This study is dedicated in the loving memory of Mr. Arnold Student Litman, may he rest in peace.
Review
What was astounding about Parshas Bereishis last week was it covers a total of 1,556 years of history in just six short chapters, a total of 146 verses. That is only one verse for every ten and a half years. Yet what we are given is so incredibly deep, so rich, that we never have enough time in just one week to learn Parshas Bereishis adequately, and now we are in Noach...
Last week in Parshas Bereishis we reviewed essentially the first oleh. It was just one week of seven incredible periods in Creation. Now this week we are leaping from Creation week to the total destruction of the earth in just a span of ten generations, Adam through Noach. In just one parsha we come from the beauty of Creation to the total destruction of the world.
In the first week of Creation we hear the Creator say Key Tov {good} six times. Then at the conclusion of Creation we hear the Creator say the words Tov Mod {It is exceedingly good}. Now in the concluding word of Parshas Bereishis we read, Hashem said “I will obliterate mankind which I have created from the face of the earth. From man to beast, to creeping things and to the birds of the heaven, for I regret that I made them.” But Noach found favor in the eyes of Hashem, (Bereishis 6:7-8).
In Hashem’s pronouncement of Tohv Mih Ohd we see a brief clue of what is to come. The Gematria of Tohv Mih Ohd is 62 which is the same Gematria for Bayn {to divide / separate}. This implies it is very good to divide or separate. For example: The light of Ha Torah was separated for the righteous. Two worlds were originally created: our present world and the world to come to keep the evil separated from the righteous. In Bereishis 1:31 we have the proclamation “It is very good” and in Bereishis 6:7 the decision to destroy what is very bad thus preserving the good. It is at this point that we pick up in Bereishis 6:9-22, Parsha Noach.
A Righteous Line
In our world today a certain degree of segregation exists within the Jewish community. Some argue this is not true. Others admit it is even though they do not consider it segregation. Many look the other way when questioned about religious purity. However religious purity was established in early Bereishis and continued throughout Ha Torah as ordered by Hashem. Simply put, religious purity is of supreme importance. Many Jews never wandered from Torah Judaism. Generation after generation they have remained true to all 613 mitzvahs. Some of these families are referred to as dynasties because of the quality of Torah leaders they produce generation after generation. This is not by accident! It is all carefully planned. On the other hand, they have been wrongly criticized for their separatist attitudes especially in marriage. Yet in Ha Torah we clearly see the results from both careful selection and careless selection of a mate. Avraham and Sarai were half brother and half sister. Yitzchok married a cousin, Yaakov also married cousins. Here in Noach ancestry this is also true. They did not assimilate with non righteous families. They maintained strict righteous standards that resulted in saving mankind and repopulating the world. As we again return to the twenty-first century this type of separation may seem fanatical to some. The concept of romance, falling in love and courtships as suggested in our world do not fit within Torah guidelines. Many Jews and Spiritualists fall prey to these fantasies unfortunately. Our own failure to maintain religious purity has strangled the very life from Jewish and Spiritualist families. Children of observant families that wander from Torah raise children who frequently intermarry. In these cases normally the great grand children completely lose their own Jewish or Spiritualist identity. This is the direction of religious impurity. Noach’s ancestors carefully avoided this.
Torah Judaism flows through the righteous bloodlines. Religious purity / separation is absolutely necessary. It is the way to insure the continuation of our future. Notice the levels of adversity within a marriage where one mate is observant and the other mildly observant or where one is not Jewish... It is wise for parents to insure their future by raising their children to be observant of Ha Torah and by searching for the best possible observant mate for their children.
We are a chosen people separated from the nations of the world by Hashem. We are royalty in terms of our commanded righteousness. For the Jew to marry outside of Judaism destroys their Crown Of Royalty! It is the most unfortunate rejecting of our royalty in Hashem’s eyes!
Thousands of years ago, a true Spiritualist, Noach, faced these same types of problems when selecting mates for his sons. He used the greatest precaution! He lived in a world where righteousness had disappeared! Yet he was successful!
