ויראו בני האלוהים את בנות האדם, “The sons of G’d saw the daughters of man, etc.” According to the plain meaning of the text the בני האלהים are the sons of the judges and the elite of society. which are called “elohim,” just as in Exodus 22,27 where the Torah forbids us to curse a judge by writing אלוהים לא תקלל. This is the way the Targum translates that verse. The Torah means that the very judges who should have meted out justice committed legal violence instead with the “daughters of man,” i.e. the common and therefore underprivileged people, by raping these women against their will. Sometimes these women were willing partners in illegal sexual relations. When the Torah writes inter alia in verse 4 אשר יבואו בני האלהים אל בנות האדם, “when the sons of the rulers would consort with the daughters of the common people,” these were the instances when the women were willing partners in such relationships. Such relationships usually did not come to light until these women had given birth to children from illicit sexual relations with the male elite of society. When the Torah (verse 4) speaks about the גבורים אשר מעולם אנשי שם, “the mighty men of former times who had always been very prominent,” this is a reference to the children from such unions who could be seen to be different from children produced by unions between members of the lower classes of society. The words מכל אשר בחרו, “from among all that they freely chose,” are an allusion to use of the same expression by Isaiah (Isaiah 66,3) where the prophet describes the abominations which people were guilty of in his time.

A kabbalistic approach to the words בני האלוקים has been discussed by us already in connection with 5,2 and the name אדם.

לא ידון רוחי באדם לעולם, “My spirit will not contend evermore concerning Man, etc.” Actually, the word ידון is derived from נדנה, a word which we encounter in Daniel 7,15 אנא דניאל בגוא נדנה, “I, Daniel, my spirit was uneasy in its sheath;” the sheath of a sword is called either נדנה or תיק. In a similar manner the body is the sheath of the soul. What our verse means is that “My Spirit,” i.e. the soul, will not ever find a permanent home within the body of Man. The composition of Man’s body after it had become corrupt is simply not fit to be a permanent home for such a lofty intelligent spirit as the soul.

בשגם הוא בשר, “since he is but flesh.” The Torah states that also Man is but flesh, just as the animals which roam the earth, be they mammals, birds, or whatever. G’d laments the fact that His spirit, the soul has, allowed itself to be enslaved by the physical aspects of life.

והיו ימיו מאה ועשרים שנה, “and his life span shall be one hundred and twenty years.” G’d explains that on account of the condition of the soul within man having become dominated by worldly considerations, He will extend His patience and allow Man one hundred twenty years within which to repent before decreeing a deluge when they would perish. Rabbi David Kimchi, quoting his father, understands the word ידון as derived from מדון, “strife, contention,” and G’d would be saying: “My spirit shall not be in contention with Man forever, seeing that My spirit is not subject to the temptations of the flesh as is Man’s.”

I believe that in that case the reason for the number of 120 years mentioned here is the fact that the world was created with the letter ה and G’d wants it to continue to exist He decided to wait 120 years before bringing on the deluge as the number 100 is one fifth of the distance (in terms of years of travel) which Man is removed from the tree of life. Man is to be given a period of time during which to reflect on his conduct. Similarly, the number twenty is one fifth of 100 and we have a tradition that G’d does not punish man until he has attained the age of twenty. In the distant future G’d will not punish Man until he has reached the age of one hundred as we know from Isaiah 65,20 where the prophet describes a picture of a rosy future when כי הנער בן מאה שנה ימות והחוטא בן מאה שנה יקולל “for the lad will (only) die when he has attained the age of one hundred years, and the sinner will be cursed when he is one hundred years old.” In other words, youthful immaturity in those days will last for one hundred years. We may understand the words והיו ימיו in our verse as “that his years [regarding culpability for his sins, Ed.] will be considered as if he had only just been born.” We find an allusion to such a concept in Job 33,25 where Elihu told Job רטפש בשרו מנוער, “”let his flesh become healthier than during his youth.”

בשגם הוא בשר, these words contain an allusion to Moses as well as to the total number of his years (when you re-arrange the sequence of the letters). We read in in Bereshit Rabbah 28,9 that Noach did not really deserve to be spared from the deluge as the Torah says (6,7) [concerning the whole of mankind] כי נחמתים כי עשיתים, “for I have reconsidered having made them.” The only reason that he and his family were spared was that Moses would become his descendant in the future and G’d did not want to forego a human being of the caliber of Moses. The numerical value of the letters in the word בשגם=345 as does the numerical value of the name משה.

וינחם ה' כי עשה את האדם בארץ, “G-d reconsidered having made man on earth, etc.” The word עשה refers to the צורה, the divine image G-d had fused with the “golem,” the inarticulate body of Man. This צורה was none other than the צלם, “the divine image” the Torah had mentioned when it reported the creation of the first human being.(1,27) whereas in the report commencing with the words זה ספר תולדות אדם, the expression used was בדמות אלוקים עשה אותו, “in the likeness of G-d He had made him.” In respect of בריאה, the initial stage of the creation of Man, the Torah used the expression צלם or צורה, respectively. In respect of Man’s robot-like body, inarticulate Man, the Torah used the expression דמות as if to tell us that once the צורה became part of the “golem,” it was no longer a צלם אלוקים but merely דמות אלוקים. Seeing that the word דמות does not describe something integral but something external, just as when we speak of עבד אלוקים we mean that the “G-d-serving person” is nonetheless not an integral part of G-d but is “outside” of G-d, G-d reconsidered this part of the arrangement. saying it would have been better if the צורה, the divine aspect of Man, had not become integral to the body. Our sages illustrated this brilliantly when they said in Eruvin 13 נח לו לאדם שלא נברא, “it would have been more comfortable for man if at the initial stage of his creation he had not been fused with the body.” In our verse the Torah did not say וינחם ה' כי עשה את האדם על הארץ, “G-d reconsidered having made man on the earth,” but וינחם ה' כי עשה את האדם בארץ, “G-d reconsidered having made Man composed of integral earthly desires.”

