{"id":34224,"date":"2018-07-22T00:01:55","date_gmt":"2018-07-21T21:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-6\/"},"modified":"2022-02-12T23:56:33","modified_gmt":"2022-02-12T21:56:33","slug":"wall-6","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-6\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Torah-Genesis-6"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"6","date":"20250907","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","books_group":"Torah","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"34716","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Genesis 6 - Judy Hammond ","post_title":"Genesis 6 - Judy Hammond","slug":"genesis-6-judy-hammond","old_id":"34716","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Genesis 6","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"read by Judy Hammond","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/genesis-chapter-6-read-by-judy-hammond","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"101886","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Extreme Inhumanity Negates Humanity ","post_title":"Extreme Inhumanity Negates Humanity","slug":"extreme-inhumanity-negates-humanity","old_id":"101886","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":96657,"post_title":"Jeff Jaffe","slug":"jeff-jaffe","old_id":"96657","first_name":"Jeff ","last_name":"Jaffe ","description":"Jeff Jaffe is the CEO of the World Wide Web Consortium at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Jaffe is also the author of Genesis: A Torah for All Nations (Gefen Publishing House) which can be found at https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Genesis-Nations-Jeffrey-M-Jaffe\/dp\/9657023181.\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Jeff Jaffe is the CEO of the World Wide Web Consortium at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is the author of Genesis: A Torah for All Nations. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":96658,"alt":"","title":"jeff jaffe","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jeff-jaffe.jpg","width":1897,"height":2581,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jeff-jaffe-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jeff-jaffe-220x300.jpg","medium-width":220,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jeff-jaffe-753x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":753,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jeff-jaffe-753x1024.jpg","large-width":753,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jeff-jaffe.jpg","1536x1536-width":1129,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jeff-jaffe.jpg","2048x2048-width":1505,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jeff-jaffe-882x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":882,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jeff-jaffe-309x420.jpg","home_baner-width":309,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Even the high and mighty can become lowly\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The narrative surrounding the deluge takes up a significant portion of the Torah and therefore must contain some powerful messages for humanity. The narrative deepens the understanding of God\u2019s will. The Torah is not content with individual commandments such as \u201cdo not murder\u201d; rather, it describes how low society as a whole may fall, if its people do not fulfill the commandments.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A great illustration of this is in the first five verses of chapter 6, which describe great people, mighty men \u2013 men of renown (verse 4). But the verses also specify that these men were wicked, taking women against their will (verse 2), with continuous evil thoughts (verse 5).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Hebrew term for men of renown is <\/span>anshei hashem<\/span><\/em> (literally, \u201cmen of the name\u201d)<\/span>.<\/span><\/i> These men apparently had great potential \u2013 yet as the sinners who caused the deluge, they fell to the lowest level possible. How low did they fall? According to Talmud\u00a0<\/span>Sanhedrin<\/span><\/i> 107b, they have no share in the World to Come and will not even be judged on judgment day.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Our daily prayers seem to drop them even further. In the Korbanot segment of the morning prayer, we say, \u201c<\/span>Meh anu<\/span><\/em>\u201d: \u201cWho are we? What is our life? \u2026After all, the mighty are like nothing before You...\u201d And then we say <\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/i>v\u2019Anshei Hashem k\u2019lo hayu<\/span><\/em>.\u201d From a content perspective, this means that notables are nothing compared to God \u2013 literally \u201cas if they never existed.\u201d But there is special resonance from the use of the same phrase as verse 4. The prayer says that these same <\/span>anshei hashem<\/span><\/em> are as if they never existed. The prayer continues to say that such people are no better than beasts.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The prayer thus provides a unique perspective of extreme sinners. Notables who fall to such a level are no greater than beasts. This helps us understand <\/span>Sanhedrin<\/span><\/i> 107b. How is it possible that such notables are not even judged on judgment day? They have literally lost their humanity.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The assertion that <\/span>anshei hashem<\/span><\/em> is a code word that signals individuals at the lowest ethical level is supported with another example. In Genesis 11:4, the builders of the Tower of Babel express that they wanted to create for themselves a \u201c<\/span>shem<\/span><\/em>\u201d (name). They also wanted to be at that level of mighty (immoral) notables. And indeed, the Talmud says about them as well that they have no share in the World to Come; i.e., it is as if they never existed.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":101406,"alt":"","title":"-61fbf071d2dad--61fbf071d2daegen1-nations flags 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Are The Generations Of Noah ","post_title":"These Are The Generations Of Noah","slug":"these-are-the-generations-of-noah","old_id":"101896","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A new beginning\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Our<\/span> chapter<\/span><\/a> begins with what seems to be a<\/span> digression<\/span><\/a> about the wickedness of mankind inserted in the story of Noah,<\/span> which begins with his birth<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> continues<\/span><\/a>: \u201cBut Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord\u201d. There follows what seems a<\/span> new beginning<\/span><\/a> of the Noah narrative: \u201cThese are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth\u201d. This repeats what we have already been told above (<\/span>Genesis 5:32<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> 6:8<\/span><\/a>). Scripture then<\/span> repeats a brief account of the wickedness of mankind<\/span><\/a>, leading to the extensive narrative of Noah\u2019s building the Ark, the Flood, God\u2019s promise and covenant with Noah and his sons after their surviving the Flood. The story of Noah and his direct descendants<\/span> ends with<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThese are the families of the generations of the sons of Noah\u2026\u201d, which seems to echo the<\/span> new beginning<\/span><\/a> of the Noah narrative: \u201cThese are the generations of Noah\u2026\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The compositional issues noted above have been explained in line with the<\/span> documentary hypothesis<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> according to which<\/span> the Flood story is a combination of the so-called J and P sources<\/span><\/a> in the composite scriptural text that has come down to us.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Despite the somewhat confusing organization of the scriptural account of Noah, rabbinic tradition determined that the second weekly Torah reading (<\/span>Parashat Noah<\/span><\/i><\/a>) should<\/span> begin with<\/span><\/a> \u201cThese are the generations of Noah\u201d. This liturgical practice was codified by<\/span> Maimonides<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThe custom prevailing throughout Israel is that the reading of the Pentateuch is completed in one year\u2026On the second Sabbath, the portion beginning, \"These are the generations of Noah\" is read\u2026Some complete the reading of the Pentateuch in three years, but this is not a prevalent custom.\u201d Significantly, according to the \u201cTriennial Cycle\u201d of Torah readings referred to here by Maimonides, \u201cThese are the generations of Noah\u201d is also the beginning of new Scriptural <\/span>Seder <\/span><\/i>(number five).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Parashat Noah <\/span><\/i>begins \u201cThese are the generations of Noah \u2013 <\/span>Eleh toledot Noah<\/span><\/em>\u201d but then adds that he himself was \u201ca righteous man, blameless among his generations \u2013 <\/span>Ish tzaddiq tamim hayah be-dorotav<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i>\u201d This curious sentence structure was used by Rabbi Tanhuma, a famous <\/span>darshan <\/span><\/i>[\u201cpreacher\u201d], who lived in the Land of Israel in the 4<\/span>th<\/span> century CE, to<\/span> teach a lesson<\/span><\/a>: When a righteous man dies childless, the Holy One, blessed be He, comforts him: \u2018What you have left after you is even more desirable than children. This is the Torah you have observed. For<\/span> Scripture says<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThe fruit of the righteous is a Tree of Life\u201d,<\/span> which refers to the Torah<\/span><\/a>. So, your \u201cfruit\u201d (i.e. produce, offspring) is the Torah that you have preserved and perpetuated.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The curious repetition \u201cNoah Noah\u201d in<\/span> Genesis 6:9<\/span><\/a> provides the basis for<\/span> another heartening midrash<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>Noah <\/span><\/i>(suggesting<\/span> comforting<\/span><\/a>) in this world and <\/span>Noah<\/span><\/i> in the world to come. God says, Until the End of Days, I will recall My<\/span> covenant<\/span><\/a> that the \u201c<\/span>Waters of Noah<\/span><\/a>\u201d shall never again cover the Earth.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Noah Entering the Ark, drawing, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto), c. 1650 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":101891,"alt":"","title":"-620829a301eb4--620829a301eb5gen6 - Noah_Entering_the_Ark.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620829a301eb4-620829a301eb5gen6-Noah_Entering_the_Ark.jpg.jpg","width":800,"height":591,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620829a301eb4-620829a301eb5gen6-Noah_Entering_the_Ark.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620829a301eb4-620829a301eb5gen6-Noah_Entering_the_Ark.jpg-300x222.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":222,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620829a301eb4-620829a301eb5gen6-Noah_Entering_the_Ark.jpg-768x567.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":567,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620829a301eb4-620829a301eb5gen6-Noah_Entering_the_Ark.jpg.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620829a301eb4-620829a301eb5gen6-Noah_Entering_the_Ark.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":591,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620829a301eb4-620829a301eb5gen6-Noah_Entering_the_Ark.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":591,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620829a301eb4-620829a301eb5gen6-Noah_Entering_the_Ark.jpg.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":591,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/620829a301eb4-620829a301eb5gen6-Noah_Entering_the_Ark.jpg-569x420.jpg","home_baner-width":569,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"These Are The Generations Of Noah","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A new beginning","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":101891,"alt":"","title":"-620829a301eb4--620829a301eb5gen6 - 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He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Religious leaders, authority figures and famous people using their position of power to dominate and abuse others destroys worlds\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Genesis 6 is the prelude to the flood story. Now that humankind has spread across the land, they immediately turn to evil. \u201cThe L<\/span>ORD<\/span> saw how great was man\u2019s wickedness on earth, and how every plan devised by his mind was nothing but evil all the time\u201d(verse 5). He regrets having created man, and instead decides to wipe them out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The opening verses of this chapter are very difficult to understand:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The sons of the <\/span>elohim<\/span><\/em> (translated as \u201cdivine beings\u201d)<\/span> saw how beautiful the daughters of men were and took wives from among those that pleased them\u2026 It was then, and later too, that the Nephilim appeared on earth\u2014when the sons of the <\/span>elohim<\/em> <\/span>cohabited with the daughters of men, who bore them offspring. They were the heroes of old, the men of renown (verses 2, 4).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What are these sons of the <\/span>elohim<\/span><\/em>? Until this point, this word has only been used to refer to God. Later on in Tanach, this word almost always refers to God or gods of other nations. Using this understanding, this verse is troubling as it implies some sort of divine beings on earth cohabiting with humans, reminiscent of pagan mythology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The commentators are equally disturbed by that meaning. Some commentators refer to these \u201csons of the <\/span>elohim<\/span><\/em>\u201d<\/span> as messengers divinely inspired to aid the people. This reading maintains the translation of <\/span>elohim<\/em> <\/span>as God but interprets the word \u201csons\u201d as metaphorical.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Others move even further away from the divine idea and explain that there are instances in Tanach where this word actually refers to leaders or judges. This matches with the end of verse 4, which can be read to imply that these \u201csons of the <\/span>elohim<\/span><\/em>\u201d were heroes of old and men of renown. With both of these interpretations - divine messengers and leaders - these verses then refer to corrupt individuals using their power for sexual domination, something that is still a major issue nowadays.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The lesson we can take from this is clear. When religious leaders, authority figures, or famous people use their position of power to dominate and abuse others, and when they use their power to do whatever they want simply because they want to without regard for anyone else, this perverse behavior so angers God that it is the catalyst for the destruction of the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":60530,"alt":"","title":"2sam13-metoo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo.jpg","width":1024,"height":575,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo-300x168.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":168,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo-768x431.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":431,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo-1024x575.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":575,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":575,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":575,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":575,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo-748x420.jpg","home_baner-width":748,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Divine #MeToo","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Religious leaders, authority figures and famous people using their position of power to dominate and abuse others destroys worlds","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":60530,"alt":"","title":"2sam13-metoo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo.jpg","width":1024,"height":575,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo-300x168.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":168,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo-768x431.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":431,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo-1024x575.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":575,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":575,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":575,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":575,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam13-metoo-748x420.jpg","home_baner-width":748,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"}]},{"order":5,"id":"101900","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Noah: A Human Hero","post_title":"Noah: A Human Hero","slug":"noah-a-human-hero","old_id":"101900","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":59369,"post_title":"Henry Rieser","slug":"henry-rieser","old_id":"59369","first_name":"Henry ","last_name":"Rieser ","description":"Henry Rieser is involved in volunteer activities in Washington Heights, NY, and audits classes at Yeshiva University in Tanach and American Jewish history. 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He worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and is a U.S. Army veteran.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":59371,"alt":"","title":"henry reiser","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/henry-reiser-1.jpg","width":378,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/henry-reiser-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/henry-reiser-1-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/henry-reiser-1.jpg","medium_large-width":378,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/henry-reiser-1.jpg","large-width":378,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/henry-reiser-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":378,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/henry-reiser-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":378,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/henry-reiser-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":378,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/henry-reiser-1-331x420.jpg","home_baner-width":331,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But he was no Abraham\u2026\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cNoah was a just man and perfect in his generations and Noah walked with God.\u201d One commentary suggests that had he lived in the generation of Abraham, he would not have been considered of any importance. In my opinion, this is a real put down as Noah didn\u2019t have any choice in the matter. While God definitely had Noah\u2019s welfare in mind, we don\u2019t get any indication in the text that our hero had much interaction with his family once he is charged with making preparations for the coming deluge. How can we compare him to any of the biblical forefathers, who had their spouses with whom to consult or Moses, who had Aaron and Miriam?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The story is told that when John F. Kennedy was president, he hosted a reception for American Nobel prizewinners. In his remarks to this distinguished group, he noted that there was probably as much brainpower in the room as when Thomas Jefferson dined alone! Not to downplay the genius of the 3rd president, but let\u2019s look at whom he was rubbing shoulders with \u2013 George Washington, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin to name a few of his brilliant contemporaries, all of whom were the \u2018forefathers of the U.S.A.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps if Noah had any worthwhile neighbors, maybe he would have thought of interceding with God on their behalf, as Abraham did with Sodom and Gomorrah. Our tradition maintains that Noah and Abraham were living at the same time for a period of 58 years. As a result, Abraham could have gotten first hand knowledge of the flood from Noah, and in turn, may have handled the situation differently.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Noah\u2019s failure to step up for his fellow man results in his being punished by God when he\u2019s back on dry land. Rashi cites Bereshit Rabbah that Noah should have planted something other than a vineyard, which we see had disastrous consequences.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

