Noach - The Mabul

Sunday, October 7, 2018 · Posted in , , ,



Although mankind no longer lived in Gan Eden, their life-style before the mabul (flood) still resembled Gan Eden. (Midrash Hagadol)

Life was good. In fact, it was too good. It was a life of uninterrupted serenity and enjoyment. For example, children were conceived and born on the same day. A newborn child was immediately able to stand and walk, and also had the ability to speak. Furthermore, no child would ever die during his parents' lifetime. In fact, all parents would live to see not only their children but also their grandchildren. (Bereishit Rabbah)

  • The generation before the mabul possessed enormous physical strength, as the verse says, "There were giants on earth in those days" (Bereishit 6:14) They were able to uproot whole cedar trees and considered lions and panthers as harmless as fleas. Their strength did not diminish in old age, but, on the contrary, it grew with age. This strength only disappeared after the mabul.
  • They lived a very long life, hundreds of years. Only when they sinned did Hashem say, "and his days shall be a hundred and twenty years."
  • They knew no suffering of any kind.
  • They sowed only one every forty years and the earth produced a sufficient amount for the following forty years.
  • They did not have to endure excessive heat or cold since there were no changing seasons, but the weather was a continuous, enjoyable and mild spring climate. It was only after the mabul that Hashem said, "Seed time and harvest and cold and heat and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease."
As a result of these benefits, however, they cast off Hashem's authority, saying, "For what purpose do we still need Him? We do not even require His help to obtain water, since we need no rain. We get an abundant supply of water from difference sources; we have the streams and wells of the earth" Answered Hashem, "Is it with the very goodness that I bestowed upon you that you rebel against Me? I shall punish you with the same substance, rain water, and therefore, 'And behold I will bring the flood of water.'" (Sanhedrin 108)

What were the crimes of those generations?  They were guilty of idol worship, bloodshed, and immorality. (Bereishit Rabbah)


Idol Worship

"They said to G-d, 'Depart from us, we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. Who is the Almighty that we should serve Him? Why should we pray to Him?'" (Iyov 21:14-15).  They strengthened their independence from Hashem by acquiring expertise in witchcraft.  They forsook their Maker and served idols.


Bloodshed

They were murderers. Their depravity was similar to that later found in the wicked city of Sedom. (Yerushalmi)


Immorality

These generations ignored the commandment give to Adam (1:28), "Be fruitful and multiply." (Bereishit Rabbah) Since their goal in life was to gratify their instincts, they attempted to minimize the number of children that they had. (Midrash Hagadol) This explains the atrocities prevalent at that time.

  • A man would take two wives, one for the purpose of childbearing, and the other for his pleasure.
  • They exchanged wives.
  • They arranged "marriage contracts" between men and beast, thus legalizing forbidden relationships.
  • The judges themselves were corrupt.*
Even the animals imitated their corrupt ways; the dog associated with the wolf and the rooster with the duck.

However, Hashem would have spared even these wicked generations, had they sinned unknowingly. But they had been taught the six mitzvot commanded to Adam which included the prohibition against idolatry, murder, and adultery. They were punished because they chose to ignore Hashem's commandments. Nevertheless Hashem would have continued to exercise patience and restraint if not for the additional crime of robbery.

*The source of corruption in all generations to this day is the court of law itself. Legislation that is lenient and judges who are "liberal-minded" are responsible for the destruction of the country.


Robbery

Hashem said, "The end of all flesh has come before Me" (6:13). "The accusation of their thievery has come before Me, and therefore I can no longer delay their punishment!" (Sanhedrin 108)

What were the habits of the Generation of the Flood? If a man brought out a basket full of peas, he would soon be surrounded by a mob snatching them away. Each one cleverly took a small amount worth less than a pruta (small coin). The man's basket was soon empty. Yet the victim was unable to present the matter to a judge because each culprit could claim that he had stolen an amount so minute that he was not liable to punishment by law.  (Bereishit Rabbah)

It was among the practices of that generation to move their neighbors' landmarks in order to extend their property. They also commonly stole sheep from each other. If someone saw an ox or donkey in the hands of a helpless orphan or widow, he took it away. People, afraid that the clothes they wore would be stolen from their bodies decided that was safer to walk around naked. 

