Chasidut sur La Genèse 6:4
הַנְּפִלִ֞ים הָי֣וּ בָאָרֶץ֮ בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵם֒ וְגַ֣ם אַֽחֲרֵי־כֵ֗ן אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָבֹ֜אוּ בְּנֵ֤י הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־בְּנ֣וֹת הָֽאָדָ֔ם וְיָלְד֖וּ לָהֶ֑ם הֵ֧מָּה הַגִּבֹּרִ֛ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר מֵעוֹלָ֖ם אַנְשֵׁ֥י הַשֵּֽׁם׃ (פ)
Les Nefilim parurent sur la terre à cette époque et aussi depuis, lorsque les hommes de Dieu se mêlaient aux filles de l’homme et qu’elles leur donnaient des enfants. Ce furent ces forts d’autrefois, ces hommes si renommés.
Kedushat Levi
Another approach to understanding the opening verse of our portion is based on the fact that the root פקד frequently is used to describe something that is missing or lacking. Sometimes a person feels he is on the way to becoming a tzaddik, or has already become one.
Such exaggerated self-esteem is not proof of a spiritual accomplishment, but, on the contrary, indicates at least immaturity if not arrogance. Anyone thinking of himself in such terms has not even begun his career as a servant of the Lord. This is hinted at in the words: כי תשא את ראש בני ישראל, the Torah teaches that “when you want to elevate the spiritual level of the Children of Israel to a higher spiritual plateau”, then לפקודיהם, “you have to point out to them the areas in which their personalities are still below par, still miss a basic ingredient, humility.” One of the well known verses in which the root פקד describes the absence of someone, something important being missing, is in Samuel I 20,25 when David’s absence at the festive meal given by the King on New Moon, is described with the words ויפקד מקום דוד, “David’s seat had remained empty.” When considering the dual nature of the meaning of this root, we may translate this word in our verse as “their contribution consisted primarily in their awareness that they still lacked many good qualities and had to work on acquiring them.”
The word כופר in our verse, translated as “ransom,” also appears in different meanings, one that is familiar being in Genesis 6,14 where Noach receives G’d’s instructions in how to ensure that the ark he is building will be waterproof. The Torah writes: וכפרת אותו מבית ומחוץ בכופר; “smear it from the inside and the outside with כופר, i.e. the awareness that you need atonement.” An appropriate translation, based on our understanding of the word פקד as something lacking, would be that “when is man truly attached, ‘glued to’ G’d, when he is truly aware of his shortcomings.”
Such exaggerated self-esteem is not proof of a spiritual accomplishment, but, on the contrary, indicates at least immaturity if not arrogance. Anyone thinking of himself in such terms has not even begun his career as a servant of the Lord. This is hinted at in the words: כי תשא את ראש בני ישראל, the Torah teaches that “when you want to elevate the spiritual level of the Children of Israel to a higher spiritual plateau”, then לפקודיהם, “you have to point out to them the areas in which their personalities are still below par, still miss a basic ingredient, humility.” One of the well known verses in which the root פקד describes the absence of someone, something important being missing, is in Samuel I 20,25 when David’s absence at the festive meal given by the King on New Moon, is described with the words ויפקד מקום דוד, “David’s seat had remained empty.” When considering the dual nature of the meaning of this root, we may translate this word in our verse as “their contribution consisted primarily in their awareness that they still lacked many good qualities and had to work on acquiring them.”
The word כופר in our verse, translated as “ransom,” also appears in different meanings, one that is familiar being in Genesis 6,14 where Noach receives G’d’s instructions in how to ensure that the ark he is building will be waterproof. The Torah writes: וכפרת אותו מבית ומחוץ בכופר; “smear it from the inside and the outside with כופר, i.e. the awareness that you need atonement.” An appropriate translation, based on our understanding of the word פקד as something lacking, would be that “when is man truly attached, ‘glued to’ G’d, when he is truly aware of his shortcomings.”
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