My perspective on this is that after being witness to the destruction of every living thing that was not on the ark; Noah experiences not only post-traumatic stress, but survivor\u2019s guilt as well, which led to his subsequent drunkenness.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":97567,"alt":"","title":"est10-hero","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero.png","width":1313,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero-205x300.png","medium-width":205,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero-700x1024.png","medium_large-width":700,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero-700x1024.png","large-width":700,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero.png","1536x1536-width":1050,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero.png","2048x2048-width":1313,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero-821x1200.png","post_full_size-width":821,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero-287x420.png","home_baner-width":287,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Noah: A Human Hero","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But he was no Abraham\u2026","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":97567,"alt":"","title":"est10-hero","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero.png","width":1313,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero-205x300.png","medium-width":205,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero-700x1024.png","medium_large-width":700,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero-700x1024.png","large-width":700,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero.png","1536x1536-width":1050,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero.png","2048x2048-width":1313,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero-821x1200.png","post_full_size-width":821,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/est10-hero-287x420.png","home_baner-width":287,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"392","name":"Hero","old_id":"792"}]},{"order":6,"id":"101892","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"The Unicorn With The Ivory Horn ","post_title":"The Unicorn With The Ivory Horn","slug":"the-unicorn-with-the-ivory-horn","old_id":"101892","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines. His poems have won twenty-two prizes in international poetry competitions, and he has twice been awarded fellowships from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.","short_description":"Yakov Azriel is an English language poet who lives in Israel","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36670,"alt":"","title":"Yakov.Azriel.Photo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","width":1099,"height":1519,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-217x300.jpg","medium-width":217,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":741,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","large-width":741,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","1536x1536-width":1099,"1536x1536-height":1519,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","2048x2048-width":1099,"2048x2048-height":1519,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-868x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":868,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-304x420.jpg","home_baner-width":304,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Why won\u2019t they let me in? \/ Oh God, it\u2019s starting to rain\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cAnd from all living creatures, from every kind of all flesh, you will bring two of each species into the Ark, to preserve them alive with you \u2014 they shall be male and female<\/em>.\u201d (Genesis 6:19)
\r\n
\r\nWhy won\u2019t they let me in?
\r\n
\r\nBut I do know why: I have no mate, no mare,
\r\nI\u2019ll father no colt, no foal;
\r\n
\r\nI\u2019m no virile, muscular stallion that can procreate
\r\nDozens of studs and steeds.
\r\n
\r\nMy ivory horn, protruding like the sign of Cain,
\r\nCuts me off as odd and shunned,
\r\n
\r\nOne of a kind. \u201cDifferent.\u201d Alone.
\r\nNever to marry. Never to raise a child.
\r\n
\r\nYet why must this deny me entrance
\r\nTo the Ark of God?
\r\n
\r\nWhy must waters of wrath encompass me
\r\nAnd floods of anger drown me?
\r\n
\r\nWhy must my body deteriorate and degenerate
\r\nIn waters of filth, food for sharks?
\r\n
\r\nAm I worse than vultures or rats?
\r\nIsn\u2019t the God of hyenas and pigs my God as well,
\r\n
\r\nThe towering Rock who does not disappoint
\r\nThey who cling to Him,
\r\n
\r\nThe upright Mountain
\r\nTo whom we turn in prayer?
\r\n
\r\nO You who splits the sea for Israel to pass;
\r\nYou who will save Jonah from the depths;
\r\n
\r\nCan You not open the portals of mercy
\r\nAnd let me enter the Ark?
\r\n
\r\nI pray: \u201cFor Your salvation
\r\nHave I hoped, Lord.\u201d
\r\n
\r\nOh God, it\u2019s starting to rain.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":73271,"alt":"","title":"ez7-unicorn","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"929 Poetry Corner","tile_main_caption":"The Unicorn With The Ivory Horn","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Why won\u2019t they let me in? \/ Oh God, it\u2019s starting to rain","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":73271,"alt":"","title":"ez7-unicorn","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez7-unicorn-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"362","name":"Poetry","old_id":"762"}]},{"order":7,"id":"64948","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Is The Climate Crisis Our Flood? ","post_title":"Is The Climate Crisis Our Flood?","slug":"is-the-climate-crisis-our-flood","old_id":"64948","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34011,"post_title":"Jeremy Benstein","slug":"dr-jeremy-benstein","old_id":"34011","first_name":"Jeremy","last_name":"Benstein","description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English. He is one of the founders of the Heschel Center for Sustainability. He writes the MiliMiliM - Hebrew Corner on the site, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34232,"alt":"","title":"Jeremy Benstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A post-modern interpretation of humans and nature","post_main_content_content":"

