창세기 9:19의 유대 사상

Considering that Adam and his three sons founded a civilization that failed, even Noach and his three sons did not fare much better. In fact, we pointed out that in the absence of the words "he died" in their genealogies, there is a hint that their respective deaths did not leave behind a void that needed to be filled. When the sages debated whether it "is more comfortable for man to have been born, than it would have been if he had never seen the light of the world" (Eyruvin 13), they concluded that from that point of view it would indeed have been preferable not to have been born at all (see chapter 8). The names of Noach's three sons indicate how they should act and which character traits they were supposed to cultivate meticulously. Shem, who replaced Shet, Adam's third son, who had been born in the image of the Lord, was supposed to wear the crown of the good name ("Better a good name than good oil," Kohelet 7,1). It was to be his task to concentrate on the spiritual aspects of life. Cham, the least illustrious, would replace Cain who had been hotblooded, had followed his baser urges inordinately. Yephet, as his name indicates, was to strive after the esthetically acceptable, influenced by the spirit of Shem, thus representing the functional and useful in life, almost like what Hevel had represented in his time. Actually, it was the duty of those three sons to atone for and rectify the errors of their respective forefathers. When Noach became a man dedicated to the soil and became drunk, his son Cham decided to follow his father's example in emphasizing the earthy, material, and in indulging his senses (Genesis 9,19). Just as Adam had failed in his time, so Noach too had failed to uphold the highest standards of which man is capable. Cham invited his brothers to drink and get drunk, but they refused. Putting the blanket over their shoulders was merely a way of using clothing to restrain one's urges; their approaching their father backward is symbolic of the way one approaches a dangerous situation with caution by keeping one's head facing the danger, but keeping one's body facing the other way. In this manner they were able to pinpoint the exact location of their father, without viewing his indecently exposed body. The repetition of the word "backwards" suggests this interpretation. The nature of Noach's curse clearly demonstrates that Noach realized that the material instinct in man is undeniable-- for the multitude-- but must be harnessed so that it does not exercise unbridled power. Therefore, he decreed for Cham a state of servitude to the other two brothers, each of whom represented higher attributes of man. The blessing that G-d would feel at home in the tents of Shem is made dependent on Cham and what he stands for being held in check, in a state of servitude to the former.