창세기 7:25의 Chasidut
Mevo HaShearim
If we see in the words of our masters that the words of the prophet were ‘to teach repentance and instruction,’ one could erroneously think that the prophet was merely one who rebuked. Even in yesteryear, during the times of the prophets themselves, when people beheld the(se) ‘pillars of fire’177That is, the prophets. before them and the flames of God flowing from the mouths of these holy ones—we see that the people nonetheless called the prophets by terms reflective of their utility. As the verse puts it, “for the prophet today used to be called the seer” (I Samuel 9:9). Why would one call him a seer when the Torah preceded him to call him a prophet, as in “I will establish a prophet?” The answer is, simply, that the names and terms we use cannot convey anything beyond the boundaries of human utility or sensory perception. After all, an angel [malakh] is referred to as such due to its function as a messenger, not according to its essential nature. The soul [neshamah] is referred to as such after the breath (see Rashi to Genesis 7:22).178Genesis 7:22 reads: “All in whose nostrils was nishmat ruakh hayim beapaiv (the merest breath of life-JPS), all that was on dry land, died.” In some versions of Rashi’s commentary here, the term ‘nishmat’ is rendered ‘neshimah shel’, ‘the breath of,’ rather than ‘the soul of.’ R. Shapiro cites this as evidence that the soul is called the neshamah because of its association with the breath rather than as a true descriptor of its metaphysical essence. For we have no name for the essence of the angel nor the essence of the soul. So too, the term ‘prophet’ does not describe the essence of the prophet but merely that God has spoken with him (despite the biblical reference to a prophet as “man of God,” [see Berakha 1179The reference is to Deuteronomy 33:1, the beginning of Parshat Vzot haBerakhah. and several times in Kings180E.g. I Kings 13:1.], the Targum always translates “man of God” functionally, as “prophet of God”). Therefore the people named them (the prophets) in correlation to their needs, alternating their titles according to the functions which the prophets performed more frequently: when the prophets were primarily teaching Israel repentance and issuing instruction, they called them neviim, from the language of “niv sefatayim”181“Expressions of the mouth.” (Rashi to Exodus 7:10), and when they more often told the future and provided for other needs, they were called seers. “For the prophet today used to be called the seer”-i.e. the people called them as such.182That is, these were colloquial nomenclature, not proper names.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Kedushat Levi
Having said all this, we are faced with the question why according to Rashi, (Genesis 7,7) Noach was of a category described by our sages as קטני אמונה, “lacking in adequate faith.” How could a man be described as perfectly righteous, צדיק תמים, and at the same time display a lack of faith in the Lord? Another question we must ask is why Noach, if he did not feel that rebuking his peers would help, did not at least pray for his fellow human beings prior to the deluge?
We must refer once more to the distinction between the two categories of righteous people. One category has earned the title “tzaddik” because he serves only the one and only true G’d, the Creator, and believes that this Creator is all powerful and guides the universe in accordance with His wishes.
Noach, though aware of the many sexual perversions practiced by the people around him, and being steadfast in not copying their behaviour, is attested to by the Torah describing him as תמים היה בדורותיו, “he was perfect in his time.” Nonetheless, his loyalty to the Creator certainly did not endear him to his peers, hence “he walked with G’d”, as there was no one else “with whom to walk.” Sadly, only G’d appreciated his self-restraint, his righteousness.
Having said all this, we are faced with the question why according to Rashi, (Genesis 7,7) Noach was of a category described by our sages as קטני אמונה, “lacking in adequate faith.” How could a man be described as perfectly righteous, צדיק תמים, and at the same time display a lack of faith in the Lord? Another question we must ask is why Noach, if he did not feel that rebuking his peers would help, did not at least pray for his fellow human beings prior to the deluge?
