Parashat Bereshit - Seventh Aliyah

The seventh aliyah seals the book of genealogy up to Noah and opens a window onto the destruction of the world and the hope of rescue. The death of Methuselah and the births of Lamech and Noah are recorded one after another, and Lamech gives a prophetic name: “vayikra et shmo Noach lemor zeh yenachamenu mima’asenu ume’itzvon yadeinu min ha’adamah asher ererah Adonai” (And he called his name Noah, saying: this one will comfort us from our work and from the toil of our hands, from the ground that Adonai cursed, Genesis 5:29). Noah fathers his three sons when he is five hundred years old (Genesis 5:32), and then the text describes an exceptional moral decline: “vayir’u vnei ha’Elohim et bnot ha’adam ki tovot henah” (And the sons of God saw the daughters of man, that they were good, Genesis 6:2), the appearance of “hanefilim” (the Nephilim) and “hagiborim” (the mighty ones, Genesis 6:4), and a divine limitation: “lo yadon ruchi va’adam le’olam… vehayu yamav me’ah ve’esrim shanah” (My spirit shall not abide in man forever… and his days shall be a hundred and twenty years, Genesis 6:3). Evil grows: “vayar Adonai ki rabah ra’at ha’adam” (And Adonai saw that the evil of man was great, Genesis 6:5), up to the decision “emcheh et ha’adam” (I will blot out man, Genesis 6:7), but one verse marks a line of rescue: “veNoach matza chen be’einei Adonai” (But Noah found favor in the eyes of Adonai, Genesis 6:8).

Eye-opening insights

• A name as prophecy: the name “Noach” (Noah) is attached to the explanation “zeh yenachamenu…” (this one will comfort us…, Genesis 5:29). Already at his birth Noah is charged with a mission of softening the curse of the ground and easing “the toil of our hands”.

• Why Noah fathers children only at five hundred: “vayehi Noach ben chamesh me’ot shanah vayoled… et shem et Cham ve’et Yafet” (And Noah was five hundred years old, and he begot… Shem, Ham and Japheth, Genesis 5:32). Rashi (on 5:32) asks why all the generations begot at the age of a hundred and Noah only at five hundred, and answers that it was deliberate: “so that Japheth, the eldest of his sons, would not be liable to punishment before the flood”. When the flood came, his sons were still too young to be punished.

• “vnei ha’Elohim” (the sons of God), an enigmatic term: “vayir’u vnei ha’Elohim… vayikchu lahem nashim” (And the sons of God saw… and they took wives for themselves, Genesis 6:2). Commentators are divided over whether this means angels, judges and rulers, or another exalted line (Rashi and Ibn Ezra on 6:2).

• What does “me’ah ve’esrim shanah” (a hundred and twenty years) mean: “vehayu yamav me’ah ve’esrim shanah” (and his days shall be a hundred and twenty years, Genesis 6:3). Rashi and Onkelos explain that it is a reprieve for the generation: “For a hundred and twenty years I will be patient with them, and if they do not repent I will bring a flood upon them” (Rashi on 6:3). Ibn Ezra also cites a view that this is a shortening of human life to a hundred and twenty years, and rejects it: even after the flood people lived many more years than that.

• “hanefilim” (the Nephilim) and “hagiborim” (the mighty ones): “hanefilim hayu va’aretz… hemah hagiborim… anshei haShem” (The Nephilim were on the earth… they were the mighty ones… the men of renown, Genesis 6:4). The Torah describes strong and famous people, and right after them the corruption of the generation. Rashi (on 6:4) reads the names themselves as a reproach: Nephilim “because they fell and caused the world to fall”, and mighty ones “to rebel against God”. Power and name without morality are the background to the corruption.

• The depth of the crisis in one word: “rak” (only), “vechol yetzer… rak ra kol hayom” (and every inclination… only evil all the day, Genesis 6:5). A double emphasis on the totality of the evil, which grounds “emcheh et ha’adam” (I will blot out man, Genesis 6:7).

• “vayinachem… vayit’atzev” (And He regretted… and He was grieved): a language of divine sorrow (Genesis 6:6). The Torah speaks in human language (Ibn Ezra on 6:6) to teach that moral corruption wounds the covenant of life.

• A point of grace: “veNoach matza chen” (But Noah found favor, Genesis 6:8). In a sea of “rak ra” (only evil) one word appears that tips the scale: “chen” (favor). One hope is enough to save a world.

The seventh aliyah steps on the accelerator from dynasty to breakdown, and at once teaches us to see within the judgment the spark from which a world will be built anew. Noah is not only a character; he is the counter-answer to the idea that history is lost.