Noahide Seven Commandments Torah classes

 

© 2020 by Rabbi Dr. Zvi Aviner

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BLOODSHED-6/ Noah, Naama, and Cain’s Demise

 

 

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1:  From Cain and Abel to the Rainbow Covenant

 

 

BLOODSHED started with Cain killing Abel, culminated in the rampant MURDER and THEFT in Noah’s generation, bringing the Flood.  After the Flood, G-d entered with Noah the Rainbow Covenant, which is based on KEEPING THE BLOODSHED LAWS.  We still live today under that binding universal Covenant, which applies to all Mankind, all Noah’s Children.

It behooves us to be familiar with Noah himself and his life.  Also with his beautiful and righteous wife, our mother, Naama.

 

2: Noah and Naama

 

 

Noah was born ten generations after Adam and Eve, into an extremely corrupt society. Last class we learned about the split in humanity along religious line.

 

  1. Cain’s Children of ELKM, who worshipped ELKM yet overlooked the Merciful YHVH
  2. Enosh’s Disciples, who worshipped the Merciful YHVH yet overlooked the All Mighty Judge ELKM

 

Both camps started in piety, yet both deteriorated into violent society, rampant with RAPE, KILLING and MUGGING

Noah came from Enosh, while Naama came from Cain, two bitterly opposing camps.  For generations they set up a ban on any mix marriages between the camps, since the children born into such mixed couples turned to be “monsters that threatened to destroy the world.” (Zohar) Despite that ban, Noah and Naama did marry each other, but for many years they refrained from bearing children, fearing that their children would turn to be those “monsters.” Then, four hundred years later, just before the Flood, Noah and Naama bore three sons, and then no more- still fearing the bad outcome. Even after the Flood, as we’ll learn in due course, Noah refused to procreate anymore. He finally agreed only because G-d entered with him the Rainbow Covenant,

 

The thing that bothered Noah all those years was the fact mentioned above, that whatever your particular faith is, whether you worship the Merciful YHVH (like Enosh did) or the All Mighty JUDGE ELKM (as Cain’s Children did) – you’d  end up with a common fault – BLOODSHED. It sems that we humans are bloodthirsty creatures, covered by a thin layer of civilization and faith.  Take off that thin cover and you see our true nature.  In that case, Noah thought in despair, “why should I procreate again into a curse?” (Midrash.)

 

Our goal now is to follow the text and understand Noah and his generations. After all, his troubles and tribulations are ours too.  It is our society that is split again into two rival camps almost along the same line as Noa’s degeneration did.  Their fate maybe ours too.  Let’s follow the Torah and study Cain’s demise and the circumstances under which this happened.  By this, the Torah teaches us also about Noah and Naama.

 

As you recall, God – YHVH – pardoned Cain but only partially, predicting that he would be avenged seven generations later. He was allowed to stay alive in the woods, wandering alone with only a ferocious dog by his side; a horn or a ray light radiating from his forehead. Some say he lost his mind. Seven generation fast forwards, the Torah focuses on one family of his descendants- Lemech and his own family.

 

 

3: Meet the accident prone Lemech

 

 

“And Lemech said to his wives:
Ada and Tzila, listen to my voice (obey me!)
Lemech’s wives, hear what I have to say!
For I’ve slain a man for my wound,
And a boy for my hurt,
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Lemech (shall be avenged) Seventy Seven
” (4:24)

 

Seven generation after the first murder, and Cain’s protection by YHVH expired.  His descendants became very nervous that someone would kill their forefather, so they surrounded the woods where he lived and armed themselves to the teeth.  Moreover, Lemech, a seventh generation  descendant (and Naama father)  swore to avenge whoever kill Cain no seven, but Seventy-seven folds, as it stated above in the verses. t

Who was Lemech? He is described as an accident-prone fool, who stumbled over furniture and people causing lots of damages, a walking disaster.  So much that his name Lemech became in Jewish folklore a nickname for an accident, t prone fool who can’t accomplish anything. He is described as having a small head yet two strong arms, that could smash an oxen head with one clap.

As is commonly seen in fools, Lemech was extremely arrogant.  You see that in the verse as he speaks to his wives in the third tense, as if he was a royalty, saying

“Ada and Tzilah, listen to my voice!
The wives of Lemech, hear what I have to say!
(Genesis 4: 23)

Here he addresses his own wives as “the wives of Lemech,” in the third tense.

 

Lemech’s two wives

“And Lemech took two wives,
the name of one was Ada, and the name of the other was Tzila.” (Genesis 4: 19)

Why two wives? Here is an opportunity to learn about their special cult,ure.

Rashi explains: in their false piety, “their custom was to take one wife for bearing children, another wife for sexual pleasure.”

Thus, Lemech’s first wife was Ada (‘ornament’) wo was designated to bear him children, then he married Tzilah (‘shadow’) designated for sexual pleasure.

 

Ada indeed gave him two sons:

“And Ada gave birth to Yaval.
He was the father of such that dwell in tents, and of such that have cattle.
And the name of his brother was Yuval.
He was the father of all those who play the violin and the harp”

You see here the Children of ELKM in their glory.  Ada bore Lemech two illustrious sons– Yaval, the first to raise large herds of cattle outside town.  He is described as a good man yet sensitive to his honor.  His brother Yuval was a gifted musician that played the harp and flute so well, that people’s hearts opened up with a stream of emotions, like water spring (Yuval means water spring.)

