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The Dove at Evening: Livelihood and Endless Teshuvah

The dove came back to Noach “at evening time,” with a plucked olive leaf in its mouth. Why does the Torah note the hour, and the leaf? And when, seven days later, the dove did not return again, what could that teach about a person’s teshuvah?

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Bereishis 8:10–11
וַיָּחֶל עוֹד שִׁבְעַת יָמִים אֲחֵרִים וַיֹּסֶף שַׁלַּח אֶת־הַיּוֹנָה מִן־הַתֵּבָה וַתָּבֹא אֵלָיו הַיּוֹנָה לְעֵת עֶרֶב וְהִנֵּה עֲלֵה־זַיִת טָרָף בְּפִיהָ וַיֵּדַע נֹחַ כִּי־קַלּוּ הַמַּיִם מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ
He waited yet another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark. The dove came to him at evening time, and behold, a plucked olive leaf was in its mouth; and Noach knew that the waters had abated from the earth.
31a“And again he sent out … The dove came to him at evening time.” When it is evening time for the world, when people need compassion and livelihood, this tzaddik arouses compassion for them and brings before Hashem “an olive leaf”: a hint at the light called “oil,” which comes from the olive. “Plucked, taraf, in its mouth”: teref means livelihood, which he brings about for them through the prayer in his mouth. “And Noach knew that the waters had abated …”: “Noach knew” refers to Hashem [Who rests, nach, in His world], Who, as it were, set His own mind to separating the kelipah from the holiness.
וַיּוֹסֶף שַׁלַּח כו׳ וַתָּבֹא אֵלָיו הַיּוֹנָה לְעֵת עֶרֶב. פֵּירוּשׁ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהוּא עֵת עֶרֶב לְעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֵם צְרִיכִים לְרַחֲמִים וּלְפַרְנָסָה, אֲזַי הַצַּדִּיק הַזֶּה הוּא מְעוֹרֵר רַחֲמִים עֲלֵיהֶם וּמֵבִיא לִפְנֵי השי"ת "עֲלֵה זַיִת", רֶמֶז עַל הָאוֹר הַנִּקְרָא בְּשֵׁם 'שֶׁמֶן' הַבָּא מִזַּיִת, "טָרָף בְּפִיהָ", פֵּירוּשׁ 'טֶרֶף' הַיְינוּ פַּרְנָסָה, הוּא פּוֹעֵל לָהֶם ע"י תְּפִילָּתוֹ שֶׁבְּפִיהוּ, "וַיֵּדַע נֹחַ כִּי קַלּוּ הַמַּיִם כו׳", פֵּירוּשׁ 'וַיֵּדַע נֹחַ' קָאֵי עַל הש"י שֶׁהָיָה נוֹתֵן דַּעְתּוֹ כִּבְיָכוֹל בְּעַצְמוֹ לְהַפְרִיד הַקְּלִיפָּה מֵהַקְּדוּשָּׁה וְכוּ׳,
In shortAt the world's evening the dove-tzaddik arouses compassion and, through the prayer in his mouth, brings light and livelihood, while Hashem Himself separates the kelipah from holiness.
31b“He waited yet another seven days … and it did not return to him again,” velo yasfah shuv elav od.1 Here yasfah, “again,” is read as in “a great voice, velo yasaf,” which explains as “did not cease.”2 So there is yet another level among people: one who does not cease from teshuvah all his days. His deeds do not seem fit in his eyes; he finds faults in them, and he is always in teshuvah. This is “it did not yasfah”: he did not cease from the trait the verse names next, shuv elav od, “returning to Him again”; he is always a ba'al teshuvah.
"וַיָּחֶל עוֹד כו׳ וְלֹא יָסְפָה אֵלָיו כו׳", פֵּירוּשׁ מִלְּשׁוֹן 'קוֹל גָּדוֹל וְלֹא יָסַף' שֶׁפֵּירֵשׁ רש"י 'לֹא פָּסַק', וְהַיְינוּ שֶׁיֵּשׁ עוֹד מַדְרֵיגָה בִּבְנֵי אָדָם שֶׁאֵינוֹ פּוֹסֵק מִתְּשׁוּבָה כָּל יָמָיו, כִּי מַעֲשָׂיו אֵינָם מוּכְשָׁרִים בְּעֵינָיו וּמוֹצֵא בָּהֶם חֶסְרוֹנוֹת וְהוּא תָּמִיד בִּתְשׁוּבָה, וְזֶהוּ "וְלֹא יָסְפָה" פֵּירוּשׁ לֹא פָּסַק מִמִּידַּת "שׁוּב אֵלָיו עוֹד", רַק תָּמִיד הוּא בַּעַל תְּשׁוּבָה.
  1. Bereishis 8:12: “He waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, and it did not return to him again.” ↩
  2. Devarim 5:19; Rashi there, citing the Targum, “ולא פסיק,” “and did not cease.” ↩
In shortRead as “did not cease,” velo yasfah points to a further level: one who never stops returning to Hashem, for his deeds always seem lacking to him.
The maamar as a whole

R’ Elimelech reads the dove’s return as the work of the tzaddik. When it is “evening time” for the world and people need compassion and livelihood, he arouses compassion for them and brings before Hashem “an olive leaf,” the light called oil, which comes from the olive; taraf, “plucked,” speaks of teref, livelihood, which he brings about through the prayer in his mouth. “Noach knew” refers to Hashem, Who Himself, as it were, set His mind to separating the kelipah from the holiness. Then the dove that “did not return again” points to a further level: velo yasfah, read with Rashi as “did not cease,” is one who never ceases from teshuvah all his days, for his deeds never seem fit in his eyes.

Takeaway

When evening comes for the world and people need compassion and livelihood, the tzaddik's prayer brings them light and sustenance. And R' Elimelech points to a level beyond it: never ceasing from teshuvah, because one's deeds always seem lacking, and so returning to Hashem again and again.

Related learning

Sources he cites

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Tzaddikim he names

Rashi

Translated with AI assistance. Sources and summaries were checked by a separate AI review; not yet reviewed by a human editor.

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