iv) Another explanation the Ran suggests is, that Noach split each floor of the teivah into four or five floors, so although the Torah says there were only three floors, there were actually 13 – 15 floors.
v) A final answer the Ran suggests, is that perhaps Noach made sort of steps on each floor, a bit like prenchers at a chasidisha tish, and this allowed room for more animals.
3) The Yerushalmi (Pesachim 1:1) teaches that Noach brought into the teivah special stones and diamonds, and when they were bright, he knew it was day, and when they were dark, he knew it was night. What was the purpose of this? Some animals eat in the day, and some eat at night, and Noach needed to know when it was day and when it was night, so that he could feed them when they needed to eat.
However, this is difficult, as some animals eat one hour into the day, and some eat two hours into the day, etc. Although Noach knew when it was day and when it was night, how did he know which hour of the day or night it was?
The sefer Alei Tomar explains: There were different levels of darkness and brightness, and one who was an expert could tell by the level of darkness and brightness of the stones, the exact time. Noach was an expert, so he was able to determine the exact time!
Based on the Alei Tomar, we can answer the question of the Sho’el U’Meishiv (Divrei Shaul, on the Parsha, Mahadura Kama). He asks on the aforementioned Yerushalmi: What was the need for the special stones, surely Noach would have known when it was day from the caw of the rooster, like we mention every day הנותן לשכוי בינה להבחין בין יום ובין לילה – “who gives the rooster knowledge to determine when it is day and night.” Since all the different types of animals were in the teivah, presumably these were included, so why couldn’t Noach rely on this to know the time?
Based on the Alei Tomar we can answer, that it is true he could have relied on it, but he wouldn’t know the exact time throughout the day, and for this he needed the special stones.
4) We learn out from the pasuk, אך בשר בנפשו דמו לא תאכלו (Bereishis 9:4), in this week’s parsha, the prohibition of eiver min hachai, the prohibition to eat limbs from a live animal. If a person holds hot food in his hands, then potentially the food should become prohibited as blias [absorptions] of eiver min hachai (from the person) and also blias of skin from a person get absorbed into the food?
The Koheles Yaakov (Chullin, siman 5) discusses this, and he brings the Shu”t Amudei Ohr (siman 54) who says that if something is alive, it doesn’t give off blias.
However, there is a Shu”t Chasam Sofer (Yoreh Deah 94) who discuses a case when a live chicken fell into a hot pot of milky butter and the Chasam Sofer forbade even selling it to non-Jew’s since the prohibition of cooking meat and milk together is forbidden even to benefit from. Some talmiday chachomim argued on this ruling as chicken and milk cooked together is permissible to benefit from. The Chasam Sofer said back: It is still forbidden, due to the prohibition of eiver min hachai, and part of the chicken got absorbed into the butter. We see that the Chasam Sofer clearly learns, that even live animals give off blias.
The Koheles Yaakov then suggests, that the Gemara in Chullin 102 brings an opinion that בהמה בחייה לאו לאברים עומדת - when an animal is alive, we don’t look at the individual limbs, and the prohibition of eiver min hachai only starts once the limb is detached from the animal. According to this, if the limbs are still attached there is no problem, and if a person eats hot food with his hands there is no problem of eiver min hachai. He adds, even according to the opinion that בהמה בחייה לאברים עומדת – that we do look at individual limbs even when the animal is alive, perhaps it’s only by animals and not by people.