We must refer once more to the distinction between the two categories of righteous people. One category has earned the title “tzaddik” because he serves only the one and only true G’d, the Creator, and believes that this Creator is all powerful and guides the universe in accordance with His wishes.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmeni in Moed Katan 16 commenting on Samuel II 23,1 where the prophet introduces King David’s last utterances, (actually a “hymn,”) with the words: נאום דוד בן ישי ונאום הגבר הוקם על, ”words of David son of Yishai, and of the strong man who has been elevated and anointed by G’d, etc.” He continues there in verse 3: אמר אלוקי ישראל לי דבר צור ישראל מושל באדם צדיק מושל יראת אלוקים, “Israel’s G’d said concerning me: ‘be ruler over mankind, be ruler over awe of G’d.’” According to Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmeni, the somewhat enigmatic verse must be understood as follows: David, who had raised high the banner of repentance (when he said to the prophet Natan in response to his rebuke that he had been guilty of without ifs or buts in the matter of Bat Sheva) “G’d rules man, whereas the righteous rules G’d.” What is meant by “the righteous rules G’d?” Initially G’d decrees what man’s fate will be; however, the intercession of a tzaddik’s prayer” may result in G’d’s decree being cancelled.” The Talmud suggests that when a tzaddik is not only concerned with his own salvation but endeavours to bring sinners closer to G’d, his prayer can influence G’d to the extent that He will cancel a decree of death already promulgated in heaven against certain individuals or groups of people. Noach, alas, did not engage in active attempts to influence people by rebuking them.
[No doubt, whenever Noach was asked during the 120 years that he built the ark why he did so, he told his peers that G’d had instructed him to do this in order to escape the deluge that would occur. Ed.]
One of the reasons that he did not pray for his fellow man may have been that he felt inadequate to be able to cancel a decree that G’d had told him He had issued. He may have been motivated by considerations we encounter in connection with Neuchadnezzar (Sanhedrin 92). We are told there that when throwing Chananyah, Michael and Azaryah into a fiery furnace from which all three were saved, G’d also commanded Ezekiel to revive the dead bones of the Jews that had been killed by Nevuchadnezzar when he destroyed Jerusalem and burned the Temple. One of the newly revived was instructed to touch Nevuchadnezzar on his forehead and to identify himself as one of the many thousands who had been resurrected. Nevuchadnezzar was so impressed that he began to compose songs of praise extolling the Almighty. Thereupon an angel shut Nevuchadnezzar’s mouth to prevent him from continuing. Had the angel not done so, all the hymns composed by King David would have lost in value when compared to the songs composed by Nevuchadnezzar.
The word used by the Talmud to describe what would have occurred is לגנות, “to denigrate, or defame.” When reminding ourselves of the tzaddik’s ability, under certain conditions to reverse a decree that originated from the Attribute of Justice, and to cause it to become a beneficial decree, we can understand why Nevuchadnezzar had begun to sing the Lord’s praises; [after all he had deliberately destroyed G’d’s Temple on earth. Ed.] When he noticed that Ezekiel’s prayers had resulted in an army of people being resurrected, he became afraid that another prayer by the same person, or persons like him, would result in his life’s work, the destruction of the Temple, being reversed also. In order to pre-empt any prayer by any tzaddik being able to achieve this, he tried to pre-empt anyone from offering such a prayer and being granted his request, by extolling G’d’s greatness in even more glowing terms than David had done in the Book of Psalms.
Noach, far from being a boastful individual, proclaiming himself as a major deity, was the very opposite, a humble person, to whom it would not have occurred that a prayer of his would influence G’d to reverse a decree which He had certainly not arrived at without first having agonized over it. [He even told Noach that He would delay execution of this decree for up to 120 years, this is why He told Noach when he was 480 years old to start building the ark. Ed.] It was because he did not consider himself as especially righteous, that he reasoned that just as he would be saved, so there must be numerous other people of similar stature who would also be saved. When G’d noticed this, He told Noach (Genesis 6,13) that He would have to proceed with His intention to destroy the human race as there was no one who had tried to intercede on their behalf. Nonetheless, He made plain to Noach, that although he had not interceded on behalf of his fellow humans, He would maintain the existing covenant between G’d and mankind through Noach and his family. (Genesis 6,18).
