noah’s tree of life 2014

 

© 2012 by Rabbi Zvi Aviner
Torah Class IDOLATRY-1/Is IDOLATRY obsolete?
Know your CREATOR, know yourself, and k now the diference

Noah’s Tree Of Life +

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For thirteen years old and older

FatherNer (Aviner)

“Whereas Congress recognizes the historical tradition of ethical values and principles which are the basis of civilized society and upon which our great Nation was founded.

Whereas these ethical values and principles have been the bedrock of society from the dawn of civilization, when they were known as the Seven Noahide laws;

Whereas without these ethical values and principles the edifices of our civilization stands in serious peril of returning to chaos;

Whereas society is profoundly concerned with the recent weakening of these principles that has resulted in crises that beleaguer and threaten the fabric of civilized society;

Whereas the justified preoccupation with these crises must not let the citizens of the Nation lose sight of their responsibility to transmit these historical ethical values from our distinguish past to the generation of the future – ”
Congressional resolution (HJ resolution 104, Public Law 102-14, Signed by President George Bush on 3-26-91).

Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………..…………..6

Prologue: These are Noah’s words
1. Awakening………………………………………………………………………8
2. I am Noah, who seeks comfort, not confrontation……………………….9
3. I am neither Moses, nor Abraham……………………………… ……….11
4. Where would I go first?………………………………………………….12
5. Mount Moriah is my Place………………………………………………13

Book I: IDOLATRY
Noah’s First Commandment

Chapter One: Creation
(1/1) Who exactly created the world and for what purpose?……………….16
(1/2) Who created Adam and for what purpose?……………………………18
(1/3) Man’s eternal trial: What is it?………………………………………..20
(1/4) The Sabbath and me…………………………………………………..28
(1/5) My thirteenth birthday present: the Tree of Life………………………29
(1/6) King David’s Tree of Life…………………….……………………….31
(1/7) For six Days He ruled the world awesomely alone……………………33
(1/8) How old is our Universe?……………………………………………..35
(1/9) The Comprehensive Sixth Day Trial………………………………….36
(1/10) Make me a Holiday….………………………………………………38
(1/11) Walk my Groom, towards your Bride……………………………….39

Chapter Two: ELoHiM and JHVH
(2/12) ELoHiM consulted JHVH…..……………………………………..41
(2/12/1) A beautiful Acronym: JHVH.………..…………………………….42
(2/12/2) Can Mercy be found in Nature?…..……………………………..….43
(2/12/3) A heavenly Consultation………………………………………..…43
(2/12/4) Where does JHVH appear first in the Text?………..………………..45
(2/12/5) ONENESS: What is it?…………………………………………………46
(2/12/6) Idolatry: What is it? ……..………………………………..……….48

Chapter Three: Creation & Adam
(3/13) He consulted Creation and made Adam………………………………50
(3/13/1) Creation, the most logical idolatry trap……………………………..52
(3/13/2) Idolatry in history…………………………………………………..53

Chapter Four: His Wisdom & Science
(14) He consulted Wisdom and Science and made Adam………………….55
(14/1) Our most successful idol……………………………….…………….56
(14/2) My scientifically sound pyramidal Ark……………………………..57
(14/3) Meet a young gifted scientist ………………………………………..59
(14/4) Cain’s accidental slaying ……………………..……………………..65
(14/5) Tubal Cain’s fatal accident…………………………………………..66

Chapter Five: Passion and Desire
(15) He consulted Passion and Desire and made Adam……………………68
(15/1) What is our strongest passion?……………………………..……………….69
(15/2) Meet a beautiful Demon named Naama……………………. ……….71
(15/3) Was Naama a descendant of Lillith?……………………………………73
(16) He consulted Mercy and Compassion and made Adam……………….76
(16/1) Enosh’s Drastic Error…………………………………………………77

