Orach Chayim Way of Life - Jewish Life - Torah Insights - Current Events

Bereishit 11:4
וְנַעֲשֶׂה-לָּנוּ שֵׁם
vena'aseh-lanu shem
so that we can make a name for ourselves.

According to the peshat (plain meaning) of the text, all these people wanted was to settle in one single location on earth in order to stay together. However, they did not find a location other thant he valley of Shinor in which to do this. This is why they wanted to build a city and a tower which could accommondate all of them. The purpose of the tower was to serve as a beacon so thaat people all over the earth would be able to see it and to orient themselves by means of it. They themselves would all live in a single city. This is the reason the Torah quoted them as saying "lest we will scatter. This is why G-d punished them by scattering them to teach them that they had contravened His commandment to fill the earth with their presence (v9:1). Yeshayahu 45:18 pointed out that G-d had made the earth in order for it to be settled by mankind.

From an homiletical point of view the operative clause in the verse are the words "let us make a name for 'ourselves.'" This is an oblique reference to idolatry. The word שם (shem) "name here and the same word in Shemot 23:13 "and you must not mention the name (שם) of any other deity," mean the same thing. We also have a Midraschic comment in Midrash Tehillim 1, that the word הבה (havah), introduces an evil thought, an evil intention as it does in Shoftim 20:7 "come up with a plan here and now!" Furthermore, we have a tradition that the word עיר "city" is reference to a deity as we find in Dani'el 4:10 that the words עיר וקדיש (ir vekadish) refer to a destructive angel (ha-satan or similar). According to one Midrash on the Ten Commandments, these people proposed to take spades planning to invade heaven to flood it and drain it in order to ensure that another deluge could not originate from that source. They wanted to take large chunks of heaven and to engage in war with the King of the heavens. The Tower had seventy steps in an easterly direction and seventhy steps in a westerly direction on its opposite side. G-d descended those seventy steps accompanied by seventy angels and He confused their language and their dialects. Thus far that Midrash.

In Bereishit Rabbah 38:6 it writes that these people said, "we do not agree that G-d should have exlusive right to heaven whereas we have only been assigned earth. Let us make war against Him."

Looking at this story from a rational point of view, the words "and let us make a name for ourselves," must be understood as follows: The people of that generation were very advanced in matters of philosophy and even technology. However, they used their intelligence in a sinful manner. They constructed the city and Tower to protect themselves against a deluge of fire (seeing tht G-d had promosed not to again bring a deluge of water). This is what the word "war" in the Midrash refers to. They prepared to contend with the heavenly forces, such as angels, against the will of HASHEM. They tried to isolate and tame the power of fire in order to neutralise its deadly effect so that it could not engulf their city.

There was another reason which motivated them. They had been witness to the fact that G-d had decreed death on Adam, while they perceived themseles as physically powerful and enjoying a much longer life span than the 120 years G-d appeared to have decreed. They thought that they were all powerful (G-d Himself in v6 questioned whether their power should not be curtailed). They planned to scale heaven wie alive and well in order to overcome the impediment to this imposed pon them by their mortality. Their principal aim was to overcome the decree issued against Adam which made all of them mortal also. all of their planning in building the Tower was designed to achieve immmortality. The reaon G-d had to scatter them was because they planned to nullify His world order. The Torah has worded its report in such a way that it did not spell out these people's evil intent in detail. Whereas the Torah revealed the sin of the generation of the deluge, it did not spell out the sin of the generation of the Tower.

The Torah did want us to know that basically, their sin was of the same category as that of the first man. This is why the Torah refers to the people in this paragraph as בני האדם (ben ha'Adam) "Adam's sons", to hint that what they did paralleled what Adam had done.  The extra letter ה (heh) before the word אדם (adam) stresses that they behaved not like ordinary human beings but like the first human being, Adam (as opposed to 5:1 where the Torah describes "this is the Book of the generations of man," without the letter ה in front of the word אדם.

