The storm finally ends in this week’s parsha and Noach waits for the waters to recede. He sends the raven to check if the land is dry, but it refuses to fly away from the ark. Noach then sends the dove.
בראשית:ח, ט: לֹא מָצְאָה הַיּוֹנָה מָנוֹחַ לְכַף רַגְלָהּ
The dove did not find a resting place for the sole of its foot.
In the rebuke of Parhat Ki Tetze, this image reappears; the dove is a metaphor for the Jews in exile. Hashem will scatter them among the nations,
דברים:כח: סה: וּבַגּוֹיִ֤ם הָהֵם֙ לֹ֣א תַרְגִּ֔יעַ וְלֹא־יִהְיֶ֥ה מָנ֖וֹחַ לְכַף־רַגְלֶ֑ךָ
And among those nations, you will not be calm, nor will the sole of your foot find a resting place.
Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi transforms this imagery into the positive, in the chorus of his zemer for Shabbat: יונה מצא מנוח / The dove found a resting place
In this song, the dove finds three resting “places” - the day of Shabbat (a location in time rather than in geography ), Mount Sinai where the Jews united to accept the Torah, and finally:
The nation that wandered and strayed like sheep הָעָם אֲשֶׁר נָע וְכַצֹּאן תָּעָה
He will remember to designate it with a covenant & oath יִזְכֹּר לְפָקְדוֹ בְּרִית וּשְׁבוּעָה
So that no bad event happens to it לְבַל יַעֲבָר בּוֹ מִקְרֶה רָעָה
As he swore on the waters of Noah כַּאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע עַל מֵי נֹח
The days of the Messiah will bring with them the ultimate form of rest for the nation, secured by a new covenant of Divine protection.. The prophet, Yeshaayahu, compares this covenant to the one that Hashem made with Noach after the flood.
... ישעיהו: נד,ט: כי מי נח זאת לי
Because this is for me as the waters of Noah...
What do these three “resting places” have in common? They enable the Jewish nation to achieve a mindset of מנוחה. This restfulness of spirit frees them to appreciate the Divine Revelation, whether it manifests itself through the splendor of the Creation, the Covenant at Sinai, or the era of Moshiach.
יַכִּירוּ בָּנֶיךָ וְיֵדְעוּ כִּי מֵאִתְּךָ הִיא מְנוּחָתָם וְעַל מְנוּחָתָם יַקְדִּישׁוּ אֶת שְׁמֶךָ
Your children will realize and know that from You does their rest come,
And through their rest, they will sanctify Your name
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