Chapter Six: Evil
(17) He consulted Evil and made Adam……………………………………80
(17/1) ‘Evil’ in the Eyes of JHVH………………………………………….82
(17/2) Righteous & Sinner, Good & Evil.…..………………………………83
(17/3) Our Double Responsibility…………………………………………..84
(17/4) Evil in Nature & in Man……………………….…………………..…85
(17/5) Suicide Wish in the name of JHVH & ELoHiM………………………….89
(17/6) Turning Daggers into Ploughs……………………………………………..91
(17/7) ‘Evil’ Breaks the Name of JHVH………………….…………….…..93
(17/8) How to overcome Evil………………………………………………..96
(17/9) Psalm Song for the Sabbath………………………………………….97
(17/10) Killing in the Name of Mercy ……………………………………….98
(17/11) Who is Greater: JHVH or ELoHiM? . . . . . . . . …………………..103
(17/12) The Miraculous Wedding Dress…………………………………….105
(17/13) ONENESS Will Overcome Evil…………………………………….109
(17/14) Atrocities in the name of ELoHiM (Tubal’s confession)………….110
(17/15) A Demon Who Worships JHVH.……………………………………115
(17/16) A true worshipper of JHVH ……………………………………….120
(17/17) Atrocities in the name of JHVH (Naama’s confession)…………….125
(17/18) What does JHVH want? (Enosh’s Speech)…………..……………….130

Chapter Seven: Modesty
(18) He consulted the Angels and made Adam……………………………..135
(18/1) The virtues of ‘Self’..………………………………..………………137
(18/2) Seeking Naama’s ‘Self’………..…………………………………….137
(18/3) Tubal’s ‘self’ish Wish ……………………………………………….141
(18/4) Teaching Us Modesty………………………..………………………145
(18/5) Who is a False Prophet?………………….……………………………….145

Chapter Eight: Kingship
(19) He consulted the Angels to teach us Kingship …..……………………153
(19/1) Three Types of Kings………..……………..…………………………154
(19/2) For Six Days He Ruled Awesomely Alone………………………….155
(19/3) JHVH ELoHiM: The KING Who Consults ………………..……..157
(19/4) Idolatry as a Kingship Trial………………………………………….158
(19/5) A KING from Among His People………………………………….159
(19/6) King Nimrod and his Babylonian Tower..………………………….160
(19/7) JHVH is the Glorious KING!.………………………………………170
(19/8) How would you honor your glorious KING?……………………………….172
(19/9) Hear, Oh Israel!……….………………….……………………………173
(19/10) His Kingship: The source of all Blessings………………………….174
(19/11) The KING Who Provides…………..………………………………177
(19/12) Pray to your KING…………………………………………………177
(19/13) Rejoice Before Your KING………………..………………………179
(19/14) The KING Who Loves You ………..……………………………..180
(19/15) And You Shall Love JHVH ELoHiM, Your KING.…………..….181
(19/16) Sanctify His name with your life…..………………………………181
(19/17) Go, my beloved KING, towards the Sabbath Queen.………………182
(19/18) His Kingship Consolidated Creation…………………………………183
(19/19) How Can He Be Our KING?…..……………………………………187
(19/20) Our Father, our KING……………………………………………….188
(19/21) Our KING Gave Us Six Commandments……………………………189
(19/22) How I Made Tubal Cain a King……………………………………..189
(19/23) Kingship Over Mighty Waters ………………………………………192

Chapter Nine: Enosh
(20) His errors……..…….………….………………………………………..201
(20/1) How to correct them.…….……………………………………………203