Consider a statement by Solomon in Kohelet 4,2-3 ושבח אני את המתים שכבר מתו מן החיים אשר המה חיים עדנה. וטוב משניהם את אשר עדן לא היה. “So I consider more fortunate the dead who have already died, than the living who are still alive; but better than either of them is he who has not yet been.” Philosophers described the statements made by Solomon in these two verses as referring to the three different stages we may encounter the צורה, the divine image, as undergoing at different times. The first stage, and in Solomon’s view preferable the preferable one, is when it had not yet been introduced into the body of mortal man; and he praised that condition of man (at the end of the second verse). The second and relatively tolerable condition of the צורה occurs after it has been removed from man when his body has died. This is a stage which Solomon describes as משבח אני את המתים “I praise the dead.” The third and least tolerable situation he considers the state of the צורה while it is imprisoned within man’s body. The philosophers describe this in terms of three parables. 1) A king who sits in his palace. 2) A king who has recently been released from prison. 3) A king who is still serving a sentence in prison. There can hardly be a question that the king in the first parable enjoys greater stature than any of the other two. In view of all these clever comments why then did the Torah describe the completion by G-d of His handiwork at the end of the sixth day in such glowing terms, i.e. וירא אלוקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד, “and G-d saw all that He had made and here it was very good?” Did not that praise also include the fact that G-d had fused body, i.e. “golem” to soul, צורה, when He made Man? Not only that, but how could Solomon come hundreds of years after Moses and praise the Lord for not having fused body and soul when Moses gave G-d “excellent marks” when He praised Him for having fused the two. The answer is that although the original condition of the צורה prior to its having become fused to a body is superior to the other two conditions listed, seeing it had not yet been fused to a body and had not suffered pain or damage, once it had been fused to a body and had accomplished its mission and left that body in a state of purity, it would be far superior to what it had been prior to being fused to a body. At that point such a צורה will have made a name for itself that sparkles like pure gold. This is the reason that the souls of the righteous are forever anxious to return to their holy origins. Seeing that Moses had presupposed that the צורה would accomplish its mission within the body he saw fit to praise the Creator for having placed such a soul within man and he described G-d’s reaction to His handiwork as “very good. The proper interpretation of our verse then is exactly what the text says: האדם בארץ, “man,” while he is still attached to earth in an integral manner.” G-d reconsidered the status of such a human being seeing that this arrangement had resulted in sinfulness as the צורה had allowed itself to be dominated by the body. We find an analogous use of the expression בארץ in Isaiah 62,7 עד יכונן ועד ישים את ירושלים תהלה בארץ, “until He establishes Jerusalem and make her renowned on earth.” What the prophet meant was: “until He will make the glory of Jerusalem which is on earth manifest.” [as opposed to the Jerusalem in the celestial regions.] Another verse which spells out the meaning of the word בארץ even more clearly is found in Psalms 122,3 כעיר שחוברה לה יחדו. The psalmist speaks about the Jerusalem on earth and the Jerusalem in the celestial regions which have been fused together.

A kabbalistic approach understands the words וינחם ה', כי עשה את האדם בארץ as: “G-d’s attribute י-ה-ו-ה reconsidered.” The reason this attribute of G-d reconsidered was related to ארץ, “earth;” it was the cause G-d had to reconsider having employed this attribute when making man. The word י-ה-ו-ה in our verse is a reference to the first of the 13 attributes listed in Exodus 34,6. In other words, it was not “man” who was responsible for any reconsideration by G-d of having created him but something connected with “earth.”

