It is only in verse 10 that the biological sons of Noah are mentioned. It would seem to be more logical had verse 9 said: “These are the offspring of Noah—Shem Ham and Japeth” You would think that immediately after it says “These are the offspring of Noah” it would list his offspring!

The Torah is sharing us an important message. While we have hopes and dreams for our children, at the end of the day they will make their own choices. We teach them, we pray for them, but they will decide how they will live their lives. They may be our biological offspring; but at the end of the day we exert no control over them.

But there is another type of offspring. Namely everything that you do in this world—all the decisions you make, the choices that you make, how you spend your time etc. The sum total of your life can be called your offspring because you gave birth to it.

In addition to his children, Noah’s offspring was his righteousness.

Let’s start to think about our offspring in a new way. Can you think of some examples of this type of offspring in your life?