It wasn't just a knee-jerk reaction of gratitude. According to Bereshit Rabbah, the ancient midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) (interpretive) text on Genesis, there was some serious divine calculus at play.
(Genesis 8:20) tells us, "Noah built [vayiven] an altar to the Lord." But the text doesn't just say "built." It uses the word vayiven. The rabbis of the Midrash, masters of close reading, seize on this, suggesting that vayiven implies reasoning, contemplation. Noah, the text suggests, contemplated [nitbonen]. He thought hard: "Why did God command me to take seven pairs of the pure animals, as opposed to the usual two of the impure ones, if not to offer them as sacrifices?" A fair question. And where did this offering take place? Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov suggests it was on the great altar in Jerusalem. Yes, even before the Temple, there was a sacred spot, the very place where Adam himself, according to some interpretations of (Psalms 69:32), offered sacrifices!
The text continues, "The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma." What exactly was this "pleasing aroma?" This is where things get interesting. We have a debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina. Rabbi Eliezer believes that Noah's descendants sacrificed peace offerings (shelamim), while Rabbi Yosei insists they only offered burnt offerings (olot).
Now, Rabbi Eliezer throws some serious textual curveballs at Rabbi Yosei. What about Abel offering "the firstborn of his flock and their fats" (Genesis 4:4)? Isn't that a peace offering? And what about (Exodus 24:5), where the young men of Israel offer burnt offerings and feast peace offerings? Rabbi Yosei has answers, ingenious ones. He suggests that Abel offered from the fattest of his flock, implying a burnt offering. As for the peace offerings in Exodus, he argues that those were whole burnt offerings, hides intact, not flayed or cut as required later in the Torah.
The debate continues, referencing Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, and his offerings (Exodus 18:12). Did he come before or after the giving of the Torah? Rabbi Huna tells us that Rabbi Yanai and Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great disagreed on this point. Rabbi Ḥanina reconciles them: If Jethro came before the Torah, then Noah's descendants offered peace offerings. If after, then only burnt offerings.
This idea is supported by the verse in (Song of Songs 4:16), "Awake, north, and come, south." Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina understands this as referring to the burnt offering (slaughtered in the north) being "re-awakened" and the peace offering (slaughtered in the south) being a completely new concept, introduced later. Rabbi Yehoshua, citing Rabbi Levi, points to Leviticus, highlighting the difference in wording regarding burnt offerings versus peace offerings.
But here's the truly part. The Midrash doesn't stop at Noah. When the text says, "The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma," it's not just about Noah's sacrifice. It's about future sacrifices, future acts of devotion. God, the Midrash suggests, smelled the aroma of Abraham emerging from the fiery furnace, the aroma of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah rising from Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace (Daniel 3). It's about the generations who were persecuted for their faith.
Rav Shalom, citing Rabbi Menaḥma bar Ze’ira, uses the analogy of a king building a palace on the seacoast. The king finds a flask of balsam oil, smells it, and builds his palace over it, knowing that the spot is secure. Similarly, God rebuilt the world on the basis of these future "aromas," these future acts of faith and sacrifice.
So, what does all this mean? It's more than just a story about Noah's sacrifice. It's a story about continuity, about the enduring power of devotion, and how even the smallest act of faith can resonate through time and space. It reminds us that our actions, our choices, contribute to the very foundation upon which the world is built. Perhaps the "pleasing aroma" God smells is not just the sacrifice itself, but the unwavering spirit behind it, a spirit that echoes from generation to generation.
