“Make for yourself an ark (tevah) of gofer wood; make it with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.” (Bereishit 6:14–16)
The tevah—Noach’s Ark—is not only a physical vessel of survival. It is also a spiritual blueprint for how a Jew can survive the floodwaters of a turbulent world.
The Hebrew word tevah (תֵּבָה) also means “word.” (Baal Shem Tov) Thus, “Make for yourself a tevah” can be read:
“Construct for yourself words — words that will carry you through.”
According to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, Kedushat Levi, the tevah symbolizes the power of speech sanctified to Heaven. Just as Noach built a physical ark to shield life from chaos, we build our own “arks of words” — holy speech, prayer, Torah, and kindness — that preserve the soul amid the storms of spiritual confusion.
Measuring Our Words: Height, Width, and Length
The Torah gives the precise measurements of the ark — and in those numbers, the Kedushat Levi sees a map for measured, mindful speech.
• Height (30 cubits): Before speaking, one should raise one’s thoughts upward — “considering the greatness and loftiness of the Creator.” Speech should not descend from ego or anger but ascend from awe and reverence.
• Width (50 cubits): Width represents balance — between the two wings of Divine service: ahavah (love of G-d) and yirah (awe of G-d).(Zohar I 11b; Tanya ch. 41) Every word must spread across both — loving yet disciplined, expansive yet bounded.
• Length (300 cubits): Length alludes to the flow of blessing that extends into the world when words are pure and guarded. Holy speech opens channels of shefa (Divine abundance). When one’s tevah (word) is crafted for Heaven, the world is lengthened with life.
“From measured words come immeasurable blessings.”
The Berditchever concludes: when one constructs the tevah of prayer — the ark of sacred words — one should fill it with kavanah (intention), reverence, and joy. The ark of the mouth becomes the dwelling place of the Divine Presence. (Ba’al Shem Tov, Tzava’at HaRivash, 7)
The Sparkling Jewel: Light Within the Word
The Torah commands Noach:
“Make a tzohar (window or light) for the ark.” (6:16)
Chazal debate what tzohar means. Rashi, quoting the Midrash, offers two explanations:
A skylight — to let in light from the heavens.
A precious gem that shone from within, illuminating the darkness. (Rashi on Bereishit 6:16; Bereishit Rabbah 31:11)Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk (Noam Elimelech) interprets this spiritually: every word (teva) we speak must itself become a tzohar — a sparkling jewel that brings light to the darkness of exile.
When our words are imbued with holiness, they do not merely express thought — they generate light, pushing away the gloom of despair, confusion, and impurity.
“Each tevah (word) of prayer,” he says, “should shine like a tzohar in the ark — a jewel glowing in the storm.”
The Opening on the Side — A Portal of Blessing
The verse continues:
“Place the opening of the ark on its side.” (6:16)
Rabbi Shlomo of Radomsk (Tiferet Shlomo) explains that the “opening” symbolizes the channel through which Divine bounty enters the world. But the Torah instructs that it be placed “on the side” — teaching that material blessing should never be our central pursuit.
Our focus should remain on spiritual purpose, Torah, and prayer — the service of the heart. When we align our priorities this way, physical sustenance and success flow naturally “from the side.”
Thus, the tevah becomes the secret of true parnassah: when we make our words and prayers a sanctuary for G-d, blessing finds its own path into our lives.
Inside and Out: Sealing the Ark
Hashem commanded Noach to cover the ark “inside and out with pitch.” (6:14)
The Ba’al Shem Tov and his disciples saw in this a symbol for guarding both inner and outer speech — the words we speak aloud and the words we whisper in thought.
The ark — and the mouth — must be sealed from both sides:
➺ From the outside, against gossip, anger, and falsehood.
➺ From the inside, against cynical thoughts, self-doubt, and despair.
A sealed ark floats above the flood. A guarded mouth rises above the chaos of the world.
“Who is the person who desires life? Guard your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.” (Tehillim 34:13–14)
The Ark of Speech — Our Refuge in the Flood
Each generation faces its own mabul — waves of distraction, impurity, and confusion that threaten to drown holiness. Yet Hashem gives us the same command He gave Noach:
“Make for yourself a tevah.”
Build an ark of words. Construct speech that shelters life. Fill it with tefillah, Torah, and kindness — words that sustain, heal, and uplift.
Every sacred word is a beam of light in the storm, every prayer a plank of redemption.
And when we fill our tevah with sincerity and joy, Hashem fills our world with blessing.
Noach’s ark was a vessel that saved a world. Our words can do the same.
Each time we pray with kavanah, bless another with kindness, or speak truth and encouragement, we build an ark of light that shelters souls from the floodwaters of exile.
“Let your words be windows, not walls — for in every holy tevah, the Shechinah dwells.”
♡♡♡
(based on Torah: Midrash, Chazal, Kabbalah and Classical Mefarshim)
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