The Flood Was All of Twelve Months,1r

Chapter 4. The Flood lasted a full twelve months, as it is said, "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life..." (Genesis 7:11). That generation does not live in the world to come and is not judged, as it is said, "My spirit shall not judge in man forever" (Genesis 6:3). Rabbi Joshua says: "In the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month" (Genesis 7:11) means Iyar, which is second to Nisan, for in Nisan the world was created. In Iyar the Pleiades sets; because they changed their deeds before the Omnipresent, He changed the orders of creation against them. Rabbi Eliezer says: "In the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month" means Marheshvan, which is second to Tishrei, for in Tishrei the world was created. In Marheshvan the Pleiades rises, and it was the season of the first rains. The sages follow Rabbi Eliezer about the Flood and Rabbi Joshua about the seasons. "The rain was..." (Genesis 7:12). Until when? Forty days and forty nights, until the twenty-seventh of Kislev. "The waters prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days" (Genesis 7:24). Until when were those one hundred and fifty days? Until the first of Sivan. The waters stood still and silent, and the wicked were judged in them, each according to his deeds. "The waters diminished at the end of one hundred and fifty days..." and "the waters went on diminishing..." (Genesis 8). The waters were fifteen cubits above the earth, and they were gone in sixty days: one cubit every four days, a handbreadth and a half each day. "The ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day" (Genesis 8:4). This is Sivan. When you begin counting from the time the rains stopped falling, you find that the ark rested after sixteen days. How high was it above the earth? Four cubits. How much of it was sunk in the water? Eleven cubits. "It came to pass at the end of forty days" (Genesis 8:6), meaning from the point when the waters began to diminish, on the tenth of Tammuz. "Noah opened the window of the ark..." and "he sent out the raven..." (Genesis 8). He waited seven days and sent out the dove, "but it found no resting place..." (Genesis 8:9). He waited another seven days and again sent out the dove, and the dove came back to him. He waited another seven days and sent out the dove, and it did not return to him again (Genesis 8:12). It went and settled on the tops of the mountains. "In the tenth month, on the first of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen" (Genesis 8:5). This is Av. When you begin counting from the time the rains began to fall, from the first of Av until the first of Tishrei the waters were absorbed. "It came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month..." (Genesis 8:13). A part of a month counts as the whole month. We learn that once one day of a month has entered, that month is counted as a full month; and once one month has entered a year, that year is counted as a full year. A part of the month is like the whole month, and a part of the year is like the whole year. "The waters dried from upon the earth" (Genesis 8:13). The waters that came down from above were dried by the wind, and the waters that rose from below were swallowed back in their place. The earth was still moist and like a thick porridge. They waited and did not sow until rains fell for them, because the waters of the Flood were a sign of curse, and blessing is not included within curse. "In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month" (Genesis 8:14). This is Marheshvan. "The earth was dry" (Genesis 8:14), and it became firm. Here are twelve full months. What is the meaning of the eleven extra days? It teaches that the days of the solar year exceed the days of the lunar year by eleven days. Rabbi Elazar said: But from the beginning of the creation of the world, did the days of the solar year not exceed the days of the lunar year by eleven days, since they were created full at fifteen? Remove four days from before this point, and there are eleven. They said to him: Since the first intercalation had passed, the moon had reached the sun. He said to them: It returns and repays it. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Whoever wants to know the sign that the days of the solar year exceed the days of the lunar year by eleven days should make a scratch at the summer solstice. In the next year, the sun will not reach that place until eleven days later. In this way you know that the days of the solar year exceed the days of the lunar year by eleven days.