Before the first drop of the Flood struck the earth, heaven waited. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 7:10 teaches that the Holy One delayed the deluge for seven full days after Methuselah, the oldest man who ever lived, died. Those seven days were not empty calendar; they were an open door. The generation was in avelut, the posture of mourning, and mourning is the moment when the heart is most soft. If ever they were going to turn, this was the week.
But the Targum looks down at the earth and says plainly: the sons of men had not turned. The mourning ended. The door closed. Only then did the waters come, and they did not come cold. The Targum says the waters descended hotly from the heavens, scalding as they fell. The Flood was not neutral weather. It was judgment at a temperature.
This is a window into how Jewish memory frames divine patience. Even when the verdict is sealed, the Holy One still sets aside a week and waits. Mercy is the last clock that runs before justice. The takeaway is sobering: the windows of return are real, they are short, and they close quietly.