Category: Beraishis Ch. 6

ויהי כי החל האדם לרב על פני האדמה ובנות ילדו להם. ויראו בני האלקים את בנות האדם כי טבת הנה ויקחו להם נשים מכל אשר בחרו. ויאמר השם לא ידון רוחי באדם לעלם בשגם הוא בשר והיו ימיו מאה ועשרים שנה

It came to pass when men began to multiple on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them. That the sons of men were good to look upon, and they took themselves wives from wherever they chose. And God said: My spirit within man will not remain the judge forever, since he is also flesh; therefore his days shall be 120 years.

—-

As explained earlier, the line of Kayin had given up on a relationship with God. The Kayinites created the world of invention, industry and culture. These aspirations, independent of God, created a world of despair. (see 4:17-24) The descendants of Shais had maintained traces of their spirituality. The Torah uses words that show the Shais line had much of the original grandeur of Adam. See 5:1-3 where the following words are used at the onset of this line: אדם, ברכה, צלם, דמות. At the outset of the Shais line, the Torah also states the equal stature of man and woman by writing זכר ונקבה בראם.

The godly spirit and hope for man’s return to its original state became at risk when בני האלקים, men from the Shais line, chose women from בנות האדם, from the Kayin line, because of their beauty. They chose them indiscriminately – מכל אשר בחרו. They didn’t consider how these women would influence the next generation. Devoid of godliness, the Kayin line was a straight path of descent. The Shais line, wavered back and forth, and godliness continued to reemerge. In the Shais line, there was still hope for man. But with the merging of these two lines in the families, the path of man’s return was no longer clear. Perhaps the worldview of Kayin would put an end to the worldview of Shais.

Man needs to use his free will to make good choices. The spirit of God within man is to be judge. But sensuality silences this spirit. לא ידון רוחי באדם לעלם בשגם הוא בשר. In the course of time, man may completely lose the battle and no longer care to make good choices. This is why the Torah emphasizes the laws of family purity and modesty. These laws are essential for keeping the spirit of God awake within man.

God saw that if this trend continued man would no longer be on course to return to a godly life. (Even so, man has free will and even in this situation, man has the capacity to still emerge godly. – GS) And so He granted the world 120 years to see what the outcome of this struggle would be.

Beraishis 6:1-3
pages 163-166

 

 

הנפלים היו בארץ בימים ההם וגם אחרי כן אשר יבאו בני האלקים אל בנות האדם וילדו להם המה הגברים אשר מעולם אנשי השם

The giants were on the earth in those days and also after that, when the sons of the godly line had already come to the daughters of men, who bore them children. These are the heroes from a distant past, the men of renown.

—

In the Kayinite line, in which the spiritual element had become extinct, physical development assumed gigantic dimensions. Had the interbreeding of the two lines succeeded, the spiritual element of the father would have overcome the physical element of the mother. Spiritual giants would have been produced.  The work of the spirit requires physical strength. (The physical would have served as a handmaiden to the spiritual. This is a concept that is discussed often. GS)

This did not happen. The union resulted in the physical subordinating the spiritual. The result was that even though these were the children of בני ,האלקים they were rebellious and sacrilegious.

(So that the verse reads… and even after that, when the sons of the godly line had already come to the daughters of men, [and hoped that their spiritual element would be passed on through their children] they bore them children. who were נפילים – predominantly physical… GS)

Beraishis 6:4
pages 166-167

 

 

 

וירא השם כי רבה רעת האדם בארץ וכל יצר מחשבת לבו רק רע כל היום

God saw that the evil of man was great on the earth and that every design of of the thoughts of his heart was nothing but evil every day.

—-

כי רבה רעת האדם בארץ
Man’s evil deeds shattered the harmony in the world.

וכל יצר מחשבת לבו רק רע כל היום
יצר has been incorrectly translated and understood to mean “impulse” or “urge”. This is the source of Christian dogma that claims that the power of evil holds sway over man over which he can only be saved by virtue of a certain belief.