ויתעצב אל לבו, “and His heart felt sadness.” In terms of the plain meaning of the words the term “heart” when applied to G-d is, of course, only a figure of speech. The same is true whenever the Torah speaks of other organs and appears to attribute them to G-d Who is totally abstract, devoid of any such organs. The reason that the Torah nonetheless employs such terms is to convey to us that our actions may or may not please G-d, may even elicit reactions that if they had been observed in humans would be described as “joy, anger, frustration, happiness and the like.” Such reactions when expressed by human beings usually involve human organs also. When the psalmist (Psalms 104,31) speaks about ישמח ה' במעשיו, “G-d rejoices in His works,” on the one hand, and in this instance we read ויתעצב ה' אל לבו, ”G-d was saddened in His heart,” both descriptions are of necessity anthropomorphisms, i.e. approximations of G-d’s reactions in terms which we humans can understand. They do not reflect the objective reactions of Someone Whose Essence we have not been privileged to understand It follows that when the Torah wishes to give us an inkling of G-d’s reaction to man’s behavior it uses the word “heart” in order to help us understand. Seeing that the human heart is a major vessel in his thinking process, the Torah chose to attribute G-d’s feelings in reaction to human aberrations as reactions by “His heart.” You find that if a person wants to concentrate he isolates himself and bends his head so as to exclude distracting intrusions into his thinking. The reason for this is that the brain, i.e. the head is where his ability to form thoughts originates. This thought process is then relayed to the heart. Granted, that this metaphor sounds somewhat far-fetched, the fact remains that ideas, thoughts travel in a downward direction from the brain to the heart.. When the Bible speaks about a messenger from G-d, such a messenger is usually described as פי ה', the “mouth” or “mouthpiece” of G-d (compare Isaiah 34,16) כי פי הוא צוה, “for My mouth (He) has commanded.” The prophet describes himself as G-d’s messenger (agent, or angel) who acts as G-d’s mouthpiece. The spirit of G-d is described as פי the spirit of the angel known as פי,“my,” resp “His mouth.” Yonathan ben Uziel therefore translates our verse here not as “G-d was saddened to His heart,” but as “His angel was saddened to his heart.” [Our editions of Yonathan ben Uziel do not have this wording; Ed.] According to our author the אורים ותומים, the parchment with the Holy name of G-d inside the breastplate of the High Priest which served as a source of communication from G-d to him, was also known as פי ה’, “the mouth of G-d, i.e. as an angel named “mouth of G-d.” Another example of such a reference to פי ה' is found in Joshua 9,14 where the acceptance of the Gibeonites as allies of the Jewish people is described. The failure of consulting G-d on that issue is described there as ואת פי ה' לא שאלו, “they did not consult ‘the mouth of G-d.” When we read in Numbers 11,1 ויהי העם כמתאוננים, רע באזני ה', “the people were as if looking for something to complain about, it was evil in the ears of G-d;” here to the word “in the ears” may be understood as the “ear” in question being one of G-d’s angels. Whenever the function of G-d’s angel is passive, i.e. he is to be an instrument of receiving G-d’s instructions, such a function of the angel is described as his being the “ears” of G-d. When he is supposed to be active in a supervisory manner, he is called “the eyes of G-d.” A very interesting example of this approach is found in Zechariah 3,9 where the prophet describes G-d’s supervision of the Jewish people in revolutionary terms, saying על אבן אחת שבעה עינים, “a single stone enjoying a variety of no less than seven supervisory “eyes,” i.e. agents of G-d.” When David speaks of אזנים כרית לי , “You assigned an ear [in order to listen to You ] “to me” [rather than the commandment to offer sacrifices, Ed.], he refers to his ear as the organ, or in this case G-d’s instrument, which helps to make him tune in to G-d’s “wavelength.” Whenever the term “ear or ears” is used for celestial beings the meaning is that these ”ears” are listening to Israel’s prayers. When G-d dispatches an angel to fight against Israel’s adversaries such an angel is usually described as יד ה' “the hand of G-d,” i.e. His executive arm. One of the examples of such a meaning of the term יד ה' is found in Samuel I 5,11 כבדה מאד יד האלוקים שם, “for the hand of the Lord had been very heavy there.” There are, of course, numerous similar quotations in Exodus when the Torah describes the plagues G-d inflicted upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. When G-d’s agents are about to reveal a previously unknown manifestation of the Lord, the angel performing this task is often described as “the feet of G-d.” We find an example of this in Zechariah 14,4 ועמדו רגליו ביום ההוא על הר זיתים, “and on that day His feet will stand on Mount Olives, etc.” The prophet refers to G-d’s “soldiers.” There are numerous other examples of that nature.

From a Midrashic-homiletical aspect we may approach the words ויתעצב אל לבו, “His heart was saddened,” as follows: Rabbi Ami (Bereshit Rabbah 27,6) told the parable of a king who built a palace having employed an architect. When the palace was completed the king was not satisfied with it. Who should the king be angry at if not the architect? Rabbi Ami related another parable illustrating this when he told about a king who had entrusted a sum of money to a broker instructing him to invest this on his behalf. The broker failed and the king lost his money. Who would the king be angry at if not at the broker? We have to understand why Rabbi Ami saw the need to illustrate our verse by means of two parables. In the parable with the architect it was possible to err and to conclude that there are two separate prime causes in this world People might have said that granted the king is king and wields authority, nonetheless he employed the architect seeing the architect’s wisdom was superior to his own. It follows that there are things in this world which are beyond the “king,“ read “G-d.” This conclusion would be totally mistaken, of course. However, in order to forestall such a mistaken conclusion Rabbi Ami related the second parable. In that parable he spoke about a broker who did not own anything at all and was simply an agent of the king. In both parables Rabbi Ami wanted to emphasise that the role of the broker and the architect are interchangeable. None is privy to any knowledge or power not possessed by their employer, i.e. G-d. The “architect” is none other than a sub-contractor, and we find that the Targum translates the words בוני שלמה, “Solomon’s builders,” (Kings I 5,32) as אדריכלי שלמה, “Solomon’s architects.”

