God Remembered Noah and the Beasts in the Ark

"And God remembered Noah," and so forth (Genesis 8:1). This is what Scripture says: "Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains" (Psalms 36:7), the charity You did with Noah in the ark is like the mighty mountains, as it is written, "And the ark rested," and so forth. "Your judgments are a great deep," the judgments You executed upon his generation, You were exacting with them down to the great deep, as it is written, "On this day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth" (Genesis 7:11). And moreover, when You remembered him, You did not remember him alone, but him and all who were with him in the ark, as it is written, "And God remembered Noah." A man boards a ship and a beast is with him; if a storm arises at sea, what do they do? They cast the beast into the sea and save the man. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so: when He had compassion on Noah He had compassion on the beast, as it is said, "And God remembered Noah and every living thing." "A righteous man knows the soul of his beast" (Proverbs 12:10): the Righteous One of the world knows the soul of His beast. "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him" (Nahum 1:7). Woe to the wicked, who turn the attribute of mercy into the attribute of judgment. Everywhere it says "the LORD," this is the attribute of mercy, as it is said, "The LORD, the LORD, God merciful and gracious," yet it is written, "And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great; and the LORD repented that He had made man; and the LORD said, I will wipe out man" (Genesis 6:5-7). Happy are the righteous, who turn the attribute of judgment into the attribute of mercy everywhere. As it is said, "God [Elohim]" is the attribute of judgment, as it is said, "You shall not revile God" (Exodus 22:27), "the matter of both shall come before God," yet it is written, "And God remembered Noah," "And God remembered Rachel" (Genesis 30:22), "And God heard their groaning" (Exodus 2:24). What remembrance was remembered for him? That He sustained and fed all twelve months in the ark. "Noah"; in the merit of the clean animals that were with him in the ark. "And the fountains of the deep were stopped" (Genesis 8:2), for good; but not all the fountains, except the spring of Tiberias, Avlonim, and the cave of Paneas. For ill, "On this day all the fountains of the deep burst forth" (Genesis 7:11). Rabbi Yochanan said: three of them remained, the bottomless one of Gader, the hot springs of Tiberias, and the great spring of Toram.