The words "ben ha'Adam" are a hint that these people were like the first human being and the Torah had indicated that the people of the deluge had sinned by denying that there is something higher than the emanation "Keter", which had led to their destruction in the "lower universe." The word שם (shem - name) in this instance is reference to the highest emanation "Keter". They were under the mistaken impression that that emanation is the absolute highest level of heaven, i.e. celestial force which exists. The Attribute of Justice, even when in a dominant role, is always accompanied by some aspect of the Attribute of Mercy as represented by שם the Ineffable Name YKVK. In the case of the deluge, the principle of midah keneged midah (measure for measure) operated in such a away that as punishment for that generation's refusal to recognize anything beyond the emanation שם=כתר, they experienced the full impact of the unrelieved Attribute of Justice so that even the earth they had lived on was destroyed. The earth had been the creation of the Attribute of Justice, i.e. אלוקים (ELOKIM). The Attribute of Mercy, i.e. השם (HASHEM), had been "co-opted" only at the time when the Torah reported the creation of Adam (2:4) as a functioning human being.

Basically, man had tried to separate the role of the Attribute of אלוקים from the role of the Attribute of שם, or YKVK. G-d demonstrated to them that such an attempt if successful spells disaster both for them and for the earth they lived on. They had wanted only "nature," as represented by the Attribute of אלוקים.

It is quite possible that prior to the deluge such considerations had not had a philosophical basis, had been mostly based on an emotional resentment of authority from an extra-terrestrial force. At this time, it had been developed to a philosophy by highly intelligent people, people who had already learned of the value of co-operation, unity, working towards a common goal. This was why their newly developed approach was so dangerous.

G-d scattered them, i.e. separated them from their unity all over the globe as retaliation for their attempt to "scatter," i.e. separate His Attributes from one another. They had calculated the precise number of steps needed to ascend to heaven - 70. According to Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, the number reflects 70 miles, a mile per step. The number may also allude to the 70 representatives of the 70 nations in the celestial spheres. According to tradition, Nevuchadnetzar, who was also from Bavel (though it was renamed Babylon) introduced the golden image of Baal into the remnants of the Holy Temple to symbolize that this philosophy had triumphed. In Yirmeyahu 51:44 the prophet predicts the eventual humiliation of that idol and that of the people who worshiped it. Dani'el 3:1 speaks of a huge gold image Nevuchadnetzar had put up in the valley of Dura in the land of Babylon. this valley may be identical with the valley described here in this chapter where the Torah described these people as וימצאו בקעה (vayimtzeu vik'ah), "they found a valley." All of this is part of the aforementioned hints the Torah provided concerning the sins of that generation.

May HASHEM protect us from committing similar errors.

The confusing of their languages was an example of the principle of the punishment fitting the crime, midah keneged midah (measure for measure). Their sin consisted of the words they spoke, i.e. "they said, 'Let us build a city for ourselves...'" Seeing they had put the power of speech to improper use, their power of speech now became impaired so that they no longer could understand each other.

The descendants of Noach who had numbered seventy at that time, were now divided into seventy nations, each with a distinctive language.

★ There are seventy "princes," i.e. representatives in the celestial spheres who represent these seventy nations before the throne of G-d. They correspond to the respective kings or heads of these nations here on earth. Each one of these seventy celestial "princes" is a part of the nation he represents, unlike Yaakov (Yirmeyahu 10:16) of whom the prophet said "unlike these is the portion of Yaakov, for it is He Who forms all things." Just as the Jewish people do not need intermediaries before G-d but have direct access to Him, so the Hebrew tongue is superior to all the other languages in the world. It is G-d's own language and as such it is as superior to other languages as is G-d Himself to any of the agents He has appointed in this world to do His bidding. It is the duty of Jews to draw the help from celestial sources by means of the Holy Tongue, Hebrew. Unless they are capable of praying in Hebrew their prayer loses in effectiveness.

May HASHEM continue to enlighten us with the Light of His Torah.