A kabbalistic approach to the words ויתעצב אל לבו, understands the subject of “He was saddened” to be the very “architect” or the “broker” mentioned in Rabbi Ami’s parables. The conversation described in the Torah reflects what G-d said to the architect. When He said: אמחה את האדם אשר בראתי..... כי נחמתי כי עשיתם, we must pay attention to the switch between the word בראתי at the beginning of the verse and the word עשיתם at the end of that same verse. [G-d was never saddened about the בריאה aspect of man only about the עשיה aspect, i.e. that He had completed the creation of man by fusing earth to spiritual matter. Ed.] Moreover, we must also pay attention to האדם בארץ, in verse five and in verse six. In the first verse the words האדם בארץ refer to what was written immediately before that, i.e. רבה רעת, “the great amount of evil,” whereas in the second verse the words האדם בארץ refer to what follows, i.e. ויתעצב אל לבו. so that the word ויתעצב refers back to האדם, to “man.” It is a reference to the concept of “Man the glorious,” the reason why G-d created the entire universe (ארץ) as we explained already in connection with the word בראשית, very first word of the Torah. Unfortunately, it had now become “ארץ” which had become responsible for this sad state of the universe. The meaning of the full verse in its profounder meaning is: G-d reconsidered having made man not because of man, but because of the earth , i.e. the architect and the broker who had not carried out the assignment G-d had entrusted to them. The reason that the Torah mentions such “feelings” as ויתעצב, “He was saddened,” is only because at the time of the completion of His handiwork at the end of the sixth day the Torah had seen fit to describe G-d’s “joy” when it stated that “G-d saw all that He had done and it was very good,” i.e. “He was very pleased.” You should not be bothered by the fact that at this point the Torah speaks abou ”G-d experiencing sadness;” nor should you be bothered by such statements as ויקרא א-דני אלוקים צבאות ביום ההוא לבכי ולמספד “on that day My Lord of Hosts called for weeping and lamenting, etc.” The Talmud in Chagigah 5,2 [in response to the statement of Rabbi Papa that no sentiments of sadness are to be attributed to G-d, Ed.] explained that what is meant is הא בבתי גוואי והא בבתי בראי, that although we distinguish between externally visible manifestations of sadness and only internal manifestations of such feelings. When it comes to the destruction of the Temple, even angels were allowed to display such sentiments. [The impending destruction of mankind certainly also warranted a display of such sentiments. Ed.] The term בתי בראי “an external house,” i.e. a manifestation that is visible to outsiders refers to emanations from גבורה closer to מלכות, whereas the term בתי גוואי refers to emanations from the emanation גבורה “upwards.” When the Torah speaks here about a visible display of G-d’s sadness as occurring in internal terms, i.e. “G-d was saddened to His heart,” we find the equivalent of this a few chapters later after Noach had presented an offering of thanksgiving (8,21) when the Torah describes G-d’s reaction as “G-d said to His heart, I will not continue to curse the earth for the sake of man.”

ונח מצא חן בעיני ה', “and Noach had found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” This means simply that the wicked deserved to be wiped out whereas righteous Noach deserved to be saved as he had found favour in the eyes of G-d All the Torah does here was to explain the principle of reward and punishment. This is also what Solomon had in mind when he said in Proverbs 22,1 נבחר שם מעושר רב מכסף ומזהב חן טוב, “A good name is to be chosen rather than riches, grace is better than silver or gold.”

מתהלך בתומו צדיק, אשרי בניו אחריו, “The righteous man walks in his integrity; happy are the children who come after him.”(Proverbs 20,7)

Solomon told us in this verse that a person cannot be considered as righteous until he has walked in integrity when serving the Lord. What is this “integrity” which Solomon talks about here? It means that one performs G-d’s commandments because of love and reverence for Him, not because one hopes to benefit by this in the eyes of one’s peers and by attaining honour in their eyes. It is appropriate for man to perform good and kind deeds to the best of his ability without bragging about them. In fact he should endeavour to refrain from even mentioning that he has perfomed such deeds. Anyone who does tell about this and claims credit for such good deeds is actually considered as a sinner. If one does claim credit for such good deeds this is liable to result in two kinds of negative fallout. 1) Firstly, he enhances his own standing compared to others in the eyes of those who believe him when he tells them about his deeds of piety. 2) He puts to shame and embarasses those who have been the recipients of his kindness. It is the mark of a righteous person who walks in integrity with his G-d that he does not boast about his virtues and the good deeds he has performed. Such a person is described as איש אמונים, “a man of true integrity.” Solomon connects the verse we have quoted with the one immediately prior to it in which he said רב אדם יקרא איש חסדו, , ואיש אמונים מי ימצא”he calls most people ‘true friend,” but who can find a loyal man?” In mentioning איש אמונים, “a loyal man,” Solomon took his cue from Proverbs 11,13 where such a “loyal” person is described as ונאמן רוח מכסה דבר, “a faithful spirit keeps his confidence.” In fact, Solomon discusses the same theme also in another context (Proverbs 10,8) where he said חכם לב יקח מצות, ואויל שפתים ילבט, “the wise in heart will accept the commandments, whereas the one who speaks foolishly will be afflicted.” What Solomon meant was that the person who is truly wise gets hold of G-d’s commandments with his hands and performs them without speaking about this with his lips. The foolish persion is the exact reverse of the wise man. Not only does he not endeavour to perform the commandments which he has a chance to perform, but even when he violates the commandments he makes a point of talking about this. This is why is referred to primarily as a ”fool.” So we are faced with two totally opposite behaviour patterns. The one type of person hides the fact that he actually does perform G-d’s commandments, whereas the other person makes a point of broadcasting the fact that he does not. Concerning the latter type of individual Solomon says ילבט, meaning he will become troubled by his words. The word ילבט is found in Hoseah 4,14 where it means “he will fail.” Yonathan ben Uziel translates the word as וסכלא בשפוושיה מתאחד “and the fool will become enmeshed by his own words.” As to the second half of the verse in Proverbs 20,7 which we quoted in our introduction, אשרי בניו אחריו, “happy are the children who come after him,” Solomon refers to the ability of parents to confer merits on their children after them. This is analogous to G-d saying in Exodus 20,6 ועושה חסד לאלפים, that “He (G-d) will perform kindness to thousands of generations of descendants of the righteous.” This is applicable in the event that their ancestors performed the commandments from a sense of love for G-d, whereas a different statement in Deut 7,10 in which G-d is portrayed as extending such kindness to one thousand generations refers to ancestors who performed G-d’s commandments only out of a sense of awe and fear of the consequences if they would fail to do so. The basis for this interpretation is the fact that the word לאוהביו “to those who love Him,” is written next to the words לאלפים, “for thousands of generations,” whereas the word s לאלף דור “for one thousand generations” appears next to the words ומשלם לשונאיו “and He repays those who hate Him“ in Deut.7,10. Solomon has explained this in a similar fashion in Proverbs 14,26 where he said: ביראת ה' מבטח עז ולבניו יהיה מחסה, “through his reverence for G-d man has a fortress; his children will have a place of refuge.” In other words: “the accumulated merits of the fathers are a source of benefit for their children in the eyes of G-d.” It is entirely possible that the opening verses in our portion are intended to praise Noach in three stages, each stage being superior to the preceding one. The Torah mentions last that Noach “walked with G-d.” This virtue of walking with G-d is a very great virtue indeed, a virtue which is superior to what is called תמימות, “perfection.” The virtue תמימות, on the other hand, is superior to the virtue described as צדיק; the Torah reports that Noach had attained these three levels of moral achievements progressively until he had qualified for the description את האלוקים התהלך נח, “Noach walked with G-d.”