On Saturday, November 1, 1755, All Saint's Day, a massive earthquake hit Portugal: tens of thousands of people were killed, most buildings (including all churches) were destroyed, half of Portugal's GNP was wiped out. Tsunami waves reached Brazil. This was the one of the largest earth-quakes in recorded history.<\/p>\r\n

It had a decisive influence on philosophical and religious thought. Some call it: the first modern natural disaster. Why? Previously, natural disasters were considered acts of God. Rain was a reward for good deeds, and droughts (or floods or earth quakes), curses or punishment for our sins. As in Deuteronomy 11: \" If, then, you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day\u2026I will grant the rain for your land in season \u2026 \"<\/p>\r\n

The cracks that opened up as a result of the earthquake were not only in the streets of Lisbon. The religious belief that tied human activity to God's judgment through the natural world cracked as well.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Pioneers in geology were increasingly able to show that indeed these are natural events that can be analyzed and eventually understood. For the explanation of this earthquake (and natural disasters in general), we best turn to geology, not theology.<\/p>\r\n

This was a turning point in history: the disconnect between human morality and Nature, that runs according to its own rules. Physics does not depend on metaphysics. According to this new modern approach, texts like Deuteronomy are just silly superstitions. Rain falls on the righteous and the wicked, and if it does not fall at all, it is because of the hydrological cycle, not human sin.<\/p>\r\n

Today, the climate crisis (global heating, droughts, floods, fires, etc.) is a \"natural disaster\" that is deeply and doubly tied to human behavior. First, in society's resilience: Poor people living in poor living conditions are more exposed to risks from natural disasters than wealthy people. The destructiveness of any \"natural event\" is a result of the structure of human society.<\/p>\r\n

Moreover, the boundary between natural and human is no longer clear-cut. That modern duality has been replaced by a more unified, post-modern <\/em>view: humans and nature are part of a single, interconnected system. We have changed the structure of the world with our own hands, and it is coming back to us as a boomerang.<\/p>\r\n

We are not returning to the pre-modern view of the Creator who punishes sinners. We are in a postmodern era, which needs to understand that our society, based on fossil fuels, wasteful consumerist lifestyles, and exploitation that creates horrific inequalities, all produce destruction of the natural world, including the carbon balance of the atmosphere, which is a disaster for us, human society.<\/p>\r\n

After the last \"natural\" disaster that threatened to destroy the world - the Flood - God promised: \"Never again will I doom the earth because of man\u2026 Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Summer and winter, Day and night Shall not cease\" (Gen. 8:21-22).<\/p>\r\n

God did not break His promise. It is we who have become like God, with the ability to create and destroy. We need to wake up to these capabilities, and work together to choose life.<\/p>\r\n

image: Hurricane Harvey, flooding in\u00a0Port Arthur, Texas\u00a0on August 31, 2017 \/ wikipedia<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":64949,"alt":"","title":"gen6-flood","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":683,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":683,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":683,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Is The Climate Crisis Our Flood?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A post-modern interpretation of humans and nature","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":64949,"alt":"","title":"gen6-flood","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":683,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":683,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":683,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/gen6-flood-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"360","name":"Nature\/Environment","old_id":"760"},{"term_id":"374","name":"Humanity","old_id":"774"},{"term_id":"393","name":"Crisis","old_id":"793"}]},{"order":8,"id":"34215","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Sadness of God ","post_title":"The Sadness of God","slug":"the-sadness-of-god","old_id":"34215","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33958,"post_title":"Ariel Sari-Levi","slug":"ariel-sari-levi","old_id":"33958","first_name":"Ariel","last_name":"Sari-Levi","description":"Ariel Sari-Levi is doctoral student in Jewish Philosophy and Bible at Hebrew University. He teaches at the High School for the Arts in Jerusalem, and at the David Yellin Teachers College. He does research at the Israel Institute for Democracy and writes a weekly column on the Torah portion for Haaretz.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Ariel Sari-Levi is doctoral student in Jewish Philosophy and Bible at Hebrew University.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33959,"alt":"","title":"\u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc \u05e1\u05e8\u05d9","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc-\u05e1\u05e8\u05d9.jpg","width":750,"height":1142,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc-\u05e1\u05e8\u05d9-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc-\u05e1\u05e8\u05d9-197x300.jpg","medium-width":197,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc-\u05e1\u05e8\u05d9-673x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":673,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc-\u05e1\u05e8\u05d9-673x1024.jpg","large-width":673,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc-\u05e1\u05e8\u05d9.jpg","1536x1536-width":750,"1536x1536-height":1142,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc-\u05e1\u05e8\u05d9.jpg","2048x2048-width":750,"2048x2048-height":1142,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc-\u05e1\u05e8\u05d9.jpg","post_full_size-width":750,"post_full_size-height":1142,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc-\u05e1\u05e8\u05d9-276x420.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"This verse is liable to disappoint those who believe that God is perfect. But no less, it expresses the opposite disappointment...","post_main_content_content":"