-Bachya; Chazal

Bereishit 6:12
וַיַּרְא אלוקים אֶת-הָאָרֶץ וְהִנֵּה נִשְׁחָתָה כִּי-הִשְׁחִית כָּל-בָּשָׂר אֶת-דַּרְכּוֹ עַל-הָאָרֶץ
Vayar Elohim et-ha'aretz vehineh nishchatah ki-hishchit kol-basar et-darko al-ha'aretz
ELOKIM saw the earth, and here it had become corrupt. All flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth.

At this point the Torah reverts to G-d's Name "Elokim" to indicate that the Attribute of Justice enters the picture at this stage. Seeing that the sins of that generation were so great the Attribute of Justice was poised over them.


וְהִנֵּה נִשְׁחָתָה
vehineh nishchatah
and here it had become corrupt.

What precisely did this "corruption" consist of? "All flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth." They were all destroying their own seed. They did not want to prcreate and used sexual union for pleasure only. This is what is meant by Yeshayahu 57:5 "the ones who slaughter their children." Chazal (Niddah 13) comment on this that a preferable reading to this passage would be "they squeezed out their semen before impregnating their wives." Seeing that they had become guilty of destroying semen which becomes a fetus after forty days, they were punished with a deluge which poured rain on them for forty days (based on Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, Chapter 22).

Actually, the people of that time were guilty of four sins:

1) idolatry
2) sexual licentiousness including incest
3) murder
4) gratuitous violence

The reason for the forty days of rain may be broken down as follows: Thirty days of continuous rain descended because of their idolatry, i.e. they worshiped the sun for thirty days; however seeing the sun's influence on earth commences already five days before it becomes visible to us and it continues for five days after it has ceased to be visible, it was proper that they be punished on account of sun-worship for forty days. Whatever is true of the visible effect of the sun as well as its invisible effect, applies equally to the stars so that in respect of every form of worship of celestial constellations the number forty represented midah keneged midah (measure for measure) "the punishment fitted the crime." Similar considerations apply to the sin of sexual licentiousness and murder as in both instnces the gestation period of the human being was forty days before it became a real fetus. As to the violence, their fourth sin, the number forty is approprite for the duration of the days of rain as the Torah containing this legislation was given to Moshe after he had spent forty days on Mount Sinai.

The sin of corruption did not only include human beings but it had also corrupted the behavior of the animals. This is why Chazal (Sanhedrin 108) explained "the ones who had become guilty of wasting hot semen were punished by a deluge of hot water." This fact is based on the words used at the end of the deluge in v8:1 "and the waters cooled off."


וַתִּשָּׁחֵת הָאָרֶץ לִפְנֵי האלוקים
vatishachet ha'aretz lifnei ha'ELOKIM
the earth had become corrupt in the presence of ELOKIM

This is in reference to idolatry practiced by man. The Torah alluded to the fact that the sins of mankind included both trespasses against G-d as well as trespasses against society. They corrupted religion and they corrupted the basics of procreation. These latter sins also included indiscriminate robbery among the people. The Torah refers to this by writing, "the earth became filled with violence," and the repetition, "for the earth is filled with violence through them." Seeing that the Torah reports G-d's decision to bring on the deluge in connection with the report of the violence it is clear tht this sin weighted most heavily and that the decree to destroy mankind was not sealed until G-d had reviewed the indiscriminated violence on earth (Sanhedrin 108). There is support for this view in two verses in Sefer Yeshayahu. In Yeshayahu 54:14 it reads, You shall keep away from oppression [do not engage in it] and you shall have no fear, and from ruin and it shall not come near you." Teh same prophet had said a few verses earlier, "that this is like the deluge to Me..." (v9). In other words, the prophet, in the Name of G-d, warns the people that the deluge had been due to the violence and oppression practiced by people against each other. The reason that this was the "straw that broke the camel's back," i.e. the most critical sin was that it is a trespass against common sense. If there were no G-d at all, mankind would have to legislate laws controlling violence as otherwise civilisation would collapse of its own. A society which did not even observe such a code of laws could not expect to endure.

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

May HASHEM continue to enlighten us with the Light of His Torah.