אלה תולדת נח, נח איש צדיק, תמים היה בדורותיו את האלוקים התהלך נח. “These are the generations of Noach; Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations; Noach walked with G-d.” The word תולדות refers to “happenings” (compare the comments by Ibn Ezra and David Kimchi); it is what is described in Proverbs 27,1 as כי לא תדע מה ילד היום, “for you do not know what the day will bring.” The explanation of these commentators is based on the verse following in which Noach is described as ויולד נח, “Noach begot.” These words are read as belonging to what the first verse told us i.e. the three virtues which Noach practiced as opposed to his peers. Being a צדיק, a righteous person, meant not engaging in violent means to gain one’s objectives. The Torah reported in verse 11 that his generation was guilty of random violence. His second virtue was that he was תמים, “perfect,” that he was consistent and thorough in the way he practiced his virtues. The Torah applies the term תמים to the red heifer, i.e. a cow that has uniformly red hair. Even two hairs of a different colour disqualify such an animal from fulfilling its designated purpose. In other words, an animal אשר אין בה מום,”which is without blemish” (Numbers 19,2). In the case of human beings, the term מום describes a character defect. This is why the Torah describes Noach as תמים “free from blemish.” Psalms 119,1 lauds such people by referring to them as אשרי תמימי דרך,”hail to those whose way is blameless.” In order to contrast Noach’s virtues with those of his contemporaries the Torah writes כי השחית כל בשר על הארץ, “for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth.” Noach’s third virtue is described by the words את האלוקים התהלך נח, “Noach walked with G-d.” This virtue of “walking with G-d” is something so exceptional that we find it mentioned only very rarely. Nonetheless, it is one of the imperatives G-d (Moses) commanded the Jewish people (Deut. 13,5) when He said: אחרי ה' אלוקיכם תלכו, “You shall follow the Lord your G-d, etc.” Interestingly , in our verse the Torah does not describe Noach as having walked behind G-d, i.e. אחרי האלוקים, nor does it use the normal conjugation kal i.e. הלךwhen describing Noach’s relationship to G-d. The Torah uses the reflexive conjugation התהלך, “he made himself walk.” This was not a construction that can be applied to an entire nation and this is why Moses did not phrase his imperative as אחרי ה' אלוקיכם התהלכו,”make yourselves follow (in the footsteps of) the Lord your G-d.” Only select individuals ever attain such a lofty spiritual level and only after having become outstandingly righteous people. (in the words of our author “people who have attained the levels of the sun and the various forces of energy in outer space and who are familiar with how these forces of energy influence what goes on in our terrestrial world.”) The very attainment of that level of comprehension of the forces at work in our universe reveals that the person who commands it has an appreciation of G-d and His Majesty. This is what David meant when he said (Psalms 19,2) השמים מספרים כבוד א-ל ומעשה ידיו מגיד הרקיע, “the heavens declare the glory of G-d , the sky proclaims His handiwok.” This is also why our sages (Shabbat 75) have said: “anyone who knows how to calculate the various seasons and horoscopes correctly and fails to use his ability is the subject of the verse (Isaiah 5,12) “and he fails to take note of what He is designing.” We have another scriptural verse (Psalms 82,5) לא ידעו ולא יבינו בחשכה יתהלכו, “they neither knew nor understood, they make themselves walk in darkness;” this verse too describes people who, though able to comprehend the mysteries of nature, fail to pay attention to this and to draw the appropriate conclusions regarding their conduct on earth. In order to highlight Noach’s achievements in this sphere the Torah testifies to this with the words את האלוקים התהלך נח, that “Noach indeed walked with G-d.” This “walking with G-d,” meant that after he had gained insight into the existence and supervisory activity of G-d through his study of astronomy enhanced by his virtuous lifestyle, he drew the proper conclusions. He did not believe in astrology, i.e.he knew that all these phenomena do not represent independent forces in the universe. In this way he was poles apart from his peers who all believed in the sun, i.e. the solar system as a supreme cause. When the Torah speaks about the corruptness of mankind, this is a refernce to idolatry. In Sanhedrin 57 the term השחתה is used to describe paganism and sexual licentiousness based on Exodus 32, 7 where G-d informed Moses with the words שחת עמך, “your people has become corrupt,” that the Israelites had made for themselves a golden calf. This is also why the idolater Jerobam is called איש משחית “a man causing corruption” (based on Proverbs 28,24). The Talmud describes this corruption as taking place לפני האלוקים, something which corresponds to the basic prohibition of idolatry in Exodus 20,3. where the Torah writes לא יהיה לך אלוהים אחרים על פני, “You shall not have other deities in My presence.” The first person who is credited with having attained this level of perfection was Chanoch, and the Torah wrote of him (Genesis 5,24) ויתהלך חנך את האלוקים, “Chanoch walked with the Lord.” This was remarkable because he lived during a time when Enosh had introduced idolatry and all the people of his time had begun to worship the sun and other planetary constellations. Chanoch investigated the laws of nature and concluded that there must be a primary cause which is responsible for the regular orbits of the stars, the sun, etc. The very fact that he is descrbed a having spent 365 years on earth, a number which corresponds to the number of days in the sun’s orbit, is the Torah’s way of hinting to us something about the nature of his superior knowledge. As a result of his investigations of nature Chanoch cleaved to G-d, i.e. to the primary Cause. The next time we find the Torah mentioning the concept of “walking with” or in front of” G-d, is in connection with Avraham in Genesis 17,1. There too the expression התהלך לפני, “walk in front of Me,” is followed by the words והיה תמים “and become perfect,” to show that walking with G-d is an indication of one’s “perfection.” From all we know Avraham was constantly engaged in religious disputes, trying to convince people that there was only one G-d and that He supervises the fates of every individual on earth. He engaged in arguments with the powers of his time concerning the laws of the states. People confronted him trying to prove that the sun was a deity. Avraham did not deny the powers of the sun and its direct influence on what goes on in our world. However, he tried to convince the people of his time that the sun was only an instrument wielded by G-d just as certain tools with which an artisan fashions wonderful furniture is not a deity as it could not produce anything unless the hand of the craftsman guided it. This is why he was prepared to die for his belief when he chose to be thrown into Nimrod’s furnace rather than to deny his true beliefs. The Torah referred to this in Genesis 15,7: “I am the Lord who has taken you out (saved you) from the fire of the Chaldaens.”