But the root of the word יצר does not mean forcing, but shaping. Additionally, the word Yaitzer used here is written in the passive form, not the active form. It does not shape but it is shaped. Accordingly יצר מחשבת לבנו means the formations, designs, of our thoughts.

A weaver’s work is called מעשה חושב. He connects and combines the materials. So too the word for thought is חושב. The raw material is handed over to the intellect. All qualities, good or (seemingly) evil are turned over to combine them into צורות – shapes.

We can exercise our free will and shape the material we are entrusted with any way we like. We are instructed by God to follow His Will. He shows us the correct pattern to weave. If we follow His pattern, all is good. All aspects of our existence are planned and used as He wishes. (There is no inherent evil. There is wrong application. GS)

(see more on page 169)

Beraishis 6:5
pages 167-169

RSRH explains that God’s Will never changes. As it says in Bamidbar 23:19   לא איש קל ויכזב, ובן אדם ויתנחם – God is not a man, who changes His mind.

Hirsch explains:

God doesn’t change His mind on His own account. He is caused to change his mind in response to external circumstances. (This change is in order to facilitate the same original intention, but now, due to the need, adjusted to bring that original intention about in a new way. Man will now move towards the same goal on a new stage.

King Saul failed and there the verse says He changed the Divine mandate for Saul’s family to remain kings.

In Shemos 32:14 God changed his decree from bad to good in response to prayer. (וינחם על הרעה)

But God’s Will doesn’t change. As the sages explain in Sanhedrin 98a,  לא זכו, בעתה – Should it come to be that His people do not repent, God will still bring about the redemption.

Beraishis 6:6
pages 169-170

ויתעצב אל לבו

God’s heart, as it were, wished to rejoice in the thriving of mankind. As it says in Tehillim, ישמח השם במעשיו. He is compelled to forgo the joy of His heart. His heart, as it were, desired man’s continued existence, and He was grieved that He had to renounce it. God’s heart remained unchanged in His love and concern for mankind.

Regarding this (God’s heart) and other similar descriptions of God (God’s hand, God’s arm, God’s eyes, etc.) scholars have written much to explain these phrases in a non literal sense in order to not ascribe material features to God. In the process, however, our sense of the Personality of God becomes blurred and indistinct. If the Torah wanted us to not have a sense of God’s Personality (which provides a path to having a relationship with God – GS) it could have easily avoided such expressions.

RSRH adds, citing the ראב”ד,” a distinctively Jewish thinker”, that “belief in the Personality of God is more important than the speculations of those who reject the attribution of material features to God.”
(יסודי התורה פרק א הלכה י מובא בכסף משנה)

In these verses God “saw” that man chose the path of wickedness. It didn’t have to be. This was man’s choice. That is what is expressed by God “seeing”. Before God acted, He saw.

This critical lessons expressed here are:

1) Man has free will. God considered the matter before rendering His decision, based on man’s course of action.

2) God acts freely without being bound to anything. God’s heart didn’t change. God remained with the same care and concern for man that He had before man chose the path of wickedness. The only thing that changed was the stage man was to live in, and that change was by God’s choice. In order to help man get to the goal that God set, man would not thrive. A flood would kill most of the population. This grieved God’s heart, but it didn’t change God’s heart. (As we see in verse 7, it was השם, the name used for God’s attribute of mercy, Who brought about the flood.)

 

Beraishis 6:6
pages 170-171

השם לַמַּבּוּל יָשָׁב וַיֵּשֶׁב השם מֶלֶךְ לְעוֹלָם. השם עֹז לְעַמּוֹ יִתֵּן השם יְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ בַשָּׁלוֹם (תהילים כ”ט, י-י”א)

God’s plans prevails through all the vicissitudes of nature and history. Even when all of of mankind perished, God remained firmly on His throne. God remained מלך – King, and His מלכות – His plan for the education of mankind – remained firm.

