by Rabbi Dr Zvi Aviner
NOAH and BLOODSHED – 8/
Noah’s Ark and its Message
Noahidesevencommandments.com
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1. Noah and BLOODSHED
Noah’s generation was doomed because of “hamas,”
a deadly combination of THEFT and BLOODSHED.
Both camps: the Disciples of Enosh who worshipped MERCY,
and Cain’s Children of ELKM who worshipped ELKM,
ended with hamas. A lesson to our generation,
that has already split along the same line.
Indeed, the BLOODSHED of his generation occupied Noah’s mind.
As we’ll see, the Rainbow Covenant given to him after the Flood,
is totally based on BLOODSHED Laws.
You can see that also in Noah’s ark.
What distinguished it was the absence of death.
In Noah’s ark, the wolf did not prey on the lamb,
and a child could safely play on a sake’s pit,
and the futuristic dream of Isaiah has already happened.
In fact, the sages said that Noah’s ark was the equivalent to
the Eternal Sabbath, which is a world void of BLOODSHED.
Let’s talk about Noah’s ark.
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2. Noah’s Ark
Was the ark necessary?
Obviously, ELKM could have saved Noah and the animals in a miraculous way.
He could have created a bubble to protect them from the Flood,
or lift them up above the clouds, or save them in any other miraculous way.
Instead, ELKM ordered Noah to build for himself a scientifically-sound floating device,
an ark, whose dimensions were such that it would not capsize.
By this, ELKM sent Noah a message, for posterity:
I gave you Wisdom so that you’d save yourself by science.
How was the ark constructed?
Immediately after issuing the Heavenly Court’s decision to
wipe out Mankind and save Noah and his family.
the Court turned to instruct Noah how to build the ark.
Each Attribute expressed it special aspect.
Here are the Heavenly Court’s instructions to Noah:
“And ELKM said to Noah,
make for yourself an Ark of hollow gofer canes
make the Ark of enclosure for animals,
and cover it inside and out with a pitch…” (Genesis 6: 14)“The length of the Ark shall be three hundred cubits,
and the breadth of it fifty cubits,
and the height of it thirty cubits.” (Genesis 6: 15)A window (“Tzohar”) shall you make in the Ark
and to a cubit shall you finish it above.” (Genesis 6:16)“And a door of the Ark you shall set in its side,
with lower, second and third stories shall you make it,and cover it inside and out with a pitch” (Genesis 6: 16)
And you shall come into the Ark, you and your sons,
and your wife and your son’s wives with you.” (Genesis 6: 17)Two of every kind you shall bring into the Ark;
males and females they will be…” (Genesis 6: 19)And you shall take for you from every food that is eaten and gather it,
so that it shall be for food for you and them.” (Genesis 6: 21)“And YHVH said to Noah,
come in you and all your households to the Ark,
For I’ve seen you righteous before me in this generation.” (Genesis 7:1)
We see here the Heavenly Court of YHVH and ELKM, this time talking to Noah,
each expressing its instructions.
The protocol here is in reverse to the Court’s session prior to the Flood,
where YHVH spoke first then ELKM.
In fact, the Court here continues the Court-in- session.
ELKM, who had spoken last, now speaks first,
continuing His words, instructing Noah how to make an ark.
Since the ark would be a natural device,
It makes sense that ELKM, the creator of Nature,
Would speak first!
ELKM’s Instructions
- Make Yourself an Ark…
ELKM wants Noah to HELP HIMSLEF,
rather than waiting for a miracle!
A good lesson to our time.
- Make it out of Water-Proof Material
“Make for yourself an Ark of hollow gofer canes
Make the Ark of enclosure for animals,
and cover it inside and out with a pitch…”
The ark would be covered inside and outside
By a water-proof material. No dependency on miracles.
- Build it Along a Proven Formula
ELKM, the creator of science, wished Noah to make his ark
according to by a scientific formula, as follows:
“The length of the Ark shall be three hundred cubits,
and the breadth of it fifty cubits,
and the height of it thirty cubits.” (Genesis 6: 15)
The length of the ark should be six times its width,
and its height ten times its width.
The Talmud tells us that many builders constructed arks
along the same formula, only to find out that those arks
did not capsize.
