Commentaire de citation sur La Genèse 5:24

ויהיו ימי אדם, “Adam’s lifespan amounted to, etc.” Seeing these early generations lived for so many years when compared to the lifespan of man in times after the deluge, the Torah adopted a method of telling us about their inordinately longs life spans immediately after reporting that these people fathered their first children at an age when most of us nowadays have long been buried already. By choosing the method adopted here, the Torah explains why these people married (relatively speaking) so late and did not start a family sooner. Seeing that original man had been fashioned by the Creator Himself, he had been endowed with a more perfect body, enabling him and the first few generations after him, to live longer than usual lives in spite of death having been decreed for the species as a whole. Due to the gradual spiritual corruption of mankind, their bodies were affected negatively also, so that immediately after the deluge the average life span had already shrunk to less that half of what it had been prior to the deluge. After the dispersal as a result of the building of the Tower, the life expectancy shrank further, not least because suddenly man had to adjust to climactic changes during the year in the locations to which they had been dispersed. It would seem that the lifetime of people other than the patriarchs had already shrunk to an average of seventy years, (the immediate offspring of Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov excepted) We know this from Moses’ prayer recorded in the Book of Psalms, 90,10, where he describes this number as a “normal.” lifespan. The fact that Pharaoh was dumbfounded when Yaakov told him that he was already 130 years old, seems to support this theory. (Genesis 47,9) Maimonides writes that all the people mentioned in the Torah as having attained such longevity were exceptions and that is why their individual life spans have been mentioned. He credits their exceptional longevity to their having been very careful with their diets, foregoing foods which are basically life-shortening. Anyone not mentioned specifically lived a normal lifespan. Nachmanides already questions Maimonides’ opinion, citing the fact that the people mentioned as having lived for so long were not prophets so that G’d should have performed a miracle [I might add that Chanoch, (5,23) whom the Torah described as loyal to G’d, ”walking with Him,” (5,24) lived far fewer years than his not so righteous contemporaries Ed.] Also, why, according to Maimonides, would the נפילים, corrupt individuals, be granted such long lives as the Torah testified that the spies in Moses’ time had encountered?

MINE ORDINANCES SHALL YE DO. “These are matters prescribed in the Torah which, even if they were not prescribed, one would know that they ought to be prescribed.” Thus the language of Rashi. And in the Torath Kohanim it is stated:²³³Torath Kohanim, Acharei 13:10. “These are matters written in the Torah which, even if they were not written, would deserve to have been written, such as robberies, forbidden sexual relationships, idolatry, bloodshed and blasphemy.”
Now by way of the simple meaning of Scripture, the term mishpatai (Mine ordinances) is to be understood in its simple sense. It is a reference to the laws stated in the section of V’eileh Hamishpatim (And these are the ordinances)²³⁴Exodus 21:1. and in the whole Torah. Therefore He states here, which if a man do, he shall live by them,²³⁵Further, Verse 5. as these laws were given so that man should live, and for the development of countries, and peace among men, so that no one should cause harm to his fellowman or kill him. The prophet Ezekiel likewise mentioned many times with reference to these mishpatim (ordinances), which if a man do, he shall live by them,²³⁶Ezekiel 20:11, 13 and 21. while of the Sabbath he says, to be a sign between Me and them.²³⁷Ibid., Verse 12. Similarly in the Book of Nehemiah it says, Thine ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live by them.²³⁸Nehemiah 9:29. But our Rabbis have said:²³⁹Yoma 85 b. “He shall live by them²³⁵Further, Verse 5. — but not die by them. This teaches that danger to life overrides the Sabbath laws and [all] the commandments.” And according to the Midrashic interpretation it means:²⁴⁰Torath Kohanim, Acharei 9:10. It is also mentioned here in Rashi. “He shall live by them²³⁵Further, Verse 5. — in the World to Come. Should you say it means that he shall live in this world, will he not in the end die!”²⁴¹Hence the Divine assurance that he shall live by them must refer to eternal life. And if so, the expression which if a man do, he shall live by them²³⁵Further, Verse 5. refers back [not only to the mishpatim (ordinances), as we explained before, but] also to chukothai [“My statutes,” those laws for which no reason is given, but the observance of which also assures one eternal life].
Know that man’s [reward in] life for the observance of the commandments is in accordance with his preparation for them. For he who fulfills the commandments not for their own sake, but in order to receive a reward, will be rewarded on account of them in this world with longevity, riches, possessions, and honor. It is concerning this [kind of observance of the laws of the Torah] that it is said, in her left hand are riches and honor,²⁴²Proverbs 3:16. which the Rabbis interpreted to mean:²⁴³Shabbath 63 a. “to those that stand on the left of it [i.e., to those who engage in the observance of the Torah not for its own sake], there are material riches and honor.” Similarly, those who engage in the observance of the commandments so as to merit by them reward in the World to Come, these being the people who serve G-d out of fear [of punishment], will be found worthy on account of their intention to be saved from the judgments that will come upon the wicked, and their souls shall abide in joyfulness²⁴⁴See Psalms 25:13. [in life eternal]. But those who engage in the observance of the commandments out of love, as is right and proper, together with worldly occupation, similar to what is mentioned in the Torah in the section of Im Bechukothai,²⁴⁵If ye walk in My statutes. Further, 26:3. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage,²⁴⁶Ibid., Verse 5. they will merit good life in this world according to the usual nature of things, and in life eternal, in the World to Come, their merits will still be complete before them [since the reward they received in their lifetime will not reduce that which is to come to them in the hereafter]. But those who abandon altogether the concerns of this world and pay no attention to it, acting as if they themselves were not creatures of physical being, and all their thoughts and intentions are directed only to their Creator, just as was the case with Elijah, [these people] on account of their soul cleaving to the Glorious Name will live forever in body and soul, as is evidenced in Scripture concerning Elijah²⁴⁷II Kings 2:11: and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. and as is known of him in tradition,²⁴⁸The Talmud and Midrashim abound in instances which prove that Elijah’s removal from earth was no interruption of his earthly existence. On the contrary, in countless appearances he traverses the world in order to protect the innocent etc. (see L. Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews, IV, pp. 202-235). and as the Midrashim speak of Enoch²⁴⁹Genesis 5:24: And Enoch walked with G-d, and he was not; for G-d took him. Many Midrashim describe his activity after his ascencion into heaven. See, however, Rashi ibid. and of those belonging to the World to Come who will rise at the resurrection. It is for this reason that on the subject of reward for observance of the commandments the verses speak [in various ways, such as]: that thy days may be long;²⁵⁰Exodus 20:12. that thou mayest live;²⁵¹Deuteronomy 16:20. and that thou mayest prolong thy days.²⁵²Ibid., 22:7. For these expressions include all kinds of life, each according to his due.

