Life inside the ark was not paradise. According to Sanhedrin 108b, Noah and his family worked around the clock to keep every animal alive—and one feeding mistake nearly cost Noah his life.
Rav Hisda taught that when the waters of the Flood subsided, the word used is "assuaged" (Genesis 8:1)—the same word used when King Ahasuerus's wrath cooled (Esther 7:10). Just as Ahasuerus's anger was hot, the floodwaters were hot. The generation that sinned through sexual heat was punished with scalding water.
Before the Flood arrived, God gave the people seven additional days. Rav said these were the mourning period for Methuselah, whose death God honored by delaying the catastrophe. Others said God used those seven days to give the wicked a taste of the World to Come—showing them exactly what their sins had forfeited.
Inside the ark, the work was relentless. Noah had to feed every species at its correct time. The lion ate during the day. The chameleon ate at night. Some animals ate at the second hour, others at the third. Noah slept almost nothing for an entire year.
He once fed the lion late. The lion struck him, and Noah emerged from the ark with a limp. He was no longer physically perfect—and as a result, he could no longer offer sacrifices himself. His son Shem served as the priest in his place.
The raven Noah sent from the ark accused him of ulterior motives, claiming Noah wanted to destroy it so he could take its mate. Reish Lakish noted that the raven's accusation was entirely baseless—Noah was forbidden from having relations with anyone during the Flood, even his own wife. The raven's paranoia reflected the moral corruption of the world Noah was trying to leave behind.