Midrash

Our parashah begins in Hebrew with the phrase: 

אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ--נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק

"These are the offspring of Noach: Noach was a righteous man."

When we read and study the Bible, there are (or should be) many questions that present themselves as we work our way through the biblical narratives. When we read the Scriptures from a perspective that seeks to fully understand both the meaning and the implication of the Scriptures, questions should automatically begin formulating in our minds — as if we had never before read this account. If we don’t have questions, however, then we have lost interest in the biblical text and have settled for easy answers.