Ravens

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The Raven's Mission

TANAKH

The raven's continuous movement to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth is a fascinating aspect of the story of Noah's Ark. In the book of Genesis, Noah sends out a raven to check if the floodwaters had receded, highlighting the bird's distinctive role and behavior during this pivotal moment.

and sent out the raven; it went to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth.

Genesis 8:7

The Raven's Unique Punishment

COMMENTARY

The raven, the dog, and Cham were punished for engaging in prohibited sexual activity inside Noah's Ark, with the raven receiving a unique consequence. Rabbeinu Bahya, a medieval Jewish commentator, elaborates on the Talmudic discussion from Sanhedrin 108 about the behavior of certain creatures during the time of Noah's Ark.

Talmud Sanhedrin 108 states that only three creatures engaged in sex inside the Ark; they were the raven, the dog, and Cham. All three of them were punished. The raven was condemned to ejaculate its semen via its beak, the dog is kept on a leash; Cham was punished by becoming black-skinned.

Rabbeinu Bahya, Bereshit 8:16:2

Noah and the Raven's Curse

MIDRASH

The story of Noah and the raven includes a unique curse that results in the raven mating with its mouth. The Alphabet of ben Sira, a medieval text, offers a collection of stories and moral teachings, including this detailed narrative.

י"ז He said to him, "And why does the raven produce seed from his mouth?" He said to him, "The Sages of Israel disagreed about this. Some said that because he mated on the ark, he was made odd (and likewise, the dog was decreed to become tied during mating), while some said that because he is wicked, a thief, and damaging, therefore he was made different from all creatures. One Sage came and said to the disagreeing Sages, 'I will uphold your words.' He said, 'In the ark, when Noah wanted to send him to see whether the waters had receded…

Otzar Midrashim, The Aleph Bet of ben Sira, The Alphabet of ben Sira, (alternative version) 46

The Raven's Projection

COMMENTARY

The raven's suspicion of Noah reveals how one's own flaws can lead to projecting those flaws onto others. Rabbi Shabbetai Bass, in his supercommentary Siftei Chakhamim, delves into the behavior of the raven during the story of Noah's Ark, drawing from Talmudic sources.

Because it suspected him concerning his mate. Meaning: [Its suspicion was] concerning Noach’s mate — that [Noach and] his wife were having marital relations in the ark. This is because the raven cohabited in the ark, and one accuses another of his own flaw (Kiddushin 70b). Thus the raven, too, did not want to be separated from its mate. And this is the explanation in Sanhedrin 108b as well. (R. Yaakov Taryosh)

Siftei Chakhamim, Genesis 8:7:1

Divine Roles of Ravens and Fish

KABBALAH

The Zohar illustrates how even animals like ravens and fish are divinely orchestrated to fulfill God's commands. This mystical text connects the biblical stories of Elijah and Jonah to the concept of divine control over nature.

On the fifth day He created the fishes of the sea and the birds of heaven. With the birds he stipulated that they should feed Elijah when he restrained the heaven from rain, as it is written: “and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there” (I Kings 17, 4); and He stipulated with the fishes of the sea to appoint one fish that should swallow up Jonah and then eject him.

Zohar, Vayakhel 6:79

The Raven's Lesson on Parental Responsibility

TALMUD

The Talmud uses the behavior of ravens to illustrate the importance of parental responsibility. In the Babylonian Talmud, tractate Ketubot, Rav Ḥisda compares a father who refuses to support his children to a raven, sparking a discussion on whether ravens feed their young.

When they would come before Rav Ḥisda to register a similar complaint, he would say to them: Turn over a mortar for him in public, as a raised platform, and let that father stand up and say about himself: The raven wants to care for its sons, and yet this man does not want to support his sons. The Gemara questions this statement: And does the raven want to feed its sons? But isn’t it written: “He gives to the beast its food…

Ketubot 49b:5

Ravens and Darkness

COMMENTARY

The Hebrew words for 'raven' and 'evening' share a root, symbolizing the raven's association with darkness. Ibn Ezra, a medieval Jewish commentator, explores this linguistic connection in his commentary on Leviticus 11:15.

orev (raven) is related to the word erev (evening). It is so called because of its darkness.

Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 11:15:1

God's Care for the Raven

LITURGY

The raven, often seen as a symbol of desolation, is shown to be under God's care, emphasizing divine providence even for the seemingly insignificant. Perek Shirah, an ancient text, presents various elements of creation singing praises to God, with the raven's verse highlighting God's provision.