Can God be sad?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In our chapter, the story of the flood begins: \"The Lord saw how great was man\u2019s wickedness on earth, and how every plan devised by his mind was nothing but evil all the time. And the Lord regretted that He had made man on earth, and His heart was saddened\u201d (Genesis 6:5-6).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Israeli songwriter and author Yonatan Gefen wrote in one of his songs: \"And when she's sad, I don\u2019t understand how you can be so sad when you're the most beautiful girl in kindergarten.\" And now it turns out that you can be sad even when you are God. Moreover, God is the first ever to become sad. It is hard to blame Him, for there is nothing sadder and more disappointing than human behavior.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Many readers find it difficult to come to terms with Divine sadness. The difficulty stems from a deep religious perspective, formulated most distinctly in Jewish thought by Maimonides. \u00a0According to this view, God cannot be sad, nor can God feel or express any other emotion, for God is perfect and omnipotent. God has no body nor is God corporeal. Sadness is a clear sign of weakness, and it stands in sharp contrast to the perfection of God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This verse is liable to disappoint those who believe that God is perfect. But no less, it expresses the opposite disappointment: God\u2019s disappointment in believing that human beings were perfect or at least not \"evil all the time\" (6:5).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This description says a lot about what is yet to come: We are about to read the story of the relationship between imperfect creatures and their imperfect Creator.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":33804,"alt":"","title":"\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d1\u05db\u05d9","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9.png","width":1092,"height":381,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9-300x105.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":105,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9-768x268.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":268,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9-1024x357.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":357,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9.png","1536x1536-width":1092,"1536x1536-height":381,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9.png","2048x2048-width":1092,"2048x2048-height":381,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9.png","post_full_size-width":1092,"post_full_size-height":381,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9.png","home_baner-width":1092,"home_baner-height":381}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Sadness of God","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"This verse is liable to disappoint those who believe that God is perfect. But no less, it expresses the opposite disappointment...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":33804,"alt":"","title":"\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d1\u05db\u05d9","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9.png","width":1092,"height":381,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9-300x105.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":105,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9-768x268.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":268,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9-1024x357.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":357,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9.png","1536x1536-width":1092,"1536x1536-height":381,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9.png","2048x2048-width":1092,"2048x2048-height":381,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9.png","post_full_size-width":1092,"post_full_size-height":381,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4-\u05d1\u05db\u05d9.png","home_baner-width":1092,"home_baner-height":381}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"394","name":"Emotions","old_id":"794"}]},{"order":9,"id":"34639","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"What\u2019s In a Window? ","post_title":"What\u2019s In a Window?","slug":"whats-in-a-window","type":"no","writer":{"id":34637,"post_title":"Meesh Hammer-Kossoy","slug":"meesh-hammer-kossoy","old_id":"1933","last_name":"Hammer-Kossoy","first_name":"Meesh","is_name_less":"false","image_url_old":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/project929\/image\/upload\/v1532080249\/Capture_pnknet.jpg","description":"Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy teaches Talmud and Social Justice","credit":"","image":{"id":34638,"alt":"","title":"","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capture_pnknet.jpg","width":299,"height":288,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capture_pnknet-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capture_pnknet.jpg","medium-width":299,"medium-height":288,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capture_pnknet.jpg","medium_large-width":299,"medium_large-height":288,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capture_pnknet.jpg","large-width":299,"large-height":288,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capture_pnknet.jpg","1536x1536-width":299,"1536x1536-height":288,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capture_pnknet.jpg","2048x2048-width":299,"2048x2048-height":288,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capture_pnknet.jpg","post_full_size-width":299,"post_full_size-height":288,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capture_pnknet.jpg","home_baner-width":299,"home_baner-height":288}},"image_url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Capture_pnknet-3.jpg","link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},"iframe":"","related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_id":"23896","post_main_content_title":"What\u2019s In a Window?","post_main_content_description":"\u00a0A window is not just a way to get light and fresh air. \u00a0It is a symbol of our deep connection to the world around us","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_content":"

Intimacy, self- protection, helping those in need and relationship building: balancing these values is what is at stake when Noah is famously commanded: \u201cmake a <\/span>tzohar<\/span><\/em> in the ark\u201d (Gen 6:16). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

What is the precise meaning of this difficult word, <\/span>tzohar<\/span><\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

JPS translates this as \u201can opening for daylight\u201d, i.e. a window. Rabbi Yo\u1e25anan proposes something else:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Blessed Holy One, said to Noah: Set precious stones and jewels in the ark so that they will shine for you as the afternoon [<\/span>tzohorayim<\/span><\/em>] sun (Sanhedrin 108b).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why did Rabbi Yohanan reject what would seem to be the simple explanation? \u00a0What advantage does a miraculous precious stone have over a simple window? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

To answer that question, it is helpful to look at another Talmudic disagreement about our chapter:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThese are the generations of Noah; Noah was a righteous man, and wholehearted in his generations\u201d (Genesis 6:9), Rabbi Yo\u1e25anan says: Relative to the other people of his generation he was righteous and wholehearted, but not relative to those of other generations. And Resh Lakish says: In his generation he was righteous and wholehearted; all the more so would he have been considered righteous and wholehearted in other generations.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rabbi Yohanan criticizes Noah for being \u201ca tzadik in a fur coat.\u201d \u00a0Noah himself was righteous, but unlike Abraham, Noah saved himself without bringing redemption to the rest of humankind. Thus, his righteousness is only relative. He should have done more to influence his community and help them feel \u201cthe warmth of Torah.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Resh Lakish on the other hand, judges Noah by the opposite standard. \u00a0Isn\u2019t it a testament to Noah that his community did not bring him down? \u00a0Statistics show that it is extremely difficult to stay out of trouble while living in a crime-ridden neighborhood. \u00a0How can you effectively repair the world when everyone around you is working against you? In the face of difficult surroundings, rather than be corrupted, it is best to create a personal refuge and withdraw.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So what is the <\/span>tzohar<\/span><\/em>? \u00a0A window is not just a way to get light and fresh air. \u00a0It is a symbol of our deep connection to the world around us, our willingness to impact and contribute, but also an openness to be vulnerable to outside influences. Rabbi Yohanan portrays God as commanding Noah to isolate himself without windows but with the protection of a precious stone, a miraculous private light symbolizing Divine love and chosenness. There is a beautiful safety and even intimacy created by this insular sanctuary. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

May we have the wisdom and conviction to balance the important values of intimacy, self- protection, helping those in need and relationship building.<\/span><\/p>","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"What\u2019s In a Window?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"\u00a0A window is not just a way to get light and fresh air. \u00a0It is a symbol of our deep connection to the world around us","tile_preview_embedded":"","seo_seo_title":"929 \u2013 \u05ea\u05e0\u05da \u05d1\u05d9\u05d7\u05d3 | \u05d1\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05d9\u05ea \u05d5 | Meesh Hammer-Kossoy: What\u2019s In a Window?","seo_seo_description":"Coming soon: 929-English - Intimacy, self- protection, helping those in need and relationship building: balancing these values is what is at stake whe","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"Coming soon: 929-English - Intimacy, self- protection, helping those in need and relationship building: balancing these values is what is at stake whe","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_credits":"","old_url":"http:\/\/www.929.org.il\/page\/6\/post\/23896","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"1","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":35599,"alt":"","title":"","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487.jpg","width":928,"height":930,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487-768x770.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":770,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487.jpg","large-width":928,"large-height":930,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487.jpg","1536x1536-width":928,"1536x1536-height":930,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487.jpg","2048x2048-width":928,"2048x2048-height":930,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487.jpg","post_full_size-width":928,"post_full_size-height":930,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/preview-6487-419x420.jpg","home_baner-width":419,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","old_create_date":"2018-07-20 12:51:24","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"updates_last_update":"13\/02\/2022","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"}]},{"order":10,"id":"34674","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Behold - The Divine Surprise ","post_title":"Behold - The Divine Surprise","slug":"behold-the-divine-surprise","old_id":"34674","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34227,"post_title":"Eliot Sacks","slug":"eliot-sacks","old_id":"34227","first_name":"Eliot ","last_name":"Sacks","description":"Eliot Sacks is a recovering lawyer who now divides his time between reading philosophy books and singing choral music.\r\n","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34228,"alt":"","title":"eliot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/eliot.jpg","width":1089,"height":1185,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/eliot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/eliot-276x300.jpg","medium-width":276,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/eliot-768x836.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":836,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/eliot-941x1024.jpg","large-width":941,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/eliot.jpg","1536x1536-width":1089,"1536x1536-height":1185,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/eliot.jpg","2048x2048-width":1089,"2048x2048-height":1185,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/eliot.jpg","post_full_size-width":1089,"post_full_size-height":1185,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/eliot-386x420.jpg","home_baner-width":386,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"By the end of the flood, it is not humanity that has changed but God","post_main_content_content":"