Introduction

The frontispiece of this book displays a US Congressional resolution that recognizes the role of Noah’s Seven Commandments in our nation’s moral foundation. Initiated by President R. Reagan and signed by President G. Bush on March 26, 1991, it brought thousands of years of Hebrew, Talmudic tradition into the public light.
These Seven Commandments come from the Book of Genesis, and therefore precede Moses’ Ten Commandments of Sinai which appear in the Book of Exodus. In fact, you cannot comprehend Moses’ Ten Commandments without a prior knowledge of Noah’s Seven.
*
Following their order of appearance in the Book of Genesis, this book presents Noah laws in a systematic way that resembles a “ladder.” We begin with IDOLATRY, then proceed to BLOODSHED, ADULTERY, THEFT, JUSTICE, CRUELTY and BLASPHEMY. The material is drawn from the vast sea of the Talmud, Midrash, Zohar, Kabalah, Commentaries and other Jewish sources. Moreover, it presents ideas that are anchored in almost three thousands years of Jewish practice and liturgy, dating from 1900 B.C. to the present. Oftentimes I refer to the Holy Temple Services, prayers and songs—in particular those from the First and Second Century liturgy.
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Hence, the interested reader will acquire a thorough knowledge of the First Century Jewish vocabulary, so essential to the understanding of early Christianity. Important concepts—the Reign of MERCY, Glorious KING, FATHER-KING, the Eternal Sabbath, the Primordial Sin, the Messiah, and more—will be illuminated. My students of Christian as well as the Jewish faith have always told me that their spiritual life has been greatly enriched by understanding the origin of these precious terms.
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Noah’s Seven Commandments are not dry laws. They contain a passionate vision of the past and the future rich in vitality and imagination. According to tradition, life in Noah’s Ark was free of suffering, sickness, disease and death. The Ark’s inhabitants experienced neither jealousy nor competition, neither sin nor punishment. The wolf did not prey on the lamb, and a child could safely play on the snake pit. In simple terms, Noah was the only person who experienced the Eternal Sabbath inside his Ark. Long before his time in the Ark—and directly relevant to this book!—Noah was the first to melt a sword and convert it to a metal plough. His experience and teachings inspired all of Israel’s prophets.
In a very real sense, Noah ‘s vision remains relevant to our days.
To express this enduring vision, I present Noah in the first person, as if he has returned to speak to us today. Whether you are Christian, Muslim or Jewish—relax and enjoy Noah’s wisdom and teachings. Don’t rush. Read slowly and carefully, digesting each piece of information. You will surely grow and learn in the process. Remember, though this book contains a powerful story, it is not a novel. It is a carefully designed course that leads you up Jacob’s Ladder. So think of what you read, and then use Noah’s words to build a better future for us all, for no matter what our faith, we are all Noah’s Children.

FatherNer,
Lafayette Louisiana USA.