Why was their guilty verdict finalized for the sin of theft more than for the crimes of idol worship, bloodshed or immorality? The answer is that robbery undermines the basis of all civilization. it is common sense that another person's property may not be stolen. (Ramban) Whenever Hashem sits in judgment over a person guilty of several crimes, there is one crime that accuses him above all others - the sin of robbery. (Vayikra Rabbah)


Chronology of the Mabul

Day of Flood /  Hebrew Date / Civil Date

0 / 17 Cheshvan / October 27 - Flood begins
40 / 29 Kislev / December 8 - Forty-day rains ends; torrents begin
190 / 29 Iyar / May 6 - 150 day period of torrents ends
191 / 1 Sivan  May 7 - Water begins to recede
207 / 17 Sivan / May 23 - Tevah (Ark) rests on Mt. Ararat
250 / 1 Av / July 5 - Mountaintops are visible
290 / 10 Elul / August 13 Raven sent out
296 / 16 Elul / August 19 - Dove sent out
303 / 23 Elul / August 26 - Dove brings olive leaf
310 / 1 Tishrei / September 2 - Dove does not return. Water is gone and earth begins to dry.
365 / 27 Cheshvan / October 27 - Earth completely dry


The Flood was a reversion to the initial state of creation, in which the earth was physically submerged under water and spiritually submerged in Divine awareness.

At the very beginning of creation, all was water because dry land did not yet exist. On the spiritual level, this means that the world was filled with Divine awareness because dry land, which represents the facade of a self-sustained world independent of G‑d, did not yet exist.

G‑d's ultimate desire, however, is that Divine awareness permeate even a world with "dry land," i.e., self-awareness. Indeed, this will be the state of the world in the messianic age, when "the world will be filled with the knowledge of G‑d like water covers the seabed" (Yeshayahu 11:9). At that time, even though the world will not be covered by water and we will still be in a state of self-awareness, we will nevertheless enjoy the Divine awareness normally associated with submersion under water, i.e., self-nullification.

However, for the earth to reach this stage, it first had to have been immersed in the waters of the Flood, which "destroyed the earth," i.e., which nullified the earth's sense of self. This one-time experience conditioned the earth to be able to later attain Divine awareness — even after the waters receded and the earth reverted to dry land. The Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 7:4) therefore compares the messianic age to the days of Noach, since the Flood initiated the process of conditioning the world for its ultimate state — Divine awareness despite the presence of self — which it will attain in the messianic age.

Once this conditioning occurred, G‑d promised never to Flood the earth again, in keeping with His original intention for the world to exist in its "natural" state and still be a vessel for Divine awareness.

In fulfilling our own Divine mission on earth, we also experience a period of immersion in the waters of Divine awareness: the High Holy Days of the month of Tishrei. Our challenge is to successfully experience Divine awareness even after Tishrei, when the "waters have receded" and our "dry" self has emerged.

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Source: Midrash Says; Me'am Lo'ez; Chabad

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Bereishit - Shabbat

Friday, October 5, 2018 · Posted in , , , ,

[Art by Anna Zarnitsky]

 וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכָּל-מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה
Vayechal Elokim bayom hashvi'i melachto asher asah vayishbot bayom hashvi'i mikol-melachto asher asah.
2:2 And on the seventh day, G-d finished all His work which He made. He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He made.

The world was established in its beauty and perfection, but an essential ingredient was lacking - Shabbat, rest! Only when Shabbat came to the world, did rest come to the world. It was the Rest which Hashem created on the seventh day! (Bereishit Rabbah)

Each day, when G-d commanded that something be created, the creative process would continue. Thus, for example, when G-d said, "Let there be a firmament," it came into being; until Friday evening, it continued to increase and spread out. (Bereishit Rabbah) It is for this reason that one of G-d's Names is Shakkai, coming from the word Dai, meaning "enough." If G-d had not said, "Enough," to the universe, commanding that the firmament stop, it would still be expanding. The same is true of the earth, since it did not know its destined size.

It therefore appears that the world continued to work all through the week. Although translated as "He rested on the seventh day," it can also be translated, "It rested on the seventh day," where "it" refers to the universe. This indicates that the universe itself had rest and repose on the Shabbat.

In Hebrew this verse is וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי where the subject is implied, but not actually designated.  The verse does not say, "G-d rested on the seventh day," in the same manner as it says, "and G-d finished," or "G-d blessed." The subject of this phrase is creation as a whole, which rested on the Shabbat. (Ibid.)


