© 2014 by Rabbi Zvi Aviner
Noah’s Tree Of Life
These are Noah’s words to his children after the Flood…
ELoHiM-4/Creation Unfolded on the Seashore
Measure for measure in Nature
I tried to learn more on my own about ELoHiM. Enosh had said that ELoHiM is the ultimate PROVIDER who provides every creature with the talent to survive in its habitat. Is it so? For the following weeks I studied Nature intensely. I observed the animals’ habitats close to our home, realizing how well each creature fits into its environment. These studies prepared me for catering to the animals later in our Ark.
Then I sought whether ELoHiM applies ‘measure for measure.’ The opportunity to see that came to me when Enosh took me to observe Nature from a cliff overlooking the Sea of Galilee. It was his custom to take me there once in a while. How I loved those precious moments when I set by his side on that cliff, talking about the CREATOR, Nature and Man. On one such occasion my eyes caught a small, green snake that crawled slowly at leisure by the shoreline. Apparently its hunger was insatiable, since it captured on its way many little frogs, one after the other. You could see the twisting bodies of these poor little frogs moving down the snake’s belly. Then the unsuspecting snake passed by a huge brown frog that set motionless, as if waiting for the snake to come by. When the snake approached, the huge frog swiftly moved its head and in one strike cut the snake’s head off. Then in front of my watching eyes, the huge frog swallowed the entire snake with the twisting little frogs inside. Seeing that, I jumped up and down on the cliff shouting in excitement to my grandfather: “Yeh! ELoHiM is here! Measure for measure!”
Creation unfolded on the seashore
That scene encouraged me to plunge even deeper into searching ELoHiM’s ways in Nature. Reading Adam’s description of CREATION suggested that creatures came in order; some created earlier and some later. But observing the animals from our cliff showed none of that. “Grandpa,” I complained, “All I see on the shore is animals chasing each other in a big chaos! Is the story on the Tree of Life true?”
“Oh yes,” he said, “in fact, you can see the story unfolded every morning on the sea shores, time and again.”
To see this, Enosh took me the following morning at dawn to our cliff. It was still pitch dark, and cold, and I clung to his warm, giant body. What a picture my tiny body leaning on His giant silhouette…
The FIRST Day appearing on the seashore
Just before daybreak, I could sense that a new day was coming. Pointing at the invisible horizon Enosh asked, “Noah, what do you see out there?”
“I see nothing, grandpa.”
“To be exact, what you see is Chaos, Darkness and the Deep out here. A new Beginning ,is coming, Noah. Could you quote Adam’s verse for me?” So I quoted:
“In the Beginning, ELoHiM created the heavens and the Earth
And the Earth was Chaos and Disorder and Darkness over the Deep” (Gen. 1:1.)
As we spoke, faint light appeared on the eastern horizon. I could feel the excitement of Creation all around us. “What Day is it now?” Enosh asked. “Day One is here!” I said, quoting:
“And ELoHiM said let it be light, and there was light,”
The SECOND Day appearing on the seashore
At first, the Sea blended into the Sky as far as the eye could see. But as the light gradually increased, Enosh pointed at the horizon and said, “Look how the daylight separates the Sky Above from the Water Below. What Day is it now?”
“The Second Day is here!” I said, quoting:
“And ELoHiM said let the firmament be inside the water
And let is separate Waters from water. And ELoHiM made the firmament
And He separated between the Waters which is under the firmament from the waters which is above the firmament and it was so.And ELoHiM called the firmament sky,
And there was evening and there was morning, Second Day.” (Gen. 1:6-8)
The THIRD Day appearing on the seashore
As daylight intensified, Enosh said, “Noah! Look! You can discern now where the Sea ends and Dry Land begins! What Day is it?”
“The Third Day!” I said, and I quoted:
“And ELoHiM said let the waters under the sky
be gathered together in one place,
And let the Dry Land appear. And it was so
And ELoHiM called the Dry land Earth
and to the gathered waters He called Sea.” (Gen. 1:10)
As the daylight farther increased my grandpa said: “Now you can discern the Vegetation on the Dry land. What Day is it?”
“The THIRD Day is in progress!” I said, quoting:
“And ELoHiM said let the Earth bring forth
Grass, herb yielding seeds, and fruit trees yielding fruits after its kind.
And it was so and ELoHiM saw that it was good,
And there was evening and there was morning, the THRID DAY” (Genesis 1: 11-12)
The FORTH Day appearing on the seashore
Few minutes later and the Sun’s halo appeared above the horizon in its full glory. Its rays pierced the morning fog that hovered over the Sea. “What Day is it, Noah?”
“Day FOUR is here!” As it says:
“And ELoHiM said let the Luminaries
be seen in the firmament of heavens
To separate the days from the nights…And it was so.” (Gen. 1:14)
The FIFTH Day appearing on the seashore
Next the Sea swarmed with Fish of all kinds coming to the surface seeking the Sun’s warmth. Then Birds flew above, looking to capture the fish. They were followed by Crocodiles emerging from the waters to crawl on the dry land. “Noah, what Day is it?”
“The FIFTH Day is here!” As it says:
“And ELoHiM said let the Waters swarm abundantly with moving creatures…
And let the Birds fly above the earth,
And ELoHiM created the great crocodiles and every living creature…” (Gen. 1:20-21)
The SIXTH Day appearing on the seashore
As the Sun continued to rise, herds of Cattle flocked to the shore for a morning drink. They were soon followed by Beasts that came to prey on the Cattle. Then Creeping Snakes came to prey on everything else.
“The Sixth Day is here!” I said, and I quoted:
“And ELoHiM said let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind,
Cattle, and creeping things, and Beasts…and so it was” (Gen. 1:20-23)
“What comes next, Noah?”
“Adam is born!” I said in excitement. As it says:
“And ELoHiM said let us make Adam in our form and our image.” (Genesis 1:26)
“Yes, we still live in the Sixth Day of CREATION, moving towards the Sabbath,” my grandfather said.
Having seen CREATION unfolded on the Sea shores, I had no trouble anymore memorizing the ORDER by which the creatures came into the world. This knowledge would later help me tend to the animals in our Ark. I knew perfectly well the needs of each creature.
Enosh said, “Do not confuse what you have seen on the seashores with the real story of CREATION. Every Day of CREATION took in fact a long time, many human years!”
Despite my new excitement, I could not yet comprehend why anyone would worship ELoHiM. He is JUST, METICULOUS and a great PROVIDER, but why would anyone worship Him, rather than MERCY, as our family did?
Read also: Genesis Vs. Science, Can they Match?” By Zvi Aviner, at www.smashwards.com