***

These are Noah’s words

These are the words of Noah to his sons, Ham, Shem and Yefet, written after the great Deluge.
Drunk, bitter and humiliated as I am, I still find enough energy in me to sit down and inscribe my living will on this scroll. Its parchments will soon be soaked by my tears. Since you, my sons, can’t tolerate the truth coming out of my mouth, I’d make you learn it from this will after I am gone. But how can I blame you for rejecting me, when I’ve failed your expectations so drastically? I, the illustrious Noah the son of Lemech, the one who saved humanity from extinction by the Flood, should have been a perfect example of piety. I should have been a tower of morality, worthy of my favorite relationship with the Heavenly Court. Instead, I have desecrated the CREATOR’S Name, desecrated my own name and desecrated humanity’s name by my excessive drinking . I should have run the new civilization, but instead I ran away from reality by my wine. I should have provided you with leadership, but instead I rolled on the ground as a fool, naked drunk, my face buried in shame in the sand. No wonder you’ve called me “Noah, the Man of the Ground.” I should have listened to your trial and tribulations, but instead I’ve been occupied with my own haunting memories. I sought to wash away by my wine the heart-breaking cries of my relatives and friends, still ringing in my ears, still calling me to save them as they were washed away by the gushing, rising waters. “Open the door for us, please!” they begged in despair. Your mother and I struggled hard to open that door, but the Merciful One shut it for us. I had never thought that I would see the Merciful One acting as a harsh JUDGE by our door. SHE locked the door for me! And when I rolled drunk and naked on the ground, I only imitated the thousands of naked dead bodies that were floating around my Ark. But you, my sons, had not sense of what was going in my heart. You could never comprehend my tormented mind. In your eyes I just became a sick old and obsolete patriarch, bereaved of any authority.
So here is the truth about you, straight in your face. You, my arrogant and proud sons, were born…accidentally. Yes, accidentally. You should not have been here at all. You were born only because your mother and I lax our guards. When we married, your mother and I pledged to each other that we would never bare children. How difficult this was for us, since we loved children. And while our peers begot thousands descendants, we lived alone in agony. Only one hundred years before the Flood we bore the three of you, first by a mere accident, then by succumbing to our desires. How bad we felt upon your arrival!
You see, your mother comes from Cain, the most hated son of Adam and Eve, while I come from Sheth, their younger and most beloved son. After Cain killed Abel, Adam and Eve refrained for long time from bringing more children to the world. One hundred years later, however, Adam loved his wife with passion and she conceived my forefather, Sheth. What a thrill it was for them! They named him Sheth, foundation, hopping that he would be the new ‘foundation’ of humanity. They hoped that Shet would correct Cain’s faults. Their hopes materialized, since Shet proven himself to be a pillar of faith, so different than Cain. So righteous was Shet, that it is said of him that he was born in Adam’s Form and Image. Both Cain and Sheth were fruitful and they multiplied, but alas! Their children departed from each other. Moreover, whenever Shet’s children intermarried with Cain’s children, the offspring were ‘monstrous’ that threatened to destroy the world, so we were told. It was as if the mix marriages brought out the worst in each family, like two bad vines that should never be grafted on each other lest they produce a very bad wine. Because of that, our ancestors had instituted a ban on intermarriages between Shjet and Cain. Being aware of that ban, your mother and I pledged no to bring children of our own to the world. We did not wish to see our family producing monsters which would destroy the world.
So you can imagine the horror we felt when you, my sons, appeared into our life. We hide the truth from you, so that it won’t become a self-fulfilling prophecy. We raised you properly and instilled in you the fear of G-d and his Commandments, but we watched you closely. And when your time to marry arrived, we made you swear that you would avoid bringing children of your own to the world, though we did not tell you the reason. To your credit, the three of you honored us and you withstood the temptation to procreate. For a hundred years you were married but had no childless, till after the Flood. And now your seed fill the Earth. As first I was thrilled to see your growth, but after watching you for ten generations I’ve become skeptic of your future. You see, it is now ten generations after the Flood, and you have already forgotten me and my teachings. As I have said, I have become irrelevant to your live. You and your children have already violated all of my teaching and all of G-d’s Commandments. Now tell me: when the next Flood will arrive, do you think Mankind will survive? Do you have among you another Noah who could save Mankind from extinction? I doubt!