(The same attribute of mercy that placed man on earth now decided upon his destruction with only Noach and his family remaining. They found favor in God’s eyes. They were the start of a new beginning which would set the world back on its course. The stage of man changed, but God’s plan never changed. See pages 169-171)

Just as God’s plan prevails, so will anyone who cleaves to Him find strength and persevere. This strength is not one of waging war and it is not something that disturbs the peace. This is the one and only condition for peace.

With this idea, King David assures the Jewish people that when they cleave to God they will have of a life of inner strength and peace.

Beraishis 6:8
page 174

אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה בְּדֹרֹתָיו אֶת הָאֱלֹקים הִתְהַלֶּךְ נֹחַ

These are the products of Noach. Noach, a righteous man, was morally pure in his times: Noach walked with God.

—–

The first product of a person’s efforts are his own character traits. Noach was the product of Noach. (מ”ר: ללמדך שעיקר תולדותיהם של צדיקים מעשים טובים)

איש – He was a man – He was courageous, living by what was right in the face of much wrongdoing for 600 years. In verse 11 we see that the evils around Noach were moral sin (השחתת דרך) and theft (חמס).

צדיק – He was צדיק – righteous – in the face of חמס  theft.

• A צדיק is someone who gives everyone their due. He looks at everything from the standpoint of his duty, not his personal interests. The primary meaning of צדיק is social justice.

תמים – He was תמים – morally pure – in the face of השחתת דרך moral sin

• A תמים is a person who as a result of “walking”, progressing from step to step perfected his personality even when satisfying his physical aspirations. Self control achieved through moral will.

את האלקים התהלך נח – He walked with God.

 

• Being constantly aware of God was Noach’s root.
• His awareness of God was the source of his moral purity.
• His moral purity was the source of his honesty. (Throughout his writings, RSRH discusses this. חוקים the laws of moral purity, are the basis for משפטים civil law. To live a truly honest life, one must first be morally pure in the areas of sensuality. See Commentary to Vakira 18:4-5 fpr much more on this. GS)

The Torah stresses that Noach was morally pure despite the people around him being morally impure (תָּמִים הָיָה בְּדֹרֹתָיו) . It does not stress this regarding his honesty. The reason is that it is far more difficult to remain morally pure in an age of immorality than to remain honest in an age of dishonesty.

(In chapter 7 we see only the name צדיק used to described Noach. Hirsch comments there that living immorally is misusing and stealing the spirit and powers God gave us.)

Beraishis 6:9
pages 174-175

Noach walked with God which was the source of his moral strength and his honesty. (See previous post.) In his naming of his sons, we see all of these attributes separately. This was Noach’s hope and direction for mankind:

שם – Name – Intellect and the potential for spiritual side of man to develop (we utilize our intellect by naming things. The same root letters means “there”, giving things their proper place). שם is the thinker. His task was to “walk with God” as his father Noach did. This would elevate thinking to spirituality.

חם – Heat – The sensual side of man. The task of חם was to exercise moral will (informed by an awareness of God), just as his father Noach did as indicated by his being a תמים.

יפת – Beauty – The aesthetic side of man. The task of יפת was to be guided by the ideal of goodness, and not by the ideal of beauty. To be a צדיק as was his father. (As explained in the previous post, moral purity sets the stage for honesty and goodness. GS)

• While a sense of aesthetics moves society to have common decency and to rise above coarse behavior, this is very subjective. Every society will have different standards (which are rooted in their consensus for how to achieve their common interests. צדקות goodness, however, means not looking at things from the perspective of one’s self interest but living by a higher standard of concern that everyone around should get what is their due. This can only be attained by a sense of morality GS)

(Contrast all of the above to what became of Kayin’s line which was a society of industry and culture without godliness. Lemech lamented how nothing was achieved in such a society. See 4:23-24. Here we are taught how God-consciousness is to permeate and uplift all aspects of life. GS)

 

Beraishis 6:10
pages 176-178

As an introduction to understanding the different natures of Noach’s sons, as understood by studying the meaning behind their names, RSRH writes:

Although the races and ethnic groups of mankind differ from one another, this diversity existed even before the flood and, by God’s design, was permitted to survive the flood. This indicates that God’s plan is to realize the ultimate purpose of mankind despite all the national differences, or perhaps precisely through the interaction between the different nationalities.

