Parshas Noach for Kids
פרשת נח
The world has gone crooked, and one man is asked to build a teivah and fill it with pairs of every living thing. Forty days of rain, a dove sent out over the water, and a rainbow that promises it will never happen again.
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What happens in Parshas Noach
The people of the world have become dishonest and cruel, but Noach is a tzaddik who walks with Hashem. Hashem tells him to build a teivah, a great wooden ark. Rashi explains that Hashem had Noach build it slowly, over one hundred and twenty years, so that people would ask what he was doing and have time to do teshuvah. When no one changes, Noach, his family, and pairs of every living creature enter the teivah, and the rain falls for forty days.
Chazal tell us that inside the teivah Noach and his sons hardly slept, feeding every animal its own food at its own time. When the waters go down, Noach sends out a raven and then a dove, which comes back with a fresh olive leaf in its mouth. Noach leaves the teivah, brings korbanos, and Hashem promises never again to flood the whole world, setting a rainbow in the clouds as a sign. The parsha ends with the Tower of Bavel and the birth of Avram.
Lessons and middos for children
Chessed
Noach took care of every animal on the teivah, day and night. We can help care for the people and creatures around us, even when it is hard work.Doing what Hashem asks
Noach kept building for many years, even when people laughed at him. We do the right thing even when others are not doing it.Hakaras hatov
When Noach came out of the teivah, the first thing he did was thank Hashem. After something good happens, we remember to say thank you.
Questions for the Shabbos table
- If you were on the teivah, which animal would you want to help take care of, and what would you feed it?
- Why do you think Hashem had Noach build the teivah so slowly?
- What did the dove bring back, and what did it tell Noach?
- When we see a rainbow we say a special bracha. What do you think the rainbow reminds us of?
How your child steps into the story
Your child is there as the animals walk up the ramp two by two, and helps Noach's family carry food to the hungry creatures inside the teivah. The story ends with a rainbow in the sky and a look ahead to a man named Avram, who is about to hear Hashem call to him.