It is not that I am a pessimistic person who sees only a bad future. Let me tell you the reason for my worries about you. My bad feeling began after I was violated by my own grandson, Canaan. Should I remind you his filthy action? It all started while we were still living in the Ark, during the Flood. We had no children among us, and when I expressed one day my hope to see a new generation born, I also said that I would love to raise my first grandson as my own son. Then you, Ham, approached me kindly and pledged that if you would ever have a son after the Flood, you’d give him to me to be raise as my own. And so it was that when the Flood was over, you Ham fulfilled your pledge and brought your firstborn son to me. You named him Canaan, ‘merchant,’ hopping that he would create a new civilization based on peace, trade, art and culture. How thrilled your mother and I were to raise Canaan as our own child! Canaan proved himself to be very talented poet and very sensual person. Your mother taught him her art of dancing and music, while I taught him carpeting and farming as well as the foundation of our faith, the way my grandfather Enosh had taught me. We loved him more than we had loved any of the rest of you, my sons.
What as mistake it was! Let me remind you his filthy deed. One day I was lying drunk and naked on the ground, my face buried in the ground, when I heard Canaan entering our tent, in fact, his mother’s tent . I knew that it was him, since no one else would dare to be there! My consciousness was blurry, and I stuck my hands into the ground, licking with my tongue the DRY LAND which I so cherished. You can imagine now how drunk I was! I then noticed that he was staring at my back for long time, though I could not figure out why. It made me laugh. My whole naked body twisted on the ground with increasing laughter. Moreover, I felt his fingers tingle me, making me to laugh even more. Then I felt pains in my behind and I screamed. He must have penetrated me sexually, though I did not know that at that time. My scream frightened him and he ran out of the tent. He stood outside and called everybody to come in and see me rolling on the ground! My laughter turned into weeping and I lost my consciousness. The rest of the story is known to you. Then two of you, Shem and Yeffet, took each a blanket and entered my tent going backwards, your face turned to the door so that you would not see my nakedness and shame. Tears flow now in my eyes as I speak of your devotion and care, honoring your father. If you honor your father, you honor your CREATOR. You covered me by your blanket, thereby restoring my dignity. A day later when I woke up, I cursed Canaan and blessed you, Shem and Yeffet. I appointed Shem to be the spiritual leader of my family for posterity, and I promised Yeffet that he and his children would be beautified in Shem’s dwelling. Yeffet should join Shem and worship our One CREATOR, as your mother and I have done.
*
I mention Canaan’s filthy act only because it made me realize that my old fears about your nature, my sons, were true. If so, would the new generations slide again into the abyss of IDOLATRY, ADULTERY, BLOODSHED and INJUSTICE as my own generation? If so, who and what would stop the Flood from returning? As you know, I am not a good orator or preacher, but I did my best trying to warn you, my sons, only to meet your closed ears. You have been engaged so much in your economic growth and settling the world that my wards impressed no one.
Are you the monstrous children that your mother and I feared so much, capable of destroying the world? Are we responsible for your evilness? As I’ve just said, your mother came from Cain and I from Shet, and the two of us should have never married each other. Are you the products of our mistake?
I would dedicate my scroll for the answer to that question. Perhaps by telling you my life story, how and when I met your mother, you may understand better my fears and what lies ahead of you. So listen to my story, and teach it to your children…
*
A note: As I write this scroll, my other grandson, Egypt, came and offered me to keep my scroll in one of the large pyramids he had been building on the bank of the River Nile. Grandpa, he said, the best place to preserve your scroll is inside my Pyramid. So I asked him why he thinks so, and he said: Grandpa, have you not built your Ark in a shape of a pyramid? It floated over the water so gracefully and efficiently! So is Pyramid, he said, floating on the River of Time. Nothing will decay inside!
l shall therefore keep a copy of this scroll inside one of his Pyramids. If the water of the Nile rises, the scroll would float out into the sea. So if you, my reader, whether you live a hundred or a thousand years ahead, hold my scroll in your hands, know that the Sea Waters have already been rising and a new Flood is imminent. Then look around you. Have you been seeing lately increasingly more ferocious storms battering your shores? Is your polar ice melting? Is your glob warming? If the answer is yes, than know that your generation have already come to resemble mine, which is not such a great complement. Then you should worry whether your morals have decayed enough to bring on the Flood. See morality as a physical factor that brings on the Flood. Then read my words time and again and you may see the next Day!