-Bachya; Chazal

Noach Pardes - Noach

Noach Pardes - The Tower of Bavel

Bereishit 2:8
וַיִּטַּע הי אלוקים גַּן-בְּעֵדֶן-מִקֶּדֶם
Vayita HASHEM ELOKIM Gan-be'eden mikedem
HASHEM ELOKIM planted a garden eastward in Eden...


HASHEM ELOKIM PLANTED

According the plain meaning, the Torah attributed the planting of this garden to HASHEM.  He did not bring a variety of trees from different parts of the globe and placed them there in the garden, but the very trees were His handiwork, designed to glorify Him. Accordingly, King David referred to these trees as עצי הי, (etz HASHEM) "trees of HASHEM..." (Tehillim 104:16)

EASTWARD

This garden, Paradise, was planted in an eastern location מקדם (mikedem). Beneficial effects of winds originate in the east of the earth due to Paradise having been planted that part of the globe. It is a well known fact that the best fruits grow in the East.

Moshe in his blessing to the Tribe of Yosef wrote, "and with the bounty of the sun's crop" (Devarim 33:14).  All crops depend on the sun, Moshe must have had in mind the area where the sun rises, i.e. the Eastern part of the Land of Yisrael.

The words "HASHEM Elokim planted a garden eastward in Eden" refer to planting which had taken place a long time ago - מקדם "since primeval times."  The Torah describes HASHEM as "having planted it", rather than as having commanded it to come into existence is proof that the garden preceded the creation of the universe. In fact this "planting" had already been alluded to in he very first word of the Torah, the word בראשית (Bereishit).


וַיָּשֶׂם שָׁם אֶת-הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר יָצָר
vayasem sham et ha'adam asher yatzar
and there He put the man whom He had formed.

This garden dated back to an era preceding that described in chapter one of the Torah.  The words "He put there the man whom He had formed," must have a different connotation.  The words אשר יצר (asher yatzar) are a reference to the source of man, his soul.  Refined souls originate in the East.  This is the meaning of the statement by Rabbi Nechunyah ben Hakanah (Sefer HaBahir) that the זרע (zera' - semen) of Yisrael, it's descendants originated in the Eastern parts of universe because the marrow in the spinal cord comes directly from he brain from which it is transmitted to the male organ and converted into semen.

"For from the East will I bring your seed (descendants) and from the West will I gather you in" (Yeshayahu 43:5).  The prophet is telling us that when Yisrael will perform HASHEM's commandments, their souls will (once again) originate in that Eastern regions. If, however, they will fail to live up to HASHEM's expectations, their seed, the souls of their children, will be gathered up from the Western part of the universe. Why is it called "West"? Because there all the seeds intermingle, i.e. sanctity is being compromised by intermingling with souls who originate in spiritually negative areas.

When we read "a generation goes and a generation comes" (Kohelet 1:4), this means that all the souls have already been assigned to this world and until each one has been noted by a body the Redeemer cannot come.

From that region (East) the souls travel to the foundation of the universe, a region known ברית (brit - covenant). This is why the author of Sefer HaBahir wrote that the seed comes to the Jewish People by means of the spinal cord which gets its input from the brain traveling down to the male member.

The prophet Yeshayahu alluded to this when he said, "Listen to this O house of Yaakov who bear the name Yisrael and who have emanated from the waters of Yehudah" (Yeshayahu 48:1). The expression "who have emanated from the waters of Yehudah," means "from the seed of Yehudah." The reason the prophet called Yisrael "Yehudah," is because the flag of Yehudah represented the Eastern part of the encampment of the Benei Yisrael in the desert.


2:9
וַיַּצְמַח הי אלוקים מִן-הָאֲדָמָה
Vayatzmach HASHEM ELOKIM min ha'adamah
HASHEM ELOKIM made grow from the earth...

These words prove that there is such a thing as Paradise on earth and that it contains a Tree of Knowledge as well as a Tree of Life. The fruit of the Tree of Life causes those who eat it to enjoy long life, whereas the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge instills in those who consume it willpower and freedom of choice to do either good or evil both in matters physical as well as in matters spiritual.