As we wander back just three generations from Noach in our investigation of Noach’s ancestors, we will observe he was a descendant of a religious dynasty. We will learn the importance of religious purity which is actually righteousness / separation from the world. His family taught religious separation.
Chanoch 622-987
Much is written about Noach’s great grandfather Chanoch. And a certain degree of controversy surrounds his first sixty-five years. Were they good or evil years? Did he die a natural death? Did he experience death? Why was he taken from this world at the age of 365?
The fact that he was taken at 365 points directly to the 365 prohibitive mitzvahs.
Chah Noch has two Gematrias due to the Chof at the end of his name. The normal Gematria is 84 and the Gematria Mispar Godal for Chanoch is 564. Each of Chah Noach’s Gematria’s point to the righteous life that he lived.
The first Gematria of 564 is the same Gematria of the word Vih Nee Sahch Tehm {to pluck up}. This implies plucking, taking something out of the ground which has not yet died and taking it up which is what happened to Chanoch at the age of 365.
Chanoch’s life is divided by Torah into three periods: First sixty-five years, Second three hundred years and Third the years after he was taken to the heavens by Hashem. The Gematria of the 65 years represents the Gematria of praise, Hah Layl. The Midrash reinforces Chanoch’s praise stating, “he isolated himself for a long time, concentrating on tefilla and self improvement. He tried to influence his contemporaries to serve Hashem,” (Rabbi Moshe Weissman, The Midrash Says).
The second period of Chanoch’s life is 300 years representing the Gematria of the word Mih-Sawr {to transmit [a message]}. The message was ‘shuvah, repent,’ the message was ‘a flood is coming.’
The third period of his life is after age 365 when he was taken from this world before he could be tempted. Chanoch was protected by Hashem’s intervention. Notice that scripture states, Chanoch walked with G-d. It is stated like this to represent he walked in justice and righteousness. Up until this point in his life he did not require Hashem’s mercy. He was taken in a totally pure state alive into Gan Eden by Hashem. The Midrash Says states, “Hashem foresaw that he would be unable to retain his piety in time of wickedness. He therefore took him away from the world at a very young age. He was carried away to Gan Eden alive by fiery horses that were sent from Heaven.”
This coincides with a story of two little boys discussing Chanoch. The first little boy asks the other, “Do you know why G-d took Chanoch?” The second responds, “No.” The first little boy continues, “Well, one day Chanoch was walking with G-d. G-d turned to Chanoch and said, ‘Chanoch, you’re closer to My home than yours. Why don’t you come home with Me?’”
The normal Gematria for Chanoch (84) shows us he was Aw Tawh {totally enrapt}. What was he enrapt in? Sefer Ha Yashar states, “The soul of Chanoch was wrapped up in the instruction of Hashem, in knowledge and in understanding, and he wisely retired from the sons of men and he separated himself from them for many years.”
Chanoch was born into this world pure. During the first 65 years of his life he did not walk closely with the Creator. Then he did teshuvah, he repented. The last 300 years Chanoch walked with G-d. He was 100 percent pure. Ha Torah records that G-d took him. What does this say for the teachings of depravity? What does this say regarding the need for a savior?
Mesushelach 687-1656
Noach’s grandfather was Mesushelach, the oldest man on record in Tenach. He lived 969 years. Mesushelach was born 687 years before the flood. At his birth the entire world was given a warning through his name. Without any question his name was an indication to the world of a future destruction. This is prefaced by the fact that his father did a dramatic turn around after his birth. There was some revelation in the birth of Mesushelach that caused Chanoch to walk with G-d. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch points to the break in Mesushelach’s name, Mih Too “as in May Too {dead} and Shoh Lah Ach which denotes ‘abandoning.” This points to Mesushelach’s death at which time the world will be lost or abandoned. In other words when this child dies this world will be destroyed.
At his birth he caused his father to walk with G-d in righteousness. At his death the world was destroyed.
