“As long as the earth endures, sowing and reaping, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). “As long as the earth endures, sowing and reaping, cold and heat…” – Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Shmuel: What do the descendants of Noah believe? That the covenant made with them will last forever? The truth is, rather, that as long as the heavens and the earth endure, their covenant is in effect.
When that day comes regarding which it is written: “For the heavens will be eroded like smoke and the earth will wear away like a garment” (Isaiah 51:6), at that time: “It will be annulled on that day…” (Zechariah 11:11). Rabbi Aḥa said: [God said:] ‘What caused them [the generation of the Flood] to rebel against Me? Is it not because they would sow, but would not reap,49A metaphor, which the Midrash now goes on to spell out. bearing children and never burying them?50Their children outlived them.
From now forward: “sowing and reaping” – they will [sometimes] bear children and bury them; “cold and heat” – there will be fever and chills; “summer and winter” – I will bring birds to prey upon them in the summer, just as it says: “The bird of prey will prey on them in the summer, and all the beasts of the earth will prey on them in the winter” (Isaiah 18:6). There was an incident involving one of the prominent leaders of the generation who suffered from a headache.
Some say it was Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman. He would say: Look at what the generation of the Flood brought upon us. Another interpretation, “as long as the earth endures” – Rav Huna in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: What do the descendants of Noah believe? That the covenant made with them will last forever?
This is what I said to them: “As long as the earth endures” – the truth is, rather, that as long as day and night endure, their covenant is in effect, but when that day comes regarding which it is written: “There will be one day, it will be known to the Lord, that is not day and not night” (Zechariah 14:7), at that moment: “It will be annulled on that day…” (Zechariah 11:11). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: [God said:] ‘What caused them to rebel against Me?
Is it not because they would sow, but would not reap,51In this interpretation, the expression “sow but not reap” is not used as a metaphor. as Rabbi Yitzḥak said: ‘Once in forty years they would need to sow’?52And this one crop would produce enough grain to last forty years. And they were able to walk from one end of the earth to the other end in a short time,53So mighty and gigantic were they. uprooting cedars of Lebanon with their feet [as they walked]. [Bites of] lions and leopards seemed to them like [tearing out] a hair from one’s flesh.
And how pleasant was the weather for them? It was [eternally pleasant,] as it is between Passover and Shavuot.54All this power and comfort caused them to become haughty and sin. To prevent this from reoccurring, from now on “sowing and reaping…shall not cease.” Life would become much less comfortable.
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says in the name of Rabbi Meir, and, likewise, Rabbi Dosa used to say in accordance with his opinion: Half of Tishrei, Marḥeshvan and Kislev – that is “sowing”; half of Kislev, Tevet, and half of Shevat – “winter”; half of Shevat, Adar, and half of Nisan – “cold”; half of Nisan, Iyar, and half of Sivan – “reaping”; half of Sivan, Tamuz, and half of Av – summer; half of Av, Elul, and half of Tishrei – “heat.”
Rabbi Yehuda counts [these six seasons] from [the beginning of] Marḥeshvan. Rabbi Shimon begins [the count] with [the beginning of] Tishrei. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The constellations did not function all twelve months [of the Flood]. Rabbi Yonatan said to him: They functioned, but their effect was not palpable.
Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Eliezer says: “Shall not cease” means that they did not cease [during the Flood either]. Rabbi Yehoshua says: “Shall not cease” implies that they did cease [during the Flood].