hear a peep out of Noach as the heavens open and all dry land is submerged beneath the turbulent waters. 

Just when it seems that the situation can get no bleaker, "G-d remembered Noach." (ibid 8:1) The waters begin to subside and after sending out reconnaissance missions via the raven and then the dove, Noach and his family and all the animals step out of the ark and onto dry land. Mission completed. The taciturn Noach has saved the world. Neither turning to the right nor the left, Noach literally, "walked with G-d,"(ibid 6:9) step by step, on land, at sea, and once again on land. G-d at last had the partner in man that He longed for and hoped for in the being that He created in His image. It was, however, a silent partnership. G-d had found someone He could talk to and be heard by, but Noach offered no words in response. He did as he was told and kept silent.

 

Following the flood Noach took the initiative and acted independently for the first time in his life: "Noach built an altar to HaShem and, taking of every pure animal and of every pure bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar." (ibid 8:20) Noach takes his first, (and ultimately, only), step in building a relationship with HaShem. G-d, addressed to this point by the name Elokim, was a G-d to be listened to, a stern G-d, a G-d who could create and also destroy. But G-d has another side, a compassionate, loving, forgiving and listening G-d, referred to in Torah by the divine name, HaShem. 

This is the name the Torah refers to when HaShem lovingly shut the door of the ark, making certain its passengers were safely inside. And this is the aspect of G-d to whom Noach now, in an unprecedented act of thanks, makes an offering. Yet again, a reason for G-d to be hopeful for His future relationship with man. G-d, who regretted creating man, now vows to Noach that He will never ever again threaten man with a flood. Those days are over. G-d has come to accept that man is highly imperfect, ("since the devisings of the human mind are evil from youth" ibid 8:21), but, nevertheless, possesses the innate ability to be better, to improve, to do good. 

Noach's final days would be tragically tainted by a family crisis, brought upon by his own uncharacteristic act of getting drunk. His active relationship with G-d ended shortly after leaving the ark. But not before G-d blessed Noach and all his descendants forever, with a covenant to guide all mankind forever. G-d had also learned that man simply cannot go it alone. Man, as we all know, needs to be told the dos and don'ts of life. 

 

It would be ten more generations of man and yet more misbehaving by man, deserving of and receiving a harsh punishment, referring, of course, to the tower of Bavel affront to G-d. But this time the punishment wasn't merely punitive. It also laid the foundation for the future development of mankind into diverse nations all of whom could turn to G-d in good times and in bad. 

 

But only at parashat Noach's conclusion are we introduced to the man who will transform man's relationship with G-d forever. Named by his father, Avram, and later renamed by G-d, Avraham, he will not only listen and do as G-d tells him, he will talk to G-d, question G-d, argue with G-d and walk before HaShem. And Avraham will also, unlike Noach, open a dialogue with his fellow man, friend and foe, inviting them in and sharing with them his fellowship with G-d. Avraham is the spiritual father of us all. But without the righteous Noach who saved man from physical destruction, we would never have been blessed by the appearance of Avraham, who forged man's spiritual connection to G-d and the world that He created.

 

ROSH CHODESH CHESHVAN: CHESHVAN OR MARCHESHVAN?

The name of the month Cheshvan, like all the other months in the Hebrew calendar, were adopted by the Jews exiled in Babylon, following the destruction of the first Holy Temple. In many ancient Jewish texts, such as the Mishna and the Talmud, the month is referred to as Cheshvan. Yet other ancient texts refer to the month as Marcheshvan. Either name is acceptable.

Our sages have come up with different ways of interpreting the prefix "mar." Mar means bitter in Hebrew. One understanding is that Cheshvan is seen as being bitter because unlike the festival filled month of Tishrei which precedes it, Cheshvan is void of major holidays. 

Others point out that mar also means a drop of water, as in Isaiah 40:15: "Behold the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and like dust on a balance are they counted; behold the islands are like fine dust that blows away." Seen in this light, the prefix mar may be referring to the onset of the rainy season which begins in Cheshvan.

Still another understanding of the mar of Marcheshvan is the fact that mar also means "mister," or "master" in Hebrew. Understanding Marcheshvan in this light grants a certain measure of formality and respect to the month of Cheshvan. This may be a nod to the Midrashic understanding that the future Holy Temple, (may it be built soon!) will be dedicated in the month of Cheshvan, forever transforming the bitter to the sweet!