Summary
Noah is righteous, but the rest of humanity is corrupt. God tells Noah that the earth is about to be destroyed by a big flood and instructs him to build an ark and bring pairs of animals aboard. Noah does, and he, his family, and the animals on the ark are the only ones that survive the flood that lasts forty days and nights. When Noah and his family finally emerge from the ark, God promises that there will be no more floods like that and presents the rainbow as a sign of the covenant. Sometime after Noah’s death, the people all speak the same language, which enables them to build a tower. To prevent future projects, God confounds the people’s speech and scatters them across the world. A genealogical list then introduces us to Abram.
Aliyah by Aliyah Summary
1st Aliyah: Genesis 6:9-22
Noah is righteous and has three sons, Shem, Ham, and Yaphet. When God sees how corrupt and full of violence the earth is, God tells Noah that it will be destroyed and instructs him to build an ark, taking two of every kind of animal onboard. Noah does as God commands.
2nd Aliyah: Genesis 7:1-16
God tells Noah to go into the ark with his family and seven pairs of every pure animal and a pair for every animal and bird that is impure. He has one week until the flood begins. Noah is 600 years old when God brings the flood for forty days and forty nights.
3rd Aliyah: Genesis 7:17-8:14
The waters rise to cover even the tallest mountains, and all that was on dry land dies. The water remains high for 150 days before God remembers Noah and the rest of those on the ark. God causes a wind to blow and the waters to recede.
Three months later, the tops of the mountains become visible, and forty days after that Noah sends out a raven, who repeatedly returns to the ark. Noah sends out a dove, but it returns because there is still water over all the earth. Noah sends out the dove again a week later, and it returns with an olive leaf. Seven days later, Noah sends the dove again, and this time, it doesn’t return to the ark.
4th Aliyah: Genesis 8:15-9:7
Noah exits the ark with his family and all the animals. He offers a sacrifice to God, and God promises never to destroy all living things again.
5th Aliyah: Genesis 9:8-17
God makes a covenant with Noah and all of his current and future offspring, promising that there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth. As a sign of this promise, God sets a rainbow in the sky.
6th Aliyah: Genesis 9:18-10:32
Noah plants a vineyard and becomes drunk on wine. Ham sees his naked, drunken father and tells his brothers, who cover him up. Noah curses Ham and blesses his brothers when he learns about this incident. Noah lives for 350 years after the flood, and dies at 950 years old. The descendants of each of Noah’s sons are listed.
7th Aliyah: Genesis 11:1-32
The people all speak the same language, and together, they decide to make bricks and build a city with a tower, later known as the Tower of Babel. God sees the tower and worries what else they might do. God decides to confuse their speech and scatter them across the earth.
A list of Shem’s descendants appears with the ages at which they had children followed by how many years each lived, and concludes with the introduction of Abram, Terah’s son. (Maftir: Genesis 11:29-32) Abram’s wife is Sarai, and she is barren. Terah takes his family from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan, and they settle in Haran, where Terah dies at age 205.
Triennial Breakdown
Note: For more information about the tradition of spreading the TorahRefers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, also called the Five Books of Moses, Pentateuch or the Hebrew equivalent, Humash. This is also called the Written Torah. The term may also refer to teachings that expound on Jewish tradition. Read more readings over a 3-year cycle see here.
| Aliyah | Year 1: 6:9-8:14 | Year 2: 8:13-10:32 | Year 3: 11:1-11:32 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:9-6:16 | 8:15-8:22 | 11:1-11:4 |
| 2 | 6:17-6:19 | 9:1-9:7 | 11:5-11:9 |
| 3 | 6:20-6:22 | 9:8-9:17 | 11:10-11:13 |
| 4 | 7:1-7:9 | 9:18-9:29 | 11:14-11:17 |
| 5 | 7:10-7:16 | 10:1-10:14 | 11:18-11:21 |
| 6 | 7:17-7:24 | 10:15-1020 | 11:22-11:25 |
| 7 | 8:1-8:14 | 10:21-10:32 | 11:26-11:32 |
| Maftir | 8:12-8:14 | 10:26-10:32 | 11:29-11:32 |
Triennial Summaries
Year 1: See Aliyot 1-3
Year 2: See Aliyot 4-6
Year 3: See Aliyah 7
Haftarah Summary
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-55:5 (Ashkenazim) or Isaiah 54:1-10 (S’fardim)
The infertile will have children and the community will expand. Even though God hid from us for a bit, God will take us back with love. God remembers the covenant with Noah and makes a covenant now to be a loyal friend. God will protect us and make sure we are well fed.
See our Haftarah breakdown here.
