Gen. 06 : 09 - 11 : 32 Par'shah Noach

[Yitzchak]

This weeks Parsha is titled Noach, but could just as easily be titled “flood”, as it recounts the great deluge which covered the earth. Noach was a Tzadik (a righteous man) the scriptures tell us, and he was a G-dly man in the midst of a G-dless generation. For this reason, HaShem chose to save him and his family in order to repopulate the earth after He destroyed all He had created.
The most interesting aspect of this particular portion for me, is the concept of the covenant which G-d establishes with Noach and all creatures after the great flood. We read in the following verses:

Genesis 9:15-17
15and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16"When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
17And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."

What we see here is that HaShem did not just make a promise, but gave a sign, or a memorial if you will. It is these times when we recognize that their is divine supervision of this world. For G-d gave us other signs and memorials as well. Many of these signs became part of the Mitzvot which was established after the flood. The sages in Judaism teach that prior to the flood was the era of the miraculous, but it was after the flood that the Mitzvot were established as the world was now guided by natural law with divine supervision.

It is these signs, like TzitTzit (fringes), Milah (circumcision), and Shabbat, which act to teach us the truth upon which our peace on this earth depends. It is this great struggle that was established after the flood when man now had to deal with obedience to the commandments of G-d in order to see Tikun Olam (repair of the world).

Just as important in our study of this portion is not only these signs, but how HaShem describes them. In the case of His covenant with Noach in the “Bow” we see the institution of what is called an “everlasting covenant.” There are those who would translate this, and other scriptures related to this as “ageless generations.”


Let us look at other instances in the scriptures.

Genesis 17:6-8

6"I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.
7"I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
8"I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

Here G-d establishes a covenant with Avraham, and then subsequently with Yaacov. The covenant describes the establishment of a nation and nations, the possession of the land, and to be their G-d. G-d calls this an everlasting covenant for “ageless generations.”

In this next scripture we have the covenant of the Shabbat. Many today tell us we are legalistic, and observing laws which are no longer valid for today. However, if we are to belive that Yeshua is G-d, then these same scriptures are established by Him for us as well. Why? Because we are the “ageless generations” spoken of.

Leviticus 24:7-9

7"You shall put pure frankincense on each row that it may be a memorial portion for the bread, even an offering by fire to the LORD.
8"Every sabbath day he shall set it in order before the LORD continually; it is an everlasting covenant for the sons of Israel.
9"It shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the LORD'S offerings by fire, his portion forever."

One Rabbi said it like this:

God's covenant will exist in all situations; it will also protect the generation which is marked by defects observable both internally and externally. In those generations, man's heart will melt, and he may despair of ever witnessing divine justice. But the sight of the rainbow in the cloud will remind him that God decreed a covenant with Man and with the earth; this covenant will be in force at all times, in all generations, and divine providence will achieve its goal – even in a flawed generation." (Rav Shimshon Rafael Hirsch on Ber. 9:12)


We like the generation of Noach are living in a renewed world. We are living with not only “ageless covenants”, but a renewed covenant in Yeshua. It is this covenant that allows those born Jewish, and not born Jewish to come into the commonwealth of Israel and to sojourn together following the Mitzvot of HaShem. We have the opportunity to see the reality of Tikun Olam. It is not coincidence that our Parsha end with another Tzadik, our father Abraham who himself began a journey, and a similar struggle to ours. The establishment of the Kingdom of G-d here on earth, rather than taking the world for granted.

Shalom,

Yitzchak

[Nachshon]