בדורותיו, “in his generations.” We would have expected the Torah to write בדורו, “in his generation” (sing). However, at the beginning of the deluge Noach was six hundred years old and he had already survived members of several generations. By writing בדורותיו, the Torah wanted to inform us that all those generations had been corrupt already and that there was no individual amongst them that merited saving.

According to the plain meaning of the text the reason that Noach’s name is mentioned three times in this verse is because of the three levels of perfection he had attained, i.e. he was righteous, perfect, and he walked with G-d.

את שם, את חם, ואת יפת, “Shem, Cham and Yaphet.” Yaphet appears to have been the eldest of the three brothers seeing that in 10,21 the Torah refers to אחי יפת הגדול, ”brother of the senior, Yaphet.” Cham appears to have been the youngest seeing the Torah writes in 9,24 וידע את אשר עשה לו בנו הקטן, “and he became aware of what his younger son had done to him.” The reason the Torah mentions Shem first was because he was the most outstanding of Noach’s children. This is why Yaphet had to be mentioned only after Shem

וירא אלוקים את הארץ, ”G-d saw the earth, etc.” At this point the Torah reverts to G-d’s name אלוקים to indicate that the attribute of Justice enters the picture at this stage. Seeing that the sins of that generation were so great the attribute of Justice was poised over them.

והנה נשחתה, “and here it had become corrupt, etc.” What precisely did this “corruption” consist of? כי השחית כל בשר את דרכו על הארץ, “for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth.” They were all destroying their own seed. They did not want to procreate and used sexual union for pleasure only. This is what is meant by Isaiah 57,5 שוחטי הילדים, “the ones who slaughter the children.” Our sages (Niddah 13) comment on this that a preferable reading to the word שוחטי would be סוחטי, i.e. they squeezed out their semen before impregnating their wives. Seeing that they had become guilty of destroying semen which becomes a fetus after forty days, they were punished with a deluge which poured rain on them for forty days (based on Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 22). Actually, the people of that time were guilty of four sins: 1) idolatry; 2) sexual licentiousness including incest; 3) murder; 4) gratuitous violence. The reason for the forty days of rain may be broken down as follows: thirty days of continuous rain descended because of their idolatry, i.e. the worshiped the sun for thirty days; however seeing the sun’s influence on earth commences already five days before it becomes visible to us and it continues for five days after it has ceased to be visible, it was proper that they be punished on account of sun-worship for forty days. Whatever is true of the visible effect of the sun as well as its invisible effect, applies equally to the stars so that in respect of every form of worship of celestial constellations the number forty represented מדה כנגד מדה, “the punishment fitted the crime.” Similar considerations apply to the sin of sexual licentiousness and murder as in both instances the gestation period of the human being was forty days before it became a real fetus. As to the violence, their fourth sin, the number forty is appropriate for the duration of the days of rain as the Torah containing this legislation was given to Moses after he had spent forty days on Mount Sinai. This sin of corruption did not only include human beings but it had also corrupted the behaviour of the animals. This is why our sages (Sanhedrin 108) explained ברותחין קלקלו וברותחין נדונו, “the ones who had become guilty of wasting hot semen were punished by a deluge of hot water.” This fact is based on a similarity of the words וחמת המלך שככה, and the king’s anger “cooled off,” and the words used at the end of the deluge in 8,1 וישכו המים, “and the waters cooled off.” As to the line ותשחת הארץ לפני האלוקים, “the earth had become corrupt in the presence of G-d,” this is a reference to the idolatry practiced by man. The Torah alluded to then fact that the sins of mankind included both trespasses against G-d as well as trespasses against society. They corrupted religion and they corrupted the basics of procreation. These latter sins also included indiscriminate robbery amongst the people. The Torah refers to this by writing ותמלא הארץ, “the earth became filled with violence,” and the repetition כי מלאה הארץ חמס. Seeing that the Torah reports G-d’s decision to bring on the deluge in connection with the report of the violence it is clear that this sin weighed most heavily and that the decree to destroy mankind was not sealed until G-d had reviewed the indiscriminate violence on earth (compare Sanhedrin 108). We find support for this view in two verses in the Book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 54,14 we read רחקי מעושק כי לא תיראי וממחתה כי לא תקרב אליך. “You shall keep away from oppression (do not engage in it) and you shall have no fear, and from ruin and it shall not come near you.” The same prophet had said a few verses earlier (verse 9) כי מי נח זאת לי, “that this is like the deluge to Me, etc.” In other words the prophet (in the name of G-d) warns the people that the deluge had been due to the violence and oppression practiced by people against each other. The reason that this was the “straw that broke the camel’s back,” i.e. the most critical sin was that it is a trespass against common sense. If there were no G-d at all, mankind would have to legislate laws controlling violence as otherwise civilisation would collapse of its own. A society which did not even observe such a code flaws could not expect to endure.