The Raven is saying, “Who prepares food for the raven, when his young ones cry out to El?”

Perek Shirah 4:20

Divine Provision for All Creatures

JEWISH THOUGHT

The divine wisdom in providing sustenance for all creatures, including ravens, showcases God's wonders. In the 11th-century ethical masterpiece, Duties of the Heart, Bachya ibn Pekudah explores how scripture highlights God's provision for even the most seemingly insignificant creatures.

The study of the other species of living creatures, their habits and their sustenance will not be concealed by one who observes them and reflects upon the marks of divine wisdom manifest in them. Hence, the scriptures repeatedly refer to them when mentioning G-d's wonders: "Who provides for the raven his prey when his young ones cry unto G-d" (Job 38:41), and "He gives to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry" (Tehilim 147:9). There are many other similar passages.

Duties of the Heart, Second Treatise on Examination 5:42

Determining Dry Land

SECOND TEMPLE

Josephus provides a detailed account of the sequence of events and practical actions taken by Noah during and after the flood. In his first-century work, Josephus recounts the biblical story of Noah, emphasizing the use of birds to determine the state of the earth's dryness.

5. When God gave the signal, and it began to rain, the water poured down forty entire days, till it became fifteen cubits higher than the earth; which was the reason why there was no greater number preserved, since they had no place to fly to. When the rain ceased, the water did but just begin to abate after one hundred and fifty days, (that is, on the seventeenth day of the seventh month,) it then ceasing to subside for a little while. After this, the ark rested on the top of a certain mountain in Armenia; which, when Noah understood, he opened it…

The Antiquities of the Jews 1:3:5

The Raven and the Dove

MIDRASH

Sending a message through an unclean or unreliable messenger (symbolized by the raven) is akin to sending it through a fool. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a midrashic work attributed to Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, elaborates on the Genesis flood narrative to provide moral lessons.

He sent forth the raven to ascertain what was (the state of) the world. It went and found a carcase of a man cast upon the summit of a mountain, and it settled thereon for its food, and it did not return with its message to its sender, as it is said, "And he sent forth the raven" (Gen. 8:7). He sent forth the dove to see what was (the state of) the world, and she brought back her message to her sender, as it is said, "And the dove came in to him at eventide, and, lo, in her mouth an olive leaf pluckt off" (Gen. 8:11)…

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 23:9

The Unclean Ravens

MIDRASH

The Torah classifies ravens among the unclean birds, and understanding this classification is crucial for comprehending Jewish dietary laws. The Sifra, an early halachic midrash on Leviticus, provides detailed interpretations of kosher and non-kosher birds, including the classification of ravens.

4) (Vayikra 11:15) ("Every raven after its kind") "raven": This is the (black) raven; "every raven": to include the "deep" (i.e., white) raven and the pigeon-headed raven; "after its kind" (lemino): the starling; "after its kind" (lemineihu, Vayikra 11:16): to include the swallow.

Sifra, Shemini, Chapter 5 4

Unveiling Noah's Strategy

COMMENTARY

The practical reasoning and timeline behind sending out the raven are intricately linked to the observable receding of the waters after the ark had come to rest on Mount Ararat. Radak, a medieval Jewish commentator, provides a detailed analysis of the timeline and practical reasoning behind Noah's actions during the flood.

ויהי מקץ ארבעים יום, these words refer to the end of forty days after the waters had begun to recede; personally, I feel that the period described dates back to the day when the ark had come to rest on Mount Ararat. How else would Noach have been able to determine that the waters had begun to recede, seeing that all around him there was only water? Once the ark had come to rest on Mount Ararat Noach could measure how much more of the mountain was becoming visible beneath the ark. Noach knew that the ark had come to rest on something solid…

Radak on Genesis 8:6:1

Ravens as Harbingers of Desolation

TARGUM

Ravens are depicted as symbols of desolation and ruin, reflecting divine judgment. The Targum Jonathan, an ancient Aramaic translation and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, offers a vivid portrayal of the devastation associated with ravens in Isaiah 34:11.

The pelican and the porcupine shall inherit her, and the owls and the ravens shall dwell in her: and the line of devastation shall be extended over her, and the plummet of desolation.

Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 34:11

Elijah Fed by the Ravens, James Tissot, 1896-1902

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