This is one very interesting thing that I observed in my commentary on Parshat Noach;
"In B’reshit 6:14, Father says, “Make for yourself an Ark of gopher wood; make the Ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch.” (Stone)
The word for “cover” is Kaphar. Kaphar means “cover” “pacify” “cancel” or “make atonement.” The word for “pitch” is also Kaphar. Father is telling Noach not only to watertight the Ark with pitch, but also to make atonement for it. So the atonement is to keep the water out. What is the water? “And as for Me—Behold, I am about to bring the Flood-waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which there is a breath of life from under the heavens; everything that is in the earth shall expire.” B’reshit 6:17 (Stone)
In this case water is death and destruction. What is death? According to Paul, death is the wages of sin. (Romans 6:23) Atonement is the covering that keeps out the wages of sin.
But there is another covering in this parsha. B’reshit 8:13 says, “And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first (month) on the first of the month, the waters dried from upon the earth; Noach removed the covering of the Ark, and looked—and behold! The surface of the ground had dried.” (Stone)
In this verse, the word for “covering” is Michseh. Michseh is a concealing covering, such as the veil in the Tabernacle, or the badger-skins. It comes from the root-word Kasah, which means, “to fill up” or “hide.” The word translated “removed” is Yasar, which means, “to chastise” or “rebuke.” Noach rebuked this concealing covering. Remember, this covering is the same word as the word used for the veil in the tabernacle. Matt. 27:50-51 says, “Then again Yeshua cried out with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. And immediately, the curtains at the door of the temple were torn in two from the top to the bottom.” (Younan)
When Yeshua released His breath, or soul, it rebuked the covering hiding Father from the redeemed. It is not that there is no longer a covering. What has changed is that the covering no longer separates the redeemed from Father."

Shalom,
Nachshon

[Gresford]

I have a question about this week’s parashat. In Genesis 7:2 we see a reference to clean beasts which would indicate that there was a distinction between clean and unclean animals at this point in history millennia before the giving of the to Moshe. However, in Genesis 9:3 after Noach leaves the ark, YHWH tells him every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. This would seem to indicate that between Noach and Moshe it was permissible to eat clean and unclean meats. Am I missing something? ;D ;D

[Nachshon]

Father also told Noach that they are given to him to eat forever. If it is true that all animals were given forever, then Father lied, becasue He later forbade eating certain animals. My belief is that it is assumed that only clean animals would be eaten. I also believe that the was given and passed down generation to generation long before Mosheh.

Shalom,
Nachshon

[R' Y'hoshua Moshe]

Todah Yitzchak,

Excellent message regarding our Heavenly Father's covenants and promises.

Shalom Nachson,

You have also shared some great insights. The ark certainly can be a picture of Mashiach.

Gresford,

Good question. Yes, I believe that YHVH as He walked with the Holy Ones of old shared much of His such as sacrificial systems, clean and unclean and many other such mitzvot. We have to remember that in the eyes of G'd that unclean animals are not food. Otherwise the passage you quoted would also include Humans as a source of food. We must read scripture in context. Elohim commanded Noach to take over three times the amount of clean animals as unclean. The purpose was so that He and His family could have clean animals to eat, sacrifice, and to leave a few to repopulate the Earth. Our Father is the same yesterday, today, and forever...This also includes His instruction for clean and unclean animals.

Shalom,

Reuel

[R' Y'hoshua Moshe]

Walking With Elohim

A d’rash on Parashah Noach

By Re’uel D.

The name for the first person that Adonai created was “Adam”. Why did Adonai see fit to name the first human being “Adam”? This name “Adam” comes from the Hebrew word “adamah”, meaning “ground” or “earth”. In Bereisheet (Gen.) 2:7 we read, “Then YHVH, Elohim, formed a person [Hebrew: adam] from the dust of the ground [Hebrew: adamah] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that he became a living being.”

From this passage we see the connection between Adam and what he was made of…namely; “the dust of the ground”. What value does “dust” and “dirt” have to God? I believe it may have to do with what type of fruit that the dirt produces. But, how does the God Of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov deal with dirt that is hard to work with…dirt that refuses to yield fruit? In parashah Noach we see that Adonai had lost patience with the seed of Adam and with those whom stubbornly persisted to wallow in the mud. In Bereisheet (Gen.) 6:3a we read, “The YHVH said, "My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh…”. One sentence later we see Adonai make the following observation, “YHVH saw that the people on earth were very wicked, that all the imaginings of their hearts were always of evil only.” - Bereisheet 6:5

The word “imaginings” in our passage here is the Hebrew word “yetzer”, which can also mean “mind”. In fact, Bereisheet (Gen.) 6:5 is where we get the Hebrew phrase, “yetzer hara” which is well know in Judaism to mean, “the evil inclination”. Some may know it as, “the fallen nature”, or “the sin nature”. The concept is the same, the “yetzer hara” is our evil, wicked, and carnal nature that stems from our minds and the sinful things that proceed from it. It is this that Adonai cannot stand.

