Sources explore windows and openings throughout the Hebrew Bible, from Noah's ark to the Temple, examining both their practical function and spiritual symbolism. Commentators discuss the construction, purpose, and interpretive dimensions of these architectural features.
וַיִּפְתַּח נֹחַ אֶת־חַלּוֹן הַתֵּבָה
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What the sources say
The Torah's first mention of an opening for light appears in the instructions for the ark, where Bereishit 6:16 commands Noah to make a *tzohar* — rendered as 'an opening for daylight' — and to terminate it within a cubit of the top, while placing the entrance in the ark's side.
Rashi (Bereishit 6:16) preserves a fundamental dispute about the nature of this *tzohar*: some hold it was a window, while others maintain it was a precious stone that provided light inside the ark — a machlokes that touches on whether 'window' even applies to the ark at all.
By the time Bereishit 8:6 is reached, the text uses the unambiguous word *challon* — 'window' — when Noah opens it after forty days to send out the raven, suggesting that whatever the *tzohar* was, the *challon* is a distinct and clearly defined opening.
The concept of the window extends beyond the narrative into the Temple and into homiletical literature: the Ralbag (I Melachim 6:4) explains that the Temple's latticed windows were wide on the outside and narrow on the inside — an arrangement the Sages read as a statement that the Temple required no outside light — and Maamar HaGeulah, Chapter 3 6:2 reads the image of 'gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices' as an allusion to the divine presence that glimpses through the breaches toward Israel's redemption.
בראשית ח׳:ו׳
Genesis 8:6
Noah opens the window of the ark after the flood, showing the window as a point of observation and transition between the enclosed ark and the outside world.
וַיְהִ֕י מִקֵּ֖ץ אַרְבָּעִ֣ים י֑וֹם וַיִּפְתַּ֣ח נֹ֔חַ אֶת־חַלּ֥וֹן הַתֵּבָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃
At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made
בראשית ו׳:ט״ז
Genesis 6:16
Noah is commanded to make a window ("tzohar") in the ark, a foundational Torah mention of a window/opening that lets in light and distinguishes inside from outside.
צֹ֣הַר ׀ תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה לַתֵּבָ֗ה וְאֶל־אַמָּה֙ תְּכַלֶּ֣נָּה מִלְמַ֔עְלָה וּפֶ֥תַח הַתֵּבָ֖ה בְּצִדָּ֣הּ תָּשִׂ֑ים תַּחְתִּיִּ֛ם שְׁנִיִּ֥ם וּשְׁלִשִׁ֖ים תַּֽעֲשֶֽׂהָ׃
Make an opening for daylight in the ark, and terminate it within a cubit of the top. Put the entrance to the ark in its side; make it with bottom, second, and third decks.
שבת י״א א — ד"ה מַתְנִי׳ לֹא יֵצֵא הַחַיָּיט בְּמַחֲטוֹ סָמוּךְ
Shabbat 11a:10
The sugya discusses windows and openings in the context of placing a lamp near a window and the practical visibility/light issues of Shabbat observance.
מַתְנִי׳ לֹא יֵצֵא הַחַיָּיט בְּמַחֲטוֹ סָמוּךְ לַחֲשֵׁכָה, שֶׁמָּא יִשְׁכַּח וְיֵצֵא. וְלֹא הַלַּבְלָר בְּקוּלְמוֹסוֹ. וְלֹא יְפַלֶּה אֶת כֵּלָיו, וְלֹא יִקְרָא לְאוֹר הַנֵּר. בֶּאֱמֶת אָמְרוּ, הַחַזָּן רוֹאֶה הֵיכָן תִּינוֹקוֹת קוֹרְאִין, אֲבָל הוּא לֹא יִקְרָא. כַּיּוֹצֵא בוֹ: לֹא יֹאכַל הַזָּב עִם הַזָּבָה, מִפְּנֵי הֶרְגֵּל עֲבֵירָה.
MISHNA: This mishna deals with various decrees, especially with regard to the halakhot of Shabbat, which were issued in order to distance a person from transgressions that he is liable to commit through habit and routine. The mishna said: The tailor may not go out with his needle adjacent to nightfall on Shabbat eve, lest he forget that he is carrying the needle and go out with it to the public domain even after Shabbat begins. And, similarly, the scribe [lavlar] may not go out with his quill[kulmos] for the same reason. And one may not shake his clothes on Shabbat to rid them of lice; and one may not read a book by candlelight, so that he will not come to adjust the wick of the lamp. However, in truth they said an established halakha: The attendant sees where in the book the children under his supervision are reading in the Torah, even by candlelight on Shabbat. However, he himself may not read. Similarly, the Sages issued a similar decree with regard to other halakhot, as they said: The zav may not eat even with his wife the zava, despite the fact that they are both ritually impure, because, by eating together, they will come to excessive intimacy and become accustomed to sin.
רלב"ג על מלכים א ו׳:ד׳
Ralbag on I Kings 6:4
The passage describes windows in the Temple building that were wide on the outside and narrow on the inside, explaining through Chazal's interpretation that this design—whether understood literally or as homiletical teaching—allowed light to enter more abundantly due to the angled construction, and notes that given the building's thirty-cubit height and the lower ceiling at twenty cubits, the proportions created a threefold increase in length, width, and depth similar to the multiple coverings in the Mishkan.
