בראשית, פרק ז׳, פסוק י״א

A precise date marks the exact moment the ordered world returned to a state of primordial chaos, with the upper and lower waters violently mixing together. This careful recording of time emphasizes that the flood was not a random natural disaster or a cosmic accident. Instead, it was a direct, intentional decree by God, executed exactly at the end of the one hundred and twenty years He provided for humanity to repent [מלבי״ם, ביאור יש״ר]. The timeline is notably anchored to the life of Noah. Some explain that since Noah was the head of a new humanity, the years were counted according to his life, much like the reign of a king [קאסוטו]. Conversely, others suggest that the year of the flood was actually excluded from the regular count of his years. Because he endured such immense sorrow and hardship during this period, it was not considered a part of his true life [צרור המור, ברכת אשר]. Identifying this specific month creates a fundamental discussion among scholars. The primary approach among commentators presents two views: one suggests it was the month of Marcheshvan, counting from the world's creation in Tishrei, while the other argues it was Iyar, based on the idea that months are always counted from Nisan [רש״י, רד״ק, מזרחי, גור אריה].

The destruction arrived on two distinct fronts. The earth did not simply crack; the underground springs underwent a massive expansion to allow unimaginable amounts of water to burst outward [רש״י, מזרחי, שפתי חכמים]. Subterranean waters that had been stored deep within the earth since the days of creation surged upward. Some describe these as boiling waters forced to the surface by deep volcanic shocks [מלבי״ם, ביאור יש״ר]. This vast underground reservoir is referred to as a great deep, a term that mirrors the exact measure of humanity's guilt. Because the people sinned with great evil, they were met with a proportionally great deep [רש״י, גור אריה, משכיל לדוד].

At the same time, the sky opened above. The imagery of windows in the sky acts as a poetic metaphor for the sheer abundance of water that rained down, as if giant openings in a roof allowed a flood to pour through all at once [שד״ל, הכתב והקבלה, ביאור יש״ר, רש ר הירש]. There is a deliberate sequence to this event. Initially, fierce rains fell from above to soften the earth, and only afterward did the subterranean springs burst forth from below [רד״ק].

The order in which these elements are presented carries deep significance. The lower waters of the earth are mentioned before the upper waters of the sky. When describing a blessing, the sky is always mentioned before the earth, but here, in a moment of disaster and curse, the order is reversed. Furthermore, God's explicit name is completely absent from this description of ruin. It is customary to distance His name from direct accounts of destruction, reserving it instead for acts of salvation and mercy [רבנו בחיי]. Ultimately, the unnatural combination of these two opposing forces, earthquakes splitting the depths from below and endless torrential rain from above, illustrates the absolute severity of the divine anger that wiped out the universe [מלבי״ם, הכתב והקבלה].