If history shows us diverse nations endowed with disparate qualities – nations endowed with intellectual ability or emotional refinement beside nations in which burning sensuality seems to predominate – we should not, as a result, despair of mankind’s future. We should believe with deep faith that all the different races of mankind were created for one human ideal and are driving toward one goal:
כי מלאה הארץ דעה את יהוה כמים לים מכסים
For the land shall be filled with devotion to Hashem as water covers the sea.

(After the flood, we see Noach’s sons’ natures emerge into action and we learn of Noach’s prophetic words in response. See RSRH’s commentary there – 9:25-27, pages 243-249 – that explains how these streams of mankind will ultimately lead to one goal. )

Beraishis 6:10
pages 176-178

וַתִּשָּׁחֵת הָאָרֶץ לִפְנֵי הָאֱלֹקים וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ חָמָס
And the earth was morally corrupt before God’s countenance, and so the earth was filled with corruption (petty theft).

—–

שחת means an interruption in the path of life, even in the area of one’s sensual drive. (Sexuality, instead of being a healthy and holy part of life became perverse. GS)

חמס means petty theft. It is not the sort of theft that can be prosecuted in court (כדאיתא במ”ר ל”א, ה).

First came moral corruption. That led to society’s ruin.

When the older generation sees the young generation’s morals decline they aren’t concerned that this will undo the economy. But they are mistaken. While outright robbery will never fill the world, that’s because there are laws in place to protect everyone from those crimes. But there is no protection from petty theft. That requires society to have a conscience. To not steal when one is confident one won’t get caught or prosecuted, requires a conscience. Moral corruption destroys the conscience.

Beraishis 6:11
pages 178-180

The Torah goes into detail to describe the design of the ark. It details measurements, window, compartments, etc. It then tells us that Noach did exactly as he was instructed by God.

RSRH writes here that he chooses to not comment on whether the size of the ark was large enough and other such questions (Others ask if the ark could endure the harsh flood, the water’s heat and similar questions. GS) God has many ways He brings about salvation.

The lesson to take here is that God chose one man and his family and the animal world. He would save them only if man does exactly as he is commanded.

Contrary to what many think, a person’s actions have value only if they constitute performing God’s will. What a person does on the basis of his own judgement is of secondary, uncertain importance. This is a fundamental principal of Judaism. גדול המצווה ועושה ממי שאינו מצווה ועושה – קדושין דף לא

Man must do his part by fulfilling God’s will and God will do the rest.

Beraishis 6:15-22
pages 182-183

 

God tells Noach that He will maintain His bris with him.

The word ברית stems from the root ברת which denotes separation (ברת הארץ means a stretch of land, separated from others). The verb used in the term כריתת ברית also means to separate.

The expression הקמת ברית denotes an unconditional promise. A ברית stands unsupported. Left to itself it would fall down; only the כורת ברית upholds it.

A ברית can be unilateral. It does not imply a mutual agreement (unlike the word covenant, which is an inadequate translation).

The planks of wood were not enough to save those inside. Others could have tried to copy Noach and it wouldn’t have helped them. They were protected by God because God said He would.

It seems that the only reason Noach was asked to build the ark was to follow the principal of (פסחים דף סד) אין סומכין על הנס – we don’t rely on miracles (we perform actions that minimize or conceal the miracle GS).

Beraishis 6:18
pages 185-186