“Noah built an altar to the Lord, and he took from every pure animal and from every pure bird, and offered up burnt offerings on the altar” (Genesis 8:20). “Noah built [vayiven] an altar to the Lord” – vayaven is written;20Meaning, “he reasoned.” he contemplated [nitbonen] and He said: ‘Why did the Holy One blessed be He command me to increase the number of the pure animals beyond that of the impure ones,21Seven pairs of each kosher species were taken onto the ark, as opposed to only two each for the non-kosher species (Genesis 7:2). if not to sacrifice an offerings from them?’ Thereupon, “he took from every pure animal…” Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: It was on the great altar in Jerusalem,22The verse says “on the altar,” using the definite article. It is therefore referring to the future site of the Temple’s altar in Jerusalem. where Adam the first man sacrificed, as it is stated: “And may it please the Lord more than a bull with horns and hooves” (Psalms 69:32).23This verse is often interpreted to be referring to a sacrifice offered up by Adam. “The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, and the Lord said to His heart: I will not continue to curse the ground anymore on account of man, as the inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth, and I will not continue to smite every living being anymore as I did” (Genesis 8:21). “The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma” – Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina, Rabbi Eliezer says: The descendants of Noah24A term denoting all people before the giving of the Torah, and all non-Jews thereafter. sacrificed [even] peace offerings. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina says: They sacrificed only burnt offerings. Rabbi Eliezer raised an objection to Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina: But is it not written: “And Abel, too, brought from the firstborn of his flock and their fats” (Genesis 4:4) – referring to something whose fats are sacrificed?25Namely, a peace offering. What does Rabbi Yosei do about this? [He explains it:] From the fattest among them. Rabbi Eliezer raised an objection to Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina: But is it not written: “He sent the young men of the children of Israel, and they offered up burnt offerings and they slaughtered feast peace-offerings [shelamim]…”? (Exodus 24:5). What does Rabbi Yosei do about this? They26The burnt offerings. were whole, with their hides intact, as they did not undergo flaying and cutting.27They were burnt offerings; however, unlike ordinary burnt offerings, they were not flayed or cut. Only burnt offerings sacrificed after the Torah was given required flaying and cutting. Rabbi Eliezer raised an objection to Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina: But is it not written: “Yitro, father in law of Moses, took a burnt offering and feast offerings”? (Exodus 18:12). What does Rabbi Yosei do about this? It is according with the one who said: Yitro came after the giving of the Torah. Rabbi Huna said: Rabbi Yanai and Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great disagreed. Rabbi Yanai said: He [Yitro] came before the giving of the Torah. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great said: He came after the giving of the Torah. Rabbi Ḥanina said: They do not disagree;28Their dispute was not based on interpretation of that passage, but is a consequence of a dispute about a different matter. the one who said that Yitro came before the giving of the Torah holds that the descendants of Noah sacrificed peace offerings. The one who said that Yitro came after the giving of the Torah holds that they sacrificed [only] burnt offerings. This supports Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina, as it is written: “Awake, north, and come, south” (Song of Songs 4:16).29This verse alludes to the time of the beginning of the sacrificial service in the Tabernacle. “Awake, north” – this refers to the burnt offering that was slaughtered in the north.30Leviticus 1:11. What is meant by “awake”? It is something that was dormant and was now re-awakened. “And come, south” – this refers to the peace offering that could be slaughtered in the south. What is meant by “come”? Something that was a new concept.31When the Tabernacle was built, burnt offerings that had been sacrificed in the past were resumed. Peace offerings, that had not been sacrificed in the past, were introduced. Rabbi Yehoshua said in the name of Rabbi Levi: This verse supports Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina: “This is the law of the burnt offering, that is the burnt offering…” (Leviticus 6:2) – [“that is”] what the descendants of Noah used to sacrifice. But when it comes to the peace offering it is written: “This is the law of the peace offering” (Leviticus 7:11) – “that they sacrificed” is not written here, but rather, “that one will sacrifice” (Leviticus 7:11); from here on. “The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma”32The extra words “the pleasing aroma” intimate that another aroma, at a different time, is being alluded to. – He smelled the [future] aroma of Abraham our forefather emerging from the fiery furnace.33See Bereshit Rabba 38:13. He smelled the aroma of Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya rising from the fiery furnace.34Daniel chapter 3. This is analogous to a devotee of the king who sent him a tribute, a fine gift on a fine tray. His son succeeded him, but did not send him a tribute. His grandson succeeded him and did send him a tribute. He [the king] said to him: ‘How similar your offering is to your grandfather’s offering.’35God told Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya, as it were, that their willingness to sacrifice themselves for His sake recalled the same devotion shown by Abraham. “The Lord smelled” – he smelled the aroma of the generation of [the Hadrianic] persecutions.36Who were burned for not renouncing their belief in God. Rav Shalom said in the name of Rabbi Menaḥma bar Ze’ira: This is analogous to a king who sought to build himself a palace on the seacoast, but he did not know where to build it.37Where it would not be washed away by tides. He found a flask of balsam oil.38He smelled it from afar. He went over to it and smelled it, and built it [the palace] over it.39Since the flask had not been washed away, he knew that this was a safe place to build his palace. So, too, God rebuilt the world on the basis of these future aromas, that showed that the world would become a worthy and holy place. That is what is written: “For He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers” (Psalms 24:2). By what merit? It is by the merit of: “The generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your countenance, Jacob, Selah” (Psalms 24:6).