4: The Ark would have a Pyramidal Shape
“A window (“Tzohar”) shall you make in the Ark
and to a cubit shall you finish it above.” (Genesis 6:16)
An “ark” – teivah in Hebrew – is not a boat, but rather ‘a box.’
It was a box with rectangular base of 300×50 “amot,” feet,
and a small, one ‘ama’ top, with slanting walls,
hence is had a pyramidal shape.
As a teivah, box, the ark was designed to stay afloat, not going anywhere.
Hence is had no front and no back, and also no deck.
When its three floors were fully loaded, its gravity center was below the water’s surface,
hence it could not capsize. The rain was washed off by the slanting walls.
Indeed, it was a smart, scientifically sound floating device.
- 5. Large Side Boards
Tradition says that Noah attached four large boardsto the Ark’s four sides,
adding it stability.
Some say the boards covered an area as large as,
“The Sea of the Galilee, between Tiberias and the Jordan River.” (Talmud)
- A Square-foot Window at the Ceiling
“And a window (Tzohar)
shall you make to the ark.” (Genesis 6:16)
The word ‘Tzohar ‘refers to a window in the ceiling;
an outlet for the heat and improving ventilation.
‘Tzohar’ has some kabalistic meanings of LIGHT, GLORY,
which are beyond the scope of our classes.
- Three Floors to the ark
“And a door of the Ark you shall set in its side,
with lower, second and third stories shall you make it.” (Genesis 6: 16)
The Ark had three floors:
(1) The one at the bottom for storage of food
(2) The one at the middle, for the animal’s residence
(3) The one at the top for the human dwelling.
Some see here representation of our world:
Inanimate material at the bottom,
living creatures in the middle,
Mankind at the top.
- A Door- for what?
“And a door of the Ark you shall set in its side”
Why does the Torah emphasize such a trivial thing?
Because later in the story, it is said that “YHVH locked (the door) for him.”
Hence YHVH exercised Her assessment of people,
deciding who would enter and who would be rejected.
Many relatives of Noah and Naama tried to join them
but YHVH shot the door for them.
Among those who were rejected was Naama’s twin sister, the wicked one,
whom Noah and Naama tried to save, in vain.
She was washed off into the sea, yet she still appears
in “man’s sexual dreams.”
- No Marital Relations In the Ark
“And you shall come into the Ark, you and your sons,
and your wife and your son’s wives with you.” (Genesis 6: 17)
ELKM added a moral aspect: They would enter the ark
“Noah and his sons” by themselves, then “his wife and his son’s wives,”
hence, they should refrain from marital relationship.
Indeed, how would they enjoy life while other people perish?
- Preserve the Species
“Two of every kind you shall bring into the Ark;
males and females they will be…” (Genesis 6: 19)
Noah should not only save himself and Mankind from extinction,
he should also save the animal kingdom from extinction,
a great message for Noahides!
- Prepare Food Today – for the Sabbath
“And you shall take for you from every food that is eaten and gather it,
so that it shall be for food for you and them.” (Genesis 6: 21)
Noah should save himself and the animals in natural way, including food.
But there is another message here:
Mankind should prepare themselves on the Sixth Day of CREATION,
to enter the Sabbath Day.
- 12. Righteous Noah
“And Noah did whatever ELKM had commanded him,
so he did.”
The Torah spears no effort to say that Noah fully complied with ELoKiM.
Noah was therefore ‘righteous,’ as it says:
“Noah was a righteous man; with ELKM Noah walked.”
Had he followed MERCY only, like his mentor Enosh, he wouldn’t be saved!
Thus –
Noah found face in YHVH’s eyes
and he was righteous in ELKM’s eyes.
He believed and practiced YHVH ELKM’s Oneness.
- Noah saw Two Sabbaths
“These is the history of Noah, Noah was a righteous man.” (6: 9)
The name Noah – which means “rest” – is repeated in the verse twice, side by side,
to indicate that Noah witnessed two sorts of ‘rest,’ or Sabbaths (a day of rest).
Noah saw our Sabbatical day, in our week,
and he also saw the next, Sabbath Day of CREATION, dwelling in his ark.
No other human has ever experienced that, either before or after Noah!
Noah Complied
“Noah did whatever ELKM had commanded him, so he did.”
