A Question and Answer on Parshat Noach

Question: I got a Stone Edition of the Tanach like you told me to. I am reading it right now. What I find peculiar is that it says “Let’s make man in OUR image”. My first thought was “Our? Who else could it be referring to?” It is explained in the annotations that the plural means that He consulted with ministering angels. This also seems to imply that HaShem and Angels have similar looks about them. When one thinks of an Angel, one may think of the drawings of mighty women or men with halos. But is it not a commandment to not illustrate any images of that which is in Heaven? It’s funny to think about, have you ever been inside of a church? The Catholics especially pride themselves on their stained glass portraits of what they perceive as Divine, especially when there is a rule against this that made Hashem’s top ten list.

A note about Enoch
5:21-24 Genesis

“Enoch lived Sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. Enoch walked with G-d for 300 years after begetting Methuselah; and he begot sons and daughters. All of the of Enoch were three-hundred-sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with G-d and he was no more, for G-had taken him”

I found this to be strange. For the verses of the others were as Methuselah.

5:27 Genesis

“All of the days of Methuselah were nine-hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died”

This is the same as Mahalel, Jared, and Lamech. What is so special about Enoch? It is not said that he died, it just says that G-d took him. The annotations say nothing. I wanted your thoughts on this.

I am up to Parashas Noach, this is where I will rest. I will read more tomorrow.

I await your reply, my friend.

Am Yisrael Chai
Od Avinu Chai

Answer: Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki (Rashi) has commentary on a fair portion of scripture including the non-written. Many of the annotations are from him. I also think He is the one who talked about how it’s the ministering angels that he consulted. Many of the ancient rabbis also have a mesorah – what’s passed down from generation to generation. Some of our understanding of the text is from the Mesorah (tradition). The original Church (the Roman and Greek Church) is akin to idolatry. However, Protestants are still non-Noahides to a degree due to the types of icons they still posses specifically for believing in a shittuf – partnership.

Methuselah lived the longes, but I’m not sure what that means…If you made a timeline of events, Methuselah lived ’till the year of the  great flood. He died seven days before the flood. Clearly, this has some significance. Some translate his name as “his death shall bring…”. We can infer what that meant. Perhaps, it was that: So long as he was alive, the flood couldn’t happen. This gave us time for us to have Noach, his children, and the Ark.

As for Enoch, I’ve read different commentaries on him earlier this [Hebrew] year. And from what I’ve learned, HaShem wanted him to remain pure, so he took him up to Shamayim. Whenever it says “the Heavens and the Earth”, the two main words are “Shamayim” and “Ha-Aretz”, so that’s a pretty big implication. Some Jewish mystics  believe that he became the Angel, Metatron. There is no source that directly implies that he is Metatron. However, Metatron is a Heavenly Scribe, but I do not know if it is significant that Enoch and Metatron are one and the same.

Centuries before we had Kaballah, there was Merkabah. It was a much more ancient Jewish mysticism. Merkabah literally means Chariot refering to the prophetic vision of heavny beings in the form of a chariot – the hierarchy of Malaakhim (angels). The inspiration came from the Book of Prophets. According to written scriptures, there is more than one type of Malaakh. Some are closer to G-d than others. The literature in this era of Mysticism. includes information about Enoch. However, these ancient books are not part of Cannon (official scripture). When the Hellenist Greeks came, some of Merkabah became tainted by the foreign culture and was infused with idolatrous concepts. Texts may have become edited, and some of these books became banned because of this (and perhaps other reasons too). For example, one of these books tries to fuse Jewish mysticism with the worship of the Greek Solar Deity. Obviously, these things became tainted. I once theorized that the Solar-worshiping concepts that Christians tried to fuse with our Jewish ideas were from the strange texts that manifested over time. Solar worship goes back ages, but fusing it with Monotheism was never heard of. If HaShem is One and only One, then the ideas that became tainted aren’t good. 

Jewish mysticism is still put into our davening (divine prayer). For example, in davening, we say “The ophanim and the holy living creatures with great uproar raise themselves up; facing the seraphim they offer praise, saying, ‘Blessed be God’s glory from His place.”. Passages, like this one, due exist. Mysticism isn’t the only thing we focus on. Perhaps, it’s important to note that only focusing on spirituality does not always enhance one’s existence if they aren’t applying it to their actions. There is no point in someone studying these texts if they aren’t already pious. 

As for Parshas Noach, I will try to write about it here to help answer potential questions in advanced: Noach (Noakh) was the most righteous person for his time. He was not perfect enough to be the most righteous person ever. That title belongs to Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our Rabbi). Also, Noach wasn’t Jewish. Sure, he did what HaShem said. However, Avraham (Abraham) was the start of what would become Judaism, for he would bring people back to HaShem. Jacob (Israel) is the first Israelite. And Judaism technically has to do with the Israelites and the G-d of Israel. Avraham Avinu (Abraham our Father) also raised children of other backgrounds. He raised children with Keturah (though did not reproduce with her), and those children were sent to the “East”. They may be the origins of Eastern faiths like Zoroastrianism.He also had a son with Hagar. That person became Ishmael. He was a threat to Yitzhak (Issac), and his descendants threaten our nation even to this day…. Judaism isn’t an “ism” like Christianity or Buddhism. The Goyim that do what G-d says are Noahides. Ideally, every Goy should be a Noahide. Though, unfortunate many are not. Many modern-day Christians are too open to sexual immorality, and Muslims are too violent. Devout Hindus are not indulging in adultery, they are not killing the Jews either, but their idolatry doesn’t make it kosher (acceptable) by the Noahide laws. Though, you could say that about devout Christians and Buddhists as well.

Noach and his children carry the DNA of the Human Race. This includes Africans, Semites, Aryans, and Orientals. The Gemera (Yoma 10a), discusses the lineage of the three sons of Noach. It implies that the Sub-Saharan Africans are from Cham (English: “Ham”). That name literally means “hot”. His descendants include the Kush (Ethiopia), Phut (Libya), Mitzraim (Egypt) and the Canaanites. Shem is the father of Semetic peoples. This includes the descendants of Abraham along with the Arameans and Assyrians. Japheth (Yafes) is the father of the rest which can include Aryans and Orientals. The scientific origins of Aryans and Orientals are two oddly close points (from the areas adjacent to Western China). Some ethnic Ethopians believe that after the Great Flood, their ancestors traveled along the Nile (southward) and ventured onto uninhabited land. So the idea that our civilized, Human world is new is something that can be traced back using these historic accounts. 

Why did the Great Flood happen? Because of sin. What sin? Theft and Wasting Seed. Noah Ha-Tzaddik kept the Mitzvot that was given to him. Thus, the lineage of the world comes from him.

The people in Babylon wanted to build a tower, and that remnants of that tower still exist today in Iraq. Nimrod (son of Kush) may have been the one who led the building of the tower. He also ruled over Mesopotamian cities. The division of languages caused many nations to leave the land. Thus, these other nations settled in other regions in the world…Avraham Avinu had to bring people back to HaShem. In Hebrew, this is called “Kiruv”. The king of the city that became Jerusalem was welcoming Avraham.

Many people did learn from Avraham. However, HaShem needs a nation that gives to Him, so [generations later], we have Israel, and from this holy man, we have the Jewish people. But it took a while for this to happen. Centuries upon centuries in order for HaShem to finally have a nation that looks up to Him.