***

HOW I MET NAAMA

Where should I start, my children, if not by describing the first time I met your mother? I was then only close to my thirteenth birthday, living under my illustrious grandfather Enosh’s supervision. It was our New Year, the annual Anniversary of Adam Creation. A large audience gathered at the Royal Plaza to hear my grandpa Enosh’s’ fiery sermon for the day. People came from far to hear him. Think about this: when the revered grandson of Adam and Eve was speaking, who wouldn’t come to listen? Who wouldn’t tremble in awe? And Enosh, you should know, was a gifted orator, I think the greatest one humanity has ever had and would ever have. His strong, rich and harmonic voice thundered for far over the people’s heads. His majestic, giant body towered high, so high that people could see and hear him from everywhere in the large plaza. His black heirs fell over his shoulders down to his waist, like the heirs of a beautiful woman. His slim, muscular body could be seen through his long, blue rob. He was at that time close to a thousand years of age, and yet his body and mind were fresh and viable as of a thirty years old young man, a miracle of nature never to be repeated. Though I was young, he insisted that I would stand by his side to learn his oratorical skills, so that one day I would be able to take over the spiritual leadership. How mistaken he was in this regard! I have become neither an orator nor a spiritual leader, certainly not as great as he was.
I should admit that at thirteen, I could not comprehend his words at depth. So I played a secret game, whereby my eyes searched the audience, discerning people by their tribes and families. I could tell them apart by the way they dressed themselves and by their bodily languages. I became really good in that game. My own Sheth family, for instance, wore long white robes, designating their piety and status, while other families of Earth wore colorful cloths reflecting their own particular believes and interests. Many in the audience recognized me and pointed at me to their children, saying: “there is Noah, the beloved disciple of our Enosh! He will be a great leader like his grandfather!” As I have just said, how wrong their prediction was!
On that particular holiday, my eyes caught a small group wearing an unusual greenish camouflage, the kind I’d never seen. What was special about them is that they were armed to their teeth with swords and daggers, a sacrilege in that holy convocation! Who were these strange people? I wondered.
Then I noticed a pretty girl among them. She was slightly older than me, about fifteen, and she starred at me with wide open eyes, as if she was very surprised and happy to see me. And she was, I should say, very pretty. So I blushed and turned my face away.
But few minutes later, as my grandpa words roared over my head, I glanced at her again. She was still starring at me with that happy, surprised look, only this time she seemed even prettier. How could this be? Can a person change by the minute? Again, I turned my face away. My imagination was fooling me, I thought.
It was my grandpa’s custom to step down at the end of his sermon and walk through the people to greet them personally. I used to follow him and shake the people’s hands. As we passed by the greenish group, I encountered the pretty girl.
“Halo,” I said, “my name is…’
I did not finish my sentence, since she turned to me with cold, indifferent eyes. “Yes?” she asked, as if she saw me the first time ever.
Well, if this was her game, let it be so. I would not participate. So I walked away following my grandpa. But soon I bumped into her again in the crowd. This time she greeted me with the same happy, surprised expression. “Hello!” she said.
What a game! “My name is Noah, the son of Lemech,” I said, quite relieved.
“And my name is Naama, the daughter of Lemech,” she replied, smiling.
“So are we brother and a sister!” I said, laughing.
“What a shame, I can’t marry you…” She said.
“Marry me?’ I blushed. I was about to say something but a commotion around us increased. Several members of my Sheth’s family gathered around her group and protested loudly: “Shame on you! How dare you come here on Adam’s holiday, carrying weapon!”
Ignoring the noise, Naama pointed at a young man by her side. “This is my real brother, Tubal Cain, the Son of Lemech,” she said, proudly.
“Hi,” I waved at him, but his eyes were fixed on the enclosing, protesting crowd. I saw his hand grabbing the dagger on his belt.
“Noah, would you visit us?” Naama said smiling, her face seem prettier by the moment.
“When, Where?” I asked through the increasing noise.
“Sister, you know that this could not be possible,” her brother snapped at her. “Aren’t you aware that he comes from Sheth?” Turning to their group he said, “Let’s go out from here right now!”
Young as he was, he was in command. The entire green group broke through the protesters and walked out of the Plaza. I thought I would not see her again, but alas, by the CREATOR’S designed, I bumped into them again. “Hi,” I said amiably, only to face again those cold, indifferent eyes, peering at me as if we had never met. “Can I help you?” She said. Weird, very weird, I shrugged. I would have ignored her, had not her face seemed prettier to me by the moment.