The term עץ הדעת (etz hadaat) does not mean "the Tree of Knowledge," but means "the tree permitting choice." We find support for this meaning of the word דעת (daat - knowledge), "What is man that You should have granted him grace?" In other words, "Why have You extended Your goodwill, Your love to man?" The meaning of the term עץ הדעת then is the tree which causes HASHEM to relate to man with either favor or disfavor. Originally, HASHEM had withheld this kind of choice from Adam as he ad been "programmed" in his deeds prior to his sin. This does not mean he was not free to sin but that his actions were guided exclusively by his intellect thus practically excluding sin as he had not been subject to temptation from within. Once man had sinned, i.e. had eaten from the fruit of that Tree, he became possessed of an independent will, i.e. obedience to HASHEM's will was no longer automatic, dictated by his intellect. The new found "independent will" meant that he had acquired an attribute reserved for HASHEM, an attribute that he could handle only at great potential cost to himself.


וְעֵץ הַחַיִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַגָּן וְעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע
ve'etz hachayim betoch hagan
and a Tree of Life in the midst of the garden.

The Torah made the point of describing the location of this Tree, "in the midst of the garden," as opposed to the precise location of the Tree of "desire," which has not been spelled out.

The two words בתוך הגן (betoch hagan - midst of the garden) exactly between the words עץ הדעת טוב ורע (etz hadaat tov vara - Tree of Knowledge [of what is] good and evil) and עץ החיים (etz hachayim - the Tree of Life) makes it clear that both these Trees stood next to one another. Although they were two trees, and is physically impossible for both Trees to be precisely in the center of the garden, we must assume that they had a single trunk and that the two Trees branched out at a certain point above the ground, one side becoming the Tree of Life, the other the Tree of Knowledge.


2:10
וְנָהָר יֹצֵא מֵעֵדֶן לְהַשְׁקוֹת אֶת-הַגָּן וּמִשָּׁם יִפָּרֵד וְהָיָה לְאַרְבָּעָה רָאשִׁים
Venahar yotze me'eden lehashkot et-hagan umisham yipared vehayah le'arbaah rashim
A river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it separated and became four headwaters.

The Torah describes the rivers that originated in that garden by describing their parameters and the countries which surround the garden.  There were a total of four rivers which were all branches of a single river which flowed out of Eden. As long as that river was a single river it function was to irrigate the garden. Subsequently, this river split into what the Torah called ארבעה ראשים (arbaah rashim - four headwaters).

★You should understand that though the Torah describes a scenery on earth when describing Gan Eden and what is related to it, the manifestations described by the Torah are metaphors for phenomena in the celestial regions.


2:11
שֵׁם הָאֶחָד פִּישׁוֹן
Shem ha'echad pishon
The name of the first is Pishon.

A Midrashic view sees in the four rivers a reference to four kingdoms. The river Pishon is a reference to the kingdom of Bavel (Babylon). The verse in Chavukuk 1:8 ופשן פרשין "describing the riders of the army of the Chaldeans (Babylonians)" refers to this.


הוּא הַסֹּבֵב אֵת כָּל-אֶרֶץ הַחֲוִילָה אֲשֶׁר-שָׁם הַזָּהָב
hu hasovev et kol-eretz hachavilah asher-sham hazahav
Which surrounds all the land of Chavilah where there is gold

The land of Chavilah which is described as being surrounded by the river Pishon is none other than the Land of Yisrael, a land which the king of Bavel will ascend and come across which he and his army will spread out. This is based on Bereishit Rabbah explaining Tehillim 42:6 "Have hope in HASHEM for I will yet praise Him for His saving Presence."

The gold referred to here are the words of Torah which have been extolled as "more desirable than gold, than much fine gold" (Tehillim 19:11).

★We are taught by this verse that the quality of Torah studied in Eretz Yisrael is superior to Torah studied elsewhere as is the wisdom acquired in Eretz Yisrael.


2:12
שָׁם הַבְּדֹלַח וְאֶבֶן הַשֹּׁהַם
sham habedolach ve'even hashoham
There can be found the bedolach and the shoham stone.