The Gematria of the first three letters of his name, Mih Too, is 446 which relates to the Gematria already mentioned in last week’s parsha, Bereishis, “the source of life is Hah Eh Meht, The Truth”, (446), that flows from the center of Ha Torah . If we choose not to drink from Ha Torah we will experience the Gematria May Too {death} also 446.
The second three letters of Mesushelach’s name, Shoh Lah Ach, represent the Gematria of 338. This is also the Gematria of Lah Shoov {to return}. The Midrash states, “Mesushelach, Noach’s grandfather, stood out above his contemporaries as a tzaddik {righteous}. He repeatedly reproved his generation, “Do teshuvah {repentance}, or else Hashem will bring a deluge!’”
According to Seder Olam Rabbah, Mesushelach studied under Adam for 243 years, and according to Bava Basra 121b as cited in the footnote he is one of the seven ‘links’ in the eternal chain which bridged the lifespan of mankind.
His righteousness was such that the angels eulogized him and the Flood was withheld from the world until his seven day mourning period ended (Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic Sources).
Lemech 874-1651
Notice the lineage of Noach. His father was Lemech. The Mispar Godal for Lemech is 570 which is the same as for Tefillin meaning “prayer” The Miluy for Sha-Mah is 570 also. Miluy is when each letter of a word is spelled out then added together. Noach was born in the one-hundred-eighty-second year of his life. 182 is the same Gematria for Yaakov. Lemech was born in 874 just twenty six years away from 900 and just 56 years before Adam’s death. Twenty-six is Hashem’s Holy Name and fifty-six points “to Hashem”. Lemech’s name contains the three center letters of the Aleph - Bet. He died just five years before the great flood at the age of 777 years. The Midrash states that all sevenths are favorites and greater sanctity rests upon them: thus Chanoch was the seventh generation... Moses was the seventh generation from the beloved Abraham... David was the seventh son of Jesse. Consequently when Lemech dies in his 777 year this places great significance upon his death. What did his death represent?
Noach 1056 -2006
Four things stand out in Noach’s life:
Noach found grace in the eyes of Hashem
Noah was a righteous man
Noach was perfect in his generation
Noah walked with G-d.
Four things stand out in Noach’s life.
According to Sefer Yasher, “Noah [at 480 years] with Methuselah [at 849 years] are ordered by the L-rd G-d to Preach Repentance which they do for one hundred twenty years. Noah at 498 years takes Naamah at 580 years for a wife. She is the sister of his grandfather Methuselah and daughter of Enoch {Chanoch}. Naamah bears Shem. Noah at five hundred ninety-five years is commanded by the L-rd to build the ark and he builds the ark in five years. Noah at six hundred years takes the three daughters of Eliakim, son of Methuselah for wives for his three sons after the ark was built, as the L-RD had commanded him.” Next we see who it was that these sons married. Noach’s sons were married to close relatives. These six individuals would be given the charge of repopulating the world.
These are the Offspring of Noach
Noach is introduced in Torah as the door to teshuvah is slamming shut on all living creatures. Even at this dark moment in the beginning of Parshas Noach we find hope in the opening words, “These are the offspring of Noach.” Notice that the focus is on the future not the past. The world would be destroyed but it would have a bright new future through Noach’s offspring. The emphasis is not to look back but to look forward! Hashem is saying, We have a problem, man, wickedness is out of control on earth. Then we read Hashem grieves.
Here we see the step by step action to eradicate a serious problem. First, identify the problem. Second, take time to feel sorrow. Third, eliminate the root of the problem. Fourth, salvage the good.
So in the opening words of Parshas Noach the emphasis is placed on protecting the future generation of Noach: Shem, Cham, and Yafese who were the few good humans left on the entire earth. We actually observe the protective action of Hashem by preventing Noach from having children until his 500th year. R. Yudan said, “Why is it that all the [previous] generations had children at the age of one hundred years, and this one, [Noach had children] at the age of five hundred? G-d said: if they be wicked they will be destroyed by the [flood] waters which will cause grief to this righteous man. If they be righteous, then I would have to burden him to build many arks. [Therefore] He restrained his source and he had no children until he was five hundred years old..”