Now that ELKM ‘finished’ His worlds,
YHVH stepped in to voice Her aspects of the ark.
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YHVH’S Words
1: YHVH’S Invitation
“And YHVH said to Noah,
come in you and all your households to the Ark,
For I’ve seen you righteous before me in this generation.” (Genesis 7:1)
YHVH starts where ELKM has finished.
‘She’ too tells Noah to enter the ark with the animals,
but with an important difference:
Whereas ELKM has said “Noah, go to the Ark,” go there…
YHVH says: “come into” the Ark, come in, I’ve been waiting for you.
The rabbis explained:
YHVH speaks like “the woman of the house,”
who invites her ‘guest’ – Noah – to come in.
It fits: we’ve always treated the Attribute of MERCY YHVH
as a BRIDE entering Her GROOM, ELKM’s world.
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Now the BRIDE is already in control of the ‘house’ – Noah’s ark.
Why was She Inside?
Earlier we’ve learned that YHVH was “saddened to her heart” by Man’s evil heart.
That brought Her to ‘retract’ in sadness from the world,
leaving the world in the Hands of ELKM who would bring the Flood outside the Ark.
THE SCIENTIFICALLY SOUND ARK WOULD NOT HAVE SAVED NOAH,
HAD NOT YHVH REIGNED INSIDE THE ARK TO PROTECT HIM!
Some equate Noah’s Ark to Moses’ Holy Ark (Zohar.)
Indeed, there was no decay of any item placed inside the Holy Ark.
Note that the Egyptian Pyramids were bult to –
“Help the deceased’s soul to float over the river of time.”
Since Egypt was Noah’s grandson, it is possible that
the ancient Egyptians retained the memories of Noah’s Pyramidal ark
which floated on water with no decay inside!
Others equate Noah Ark with the Eternal Sabbath,
where YHVH reigns.
2: YHVH judged at the Door
“For I‘ve found you righteous before me…”
Surprisingly, YHVH uses the term ‘righteous
which is a term specific for of the JUDGE’s udgment (Jonathan ben Uziel.)
This is extremely rare! YHVH’s assessment uses terms like
‘good’ or ‘evil,’ but never “righteous.”
It is as if the BRIDE was speaking for the GROOM.
RaMBaN therefore separates the verse into two parts:
YHVH’s intentions here are NOT on Noah’s status, that he was righteous,
but rather on the rest of the verse, that speaks about
the “seven samples of each pure animal.
3: Bring Samples of Seven from Special Species.
“Of every clean animal you shall take to you by sevens, male and female,
and of animals that are not clean by twos, male and female,
to keep seed alive upon the face of the Earth…” (Genesis 7:2-3)
Unlike ELKM, YHVH is NOT concerned with the preservation of the species.
As it turned out, those special species would be used for sacrifices to YHVH,
and for ‘kosher’ meat consumption, as a concession to human’s desire.
- Noah Complied with YHVH ELKM
“And Noah did according to all that
YHVH had commanded him’ (Genesis 7: 5)
Earlier it says that
“Noah did whatever ELKM had commanded him, so he did.”
Hence, he complied with YHVH ELKM’s Oneness.
Let’s recall that he came from a camp that worshipped YHVH,
and Naama came from a camp that worshipped ELKM,
together, in their family, they worshipped Oneness.
Together, by their family, they kept both Wings glued together.
- And YHVH Shut the Door for-Whom?
“YHVH closed the door for him” (Genesis 7: 17)
Closed for whom? Several answers:
(a) Shut the Door – for ELKM
Imagine the drama!
ELKM would have executed His Harsh Judgment even in the Ark,
Had not YHVH ‘shut the door for Him!”
(b) YHVH shut the door- for Noah
Here it is. As we’ve already said, Noah in his compassion tried to save others,
Yet YHVH ‘shut the door’ for him, exercising Her assessment.
(c) YHVH Shut the Door – for the Angel of Death
YHVH made the ark ‘invisible’ to the Angel of Death.
In summary:
- Mankind should use Science and Wisdom to save ourselves,
Never waiting for miracles.
- Science alone would not save us without YHVH’s protection
- ELKM is concerned about science and the real world, while
YHVH is concerned about our heart, or sacrifices, our prayers.
- Only the believe in YHVH ELKM Oneness can save us from extinction.