Riddles of The Week

Limuday Moshe | December 31, 2025

When instructing Noach to build the teivah Hashem said: צהר תעשה לתיבה – “you should build a tzohar for the teivah” (Bereishis 6:16). Rashi brings down two interpretations as to what the tzohar was, either it was a window, or it was a special stone which gave off light. Towards the end of the mabul the pasuk says: ויפתח נח את חלון התיבה אשר עשה – “Noach opened the window of the teivah which he made” (8:6). It seems that up until this point the window was closed, if so, how was Noach and his family, and all the animals in the teivah able to breath - surely there was nowhere for the bad air to escape, or for fresh air to come in. Moreover, according to the opinion that the tzohar was a special stone, seemingly there was no window at all, so again, how could they breathe? And how were they all able to survive?
Who was born inside the teivah?
Why did Noach send a raven and dove to determine if the floodwaters had receded (Rashi 8:8) when this created a risk that one of them may die and render its species extinct?
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 31:1) rules that tefillin are not worn on Shabbos because Shabbos serves as anאות (sign – Shemos 31:13) and tefillin are also called an אות (Devorim 6:8), and it is disrespectful to Shabbos to add another אות. According to this principle, should a person who sees a rainbow on Shabbos refrain from reciting a berachah, since a rainbow is also anאות (Bereishis 9:12)?
When would a Jew (correctly) say kaddish after the death of a non-Jew who is not a close relative and did not assist Jews in any noteworthy manner?

Please send any answers you have to above questions to [email protected] and you will be entered into a raffle to win a prize. The raffle will take place every Rosh Chodesh.

(Normally, I refrain from bringing any answers, as I want people to think about the riddles, and see what they can come up with on their own. This week due to predicted shortage of space in next week’s sheet, and some spare space this week, the answers are brought above, but feel free and encouraged to send any more you think of.)

When instructing Noach to build the teivah Hashem said: צהר תעשה לתיבה – “you should build a tzohar for the teivah” (Bereishis 6:16). Rashi brings down two interpretations as to what the tzohar was, either it was a window, or it was a special stone which gave off light. Towards the end of the mabul the pasuk says: ויפתח נח את חלון התיבה אשר עשה – “Noach opened the window of the teivah which he made” (8:6). It seems that up until this point the window was closed, if so, how was Noach and his family, and all the animals in the teivah able to breath - surely there was nowhere for the bad air to escape, or for fresh air to come in. Moreover, according to the opinion that the tzohar was a special stone, seemingly there was no window at all, so again, how could they breathe? And how were they all able to survive?
Who was born inside the teivah?
Why did Noach send a raven and dove to determine if the floodwaters had receded (Rashi 8:8) when this created a risk that one of them may die and render its species extinct?
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 31:1) rules that tefillin are not worn on Shabbos because Shabbos serves as anאות (sign – Shemos 31:13) and tefillin are also called an אות (Devorim 6:8), and it is disrespectful to Shabbos to add another אות. According to this principle, should a person who sees a rainbow on Shabbos refrain from reciting a berachah, since a rainbow is also anאות (Bereishis 9:12)?
When would a Jew (correctly) say kaddish after the death of a non-Jew who is not a close relative and did not assist Jews in any noteworthy manner?

Please send any answers you have to above questions to [email protected] and you will be entered into a raffle to win a prize. The raffle will take place every Rosh Chodesh.

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Limuday Moshe | October 19, 2023