Genesis 6:12, \"And God saw and behold it was corrupted.\" For only the second time since creating the world God has seen and \u2013 \"behold!\" \u2013 been taken by surprise. The first, of course, was after God created humankind and thereby brought creation to its completion (Genesis 1:31).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Until the moment God creates humanity, nothing in God's field of vision causes Him to do a double-take. \"And God saw that it was good\" is the refrain of chapter 1 of Genesis. Well, how could it be otherwise? It was created by God, after all. God's vision in that opening chapter is inseparable from His act of creation. Intention, act and perception are one. \u00a0Only following the creation of people does God intuit that He has created a world that cannot be entirely relied upon to run according to His wishes, a world that is not entirely predictable, that He has created an <\/span>other<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God's initial excitement soon turns to dismay as the full implications of creating this independent, headstrong creature sink in. His solution? He will destroy his creation and start again. He will take the last remaining pure strand of humanity, the one righteous man of the generation, and rebuild humanity through him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What was God thinking?! Does a good man never lose his way? Are his offspring guaranteed to follow his path? Sure enough, the first recorded events following the flood are: Noah gets drunk, his son Ham sees and reports his father's nakedness, Noah opens his mouth for the first time to curse his offspring.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

By the end of the flood, it is not humanity that has changed but God. It is God who learns that if the world is to persist, then His power and will can no longer be exercised in an absolute and untrammeled fashion. It is not only man who must control his impulses and subject his actions to the moral law. God, too, must give His undertaking. God too must be <\/span>held to account<\/span><\/em>. Thus is born the concept of <\/span>b'rit<\/span><\/em>, covenant.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These thoughts and questions - the idea of covenant; is God accountable to humanity; evil and freewill; the separateness of the world from God \u2013 permeate the rest of the Bible, indeed all subsequent Jewish thought.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Only through self-limitation, by making a covenantal undertaking and thereby making himself accountable to humankind, can God enter into true relationship (an I-Thou relationship, to borrow Martin Buber's famous phrase) with this independent, subjective creature called Human.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Although God didn't realize it at the time, it was the moment He <\/span>saw<\/span><\/em> and was <\/span>surprised<\/span><\/em> that this idea was born.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":69821,"alt":"","title":"jer11-covenant","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Behold - The Divine Surprise","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"By the end of the flood, it is not humanity that has changed but God","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":69821,"alt":"","title":"jer11-covenant","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"374","name":"Humanity","old_id":"774"},{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"395","name":"Covenant","old_id":"795"}]},{"order":11,"id":"34676","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Ark, The World and The Word ","post_title":"The Ark, The World and The Word","slug":"the-ark-the-world-and-the-word","old_id":"34676","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34009,"post_title":"Dov Berkovits","slug":"rabbi-dov-berkovits","old_id":"34009","first_name":"Dov","last_name":"Berkovits","description":"Rabbi Dov Berkovits has been a leader in innovative Torah education in Israel for forty years. His teaching links Judaism to areas of social concern, personal creativity and the critical needs of family life.\r\nIn 2001 Rabbi Dov Berkovits founded Bet Av \u2013 Center for Creativity and Renewal in Torah in memory of his father, Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits, z\u201dl, . which became a focus for original Torah research and creative educational programming in areas of Judaism and the Arts and Jewish Environmental Philosophy.\r\nRabbi Berkovits has written widely on issues of Judaism and contemporary concern in Israel. He has published eight books including the \"The Temple of Life \u2013 Family Relationships and the Sanctity of Life\" and four volumes of \"Hadaf Hakiyumi \u2013 Teachings for Life from the Talmud\".\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Dov Berkovits is the founder of Bet Av and has been a leader in innovative Torah education in Israel for forty years. ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34010,"alt":"","title":"Rabbi Dov Berkovits","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dov-Berkovits.png","width":382,"height":410,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dov-Berkovits-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dov-Berkovits-280x300.png","medium-width":280,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dov-Berkovits.png","medium_large-width":382,"medium_large-height":410,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dov-Berkovits.png","large-width":382,"large-height":410,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dov-Berkovits.png","1536x1536-width":382,"1536x1536-height":410,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dov-Berkovits.png","2048x2048-width":382,"2048x2048-height":410,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dov-Berkovits.png","post_full_size-width":382,"post_full_size-height":410,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dov-Berkovits.png","home_baner-width":382,"home_baner-height":410}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Our words can be our arks, housing thoughts, emotions, and the visions of our souls on a stormy sea in search of shelter ","post_main_content_content":"

When compared to other languages, English for instance, Hebrew has a relatively limited treasury of base words. However, the rich tapestry of Hebrew syntax is unequaled in its operational pliability and that is an invitation for multi-levelled meanings in creative speech.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Verse 16 of Genesis chapter 6 provides a fine example. God commands Noah to build a skylight a cubit wide (a foot and a half) at the top of the ark's slanted roof. The term in Hebrew is \"tsohar latevah<\/em>\". The first Hebrew letter in the word \"tsohar<\/em>\" (skylight) is a <\/span>tsadi<\/em> <\/span>(\u05e6) which is a sibilant sound like \"ts\".<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The letters in the Hebrew alphabet that sound similar create an interlacing fabric of meaning that reveals the undercurrents in the text.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Listen carefully:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. \"Tsohar<\/em>\", a word full of light, is connected in modern Hebrew to \"tsohorayim<\/em>\" - noontime.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Change the \"ts\" to a \"z\" sound and the word becomes \"zohar<\/em>\" \u2013 brightness, glory, emanation of light.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Change the \"ts\" to a \"t\" - \"tohar<\/em>\" \u2013 purity, innocence.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Change the \"ts\" to an \"s\" -\"sohar<\/em>\" \u2013 prison, as in the Joseph story; the imprisoned could not see the light of day except through a small skylight.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    What was Noah's ark? A prison in which human decadence shut out the light of day? A time of innocence and renewed purity? A receptacle for the vision of an Abraham who soon would revolutionize human consciousness?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    But there is more.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, read the tapestry of the text as a reflection of the emanation of light in human speech. The Hebrew word for ark, \"tevah<\/em>,\" also means \"a word\".<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    On occasion our words are a closed prison waiting to be set free. On occasion they are our arks housing thoughts, emotions, and the visions of our souls carrying the fullness of our being on a stormy sea in search of shelter in the depths of personal meaning or in a gift to someone that human speech can express.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    But always, as the Baal Shem Tov would have it, with a skylight that infuses human speech with compassion and a sense of renewal.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Such are words of the Tanakh.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":101929,"alt":"","title":"-6208bec0989ab--6208bec0989acgen6-skylight open 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Ark, The World and The Word","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Our words can be our arks, housing thoughts, emotions, and the visions of our souls on a stormy sea in search of shelter ","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":101929,"alt":"","title":"-6208bec0989ab--6208bec0989acgen6-skylight open 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His first book \"I Kings - Torn in Two\" was published in 2013. See his website www.alexisrael.org, and his podcasts at https:\/\/elmad.pardes.org\/ and https:\/\/tanachstudy.com\/ \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33693,"alt":"","title":"alex israel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","width":1657,"height":2500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":679,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","large-width":679,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","1536x1536-width":1018,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","2048x2048-width":1357,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-795x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":795,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-278x420.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Noah v. Moses: which model shall we adopt?","post_main_content_content":"

    Two biblical men were rescued by an ark, a \u201cteva.<\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Two biblical men were detached from civilization, by divine fiat, for forty days and nights.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Two biblical men were given the same offer: I will destroy everyone and begin a new future from you and your family. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Noah:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \u201cI am about to bring the Flood\u2014waters upon the earth\u2014to destroy all flesh under the sky in which there is breath of life; everything on earth shall perish. <\/span>But I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark, with your sons, your wife, and your sons\u2019 wives\u201d (6:17-18).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Moses:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \u201cNow, let Me be, that My anger may blaze forth against them and that I may destroy them, and make of you a great nation.\u201d (Ex.32:10)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Noah accepted the offer, saved civilization by saving himself and his family.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Moses refused the offer and saved his nation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    This is one of the reasons that the Rabbis saw Moses in a positive light, and Noah in a negative light: Noah was a righteous man in his generation \u2013 relative to his era he was virtuous, but in another age he would not have been anything special. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    A Midrash amplifies the contrast: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Noah said to Moshe: \u2018I am greater than you because I was delivered from the generation of the Flood.\u2019 Moshe replied: \u2018I am superior to you. <\/span>You saved yourself, but you had no strength to deliver your generation; but I saved both myself and my generation when they were condemned to destruction at the time of the Golden Calf.\u2019 (Devarim Rabba 11:3) <\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Noah points to the fact that Moses died in the wilderness along with his sinful generation. This \u00a0implicates Moses as one of the sinners, whereas he, Noah, outlived his evil contemporaries due to his personal virtue. Moses responds: \u201cYes maybe I died with my generation, maybe I also sinned; but your generation, Noah, was killed in the Flood. You sat back and watched them die. I mobilized all my energy in a titanic effort to save their lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    What can we learn from this?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    There are two types of \u201ctzadikim<\/em>\u201d - righteous people. One type preserves his own goodness and builds a hermetically sealed cocoon to protect himself from outside influence.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The other type is personally righteous but concerns him or herself with building up the environment around him or herself. Sometimes, this person pays a personal price, but ultimately the gain is far greater. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Noah is the first type; Moses the second.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Which model shall we adopt?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    image: The Two Arks, by Avner Moriah, courtesy of the artist<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":101933,"alt":"","title":"-6208c9f031c87--6208c9f031c88gen6-moses noah ark.JPG","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208c9f031c87-6208c9f031c88gen6-moses-noah-ark.JPG.jpg","width":358,"height":426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208c9f031c87-6208c9f031c88gen6-moses-noah-ark.JPG-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208c9f031c87-6208c9f031c88gen6-moses-noah-ark.JPG-252x300.jpg","medium-width":252,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208c9f031c87-6208c9f031c88gen6-moses-noah-ark.JPG.jpg","medium_large-width":358,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208c9f031c87-6208c9f031c88gen6-moses-noah-ark.JPG.jpg","large-width":358,"large-height":426,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208c9f031c87-6208c9f031c88gen6-moses-noah-ark.JPG.jpg","1536x1536-width":358,"1536x1536-height":426,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208c9f031c87-6208c9f031c88gen6-moses-noah-ark.JPG.jpg","2048x2048-width":358,"2048x2048-height":426,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208c9f031c87-6208c9f031c88gen6-moses-noah-ark.JPG.jpg","post_full_size-width":358,"post_full_size-height":426,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208c9f031c87-6208c9f031c88gen6-moses-noah-ark.JPG-353x420.jpg","home_baner-width":353,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Two Models of Virtue","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Noah v. 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Rabbi Sacks passed away on 7th November 2020, aged 72. He was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, who bridged the religious and secular world through his ground-breaking canon of work.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z\"k (1948-2020) was the former Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, and the International 929 president.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36222,"alt":"","title":"JSacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","width":437,"height":548,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-239x300.jpg","medium-width":239,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-768x448.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":448,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-1024x597.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":597,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","1536x1536-width":437,"1536x1536-height":548,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","2048x2048-width":437,"2048x2048-height":548,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","post_full_size-width":437,"post_full_size-height":548,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-335x420.jpg","home_baner-width":335,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    There is a well known debate among the sages as to whether the phrase \u201cperfect in his generations\u201d is praise or criticism of Noah. Some said that \u201cperfect in his generations\u201d means perfect only relative to the low standard then prevailing. Had he lived in the generation of Abraham, they said, he would have been insignificant. Others said the opposite: if in a wicked generation Noah was righteous, how much greater he would have been in a generation with role models like Abraham. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The argument, it seems to me, turns on whether Noah\u2019s isolation was part of his character \u2013 he was a loner \u2013 or merely a necessary tactic in that time and place. If he was naturally a loner he would not have gained by the presence of heroes like Abraham. He would have been impervious to influence whether for good or bad. If he was not a loner by nature but merely by circumstance, then in another age he would have sought out kindred spirits and become greater still.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    excerpted from:\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/rabbisacks.org\/noah-5774-righteousness-is-not-leadership\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Tactical Righteousness?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Was Noah a loner - or a tactician of righteousness?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":14,"id":"34794","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Divine: Depressed or Disappointed? ","post_title":"The Divine: Depressed or Disappointed?","slug":"the-divine-depressed-or-disappointed","old_id":"34794","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33984,"post_title":"Liel Leibovitz","slug":"liel-leibovitz","old_id":"33984","first_name":"Liel ","last_name":"Leibovitz","description":"Liel Leibovitz is a senior writer for Tablet Magazine and a co-host of its podcast, Unorthodox. He is the author, most recently, of A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen (https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Broken-Hallelujah-Redemption-Leonard-Cohen\/dp\/0393082059)\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Liel Leibovitz is a senior writer for Tablet Magazine and a co-host of its podcast, Unorthodox.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34229,"alt":"","title":"LLportrait2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2-.jpg","width":4752,"height":3168,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2--150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2--300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2--768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2--1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2-.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2-.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2--1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/LLportrait2--630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"If you\u2019ve got skin in the game, you can\u2019t afford to get depressed","post_main_content_content":"

    \u201cThe difference between depression and disappointment,\u201d the comedian Marc Maron once observed, \u201cis your level of commitment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    God knows all about it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Here he is, looking at his wayward creations and contemplating a big decision: Is he just a touch unhappy? Or is he thoroughly pissed?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The Bible gives us few clues concerning the Almighty\u2019s emotional wellbeing. \u00a0<\/span>\"And the LORD regretted that He had made man on earth,\" we are told (6:6) \"and His heart was saddened.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    A sad Lord doesn\u2019t pour himself a glass of pinot noir or pop open a pint of Ben & Jerry\u2019s. A sad Lord prepares to smite. He looks at all of us frolicking senselessly about and imagines how peaceful the world would be if we would all just, well, disappear.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    You may think this is God at his most majestically divine, haughtily contemplating the destruction of all of his creation just because he can. But, really, what we have here is God at his most profoundly human, feeling that inky black blues so many of us feel when the world falls short of our expectations.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Who among us hasn\u2019t felt the same desperate urge? When our politicians fall short of our rosiest predictions, we\u2019re tempted to dismiss them all as crooked creeps. When our favorite musicians release works that fail to move us, we swear it\u2019s the last time we\u2019ll pay for a ticket to one of their concerts. When friends falter and flake and flitter, we sulk and skulk away. Like children, we pout and declare that if the world doesn\u2019t rise to the level of our game, we\u2019re taking our ball and going home.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Thankfully, God knows better. He understands that the true meaning of Marc Maron\u2019s quip isn\u2019t what it first seems: If you\u2019ve truly got skin in the game, you can\u2019t afford to get depressed, only disappointed. If you really care, you must find some way to move forward and make it right.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    And how does God choose to redeem the world from a watery end? There\u2019s another lesson for us here: He focuses on Noah. On one man. As long as one man alone in the entire broken world is decent, God knows, despair isn\u2019t an option. As long as one man among all of mankind is righteous, there\u2019s more than enough material for a fresh start, for a new beginning, for another shot at creation. Amen to that.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":60001,"alt":"","title":"2sam6-anger","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger.png","width":1089,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-255x300.png","medium-width":255,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-768x903.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":903,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-871x1024.png","large-width":871,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger.png","1536x1536-width":1089,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger.png","2048x2048-width":1089,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-1021x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1021,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-357x420.png","home_baner-width":357,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Divine: Depressed or Disappointed?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"If you\u2019ve got skin in the game, you can\u2019t afford to get depressed","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":60001,"alt":"","title":"2sam6-anger","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger.png","width":1089,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-255x300.png","medium-width":255,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-768x903.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":903,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-871x1024.png","large-width":871,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger.png","1536x1536-width":1089,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger.png","2048x2048-width":1089,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-1021x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1021,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam6-anger-357x420.png","home_baner-width":357,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"370","name":"Divine\/human","old_id":"770"},{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"394","name":"Emotions","old_id":"794"}]},{"order":15,"id":"34796","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Between Camus and Noah ","post_title":"Between Camus and Noah","slug":"between-camus-and-noah","old_id":"34796","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34241,"post_title":"Michael Bernstein","slug":"michael-bernstein","old_id":"34241","first_name":"Michael ","last_name":"Bernstein ","description":"Michael Bernstein is the Rabbi of Congregation Gesher L'Torah, a dynamic community outside of Atlanta where each person's story is embraced and Judaism is personal. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1999 and in 2015 was honored to be inducted into the Morehouse College International Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers. He and his wife Tracie have three children: Ayelet, Yaron and Liana.","short_description":"Michael Bernstein is the Rabbi of Congregation Gesher L'Torah, outside of Atlanta, Georgia","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34242,"alt":"","title":"michael bernstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michael-bernstein-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Holding on to the holiness of being human while floating helpless in the storm","post_main_content_content":"

    Albert Camus\u2019 novel, The Plague<\/em>, chronicles a seaside town as it copes with a devastating outbreak of pestilence. \u00a0While often read as an allegory for the virulence of the Nazi death machine, the book explores how human beings make sense of catastrophe when all evidence of God has been snuffed out. In the end, no meaningful response to the Plague can be found other than to fight for the lives of others.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The story of Noah\u2019s Flood is actually the opposite. \u00a0The destruction unleashed is by God and for a reason -- the evil violence that had spread throughout Creation. \u00a0No explanation is given for Noah to be spared except the bare assertion that he is \"righteous among his generation.\u201d. \u00a0Yet, presented with impending doom, Noah has nothing to say. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

    At times there seems to be a choice between God or us. \u00a0Is it really possible to find meaning in one without abandoning the other?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Noah will give way to Abraham who challenges the \"Judge of all Earth\" and teaches that seeking God must also entail the responsibility to human beings that in Camus\u2019 novel runs deeper than theistic faith.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Still, we know that there are times we find ourselves retreating inward, helplessly enclosed in the walls of our ark, waiting for the flood waters to subside. \u00a0And the Noah story teaches that these moments are also an opening for God. Even falling short of the moral ideal, we need not choose between a surrender to the void or accepting reasons for suffering in the world. \u00a0Like Noah, we can hold on to the holiness of being human even floating helpless in the midst of the storm.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    image:\u00a0Henri Cartier Bresson-Albert Camus, 1947 \/ flickr<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":36063,"alt":"","title":"Albert-Camus","caption":"","description":"https:\/\/hewitt.wikispaces.com\/Abigail-+camus","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","width":276,"height":220,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","medium-width":276,"medium-height":220,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":220,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":220,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":220,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":220,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":220,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":220}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Between Camus and Noah","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Holding on to the holiness of being human while floating helpless in the storm","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":36063,"alt":"","title":"Albert-Camus","caption":"","description":"https:\/\/hewitt.wikispaces.com\/Abigail-+camus","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","width":276,"height":220,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","medium-width":276,"medium-height":220,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":220,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":220,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":220,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":220,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":220,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Albert-Camus.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":220}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"374","name":"Humanity","old_id":"774"},{"term_id":"393","name":"Crisis","old_id":"793"},{"term_id":"398","name":"Camus","old_id":"798"}]},{"order":16,"id":"34804","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Noah\u2019s Ark vs. Abraham\u2019s Tent ","post_title":"Noah\u2019s Ark vs. Abraham\u2019s Tent","slug":"noahs-ark-vs-abrahams-tent","old_id":"34804","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33994,"post_title":"Sid Schwarz","slug":"rabbi-sid-schwarz","old_id":"33994","first_name":"Sid","last_name":"Schwarz","description":"Rabbi Sid Schwarz is the founding rabbi of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD. He is a senior fellow at Hazon and the author of Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World. He founded and led PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values for 21 years, which inspired tens of thousands of young people towards a life of activism, leadership and service, using Jewish texts and values to make the case for Jewish social responsibility.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Sid Schwarz is the founding rabbi of Congregation Adat Shalom in Bethesda, MD., and founder of PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33995,"alt":"","title":"Rabbi Sid Schwarz","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","width":300,"height":291,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz-300x291.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":291,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":291,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","large-width":300,"large-height":291,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":291,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":291,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":291,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Sid-Schwarz.png","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":291}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"There is too much at stake to close ourselves off in an ark","post_main_content_content":"

    In Genesis chapter 6, God offers Noah an escape clause to a world beset by wickedness. The ark allows Noah to shut himself off from the world and survive the flood. Noah takes \u201cthe monastic option,\u201d and doesn\u2019t allow his path to get sullied by the evil around him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    I\u2019ve always struggled with why the Torah gives to Noah the label, <\/span>ish tzaddik<\/span><\/em>, \u201ca righteous man\u201d. The relativization of the label by our sages\u2014\u201crighteous\u201d relative to the generation in which he lived\u2014does not appease me.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Don\u2019t get me wrong. The monastic option has considerable appeal today. The U.S., Israel and a host of other countries are now riding a wave of ultra-nationalism which demonizes the most vulnerable and marginal populations, firing up their respective populist base of support. There are days, most days of late, when I would very much like to take the monastic option. I find myself ashamed of the countries that I love.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Yet I know that to close my eyes, to close my door, to opt out would be tantamount to rejecting all that I have been taught to value and cherish. Judaism, as I understand it, demands that we humanize oppressed populations, not demonize and victimize them. And when societies begin to go awry, my obligation is to do my best to re-engage in the public square, not to flee from it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    My model therefore is Abraham, not Noah. It is Abraham who opens his tent on all sides to welcome the wayfarer. It is Abraham who pleads with God to spare the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is fitting, therefore, that Abraham is considered the first Jew. It is his path we must follow. There is too much at stake to close ourselves off in an ark.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":51429,"alt":"","title":"dt23-open-door","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1.png","width":1920,"height":1295,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-300x202.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":202,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-768x518.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":518,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-1024x691.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":691,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1036,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1295,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-1200x809.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":809,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-623x420.png","home_baner-width":623,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Noah\u2019s Ark vs. Abraham\u2019s Tent","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"There is too much at stake to close ourselves off in an ark","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":51429,"alt":"","title":"dt23-open-door","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1.png","width":1920,"height":1295,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-300x202.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":202,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-768x518.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":518,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-1024x691.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":691,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1036,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1295,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-1200x809.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":809,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt23-open-door-1-623x420.png","home_baner-width":623,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"374","name":"Humanity","old_id":"774"},{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"}]},{"order":17,"id":"34809","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Don\u2019t Destroy, Educate! ","post_title":"Don\u2019t Destroy, Educate!","slug":"dont-destroy-educate","old_id":"34809","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33949,"post_title":"Uri Heitner","slug":"uri-heitner","old_id":"33949","first_name":"Uri","last_name":"Heitner","description":"Uri Heitner is a publicist and educator, a senior researcher at the Shamir Institute for Research \u2013 a state-funded research and development center and think tank located in the Golan Heights, and a member of Kibbutz Ortal.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Uri Heitner is a publicist and educator, and a member of Kibbutz Ortal.\r\n","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33950,"alt":"","title":"\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05e8","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9-\u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05e8.jpg","width":414,"height":376,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9-\u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05e8-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9-\u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05e8-300x272.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":272,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9-\u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05e8.jpg","medium_large-width":414,"medium_large-height":376,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9-\u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05e8.jpg","large-width":414,"large-height":376,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9-\u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05e8.jpg","1536x1536-width":414,"1536x1536-height":376,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9-\u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05e8.jpg","2048x2048-width":414,"2048x2048-height":376,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9-\u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05e8.jpg","post_full_size-width":414,"post_full_size-height":376,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9-\u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05e8.jpg","home_baner-width":414,"home_baner-height":376}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"\"Destroying the old world to its foundation\" - doesn't repair it","post_main_content_content":"

    \u201cThe Lord said, \u2018I will blot out from the earth the men whom I created--men together with beasts, creeping things, and birds of the sky; for I regret that I made them\u201d (Genesis 6: 7).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    This verse describes the way God dealt with His dissatisfaction with the world He had created: To destroy it and create it anew. God chose a revolutionary way of \"We shall destroy the old world to its very foundation\" as written in \u201cThe International,\u201d the anthem of the Communist Revolution.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The result of that Revolution was not the realization of the values \u200b\u200bof justice and equality that it purported to realize, but human oppression, mass murder, and terrible suffering to hundreds of millions of people. The pretension of that Revolution, like that of other revolutions in history, i.e. to drown the existing world in a flood and establish a new Noah's Ark from which a new world would emerge, brought many disasters.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    This pretense exists to this very day, among the radical elements of various religions and ideologies. Radicalism is the desire to uproot the existing reality and create a completely new reality. Judaism rejects this pretense. Judaism paves the way \u00a0to \u201crepair the world\u201d - not to destroy what exists and to build a new world under it, but to repair the flaws that exist in the world. It is not revolution but evolution, a gradual change that takes responsibility for what exists.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    At the end of the flood, God says to Himself: \"Never again will I doom the earth because of man\u201d (8:21). God comes to the conclusion that the way He has taken is not the proper way; there is room for a different path. The reason for this is not the illusion that after the deluge man and the world are perfected, and therefore there is no need for a flood, but on the contrary: \"For the devisings of man\u2019s mind are evil from his youth\" (ibid.).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \"Never again will I doom the earth because of man\u201d (8:21) is the most significant verse in the story of Noah. The central message is not the flood, but the covenant embodied in the rainbow, which expresses the promise that there will not be another flood. God's lesson from the Flood is that the way to correct man and the world is not the revolutionary way of destroying the existing society and creating a new world in its place, but the long and patient path of education.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":101938,"alt":"","title":"-6208dac861557--6208dac861558gen6-revolution protest rebellion.png","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208dac861557-6208dac861558gen6-revolution-protest-rebellion.png.png","width":1280,"height":640,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208dac861557-6208dac861558gen6-revolution-protest-rebellion.png-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208dac861557-6208dac861558gen6-revolution-protest-rebellion.png-300x150.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208dac861557-6208dac861558gen6-revolution-protest-rebellion.png-768x384.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208dac861557-6208dac861558gen6-revolution-protest-rebellion.png-1024x512.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":512,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208dac861557-6208dac861558gen6-revolution-protest-rebellion.png.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":640,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208dac861557-6208dac861558gen6-revolution-protest-rebellion.png.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":640,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208dac861557-6208dac861558gen6-revolution-protest-rebellion.png-1200x600.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/6208dac861557-6208dac861558gen6-revolution-protest-rebellion.png-840x420.png","home_baner-width":840,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Don\u2019t Destroy, Educate!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"\"Destroying the old world to its foundation\" - 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Chapter 6 ","post_title":"MiliMiliM - The Hebrew Corner - Gen 6","slug":"milimilim-chapter-6","old_id":"34826","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34011,"post_title":"Jeremy Benstein","slug":"dr-jeremy-benstein","old_id":"34011","first_name":"Jeremy","last_name":"Benstein","description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English. He is one of the founders of the Heschel Center for Sustainability. He writes the MiliMiliM - Hebrew Corner on the site, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34232,"alt":"","title":"Jeremy Benstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"6","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    In these little explorations of a Hebrew word from the chapter of the day, we won\u2019t usually be choosing a personal name as our focus. But there is such exquisite word play around the central character of this and the next few chapters, that the exploration itself is instructive of the workings of Hebrew roots, and the mind of the Biblical author - and the interface between the two (see also Alex Israel\u2019s post \u201cRelief and Regret in Chapter 5). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The most striking of these connections is the verse that simply shows us that Noach spelled backwards is also a word - \u05d7\u05df, chen, \u201cfavor:\u201d \u201cBut Noach found favor - <\/span>NoaCH matza<\/em> <\/span>\u05d7\u05df<\/span>CHeN <\/span><\/em>- <\/span><\/i>\u00a0with the LORD\u201d (Gen 6:8). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

    This is actually the third \u201criff\u201d on his name. The first was when Noach\u2019s father Lemech, named him: \u201cAnd he named him Noah, saying, \u201cThis one will provide us relief -zeh yeNaCHamenu<\/em> \u05d9\u05e0\u05d7\u05de\u05e0\u05d5 - \u00a0from our work and from the toil of our hands\u2026\u201d (Gen 5:29). So first relief or comfort, then favor.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    But it\u2019s not all good news, or positive destinies. Indeed, Noach\u2019s name is also connected to his role in the story of the Flood: \u00a0\u201cAnd the LORD regretted - \u05d5\u05d9\u05e0\u05d7\u05dd <\/span>vayeNaCHem<\/span><\/em> - \u00a0that He had made man on earth...The LORD said, \u201cI will blot out from the earth the men whom I created\u2026for I regret \u2013 <\/span>ki <\/span><\/i>\u05e0\u05d9\u05d7\u05de\u05ea\u05d9<\/span> NiCHamti<\/span><\/em> - \u00a0that I made them\u201d (Gen 6:6,7). If this seems like a stretch, believe me, to the Hebrew ear (especially if this were ever purely oral literature), the connections are obvious.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    But then again, maybe all\u2019s well that end\u2019s well. Towards the end of the story, we are told of the dove, released after the rains ceased, who flew abroad, trying to find a resting place: \u201cmatza \u05de\u05e0\u05d5\u05d7 <\/span>maNOACH<\/span><\/em>\u201d <\/span><\/i>(8:9), which connects to to Noach finding favor (matza chen<\/em>). So we come full circle - and have all the elements of the narrative alluded to or embedded in the Hebrew two-letter name. <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":101889,"alt":"","title":"-620827a3850d9--620827a3850dbgen6-milim 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on the Daily Chapter - Gen 6","tile_main_caption":"Short talks by Adam Mintz and by David Silber","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Rabbi Silber's teachings are dedicated in memory of Joan Silverstein Meyers and Ellen Goodstein Koplow. 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    When God created humans in Chapter 1, He blessed them (or perhaps commanded them?) \u201cBe fertile and <\/span>increase<\/b>, fill the earth\u201d (1:28). \u00a0In our chapter, this utterance comes to fruition but not exactly as God had planned.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \u201cWhen humans began to <\/span>increase<\/b> on earth and daughters were born to them\u201d (6:1). \u00a0These were not just daughters, apparently, but good ones, and not just good ones, but the type that divine beings found appealing, so much so that they took them as wives. This union between these beings - those from the upper world and those from the lower world - was not looked upon favorably, and God immediately said that even if your father is one of these divine beings, it is the mother who determines your status. In this case, the offspring will be mortal and live for \u00a0a maximum of 120 years.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    People increase in number, but not only they increased, but so does evil: \u201cThe Lord saw how great was man\u2019s wickedness on earth\u201d (6:5). Evil grew to such an extent that God regrets the creation of humanity, and decides that everything has to be started all over again.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    How? By bringing the world back into a state of complete chaos (almost ...) with a flood that will mix up again the upper and lower waters that were separated in creation. \u00a0And then? From the former world, God \"preserves\" Noah, who was a righteous man, so that he would be the \"first man\" in the new world. In the ark that Noah builds, he brings samples of every living creature. \u00a0In another two chapters they will emerge from the ark and begin the new world.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Points to Ponder:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      \r\n\t
    1. \u00a0<\/span> Where did the giants come from? At least those of the Bible came from the strange union between the divine beings and the daughters of man! (Verse 5).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    2. \u00a0<\/span> What did the animals do wrong to deserve destruction by the flood? Perhaps this also bothered the Bible, or just \u00a0the commentators who understood the words \u2026. \u201cfor all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth\u201d (verse 12) as implying also that somehow, the animal world was at fault, too, along with the human realm. <\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    3. \u00a0<\/span> Why Noah? Because he was a blameless righteous man! And it is worth clarifying, the Hebrew name Noah does not come from the word \u201crest,\u201d but from relief (5:29). And indeed Noah did not rest for a moment in our chapter.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    4. \u00a0<\/span> Noah's ark was shaped like a rectangular box, not a boat, as it is typically depicted (see verse 15 for more details).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    5. \u00a0<\/span> In order to preserve life during the flood, Noah had to make sure there was food of all kinds for all kinds of creatures (verse 21) - not resting for a moment. Have we already said that?<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

       <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Daily Summary","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder: Genesis 6","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"6","date":"20250907","wall_id":"6"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"posts_home":[],"home_posts_title":"","static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/34224"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}