These are names of gems and they symbolize different disciplines of Torah study such as Holy Scripture, Mishnah, Talmud, Halachot, interpretations and aggadic material.


2:13
וְשֵׁם הַנָּהָר הַשֵּׁנִי גִּיחוֹן
veshem hanahar hasheni gichon
And the name of the second river is Gichon.

This is reference to the kingdom of the Medes.


2:14
וְשֵׁם הַנָּהָר הַשְּׁלִישִׁי חִדֶּקֶל
veshem hanahar hashelishi chidekel
And the name of the third river is Chidekel.

This is reference to the kingdom of Greece which imposed a particularly draconian rule on the Jewish People in Yisrael.


וְהַנָּהָר הָרְבִיעִי הוּא פְרָת
vehanahar harvi'i hu ferat
And the fourth river is Prat.

The fourth river, the Euphrates, represents the Roman Empire which oppressed the Jewish People inordinately. The word פרת is equated by the Midrash with the word הפרה (hafarah - breach of trust). Alternately, the name of the river symbolizes the final destiny of the Roman Empire as alluded by Yeahayahu, "I trod out a vintage alone." (63:3) the prophet describes the red stained clothing of Yisrael returning from defeating the kingdom of Edom.

★Man's sin consisted of both a sinful deed and a sinful design. Man's sin in deed consisted of eating from the tree and what it represented. It was not a denial of the Supremacy of G-d (an heretical act) by Adam when he sinned. Even though Adam had seen the Tree of Life next to the Tree of Knowledge, he had considered the Tree of Life as essential but considered the Tree of Knowledge the key to his existence. The Tree of knowledge provided those who consumed its fruit to perform all kinds of activities both in the terrestrial as well as in the celestial regions, this is what he considered as essential. This is why the Torah in describing the Tree of Knowledge spoke of the allure of its fruit, whereas there is no mention of fruit made in connection with the Tree of Life. Adam's sin consisted of קצץ בנטיעות (pursued alien philosophies) (The same heresy of Elisha be Avuyah, known as Acher - Chagigah 14. Elisha’s interest in a non-Jewish ideology caused him to question his Judaism, and in the end the questioning morphed into eresy. He thought he had proof that there were separate origins of celestial authority)


וְנָהָר
Venahar
and a river

According to the Targum the Hebrew Word אור (ohr - light) is equivalent to the Aramaic נהורא (light). The Torah therefore tells us that a "light" comes forth from Eden, and that this light originates in the region known as אין סוף (Ein Sof), G-d's Essence. The meaning of the word מֵעֵדֶן (me'eden) is that it emanates from regions which are not bounded by any boundaries, or which defy further definition by man. The region has been so named by our Sages because they cannot define it. It is beyond the outermost boundaries of our understanding. We do find allusions to this such as in Iyov 25:5 "even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in His sight." The speaker in this verse, Bildad, describes "light" as we know it as far inferior to light in the celestial regions. The words וְלֹא יַאֲהִיל (velo ya'ahil - no brightness) in that verse refer to G-d's ability to withhold the light of the moon.  It is contrasted with the light emanating in Ein Sof which is never withheld.


לְהַשְׁקוֹת אֶת-הַגָּן
lehashkot et-hagan
to water the Garden.

(2:10) This task would be performed by the emanation Malchut.

★For pratical purposes all the emanations are unified, there is no division within them. However, starting with the emanation Malchut, downwards, i.e. into the realm of the physical universe including the disembodied creatures such as the angels, "separations" are the order of the day.  This is what the Torah means when it states that "umisham" (and from there) the "light" was divided into four categories.  This is a reference to four separate "camps." These "camps" provide "energy" for the four "rivers" or "lights" of Gan Eden. Therefore this energy or different forms of energies are channelled to the four kingdoms on earth.

May HASHEM continue to enlighten us with the light of His Torah.

------------

Bereishit Pardes - Creation
Bereishit Pardes - Etz HaChayim - Etz HaDaat Tov vaRa
Bereishit Pardes - Nishmat Chayim - Living Soul