ויעש לבית חלוני שקופים אטומים. פירשו רז"ל שהיו רחבים מבחוץ וצרים מבפנים להורות שאינו צריך לאורה אלא כי זה דרך דרש כי כבר התבאר במופתים הנדסיים כי מפני היות החלונות רחבות מבחוץ והולכות בשפוע ירבה יותר האור בבית כמו שנזכר אחר זה ולפי שקומת הבית היתה שלשים אמה כמו שקדם הנה יהיה אמרו ושדרות בארזי' רומז אל תקרה שנית היו בה קורות ארזים והנה היתה התקרה התחתונ' לעשרים אמה גובה כי בזה יהיה כפלו באורך וברוחב ובעומק וכמו שהיה במשכן שעשה משה כסוי יותר מאחד כן היה בזה הבנין:
recovered from “Or HaChaim on Genesis 6:16”
אור החיים על בראשית ו׳ — ד"ה וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים וְגוֹ׳ כִּי מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ
Or HaChaim on Genesis 6:13
The Ohr HaChaim offers a layered reading of the ark's window/opening, typically moving between literal detail and spiritual symbolism.
וְטַעַם הוֹדָעַת כָּל דָּבָר זֶה לְנֹחַ, הוּא לְצַוּוֹתוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת תֵּיבָה לִשְׁמִירַת קִיּוּם הַמִּין.
רש"י על בראשית ו׳:ט״ז
Rashi on Genesis 6:16
Rashi records the classic midrashic reading that the "tzohar" was a bright window or opening for light, a concise peshat/drash entry point to the Torah's window language.
צהר. יֵ"אֹ חַלּוֹן וְיֵ"אֹ אֶבֶן טוֹבָה הַמְּאִירָה לָהֶם (ב"ר שם):
צהר A LIGHT — Some say this was a window; others say that it was a precious stone that gave light to them (Genesis Rabbah 31:11).
מלבי"ם על שופטים ה׳:כ״ח
Malbim on Judges 5:28
A window and a lattice differ in their construction, with the lattice being an elaborate opening; in this context they refer to a magical or divinatory window through which Sisera's mother looked to divine his fate, initially perceiving through the window then through the lattice, during which she saw a vision of Sisera fallen, a woman striking his head with blood flowing, and slain warriors with reddened necks, explaining the verses' progression from her question "Why is his chariot delayed?" to her wailing "Why are his chariot wheels slow?
בעד החלון. יש הבדל בין חלון לאשנב, שהאשנב הוא מין חלון עשוי בחכמה, ובא פה על חלון הקסם שבו השקיפה אם סיסרא לקסום קסמים לדעת מה נעשה בו, רצה לומר תחלה נשקפה בעד החלון, ואח"כ ראתה באשנב ואז ותיבב בקול יבבא ויללה, והוא כמו שפי' העקרים, כי ראתה בחלון הקסם סיסרא שוכב ארצה, ואשה עומדת עליו הולמת ראשו ודם יורד מראשו, וכן ראתה הרוגים צואריהם מאדמים, ומפרש תחלה בעד החלון נשקפה מדוע בושש רכבו לבא, ואח"כ ותיבב בעד האשנב מדוע אחרו פעמי מרכבותיו.
Through the window. There is a difference between a “window” and a “lattice”: the lattice is an elaborately constructed opening. Here it refers to a magical or divinatory window through which Sisera’s mother sought omens to learn his fate. Initially she peered through the window; later she perceived through the lattice — and then she began to cry out in lamentation. According to this explanation, she saw in her vision Sisera fallen to the ground, a woman standing over him striking his head, blood flowing, and slain warriors with reddened necks. Hence the verse unfolds in stages: first she looks out the window asking, “Why is his chariot delayed?” and afterward she wails through the lattice, “Why are his chariot wheels slow?”
מאמר הגאולה, פרק ג׳ · פקידה ו׳:ב׳ — ד"ה והנה על אלה הבקיעות נאמר "משגיח
Maamar HaGeulah, Chapter 3 6:2
The passage interprets the verses about windows and openings as references to God's supervision and intervention on behalf of Israel's redemption, noting that the highest King sends His hand through openings rather than through doors that were not opened until that specific time.
והנה על אלה הבקיעות נאמר "משגיח מן החלונות מציץ מן החרכים". בהיות המלך העליון חפץ בגאולת ישראל אז נאמר "דודי שלח ידו מן החור" כי פתח – לא נפתח עד היום ההוא – רק דרך החורים הוא שולח את ידו.
Likkutei Sichos 5 Noach
The Rebbe's sichah on Noach develops the ark as a model of protected holiness while still engaging the outer world, making it relevant to the ark's window/opening motif.
Likutei Sichos is not freely available in text. This PDF surfaced in our research. Please use the feedback buttons below to help us improve.
קדושת לוי, בראשית, נח — ד"ה ופתח התיבה בצידה תשים
Kedushat Levi, Genesis, Noach:14
Kedushat Levi's Noach teaching is a natural place for the symbolism of the ark and its opening/window as a channel between concealment and revelation.
ופתח התיבה בצידה תשים (בראישת ו, טז). הכלל כשהצדיק מדבר דיבור אזי צריך לדבק עצמו במה שכלול בדיבור אם הדיבור הוא מיראה אז צריך לדבק עצמו ביראת השם וכן אם הדיבור הוא מאהבה צריך לדבק עצמו באהבת השם כי במדה שכלול ופתוח לו בהדיבור צריך לדבק עצמו. וזהו ופתח התיבה, לאיזה בחינה שהתיבה הוא הדיבור פתוח כנ"ל. בצידה תשים, צריך אתה לדבק בה:
Genesis 6,15. “and you are to place the entrance to the ark on its side.” When a righteous person uses the power of speech, he is expected to adapt a manner appropriate to the feelings in his heart at that time, i.e. whether it is an outpouring of his love for the Creator, or of his awe for Him, etc. This is why the Torah refers specifically to the position of “entrance” of the ark; [something that most of us reading the report after 3700 years could hardly be expected to be very interested in. We must therefore endeavour to find a mussar, ethical instruction, alluded to in every detail of the ark that the Torah provides. Ed.]