We must refer once more to the distinction between the two categories of righteous people. One category has earned the title “tzaddik” because he serves only the one and only true G’d, the Creator, and believes that this Creator is all powerful and guides the universe in accordance with His wishes.
Noach, though aware of the many sexual perversions practiced by the people around him, and being steadfast in not copying their behaviour, is attested to by the Torah describing him as תמים היה בדורותיו, “he was perfect in his time.” Nonetheless, his loyalty to the Creator certainly did not endear him to his peers, hence “he walked with G’d”, as there was no one else “with whom to walk.” Sadly, only G’d appreciated his self-restraint, his righteousness.
Having said all this, we are faced with the question why according to Rashi, (Genesis 7,7) Noach was of a category described by our sages as קטני אמונה, “lacking in adequate faith.” How could a man be described as perfectly righteous, צדיק תמים, and at the same time display a lack of faith in the Lord? Another question we must ask is why Noach, if he did not feel that rebuking his peers would help, did not at least pray for his fellow human beings prior to the deluge?
We must refer once more to the distinction between the two categories of righteous people. One category has earned the title “tzaddik” because he serves only the one and only true G’d, the Creator, and believes that this Creator is all powerful and guides the universe in accordance with His wishes.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmeni in Moed Katan 16 commenting on Samuel II 23,1 where the prophet introduces King David’s last utterances, (actually a “hymn,”) with the words: נאום דוד בן ישי ונאום הגבר הוקם על, ”words of David son of Yishai, and of the strong man who has been elevated and anointed by G’d, etc.” He continues there in verse 3: אמר אלוקי ישראל לי דבר צור ישראל מושל באדם צדיק מושל יראת אלוקים, “Israel’s G’d said concerning me: ‘be ruler over mankind, be ruler over awe of G’d.’” According to Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmeni, the somewhat enigmatic verse must be understood as follows: David, who had raised high the banner of repentance (when he said to the prophet Natan in response to his rebuke that he had been guilty of without ifs or buts in the matter of Bat Sheva) “G’d rules man, whereas the righteous rules G’d.” What is meant by “the righteous rules G’d?” Initially G’d decrees what man’s fate will be; however, the intercession of a tzaddik’s prayer” may result in G’d’s decree being cancelled.” The Talmud suggests that when a tzaddik is not only concerned with his own salvation but endeavours to bring sinners closer to G’d, his prayer can influence G’d to the extent that He will cancel a decree of death already promulgated in heaven against certain individuals or groups of people. Noach, alas, did not engage in active attempts to influence people by rebuking them.
[No doubt, whenever Noach was asked during the 120 years that he built the ark why he did so, he told his peers that G’d had instructed him to do this in order to escape the deluge that would occur. Ed.]
One of the reasons that he did not pray for his fellow man may have been that he felt inadequate to be able to cancel a decree that G’d had told him He had issued. He may have been motivated by considerations we encounter in connection with Neuchadnezzar (Sanhedrin 92). We are told there that when throwing Chananyah, Michael and Azaryah into a fiery furnace from which all three were saved, G’d also commanded Ezekiel to revive the dead bones of the Jews that had been killed by Nevuchadnezzar when he destroyed Jerusalem and burned the Temple. One of the newly revived was instructed to touch Nevuchadnezzar on his forehead and to identify himself as one of the many thousands who had been resurrected. Nevuchadnezzar was so impressed that he began to compose songs of praise extolling the Almighty. Thereupon an angel shut Nevuchadnezzar’s mouth to prevent him from continuing. Had the angel not done so, all the hymns composed by King David would have lost in value when compared to the songs composed by Nevuchadnezzar.
