On what sort of mission did Noach send the raven?
Seforno: Noach wanted to find out whether the air was bearable so soon after the Flood.
Ohr ha'Chayim and Mizrachi: Noach expelled the raven from the Ark because it broke the rules and indulged in marital relations during the year of the Flood.
Why did the raven fly around and around the Ark, instead of carrying out the mission on which Noach sent it?
Rashi: Because it suspected Noach of having an eye on its mate. 1
Seforno: It found the air unbearable.
Having itself been unable to restrain itself from having relations with its mate, it now suspected Noach of a similar sort of sin, in keeping with the tenet, "whoever accuses others of sinning, accuses them of doing that of which he himself is guilty."
It is unclear what the Torah means when it adds, "until the water dried up from the land."
Rashi: It is referring to an event in the future involving Eliyahu ha'Navi, to whom the ravens brought supplies from the kitchens of Achav, when he was hiding from him in a cave. 1
See also Ba'al ha'Turim.
Why did Noach send the raven, and not a different bird?
Moshav Zekenim, Riva: He thought, "perhaps water still covers the land and there is no food." HaSh-m feeds ravens more than others, as in the verse, "li'Vnei Orev Asher Yikra'u" (Tehilim 147:9).
Riva: Ravens eat Neveilos. If it would bring back a Neveilah, Noach would know that the water had subsided. 1
All the animals died a long time ago! Perhaps the water preserved Neveilos, and they did not rot. If not, what would all the carnivorous animals eat after leaving the Ark?! (PF)
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "'Leaving and returning' - the raven repeatedly circled the Ark [and did not fulfill its mission]." How is this derived?
Gur Aryeh: If it returned after fulfilling its mission, why would it leave the Ark again? It is also unlikely that it would make a partial effort and travel only a short distance, only to return. Rather, it must have merely circled the Ark; so that even its departure was part of its return trip.
Rashi writes: "The raven suspected Noach of desiring to take its mate." The Gemara (Sanhedrin 108b) adds, "Noach responded, 'Wicked one! That which is permitted (i.e. my own wife) has been forbidden to me [during the Flood]; that which is forbidden, how much more so!'" How can an animal be called wicked? Why in fact did the raven react in this way?
Gur Aryeh: It is generally the nature of birds to be loyal to and protective of their mate. However during the Flood, HaSh-m altered the nature even of the animals, so that they would not procreate on the Ark. By demonstrating its suspicion of Noach, the raven showed its base character, revealing its own relationship with its mate even at this inappropriate time. The raven was one of three that was intimate with its mate on the Ark 1 (Sanhedrin ibid).
Maharal (Chidushei Agados Vol. 3, p. 258, to Sanhedrin 108b) explains that most animals naturally followed the general order of existence at that time; the world was in a state of chaos and destruction, and it was not a time to engage in procreation. The raven stands apart from other animals, as is evident from its trait of cruelty even towards its own children. It therefore was not affected by the prevailing order that affected the other animals; that is why Noach called it wicked.
Rashi writes: "The raven suspected Noach of desiring to take its mate." What caused the raven to think this?
Maharal (Chidushei Agados Vol. 3, p. 257, to Sanhedrin 108b): According to the Gemara, the raven argued that Noach should take one of the Kosher birds, of which there were seven pairs, whereas he was the only male raven; if he would not return, the species would be lost. Maharal adds that the raven did not literally verbalize this; rather, this is what it demonstrated through its actions. 1
Maharal adds that although the raven is not a thinking being, HaSh-m gave animals the instinct of self-preservation.
Rashi writes: "The raven suspected Noach of desiring to take its mate." How could such a preposterous notion be explained?
Maharal #1 (Chidushei Agados Vol. 3, p. 257, to Sanhedrin 108b): Because the raven desired its mate, he imagined that others desired her as well. Refer to 8:7:2.2:1.
Maharal #2 (ibid. p. 258): Conceptually, a male represents Tzurah (form, purpose, actualization), and a female represents Chomer (raw material, potential). 1 So too, in Creation as a whole, mankind is the Tzurah to actualize the Chomer of the world. Since existence during the Flood was within the Ark only, 2 the moment that the one male raven left the Ark, its mate would be Chomer without a Tzurah. By default, it would bond with man, and man would serve as its Tzurah. 3 Noach responded that were it not for the raven's base nature, it would not have thought of such matters at all. The Flood was not an appropriate time for actualization, as represented by the prohibition regarding procreation, and certainly not in a forbidden form.
See Maharal (Be'er ha'Golah, Be'er 5, p. 95) (EK). Also refer to 17:1:4.1:1.
Refer to 6:16:1.2:1*:.
Refer to 2:23:1.1:1.
Rashi writes: "The raven was awaiting a future mission...." Why was the raven in fact willing to fulfill its mission in the days of Eliyahu?
Gur Aryeh: The raven is cruel by nature. It was unwilling to inform Noach if the time to rebuild the world had arrived, yet only too willing to provide Eliyahu with food during a famine, so that the suffering of the rest of the land could continue.