Why was it necessary to protect Noach’s sons?
We return to Bereishis 6:2. The sons of G-d, meaning {some of } the angels created by G-d, came to earth and had physical relations with the daughters of men. Many non Jewish English translations use the words rulers and judges in place of “the sons of G-d”. This is not correct. It is a cover up of what actually happened! All that one needs to do is ask a few simple questions that will easily explain why this is impossible even to the non Jewish mind. Why after hundreds of years are the rulers’ sons just noticing the beauty of the daughters of men? How is it that the rulers’ sons are so powerful that they could take any woman? How could relationships between rulers’ sons and beautiful women produce giants called Nephilim, meaning “the fallen”? Why does the entire earth need to be destroyed just because of evil men? It was more than just evil men. The reason is, they were not men. They were fallen angels! They were supernatural beings. As supernatural beings they had sexual relations with humans. The results were giants. This improper and unholy mix of supernatural beings into the human race was certain destruction for all mankind had it not been eliminated from off the face of the earth.
Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin comments, “The B’nei Elohim (6:2) and the Nephilim (6:4) are identical. ...From Nephilim were born “the arrogant giants who rob and oppress and murder’ (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer Ch.22) Now besides the base promiscuity that man had adopted, he saw just how far even the angels could sink. Here was a new wellspring of idolatry: Sexual liaison with the Nephilim and their descendants powerful men, murderers and thieves, who filled the earth with violence.”
Noach and his grandfather, Mesushelach taught against interrelationships with Nephilim or their descendants. Many heeded their instruction. This resulted in Nephilim forcibly taking the wives and daughters of those who heeded their message of separation and religious purity until the entire world was corrupt, making shuvah unattainable for most of the inhabitants of earth. Evil descendants of Cain joined with the Nephilim in stealing other men’s wives and daughters. Only eight people survived this rampage.
It was during this revolution against what G-d created as holy, the human body, that G-d informs Noach He was going to destroy the entire world. G-d condemned the actions of the Nephilim {the fallen}, their descendants and the evil descendants of Kayin {Cain} who had joined with the Nephilim. This was a revolt against what was natural. In everything that G-d created He commanded:
“Let the earth sprout vegetation: herbage yielding seed, fruit trees yielding fruit each after its kind, containing its own seed on the earth, (Bereishis 1:11).”
“And G-d created the great sea-giants and every living being that creeps, with which the waters teemed after their kinds; and all winged fowl after their kind, (Bereishis 1:21).”
“And G-d said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures, each according to its kind: animal and creeping thing, and beast of the land each according to its kind.” And it was so. G-d made the beast of the earth according to its kind, and the animal according to its kind, and every creeping being of the ground according to its kind. And G-d saw that it was good, (Bereishis 1:24,25).”
Then G-d created Man {SINGULAR NOT PLURAL}, in His image {SPIRITUAL NOT PHYSICAL for G-d is a Spirit}, in the image of G-d, He {AGAIN NOT PLURAL, not three in one, BUT SINGULAR} created him; male and female He created them, (Bereishis 1:27).”
So from the above four examples we see that the Nephilim {fallen ones} was against purity of kind with kind.
G-d did not approve of this improper mixture of angel and human, etc. G-d destroyed this improper mixture! From this parsha we see the mandate set about from Creation of both religious purity / separation and natural purity / separation. It was the religious purity / separation that saved and repopulated the world. It was the disobedient non pure non separated unnatural inhabitants that were destroyed.
It is so clear from this, G-d’s command to Creation “KIND WITH KIND” and G-d’s choice of who was to repopulate the post flood world, the religious and natural pure, that any suggestion of G-d Himself impregnating an unknowing woman, Mary, a woman who was ‘MARRIED” based on Ha Torah - is mistaken. This constitutes a violation of G-d’s command of “Kind with kind” that He destroyed the first world over! It accuses our Creator of violating His commands against kind with kind, rape and adultery! Each are grave sins that G-d would NEVER DO!
Wishing you the best,
Dr. Akiva Gamliel Belk
Originally written 5760
Updated 5764