"And G-d blessed the seventh day..." (2:3)

Shabbat was blessed above all the other days of the week in various ways:

  1. In the Wilderness, the Benei Yisrael received a double portion of mann on every Erev Shabbat, providing food for Shabbat. The blessing of extra mann is but one example of the Divine guarantee that whatever a person spends in honor of the Shabbat is refunded to him by Hashem. (Shabbat 1:1 [2a])
  2. Not only is a person recompensed for any financial loss he might seem to incur for the sake of Shabbat observance, but, in fact, one who honors this day is rewarded also with a good life and with wealth. (Bereishit Rabbah)
  3. Hashem also blessed the Shabbat with tasty food.
  4. Another blessing of Shabbat is that the wicked in Gehinnom are granted respite from their punishment and torture every seventh day. 
  5. The primeval Light created by G-d was so intense that it shone from one end of the universe to the other, but because of the wicked, G-d stored it away for the righteous in the Olam Haba. This Light, however, was not put away immediately. Chazal taught that this light functioned for thirty-six hours, consisting of twelve hours on the sixth day, and twenty-four hours on the first Shabbat. As soon as Adam sinned, G-d wished to remove this remarkable Light, but He put aside doing so because of the merit of the Shabbat. This is the Extra Soul (Neshamah Yeterah) that every Jew has on this holy day, one more spiritual and holy than that of the weekdays. Because of this extra soul, we say each Shabbat in the morning service, the prayer Nishmat: "The soul of all life shall bless Your Name." (Levush 281)
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Source: Me'am Lo'ez; Midrash Says






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Bereishit - Before Physical Creation

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Before the Beginning, There Was Nothing But Light, Infinite Light - Ohr Ain Sof

“When the King first desired a world, He engraved its forms in the pure Supernal Light.” (Zohar 1:15a)

The hollow engraved in the Supernal Light was the vacated space, in which all creation subsequently occurred.

This Constriction (tzimtzum) or hollowing of the Divine Essence did not occur in physical spakce, but rather, in conceptual space. It is "hollow" insofar as it contains the possibility for information, but not actual information. As such, it is the "Tohu and Bohu" (chaos and void) mentioned in the account of Creation, where the Scripture states, "the earth was chaos and void" (Bereishit 1:2). Chaos is a state where information can exist, but where it does not exist.

The hollow was made through 32 paths, since letters and digits are the basic bits of information. While random letters and numbers do not actually convey information, as long as they exist, it is also possible for information to exist. The Vacated Space is therefore the state where it is possible for information to exist, but where this possibility has not yet been realized.

These letters were subsequently combined into words, forming the Ten Utterances/Sayings of Creation. Each of these sayings brought information into the Vacated Space, through which creation could take place there.

The order was therefore first "engraving," and then "creation." The Sefer Yetzirah therefore states that the Creator "engraved...and created His universe." (Sefer Yetzirah; Bahir 2; Ramban on Bereishit 1:2)

Physical creation, as reported in the Torah, is not the beginning of the story, but the end of a process that began much earlier and which was totally spiritual at first. It is the essence of what true Kabbalah discusses at length. Kabbalah describes Creation as existing inside a Challal (hollow), a ball like structure in the "center" of the Infinite Light of Ain Sof, surrounded by Ohr Ain Sof on all sides.  The creation of the Challal was the first stage in making physical creation possible since it held back the powerful Ohr Ain Sof, which is far too spiritual to allow anything physical to exist. The next stage allowed a stream of Ohr Ain Sof, Kav Ain Sof, to enter the Challal in Divinely measured amounts, creating levels of existence on its way in. By moving towards the center of the Challal the Kav Ain Sof, in effect, was moving away from its Source, the Ohr Ain Sof beyond the Challal, allowing Creation to become increasingly more physical. Ohr Ain Sof resulted first in the Challal, then in the Kav Ain Sof, and eventually in the countless sefirot and partzufim, all just to make a world in which man could exist, exercise free will, and earn his portion in the Olam Haba (World to Come). (Rabbi Pinchas Winston, The Physics of Kabbalah, p. 3, note #10 quoting from Otzrot Chaim, p.5; and p. 17 of The Physics of Kabbalah)

In the beginning, a simple divine light filled the entirety of existence.  When there arose in His simple will the desire to create the worlds, He contracted His light, withdrawing it to the sides and leaving a void and an empty space in its center, to allow for the existence of the worlds. (However, this was not an absolute void, for there remained a residue of the divine light within the void.) He then drew a single line of His infinite light into the void to illuminate the worlds. In the teachings of Kabbalah, the act of creation is described as an act of tzimtzum—an act of contraction, concealment and withdrawal. In the beginning, the “light” of G‑d (i.e., the manifest expression of His omnipresence and omnipotence) filled the entirety of existence. A world such as ours—finite, self-defined and independent, with the capacity to turn away from and even deny its Creator—could not exist, for it would have been utterly nullified within the divine light. In order to allow for the existence of the world, G‑d “contracted” His light, creating a “void” and “empty space” within which His infinite being and power is not manifest. Into this void G‑d then allowed a single “line” (kav) of light to penetrate, through which flows a divine energy that is meted out to every level of reality in accordance with its capacity to receive it. (Chabad, Tzimtzum) 





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