The very occurrence of the deluge is proof positive that the universe was a creation and that a Creator presides over it and watches it; it proves that the same Creator punishes those who are guilty and saves the ones who deserve to be saved such as Noach and his family. It proves further that G-d’s supervision is not limited to the celestial spheres but that it extends to our “lower” world also. Just as Adam was the ancestor of all human beings after him, so Noach became the ancestor of all human beings after the deluge. Just as Adam had three sons, Kayin, Hevel, and Sheth, so Noach had three sons, Shem, Cham, and Yaphet. Just as two of Adam’s sons were his mainstay whereas the third one was cursed, so you find that one of Noach’s sons was cursed. Just as Adam’s third son was the one who became the link to posterity so Noach’s third son is the true link to posterity as only the descendants of Shem are the ones who will qualify for resurrection. [According to Rashi, Shem was indeed the third, i.e. the youngest son of Noach. Ed.]

עשה לך תבת עצי גופר ,“make for yourself an Ark of gopher wood, etc.” “Gopher” is an especially light-weight kind of wood, known as kadros according to David Kimchi. Onkelos translates the word as דאעין-דקדרוס, a kind of cedar-wood. G-d instructed Noach to make for himself an Ark out of this well-known wood and to bring into it two specimens (male and female) of all the domestic and free-roaming animals in order to keep these species alive as well as seven pairs of each of the pure species of birds in order for some to serve as sacrifices after the deluge. G-d informed Noach beforehand that he was going to bring the deluge in order to wipe out all flesh on earth which had the breath of life in it.

At this point, an intelligent child must surely ask how it is possible that a man whom the Torah described in the most glowing terms as a righteous and perfect individual did not turn to G-d in prayer in order to help save the members of his generation and give them a chance to repent and rehabilitate themselves?. Why did he not engage G-d in a dialogue as Avraham did after him when G-d had informed him that He was going to destroy the city of Sodom and its inhabitants? Avraham had prayed repeatedly and almost insistently as we know from the report of the Torah in Genesis chapter 18. The answer to this question is that Noach did not “neglect” to pray for his contemporaries either because he did not care or felt that they deserved to perish. He knew that there was a need for only ten righteous people in order to ensure the survival of the world as it was. He based this tradition on the ten directives G-d employed to create the universe. He reasoned that if there were indeed ten righteous people alive at that time G-d would not have instructed him to prepare for the deluge by building the Ark. Under the prevailing circumstances, only eight people had been commanded to enter the Ark, ( Noach and his wife, his three sons and their respective wives) i.e. proof that at that time there were already no ten righteous people left on earth. [Avraham had also stopped praying when he realised that there were fewer than ten good people in Sodom. Ed.] Seeing there were no ten good people left on earth it was clear to him that the generation did not merit survival on account of the remaining eight good people. Under the circumstances, the most that G-d was willing to do was to save Noach seeing he was the first member of the tenth generation of mankind. G-d accommodated Noach by also saving his immediate family. The fact that Avraham himself did not bother to implore G-d to save the city of Sodom for the sake of fewer than ten righteous people proves that Noach cannot be faulted for not having prayed when told to take only seven additional human beings into the Ark with him. In fact, Noach was not even allowed to pray when he knew there were fewer than ten good people. In addition, as opposed to the people of Sodom, the people at the time of Noach had been given 120 years warning The people of Sodom had not been given any kind of warning by G-d prior to Avraham being informed of their impending doom. G-d is not in the habit of decreeing doom unless the potential victims had been warned (Yuma 81).

וזה אשר תעשה אותה, “and this is how you shall construct it, etc.” G-d commanded Noach the measurements of the Ark. When one considers the many types of species Noach had been asked to bring into the Ark, these measurements appear to be totally insufficient. In fact, according to the number of species of animals and birds in our world today, even ten times as many Arks of that size would not be able to accommodate them all. There can therefore be no doubt that the entire operation was possible only by means of G-d’s miraculous intervention. G-d demonstrated to Noach and his family that even a physically small space can accommodate a great number of creatures when G-d so decrees it.