What about the other wife. Tzilah?

 

Lemech’s mishap at his wedding

And Tzilah, she too gave birth to Tubal Cain,

 the forger of every sharp instrument in brass and iron.
And Tubal Cain was the brother of Naama…” (ibid)

It says “Tzilah, she too bore children,” hinting that this was a surprise, and that she was not supposed to bear any children.  Her name – shadow-  suggests that she was the one  designated for sexual pleasure only.  How then did she beget Tubal Cain, then Naama?

Tradition (Rashi) explains that their custom was to give the second wife, at the wedding night, a poisonous sterilizing cup.’  She then either died in vomiting and abdominal pains, or survived and remained sterile.

But for the accident-prone Lemech, thing turned around.  Who was Tzila? Tradition says she was s born into a poor family of law social status. As a shrewd girl, she became a successful magic dancer. When Lemech offered her marriage, to be his sex wife, he did not anticipate the outcome.

A their wedding night, a mishap happened and instead of Tzila, it was Lemech who drank the sterilizing cup. Thus, in the following morning they found him twisted in pains on the ground, while Tzilah was well and impregnated. She then gave birth to Tubal Cain, a nickname for a boy who perfected Cain’s deed.  Tubal means “to place spices on something.” If Cain murdered one person by his bare hand, here came his descendant Tubal Cain and murdered many by his swords. As a young man, Tubal discovered a strong metal alloy by which he forged very strong swords, that made his clan very powerful and rich.  As the verse attests, the Children of ELKM took for themselves any woman, married or not.  “Tubal Cain’s Gangs” roamed the streets fearlessly, raping and mugging and killing with no shame under the watching Sun (Talmud).

The story is intriguing, since Noah – who became Tubal Cain’s brother in law- was the first to make a metal plough. He used Tubal’ technology for good.

 

4 Meet Naama

 

 

Several years after giving birth to Tubal, Tzilah conceived again and gave birth to identical twin girls.  Tzila was a pariah, rejected by her husband as well as by the rest of the clan.  To confuse everyone, she named each of her twin by the same name- Naama.  She also taught them to dance as one girl, that split on the stage into two them merge again.   The twin Naama s grew to become beautiful magic girls, been seen in different places at the same time.  Hence the legend of the Demon Naama.  As it turned out, one twin Naama was corrupt, the other righteous. We don’t know the details, but young Noah met the righteous Naama and they married each other despite the ban.

 

Cain accidental death 

 The accident prone Lemech vowed to avenge whoever kil Cain “Seventy-seven” folds.  Little did he know that his curse would fall on his own head.  In his speech to his wives he says

“And Lemech said to his wives:
Ada and Tzila, listen to my voice (obey me!)
Lemech’s wives, hear what I have to say!
For I’ve slain a man for my wound, And a boy for my hurt,
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Lemech (shall be avenged) Seventy Seven” 
(4:24)

He mentions a man that he had killed, and a boy that he had wounded.

What happened? One day, Tubal Cain brought home a new, tough bow that he had just made.  You’d need extraordinary strong two hands to draw that bow. He also brought home one of his metal arrowheads that could pierce the air and fly straight to hit the target. Tubal Cain proudly gave the bow and the new arow to his father and helped him to aim the bow at a target in the wood- a horned, ape like creature that a strange light radiated around its head, a feature that actually made the creature a good target.

 

Lemech, who was half blinded, could not see the target well, so Tubal his son helped him to aim the arrow.  “Shoot father, shoot!” he encouraged Lemech.  Using his strong hands, Lemech drew the bow easily and then shot the arrow, which hit the target hard in between its eyes. The target fell, and only a crying, baking dog was heard from the wood.  “Father, wait!” Tubal Cain cried out in excitement and run into the woods for the catch. How horrified he was to discover that the dead horned creature was no other than his forefather Cain!

 

When Lemech heard the news, he clapped his mighty hands in despair. He knew that his curse on Cain killer would now fall on his own head. Indeed, as he was clapping his hands he accidentally hit Tubal Cain and fatally wounded him.  This is why he is saying to his wives: “I have slain a man, and a boy.”

 

Thus, the two murderers, Cain and Tubal Cain were slain on the same day. But the curse that Lemech placed over his descendants for “seventy-seven generations” is still hanging over his descendants- including us, since we came from his daughter Naama.

what happened to the miraculous dresses?
As we remember, Cain carried on his back the miraculous dress that Adam and Eve had given him as a protection in the woods.  Whoever wore those dresses could comprehend the animals. Following Cain’ death, the dresses ended up in the possession of Naama and Noah, who would use them in the Ark.

Legend also says that Naama and Noah gave the dresses to their grandson, King Nimrod. From his the dresses fell into the hands of Isaac son Esau, who misused them for the wrong purpose.

 

Now that we know the stories of Noah and Naama, we are ready to learn about the Great Flood.

 

 

END OF CLASS 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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