We all know the story of Noah. His generation was a disaster! Idolatry, robbery, and murder. Noah was the only righteous one in his generation. 

Hashem wanted to wipe out the world. He told Noah to build an ark, and when the time was right to take food, 7 of each kosher animal, 2 of each non kosher animal, his wife and sons and make himself a home in it. Whilst building the ark, no one around questioned him or even attempted to do any teshuva. They carried on in their wicked ways until Hashem decided the time was right and the rain started to fall and flood the world. The rain stopped, Noah sent a dove to find a sign that it was safe to open the ark and step onto dry land. The dove had no luck and came back as it had no place to rest. Noah waited again and sent a raven and then another dove which also had no luck. Only on the third attempt did the dove not return, telling Noah the flood had subsided and Noah and his family were able to return to dry land. Hashem made a promise to never wipe out the world again and put a beautiful rainbow in the sky as a symbol of that covenant! 

The story of Noah is a classic and we learn year on year. However a point we don’t often think about is the amount of time that Noah was in the ark. The rain poured for 40 days, and submerged the world in water. Why 40? 

Chazal teaches us that 40 has great significance throughout the Torah. Moshe led the Jewish people for 40 years in the wilderness, Moshe was on Har Sinai for 40 days before coming down with the luchot and there are 40 days from the first day of Elul, through to Yom Kippur, which is a time we use for teshuva and working on our middot and being the best version of ourselves we can be. 

When a person becomes ritually impure, he must immerse in a mikveh. The Talmud tells us that a mikveh must be filled with 40 se’ahs (measure of water). The immersion in a mikveh is the symbol of spiritual renewal. 

It is no accident that in the story of Noah, the rain poured for 40 days, and submerged the world in water. The world needed to be renewed! Just like a person leaves a mikveh pure, so too when the waters of the flood subsided, the world was purified from the corruption of that generation. 

There is a mystical tradition that one who recites the prayer Nishmat Kol Chai for forty days will bring about powerful yeshua and beracha. 

What is special about 40? 40 clearly represents change. A change within ourselves and breaking out of a mould and and making right our actions and behavior. 

Coming out of Tishrei, the month of chagim, and into Marhacheshvan the “bitter month”, a month with no chagim to ‘distract’ us or rejoice in, we need to constantly remember to take the added mitzvot we took on during yamim noraim and still work on them. We need to continue growing in our connection to Hashem in our connections to each other and in our connection to ourselves. 

May we all be blessed to be able to work on our learning and understanding of the Torah and may we constantly grow in our avodat hashem one day at a time until we master the little daily motions so that observance of mitzvot and spiritual growth become constant habits. 

Shabbat Shalom U’Mevorach!