Midrash su Salmi 88:6

Thereupon Noah cursed his seed, saying: Cursed be Canaan (Gen. 9:25). Because Ham had glanced at his naked father, his eyes became red. Because he related (what he had seen) to others with his mouth, his lips became twisted. Because he turned his face away (ignored his father’s condition), the hair of his head and beard was singed. And because he neglected to cover his naked father, he went about naked, with his prepuce extended. This happened to him because the Holy One, blessed be He, exacts retribution measure for measure. Nevertheless, the Holy One, blessed be He, relented and had mercy upon him, for His tender mercies are over all His works (Ps. 145:9). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Inasmuch as he caused himself to be sold into slavery,²⁰His penalty for his actions: A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers (Gen. 9:25). let him go free because of the eye that sees and the mouth that speaks. Hence, the law states: A slave must be freed because of the loss of a tooth or an eye, as it is written: And if a man smite the eye of his bondman, or the eye of his bondwoman, and destroy it, he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake. And if he smite out his bondman’s tooth, or his bondwoman’s tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake (Exod. 21:26–27). May we not logically conclude a fortiori:²¹That is, kal va-homer (a conclusion drawn from a minor to a major), one of the hermeneutical rules for expounding the Written Law. If a servant, purchased with money, must be released from bondage if his master blinds him or knocks out his tooth, should not the seed blessed of the Lord (Isa. 65:23), the planting of the Lord that He might be glorified (Ps. 61:3), be freed after their deaths from their sins? Hence, free among the dead (Ps. 88:6), indicating that they should go free (from sin) with all their two hundred and forty-eight limbs.

We are taught that Rabban Simon b. Gamaliel said: "For a baby, one day old, if it still have life, it is allowed to violate the Sabbath if necessary, for the Torah said, 'You may profane one Sabbath on his behalf, in order that he may be preserved to keep many Sabbaths.' No one is however allowed to profane the Sabbath for the sake of David, the King of Israel, if dead; for as soon as a man dies, he is freed from the commandments." This is in accordance with the saying of R. Jochanan: "It is written (Ps. 88, 6) Free among the dead, i.e., as soon as a man is dead, he is free from all commandments." Again it was taught that R. Simon b. Elazar said: "A live baby, even but one day old, need not be watched for fear of an attack by a cat or a mouse; but Og, the King of Bashan [although the largest man in the world] if dead, must be watched for fear of an attack by a cat or a mouse, for it is said (Gen. 9, 2.) And the fear of you and the dread of you. shall be, i.e., as long as a man (shall be) his fear will be thrown upon the beasts, but when dead, the fear of him ceases." R. Papa said: "We have a tradition that a lion does not attack two men." But we see that he does do so? Rami b. Chama said: "A beast cannot succeed in destroying a man unless the man looks like a beast, for it is said (Ps. 49, 21.) Nevertheless man in (his) splendor endureth not; he is like the beasts (that) perish."

And he called his name Noach - Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish dispute. Rabbi Yochanan said: "The midrash is not the name, and the name is not the midrash. Rather, the verse only needed to say "Noach, this one will comfort us", or "Nachman , this one will comfort us". Rather, in the hour that the Holy One created Adam HaRishon (the First Human), He made him rule over all, the cow would listen to the plowman and the furrow would listen to the plowman. Since Adam sinned they rebelled against him, the cow would not listen to the plowman and the furrow would not listen to the plowman. When Noach stood/was established, they rested (nachu). And from where do we have this? Here we have the expression of rest (nichah), and there we have the expression of rest: "so that your ox and your donkey will rest (yanuach)" (Ex. 23:12). Just as in that case the expression has to do with the ox resting, so too here. Rabbi Shimeon Ben Lakish said: "The midrash is not the name, and the name is not the midrash. Rather, the verse only needed to say "Noach, this one will comfort us", or "Nachman, this one will comfort us". Rather, until the moment Noach stood the waters would not cease to come up and flood them inside their graves. Twice, as it is written: "Who summons the waters of the sea [and pours them out upon the earth— His name is Ad-nai!]" (Amos 5:8) this is regarding the two times [per day] that the waters come up and flood them inside their graves, once in Shacharit (morning) and once in Arvit (night), since it is written: "[abandoned among the dead,] like corpses lying in the grave [of whom You are mindful no more], and who are cut off from Your care." Their "bodies lying in the grave" were "abandoned corpses" - and when Noach stood up, they found rest. Here we have the expression of rest (nichah), and there we have the expression of rest: "Yet they shall come to peace, they shall have rest on their resting place, [the ones who walked straightforward]." (Isaiah 57:2). Just as in that case the expression has to do with the resting in the grave, so too here. Rabbi Eliezer said: Noach was named after his sacrifice (korban) as it is written: "And Ad-nai smelled the pleasing [hanichoach] odor" (Gen. 8:21). Rabbi Yosi bar Rabbi Chanina said: He was named after the resting of the ark, as it says "and the ark rested [tanach]" (Gen. 8:4). Rabbi Yochanan said: the celestial spheres did not move that entire twelve months. Rabbi Yonatan said to him: they did move, but their movements were not marked. "(So long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night) shall not cease" (Gen 8:22) - Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbu Yehoshua dispute. Rabbi Eliezer said: shall not cease, from here [we infer] that they did not cease. And Rabbi Yehoshua: shall not cease, from here [we infer] that they did cease.