This parashat (Genesis 6:9–11:32) begins with the story of Noach, a man described as "righteous and blameless in his generation." G-d sees that the earth is filled with violence and corruption and tells Noach, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence... behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth” (Genesis 6:13). G-d selects Noach because of his righteousness and commands him to build a Teivah (ark) to preserve life. Noach gathers pairs of every unclean animal and seven pairs of every clean animal into the Teivah (ark) (Genesis 6:19–20, 7:2). G-d then sends rain upon the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, flooding the entire world. The waters prevail for 150 days, covering even the highest mountains (Genesis 7:12, 7:24).

Afterward, G-d remembers Noach and all those in the Teivah (ark), sending a wind to cause the waters to recede. Eventually, the land dries, and on the 27th day of Cheshvan, the second month, G-d tells Noach to leave the Teivah (ark) with his family and all the animals, so that they may “be fruitful and multiply on the earth” (Genesis 8:1, 8:14–17). Once they exit, Noach builds an altar to the L-rd and offers burnt offerings from every clean animal. G-d finds the aroma pleasing and declares, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. Never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done” (Genesis 8:20–21). G-d then blesses Noach and his sons, commanding them to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” He establishes a covenant with Noach, his descendants, and all living creatures, promising never to flood the earth again. The rainbow is given as a sign of this covenant, a reminder of His promise (Genesis 9:1, 9:11–17).

The parasha closes with the story of the Tower of Babel. At this time, all people speak one language, and in their unity, they decide to build a city with a tower reaching to the heavens. Observing their efforts, G-d says, “Nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” and confuses their language, scattering them across the earth, halting their project (Genesis 11:1–9). This scattering results in the formation of diverse languages and nations.