Rosh Hashanah 12A

ומתוך ששינו מעשיהם, שינה הקדוש ברוך הוא עליהם מעשה בראשית, והעלה מזל כימה ביום, ונטל שני כוכבים והביא מבול לעולם.

But because the people changed their actions for the worse, God changed for them the acts of Creation and He caused the constellation of Kima to rise during the day, and He removed two stars from it and He brought a flood to the world.

בשלמא לרבי יהושע, היינו דכתיב: ״שני״. אלא לרבי אליעזר, מאי ״שני״? שני לדין.

The Talmud asks: Granted, according to R' Yehoshua, who holds that the Flood began in the month of Iyyar, this is as it is written: “In the 2nd month,” which is referring to the month of Iyyar, the 2nd month from Nisan. But according to R' Eliezer, who holds that the Flood began in the month of Marḥeshvan, what is the meaning of “the 2nd month”? The Talmud answers: It means second to the month that includes the day of judgment, which is the month of Tishrei.

בשלמא לרבי יהושע, היינו דשינה. אלא לרבי אליעזר, מאי שינה?

The Talmud asks further: Granted, according to R' Yehoshua, who holds that the Flood began in the month of Iyyar, this is what it means that He changed the acts of Creation with a flood, as rain does not usually fall in Iyyar. But according to R' Eliezer, who holds that the Flood began in Marḥeshvan, what did He change?

כדרב חסדא. דאמר רב חסדא: ברותחין קלקלו וברותחין נידונו. ברותחין קלקלו ⁠— בעבירה, וברותחין נידונו ⁠— כתיב הכא: ״וישכו המים״, וכתיב התם: ״וחמת המלך שככה״.

The Talmud answers: Even according to R' Eliezer a change was made, in accordance with the statement of Rav Ḥisda, as Rav Ḥisda said: They sinned with boiling heat, and they were punished with boiling heat; they sinned with the boiling heat of the sin of forbidden sex, and they were punished with the boiling heat of scalding waters. This is derived from a verbal analogy. It is written here, with regard to the Flood: “And the waters abated” (Genesis 8:1), and it is written elsewhere, with regard to King Ahasuerus: “And the heated anger of the king abated” (Esther 7:10), which implies that the word “abated” means cooled. This indicates that at first the waters of the Flood had been scalding hot.