The word used by the Talmud to describe what would have occurred is לגנות, “to denigrate, or defame.” When reminding ourselves of the tzaddik’s ability, under certain conditions to reverse a decree that originated from the Attribute of Justice, and to cause it to become a beneficial decree, we can understand why Nevuchadnezzar had begun to sing the Lord’s praises; [after all he had deliberately destroyed G’d’s Temple on earth. Ed.] When he noticed that Ezekiel’s prayers had resulted in an army of people being resurrected, he became afraid that another prayer by the same person, or persons like him, would result in his life’s work, the destruction of the Temple, being reversed also. In order to pre-empt any prayer by any tzaddik being able to achieve this, he tried to pre-empt anyone from offering such a prayer and being granted his request, by extolling G’d’s greatness in even more glowing terms than David had done in the Book of Psalms.
Noach, far from being a boastful individual, proclaiming himself as a major deity, was the very opposite, a humble person, to whom it would not have occurred that a prayer of his would influence G’d to reverse a decree which He had certainly not arrived at without first having agonized over it. [He even told Noach that He would delay execution of this decree for up to 120 years, this is why He told Noach when he was 480 years old to start building the ark. Ed.] It was because he did not consider himself as especially righteous, that he reasoned that just as he would be saved, so there must be numerous other people of similar stature who would also be saved. When G’d noticed this, He told Noach (Genesis 6,13) that He would have to proceed with His intention to destroy the human race as there was no one who had tried to intercede on their behalf. Nonetheless, He made plain to Noach, that although he had not interceded on behalf of his fellow humans, He would maintain the existing covenant between G’d and mankind through Noach and his family. (Genesis 6,18).
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Kedushat Levi
Still another facet of the line:אלה תולדות נח, נח איש צדיק, תמים היה בדורותיו, may be appreciated by the reader after we have “digested” Rashi’s commentary on Genesis 7,7 ויבא נח..... אל התבה מפני מי המבול, “Noach (and family) entered the ark on account of the waters of the deluge.” Rashi uses this verse to state that Noach was deficient in his faith in G’d. [Rashi based himself on Bereshit Rabbah 32,6 who explains the extraneous words: “on account of the waters of the deluge,” as telling us that Noach did not enter the ark until the rising waters of the flood made this unavoidable.”] This exegesis appears to fly in the face of an explicit verse in Genesis 6,22 according to which Noach carried out every single one of G’d’s instructions without exception. How could the author of the Midrash accuse Noach of being lacking in faith? If someone spent 120 years building an ark, anticipating a deluge, because G’d had told him to do so, how can this be interpreted as “lack of faith?”We must bear in mind that all the holy “sparks” are possessed of an urge to serve their Creator, just as do the different categories of angels all of whom vie to fulfill the wishes of their Creator while being in awe of Him. The tzaddik, being a mortal human being and burdened with an evil urge within him, may not always serve his master with a similar degree of single-mindedness. He may be sidetracked by thinking of money, or the allure of secular attractions, including good-tasting fruit, etc. One of the causes distracting the tzaddik from serving his Creator with the same degree of single-mindedness as the angels is that in order to bring the sinners closer to G’d, he must first befriend them. The sinners are sinners because the have within them some of the 288 sparks that “fell off” the Shechinah, as we explained on page 21.
[A רשע, sinner, who too has been created in the image of G’d, contains within him some of these sparks, though they have become tainted through their close association with the sinner. Ed.]
In the process of “outreaching,” as it is commonly known in our time, the exposure of the highest ranking type of tzaddik to the lure of secularism is such that he may momentarily forget his true calling, feeling drawn to these “perks” of olam hazeh, as advertised by Satan in eye-catching colors. A tzaddik engaged in such activities may be viewed as being engaged in a מלחמת מצוה, “a holy war,” on behalf of his Creator.
[A רשע, sinner, who too has been created in the image of G’d, contains within him some of these sparks, though they have become tainted through their close association with the sinner. Ed.]