The Hebrew word for “evil” in this passage is “rah” coming from the root, ”ra’a”. There is another Hebrew word that has an interesting similarity essentially sounding identical…this is the word “rah or ra’ah”, meaning to “see”. On the surface, the primary difference in the two words is how it is spelled in the Hebrew. The word for evil is spelled with the Hebrew characters “resh – ayin” and the Hebrew word for “see” is spelled “resh – alef”. Interestingly, the Hebrew letter “ayin” by itself has connection to an eye or seeing, but when used as an actual Hebrew word it “means, “nothing, non-existent or without”. We find an example of this in Tehillim (Psalm) 14:3 where it says, “They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is none (ayin) who does good, no, not one.” When comparing the Hebrew word for “evil”, to the Hebrew word, for “see” while keeping in mind the meaning of the Hebrew letter and word “ayin”, we can see that when replacing the “alef” with an “ayin” it creates the Hebrew word “rah”, meaning evil. Therefore, the following is my conjecture, but the Hebrew word “rah” from the root “ra’a” meaning evil, could also mean, “without sight, no sight, or a lack of sight”. In summary, those whom are walking in spiritual darkness are without sight, which results in the evil, wicked deeds we read about in this week’s parashah and of which are prevelant in our day, and many times in our own personal lives.

In Bereisheet 6:12-13 Adonai makes further observations and a statement…“Elohim saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. Elohim said to Noach, "The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”. Based on the works of mankind Adonai set to judge them and destroy them from the Earth. One thing we must realize is that God is just, he will judge sin, and judge mankind according to his works. We see in Noach’s time “violence” filled the Earth…and it was the violent, the Torahless men and women that would cease from inheriting the Earth. Do we have violent, Torahless, and Godless people on the Earth today causing havoc? It is interesting that this violence will once again reach it’s peak on the Earth before Messiah comes back. God will once again judge the inhabitants of the Earth. One interesting note is that the Hebrew word for “violence” here in our reading is the word, “hamas”. Does that sound familiar? This will certainly play a part in prophecy for the future. But, what does Yeshua our Rabbi teach us about those whom live by Torahlessness and violence? He states, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.” – Mattitayahu (Matt.) 5:5

As we see in our parashah, Noach did not walk with the dirt and the filthy of the Earth and because of this he and his family were spared. In fact, in Bereisheet 6:8-9 we see this explained. It says, “But Noach found favor in YHVH’s eyes. Here is the history of Noach. In his generation, Noach was a man righteous and wholehearted; Noach walked with Elohim.”. In Noach we find one of our first Biblical examples to follow. The reason he was spared was literally because he was “righteous” (tzadik) and “wholehearted” before God. The Hebrew word for “wholehearted” is “tamim” which as found in Strong’s Concordance to mean, “entire; integrity, truth: - without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright (-ly), whole.”. It is the same Hebrew word used to describe the mitzvah given to Avraham as Adonai made a covenant with him, in which circumcision was the sign. In Bereisheet 17:1 we read, “And when Avram was ninety nine years old, YHVH appeared to Avram and said to him, I am El Shaddai! Walk before me and be perfect (tamim)”.

We also see the same general root being employed in one of the two items that was to be placed in the breastplate of the Cohen HaGadol (The High Priest). The item in question was the “tumim”. Along with the “tumim” was the “urim”. At the heart of Adonai’s priest was to be “urim”, meaning “light”, and “tumim”, meaning “perfection”, or to be “complete”, or to have “integrity”. This reminds me of one of my favorite passages found in Tehillim (Psalms) 19:7-8 where it states, “The of YHVH is perfect (tamim), restoring the inner person. The instruction of YHVH is sure, making wise the thoughtless. The precepts of YHVH are right, rejoicing the heart. The mitzvah of YHVH is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

One thing I would like to point out is that walking with Elohim, walking with The Mighty One whom created the Heavens and the Earth is not only connected with being “tzadik” (righteous), but just as important is being “tamim” before Adonai…giving one’s self completely and wholeheartedly to Adonai. Can we keep commandments without truly giving ourselves to Adonai? The answer is “yes”. But, just as it was with Noach, Avraham and all the righteous ones, God wants us to be both “tzadik and tamim”. Our Master Yeshua taught us in Mattityahu (Matt.) 5:8, "How blessed are the pure in heart! for they will see God.”

