Flood, The

Noah’s dispatch of the dove from the ark: passive and active anticipation.

In the ark, Noah focused entirely on serving his Creator. After the great flood, G-d commanded Noah, “Go out from the Teivah—the ark.” He was commanded to leave this ideal environment and reenter the world.

The story does not say where the dove found the leaf, nor how this convinced Noah that it was safe to unseal the door of the vessel that had kept him and his family safe for an entire year.