The dove came to him towards evening, and there in her beak was a plucked olive leaf. And Noach knew that the water had gone down from the earth.
What it teaches
Trust in God. Relying on God to look after us even when the way is unclear.
Noach does all God commanded, preparing for a flood that has not yet come. When the dove finds no place to rest and comes back, he waits seven days and sends her again, and after the olive leaf he waits seven more. This is trust: doing what God asked, and waiting even when the good sign is slow to come.
The lesson
Whoever trusts in God waits one more week and sends the dove again.
They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, so that we are not scattered over the whole earth.”
What it teaches
Humility. Knowing your place and not taking pride in what you were given.
The builders were one people with one language, and by God’s own words nothing they planned would be beyond them. They wanted to make a name for themselves, and in the end the place was called Bavel, after what God did there. From this we can learn humility: even great strength does not guarantee a person a name.
The lesson
A person can build a tower, but cannot choose the name they leave behind.
The verses are from Miqra according to the Masorah (Wikisource, CC BY-SA 4.0), via Sefaria, without the cantillation marks. On this site the four-letter Name is written ה׳.