And again, He teaches us in Mattityahu 19:29, “Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times more, and he will obtain eternal life.” Whom are those whom will walk with the Mighty One of Yisrael? Whom are those whom will become part of the heritage and part of the family of Adonai and walk with The Master? In Mattityahu 12:48-50 we read, “But to the one who had informed him he replied, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Pointing to his talmidim (disciples), he said, "Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in Heaven, that person is my brother and sister and mother."

Being “tamim” before Adonai, that is, being wholehearted and perfect before Adonai means denying ourselves, it means denying our “yetzer hara” (evil inclination) and doing what God wants. It means living a life of devotion to Him. It means sacrificing our carnal desires in pursuit of Him. We should take a moment and think to ourselves…Even in the midst of our busy lives, what have we devoted much of our lives and time to? Have we given ourselves completely to God? Do we plan to? Or, are we holding out? Are there areas of our life where God has no place and to which we would consider off limits to Him? Picture your life as a house…Many won’t even let God in the door. But, for many whom do let God in…in their house there a few rooms or areas in that house that many would be too embarrassed to invite God to come into? Think about it. We all need to do a reality check if we truly want to walk with God. But, one will say, “it is impossible to be perfect and whole hearted before Adonai because we are so sinful!”. To such a person I would say, “Than why does Adonai command it of us and of the all the righteous ones of old?”. How is it possible in Luke 1:5-6 that it states the following;

“In the days of Herod, King of Y'hudah, there was a cohen named Z'kharyah who belonged to the Aviyah division. His wife was a descendant of Aharon, and her name was Elisheva. Both of them were righteous before God, observing all the mitzvot and ordinances of Adonai blamelessly.”

Does this mean that Z’kharyah and Elisheva were without sin? Of course not! We are reminded in the book of Romans 3:23 written by Rav Sha’ul, “all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God”. But, being “tamim”, being whole hearted and having integrity before God includes clinging to His covenants and making sure to do “t’shuvah”, to turn from our sin, which is clearly spelled out in the . Even though we in our carnal state are nothing but dirt and will certainly return to the dust, if we will walk before Adonai like Noach did, like Avraham did, like Moshe did, and like all the Talmidim of Yeshua did, the following in Tehillim (Psalms) 103:10-18 will apply to us;

“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us for our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Like a father has compassion on his children, so YHVH has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows how we are made. He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. Its place remembers it no more. But YHVH’s loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children's children; to those who keep his covenant, to those who remember to obey his precepts.”

2Kefa (Peter) 2:4-19 touches on this week’s parashah. It states, “For if God didn't spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and didn't spare the ancient world, but preserved Noach with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sedom and `Amorah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them, was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds): the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment; but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries; whereas angels, though greater in might and power, don't bring a railing judgment against them before the Lord. But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant, will in their destroying surely be destroyed, receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and blemishes, reveling in their deceit while they feast with you; having eyes full of adultery, and who can't cease from sin; enticing unsettled souls; having a heart trained in greed; children of cursing; forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Bil`am the son of Be'or, who loved the wages of wrong-doing; but he was rebuked for his own disobedience. A mute donkey spoke with a man's voice and stopped the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping from those who live in error; promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for a man is brought into bondage by whoever overcomes him.”

In Yochanan (John) 8:34, “Yeshua answered them, "Yes, indeed! I tell you that everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin.”

Do not be fooled by those promising you liberty when it is connected to a life without , by a life characterized by breaking God’s commandments. Whoever states that Messiah came to set us free from Adonai’s is repeating a lie from HaSatan, The Enemy of our souls. From the very beginning we read in Bereisheet 4:7, “If you are doing what is good, shouldn't you hold your head high? And if you don't do what is good, sin is crouching at the door — it wants you, but you are to rule over it."