You may be inclined to ask that seeing G-d was able to save all these people and animals by working a miracle, why did He bother to command Noach to spend 120 years of his life to build the Ark altogether? Surely, G-d had a number of other alternatives once He had decided to invoke miracles! For instance, He could have enabled the people and animals who were meant to survive to walk on water, or some other miracle not involving 120 years of Noach’s time. The answer to such questions is that the Torah always instructs man to do all in his power to achieve his objective by natural means. If, for reasons beyond his control, man cannot complete his task, G-d will supply the amount of miracle needed to bring man’s deserving endeavor to a successful conclusion. If you will examine other miracles reported in the Torah you will always find that though G-d intervened in the most miraculous manner, there were always elements in what happened which were based on the laws of nature being made full use of. For instance, when the Torah commanded the two and a half tribes of Reuven, Gad, and Menashe to join their brethren in war by donning arms and uniforms and marching at their head (Numbers 32,27), this was not because they did the actual fighting. The actual fighting was done by G-d. Nonetheless, man has to do or to appear to do whatever is within his power to try and achieve the task set for him by G-d. Similarly, we find in Joshua 8,2 that G-d commanded Joshua to set an ambush against the city of Ai and take with him his entire army although G-d Himself says “here I have already given the King of Ai and his people and his city into your hands.” Seeing that all the wars fought by the Israelites on their march from Egypt to the Holy Land were won by means of miracles you would be justified in asking why they needed to be recruited as an army at all? The reason is, as we have stated, that G-d does not intervene by means of a miracle until man has done his duty by trying to help himself. In our situation, i.e. the building of the Ark, there was an additional reason why G-d had commanded Noach to build it. He had hoped that when people would watch the vast amount of time and energy which Noach (and his sons) put into constructing this huge Ark that he must have known what he was doing, and that at least some people would take his warning of the impending deluge to heart to repent and change their lifestyle. If they would nonetheless ignore such warnings they were obviously irredeemable sinners and would deserve whatever G-d decreed for them.

והקימותי את בריתי עמך , “and I will maintain My covenant with you, etc.” The covenant G-d speaks about is the one he now concludes that He would wipe out life on earth and would save only Noach and those in the Ark with him. Alternatively, G-d may have been speaking about the covenant involving the rainbow, the details of which appear later on in our portion (view of Ibn Ezra).

Nachmanides writes that based on Kabbalah the covenant G-d speaks about here is not one G-d concluded with Noach at all, but it s a covenant G-d made with mankind or the universe at the time of creation. The word ברית, “covenant,” is actually derived from the word בראשית, the time when G-d began the work of creation. You may read the word בריתי as if it had been spelled ברייתי, related to “My creation,” i.e. the Hebrew word בריתי is similar to a possessive form of the word or words בראשית עולם, “at the beginning of the universe.” Accordingly, G-d stated that this original covenant would be maintained with the righteous of all generations, at this point with Noach. Nachmanides quotes Genesis 9,9 ואני הנני מקים את בריתי אתכם, “and here I will keep My covenant with you,” as an example of what he has in mind. Another example he quotes is Malachi 2, 5 בריתי היתה אתו, “My covenant has been with him.” [that G-d always maintained His covenant with the tribe of Levi.] The intelligent will understand what I refer to. Thus far Nachmanides To summarize what he meant: The covenant which has existed and extended from on high to man on earth is that G-d employs His attribute of Mercy as the guiding principle in His relation to human beings. This covenant will endure and the partner to G-d in this covenant is the righteous f each generation seeing the righteous is the foundation upon which the universe id founded. Due to this covenant man is the recipient of G-d’s bounty. This is the real meaning of the word אתכם ”with you” (pl) in 9,9.

מכל החי, “and from all living creatures, etc.” Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 31,13 explain this expression is meant to include demons (disembodied spirits). G-d commanded them to enter the Ark [Noach would not be able to locate them on his own. Ed.] It is possible to explain this strange phenomenon by recalling that these spirits might not have been able to remain in their regular habitat, i.e. the atmosphere, due to the changes in the earth’s atmosphere during the period of the deluge when even the atmosphere underwent radical changes. The reason for this can be seen from the wording of G-d’s decree לשחת כל בשר אשר בו רוח חיים ,”to destroy all flesh which has the spirit of life in it.” The emphasis appears to be on the words “spirit of life.” According to this wording the decree that living creatures would perish applied to all moving creatures including disembodied spirits. It was necessary therefore to bring these demons or spirits into the Ark as they too would have perished during the forty days of hot rain.

When the Torah speaks about Noach (personally) bringing all these creatures into the Ark, i.e. תביא אל התבה, this need not be understood literally. After all, we find in the very next verse that the Torah writes יבואו אליך להחיות, “they will come to you in order to survive.” Surely this means that they will come of their own accord. What then did the Torah mean in our verse where it writes “bring to you into the Ark?” The meaning of these words is that Noach was to assist these animals once they had come to him and to provide them with suitable accommodation. He was to make every effort to ensure their survival. This was a commandment. Where do we actually find a mention of the fact that the demons came to join Noach in the Ark together with all the other species of living creatures? The Torah writes some apparently superfluous words in verse fourteen where the Torah writes וכל העוף למינהו כל צפור כל כנף, “and every bird after its kind and every bird of any kind of wing.” The words כל העוף למינהו, refer to the impure birds; the words כל צפור, refer to the pure birds; the additional words כל כנף “any kind of wing,” refer to the demons. They fly through the air. These words are followed immediately by the statement ויבואו אל נח אל התבה, “they came to Noach to the Ark.”

ויעש נח, “Noach did, etc.” These words refer to Noach constructing the Ark. The next words i.e. כן עשה, “so he did,” refer to Noach bringing in the various species in pairs as well as stocking the Ark with the necessary food supply, the appropriate food for each species.