In the process of “outreaching,” as it is commonly known in our time, the exposure of the highest ranking type of tzaddik to the lure of secularism is such that he may momentarily forget his true calling, feeling drawn to these “perks” of olam hazeh, as advertised by Satan in eye-catching colors. A tzaddik engaged in such activities may be viewed as being engaged in a מלחמת מצוה, “a holy war,” on behalf of his Creator.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Baal Shem Tov
"Make an opening [tzohar] for the ark [teivah], closing up to a cubit at the top." (Genesis 6:16) -- The Baal Shem Tov, peace be upon him, explained these words in the following way: let the word (teivah) said in Torah or in prayer radiate light (matzhir)! For in every letter there are worlds, souls and divinity, that rise up and interconnect and cleave to one another and to the divine. Afterwards, these letters connect and conjoin, finally becoming a word. After that, they connect and unify unifications of truth in the Divine - and one must unify one's soul with each of the aforementioned aspects. In this way, all the worlds rise and become as one, and then there is immense joy and immeasurable delight. This is the meaning of "...bottom, second, and third decks," (Genesis 6:16) - that is the worlds, souls and divinities, as it says (Zohar I:159a) "there are three worlds, etc." In each and every word one must listen to what is being spoken, since the Shechina is the world of speech, as it is says (Zohar III:230a) "She speaks and He is Her escort." "Tzohar" - this 'opening' for light - that everything should be illuminated with clarity, giving pleasure to the Creator. One needs great faith (Emunah) for this, since the Shechinah Herself is called Emunat Amen, faithful faith (Zohar II:16b). Without faith, Heaven forbid, She is called (Proverbs 16:28) "A querulous one who alienates their friend." As for the end of the verse, "closing up to a cubit (amah)" -- this is the Mother (Ima). It could be said that after the word leaves one's mouth, it does not need to be remembered again, one does not see that it rises to an elevated place, just as one can not look at the sun, as it says, "closing up at the top." How does one do all this? "Go into the ark [teivah], you and all your household." (Genesis 7:1) -- this means that with all your body and strengths, you shall enter the word [teivah]!
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 7,1 “For I have seen you being righteous before Me in this generation;” these words must be understood according to the Zohar I, 67. The author of the Zohar contrasts Moses’ reaction to G’d’s threat to annihilate the Jewish people and to substitute him for the Jewish people (Exodus 32,10) with Noach’s silence. Moses, had immediately responded to this threat by saying: “erase me from Your Book, rather than make me the founder of a new Jewish people. Moses was willing to give up his life if he could thereby save his people”. When G’d (7,4) used the same expression ומחיתי את כל היקום, “I will erase all breathing living creatures,” He elicited no response from Noach, just as He had not elicited a response from him in 6,13, or in 6,17. Moses, by offering his own life on behalf of his people during the episode of the golden calf, atoned for Noach’s insensitivity at this time. Moses is viewed by the Zohar as possessing a soul composed of all the souls destroyed in the deluge. This is why our prophets refer to the deluge as מי נח, “the waters of Noach,” since Noach had not intervened on behalf of his contemporaries. (Isaiah 54,9). The prophet appears to imply that Noach had been remiss by associating the deluge with Noach (himself) instead of with the sinners.
It is known that Moses was considered a tzaddik, righteous person. When our sages state that all the prophets’ prophecies began with the word כה, whereas Moses’ prophecy on occasion commenced with the word זה, “this,” they meant to compare Moses to Noach of whom G’d had said אותך ראיתי צדיק לפני בדור הזה, “I have seen you that you are a tzaddik before Me in this generation”. G’d implied that Noach would be restored posthumously to this stature when Moses, a reincarnation of his soul, would make up for his omission at this time. The words בדור הזה, are understood as a hint that in Moses’ time another tzaddik would compensate for the sin of omission in Noach’s generation.
It is known that Moses was considered a tzaddik, righteous person. When our sages state that all the prophets’ prophecies began with the word כה, whereas Moses’ prophecy on occasion commenced with the word זה, “this,” they meant to compare Moses to Noach of whom G’d had said אותך ראיתי צדיק לפני בדור הזה, “I have seen you that you are a tzaddik before Me in this generation”. G’d implied that Noach would be restored posthumously to this stature when Moses, a reincarnation of his soul, would make up for his omission at this time. The words בדור הזה, are understood as a hint that in Moses’ time another tzaddik would compensate for the sin of omission in Noach’s generation.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy