Bereishit 6:9
אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה בְּדֹרֹתָיו אֶת-האלוקים הִתְהַלֶּךְ נֹחַ
Eleh toldot Noach Noach ish tzadik tamim hayah bedorotav et-ha'Elokim hithalech Noach
The are the generations of Noach; Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations; Noach walked with G-d.
The word תּוֹלְדֹת (toldot) refers to "happenings"; it is what is described in Mishlei 27:1 as "for you do not know what the day will bring." The explanation is based on the verse following in which Noach is described as וַיּוֹלֶד נֹחַ (vayoled Noach - Noach begot). These words are read as belonging to what the first verse told us, i.e. the three virtues which Noach practiced as opposed to his peers:
1) being a צַדִּיק (tzaddik - a righteous person) meant not engaging in violent means to gain one objectives. The Torah reports in v11 that his generation was guilty of random violence
2) he was תָּמִים (tamim - perfect), that he was consistent and thorough in the way he practiced his virtues. The Torah applies the term "tamim" to the Para Adumah (Red Heifer), i.e. a cow that has uniformly red hair. Even two hairs of a different color disqualified such an animal from fulfilling its dsignated purpose. In other words, an animal "which is without blemish" (BaMidbar 19:2). In the case of human beings, the term מוּם (mum - blemish) describes a character defect. This is why the Torah describes Noach as "tamim," free from blemish. Tehillim 119:1 lauds such people by referring to them as "hail to those whose way is blameless." In order to contrast Noach's virtues with those of his contemporaries the Torah writes, "for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth" (6:12).
3) Noach's third virtue is described by the words, "Noach walked with G-d." This virtue of "walking with G-d" is something so exceptional that we find it mentioned only very rarely. Only select individuals ever attain such a lofty spiritual level and only after having become outstandingly righteous people. In order to highlight Noach's achievements in this sphere the Torah testifies to this with the words that, "Noach indeed walked with G-d." This "walking with G-d," meant that after he had gained insight into the existence and supervisory activity of G-d through his study of astronomy enhanced by his virtuous life style, he drew the proper conclusions. He did not believe in astrology, i.e. he knew that all these phenomena do not represent independent forces in the universe. In this way he was poles apart from his peers who all believed in teh sun, i.e. the solar system as a supreme cause.
The first person who is created with having attained this level of perfection was Chanoch, and the Torah wrote of him, "Chanoch walked with HASHEM" (Bereishit 5:24). This was remarkable because he lived during a time when Enosh had introduced idolatry and all the people of his time had begun to worship the sun and other planetary constellations. Chanoch investigated the laws of nature and concluded that there must be a primary causes which is responsible for the regular orbits of the stars, the sun, etc. The very fact that he is described as having spent 365 years on earth, a number which corresponds to the number of days in the sun's orbit, is the Torah's way of hinting to us something about the nature of his superior knowledge. As a result of his investigations of nature Chanoch cleaved to G-d, i.e. to the primary Cause. The time we find the Torah mentioning the concept of "walking with" or in front of" of G-d, is in connection with Avraham in Bereishit 17:1. There too the expression "walk in front of Me," is followed by the words "and become perfect," to show that walking with G-d is an indication of one's "perfection."
May HASHEM continue to enlighten us with the Light of His Torah.
-Bachya; Chazal
Noach Pardes - The Tower of Bavel
love your blog spot Jazz King
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Delete