My brothers and sisters, walk before God with integrity and a whole heart. If you are doing so God said that you should hold your head high. Don’t worry about what others think of you for keeping the of Adonai. But, if you practice lawlessness in your life, a life without …than your face will be downcast like Kayin (Cain). Like Noach, I urge you to become preachers of righteousness. Rav Sha’ul (Paul) notes what is holy, just, and good in Romans 7:12 and also states that good works have been prepared for us to walk in as found in Ephesians 2:10. From Bereisheet to Devarim (Gen.-Deut.) we are clearly shown what is good and what is evil. We are told to choose life and are shown that which is good!

In closing, I would like to share with you Mikhah (Micah) 6:8,

“He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does YHVH require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Amein!?

[MindyJo]

I have a question related to the parasha (sp?). But it was not touched on in your discussion. I hope it is ok to post it here. My question stems from Genesis 11 but is throughout the bible when it talks and recalls mainly the names of the firstborn son. Is there anything that nowdays that anyone does differently with their firstborn son? In the messianic realm I mean, in a biblical observant way? I know that the history was being followed from Shem to Abram but is that the only reason for just the names of the firstborn? My husband and I have wondered a bit as far as putting a will together if it should be different for our firstborn son as the other children in order to be in keeping with any mitvot on this matter. Our firstborn child is a daughter but I see nothing in the bible about that, just more in concern with the firstborn son. Naturally our son takes it very seriously being the firstborn son, because we have shown him the great responsibilites of being the example to his other siblings, teaching, and protecting. We do teach that G-d is making him strong to help, protect and serve. We teach this to all our boys. Anything extra and different for the firstborn though?

Thanks for any and all thoughts on this in advance.

Mindy Jo:)

[Mark]

Noah really screwed up. He was the living Patriarch of mankind. He was leading example of a new world. Yet, he finds himself in uncontrollable drunkenness. I can’t say that I necessarily blame him, or that I am any more noble. He preached repentance to the world for 120 years without one single positive effect. I get discouraged if I go a week without feeling I’ve made an impact on the community. 120 years! And every face, every father and child with whom he had pleaded was gone. After a year or so in the violent, churning waters, the remains that littered the face the earth were probably barely identifiable as being human. Still, it must of haunted him, "I wonder if this one would have repented if I had had the opportunity to meet him?"

One of the Hebrew proverbs declares that strong drink is one who is ready to perish, literally wandering away from life, and wine to the heart-sick. (Proverbs 31:6). Noah may well have fit the qualifications. The state that his son, Ham, found him in was deplorable. Regardless of how justifiable it may have been for Noah, his conduct damaged the trust and confidence of his son in ways that would never be recovered.

Many of us have felt like Ham. Many of us have gone before a person who we had greatly admired only to witness something that would destroy the relationship forever. We don’t know how it happened, we don’t understand the circumstances. We just witnessed something by our father, our brother, our pastor, or friend or teacher, that left us with utter and absolute contempt for that person. We saw them in a state or in a role that we never would have imagined and it nearly killed us spiritually and emotionally.

Ham’s response is not unfamiliar. He was incredulous. He went to his brothers, the verbal clues hint in a way that is almost mocking in disbelief. It was the juiciest gossip, the wildest story… and after the way Noah’s presence had made Ham feel, Noah deserved to be humiliated (speculating upon Ham’s thinking).

The two brothers responded differently. They didn’t judge nor dishonor their parent. They protected him and did the necessary thing to restore his dignity.

While there are affects of this tragic breech still being played out in the world on an international scale, there is something much deeper that we need to take to our own hearts for ourselves. Peter put it this way:

Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
(1 Peter 2:17 KJV)

does not afford us the privilege to give honor only to those whom we deem worthy of our respect. We can’t be justified in speaking ill of those who have demonstrated themselves irresponsible (in our minds) or showing contempt for leaders who understand things differently. We don’t have to like them. We ought to stand up to them. Yet we must always do so in a manner that is respectful and with honor.

[alon]

I have combined a couple of threads here and am giving them a bump. This is the Par'shah for 4 Chesvan, 5777 (Nov 5, 2016).

Dan C