So too do we find in Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer (Chapter 8): “The universe [i.e. sun and the moon in their orbits to make the concept of time and a calendar meaningful, Ed.] was created starting with the 28th day in Elul. G’d was forced to make an adjustment to the commencement of the New Year [seeing that the 28th of Ellul was simultaneously the fourth day of creation so that Adam was created on the thirtieth of that month. Ed.] at which time He handed over the calendar manipulations to Adam. This is the meaning of the words זה ספר תולדות אדם, “this is the book of the descendants of Adam” (authority derived by man from the Lord) in Genesis 5,1. Adam passed on this authority to Chanoch as we know from Genesis 5,24 that “Chanoch walked with G’d.” Chanoch in turn passed on this authority to Shem, son of Noach. (According to Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer, Chanoch passed it on to Noach and Noach passed it on to Shem). Shem passed on this authority to tamper with the calendar to Avraham who in turn passed it on to Yitzchak who in turn passed it on to Yaakov where it remained until the latter left the land of Israel and descended to Egypt. While the Israelites were in Egypt they did not have the authority to tamper with the calendar. This is why Exodus 12,1 introduced a new chapter in Jewish history; this is also why the Torah stressed that the directives given there were given בארץ מצרים, “in the land of Egypt,” something that we would have known as the Israelites were in Egypt at the time.
The word לאמור In Exodus 12,1 meant that G’d said to Moses that up until that time (since the descent to Egypt) He had kept the secret of how to make these calculations to Himself, whereas at that point in time He was releasing this information. As long as the Jewish people lived in the land of Israel they exercised this authority adding an extra month from time to time to bring the seasons into harmony with the lunar calendar, and to compensate for the fact that the moon’s orbit was 29 days and a fraction of the thirtieth day so that the month had to have either 29 or thirty days.
When most of the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon or went to Egypt, the calendar manipulation was taken care of the by the few Jews remaining in the Holy Land. When the prophet Ezekiel requested permission from G‘d to perform this task in Babylon, G’d told him that no one was permitted to perform this task except within the Holy Land. This prompted the sages to establish the rule that whereas the wise men and righteous people in the diaspora do not have the authority to tamper with the calendar, even herdsmen in the land of Israel do have such authority. Even prophets outside the land of Israel lack this authority whereas laymen inside of the land of Israel do have the authority to adjust the calendar. Only when no Jew remained in the land of Israel did they begin to adjust the calendar in Babylon. As soon as Ezra moved to the land of Israel they began to adjust the calendar there, and when Ezekiel asked permission to do this in Babylon G’d told him (Ezekiel 36,17) that it was the exclusive prerogative of the people living in Israel, i.e. בית ישראל יושבים על אדמתם. [I have quoted more from Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer than the author, though not all. One of the most interesting things there is that it dates the move of Ezra to the land of Israel as far earlier than other traditional sources. Ed.]
Something about the details of the procedure of adding an extra month to the year (still from Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer): They would bring a Torah scroll, form a (semi)-circle where the elders would be seated in order of their seniority. They would then face with their faces to the ground, rise and remain standing, extend the palms of their hands toward heaven. The most senior member of the assembly would pronounce the Ineffable Name (as part of the appropriate benediction to be recited) and a heavenly echo would be heard and confirm the authority of those assembled to proceed by reciting the verse in Exodus 12,1. If the respective generation were lacking in merits no heavenly echo would be heard.
People who were present at the time the heavenly echo was heard were extremely fortunate as we know from Psalms 89,16 “hail to the nation who understand the meaning of the blast of the teruah, they walk in the light of Your presence O Lord.” This was an allusion to the people (performing this ceremony) enjoying G’d’s approval. Thus far (more or less) Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer.

ויוכח The word here has the meaning of reproof (“and he reproved thee”; cf. Genesis 5:24) and not of deciding (as in Genesis 5:37).