***
Cain’s descendants
At home, sitting at the holiday’s dinner table, I asked Enosh: “Grandpa, who are these armed people with the greenish camouflage, that attended your sermon today?”
“They are the descendants of Cain.”
“Why were they armed?”
“They worship ELoKiM,” he said, twisting his nose with disgust.
I did not understand. “What’s wrong with worshipping ELoKiM?” I asked. I knew, of course, that ELoHiM is the name of our true CREATOR, who created the Heavens and Earth in Six Days.
“Oh, since ELoKiM is the harsh JUDGE, they would kill anyone in His Name for the slightest sin,” he said. “Just stay away from them and you’ll be safe.”
“Grandpa, I don’t understand it. Would you tell me more about ELoKiM?”
He seemed pleased by my question. “Noah, I’ve been waiting to hear that question from you,” he said. “Time has arrived ay tour age to teach you more about ELoKiM, and about CREATION, and about MANKIND. If you wish, let’s start today. We are celebrating today, after all, the Annual Anniversary of Adam CREATION. Come; let me visit your room.”

***

Why Enosh raised me
Sitting on a large chair by my bed, Enosh took from a shelf an old drawing of my deceased mother, and placed it on his lap. With his long, thin finger he removed the dust then kissed the image of her face.
“I knew your mother. She was such a righteous woman. So sad that she passed away young!” he said.
Tears flew down my cheeks but I did not say a word.
“Do you remember the first day you came here to live with us? It’s only five years ago. You were so thin, so fragile…so frightened.”
“Yes, grandpa,” my throat chocked.
“You may not know it, but when I first heard about the tragedy I sent for your father and asked his permission to bring you over to me and raise you as my own son.”
“I know that. Thanks, grandpa.”
“Don’t thank me. I need to thank you. Your presence here has enlightened my life more than I anticipated. I am not sure you remember this, but you were so suspicious of me when you came. I know, you just wondered why in the world would an old man like me, seven generations older than you, take you to my home. After all, I have had so many other children and grandchildren and my seeds practically fill the Earth! So who would a person like me send for you? I understand your apprehensions.”
I wiped my tears and hugged him warmly, wholeheartedly. I plunged my tiny fingers into his long, thick black heirs. I kissed his face. How I loved the richness of those heirs! “Grandpa, I love you more than I would ever love anyone else!” I whispered directly into his ears.
“Oh, time will tell if this is true,” he grinned. “Now that you enter thirteen, girls are already looking at you. I saw one starring at you today. And she is pretty too. We’ll soon see whom you really love…But let me go back to the time I sent for you. Do you know why I did it? When you were born, Noah, you were a sensation, because you were naturally circumcised. And that is rare indeed. Some saw this as a bad omen, saying that this is the end of times. Others saw this just as a severe birth defect, predicting that you would not be able to procreate. But others, including me, took that as a sign of potential greatness. After all, was not Adam also born naturally circumcised? This is a sign, I told myself, that this infant would become a new Adam! And if so, wasn’t this a sign from Heavens, that humanity would soon start by you all over again? And if so, where would the rest of us be? What would happen to the rest of my descendants? You deer parents tried hard to disperse these myths about you, telling everyone that you are a perfectly normal infant, just born with a small genital defect. They named you Noah, meaning ‘pleasant,’ saying that you would ease the life of Mankind. Since the CREATOR had cursed Adam saying that he would live by his sweat, you, the circumcised newborn infant, would grow and ease the hard life of the farmers. You would be Adam’s remedy, so they told everyone. Their explanations helped to disperse much of the anxiety around your birth, but I kept watching you from afar. I had the feeling that your destiny is to lead humanity, like Adam did. And when I heard that your mother passed away so tragically and untimely, and also that your father was about to marry another woman, I asked him to let me raise you. I knew that I could train you and prepare you for your destiny, whatever it might be…”
I interrupted him by kissing his lips. “Grandpa, I love to be here and live with you. I am so glad that you and everyone else in this house have become my family.”
“Let’s talk about that,” he said. “Now they tell me that you still cry after your mother. They hear you every night calling her name in your sleep. Five years have passed, Noah, and you still mourn her. Yes, you are better now, than before. When you came, no one could approach you or comfort you. You neither ate nor drank, and we were afraid that you too would pass away. Now five years later…” he kissed me on my head, unable to speak, choked with emotion.
“Grandpa,” I whispered, “why did she have to die? Was she a sinner?”
His long fingers gently wiped my eyes. “Only ELoHiM knows why,” he said softly.
“Is that your answer, grandpa?”
“ELoHiM gives life and He can take life away with absolute JUSTICE,” he said, firmly.
“is this JUSTICE?” I burst. “What wrong could she do to deserve such an untimely death? What justice it is to leave me?”
“ELoKiM is the CREATOR and also the Absolute JUDGE. We must accept His Absolute JUSTICE and Verdict however difficult it might be. He knows the Truth. TRUTH is His nickname. Come Noah, into my study room. I want to show you the present I received form Adam and Eve when I was about your age…”

*

THE TREE OF LIFE’S BRANCH

I had never entered Enosh’s study before. When I first came to live in his home I was told that it was off-limit to everyone, including me. I used to watch the entrance door to the study as I walked by. I was surprised to see how small it looked. How in the world could a giant like Enosh fit into this room? I used t wonder about that. When I asked the household people about the secrets of that room they declined to answer, admitting that none of them had ever entered it. Ho wlong did he stay in this room? I asked. So they referred me to the attendant who held the key to the room’s door. And he told me that Enosh used to spend in that room only a few minutes at a time. I was so surprised! What could he study there in just a few minute? But the attendant could not give me any answer. So you can imagine my excitement as my grandpa took me, on Adam’s birthday’s celebration, to see his room the first time ever. We waited for the attendant to open the door for us and we went in. He closed the door behind us, saying that he would wait outside for us to come out.
The first thing that struck me about the room was its size. It was larger than I expected, in fact so large that I could hardly discern its walls and ceiling. How could this be? A light ray entered form a window in the ceiling and lighted up a golden chest, half of a man’s size that stood at center of the room. Later Enosh told me that the chest was made of olive-tree wood covered by solid golden plates from the inside and the outside. Its golden lid had to be lifted up from above to open it. As we approached it, Enosh warned me not to touch the chest’s walls barefoot, lest I’d be struck by tongues of fires that would emanate of it. If that happens, he said, my heir would stand up like needles, my body would shake vigorously and I would fall to the ground unconscious. I might even die! We had to stand on a wooden stool in order to lift up the golden lid without being hit by the deadly fire tongues. After opening it, Enosh pulled out an old tree branch, which still had budding green leaves on it! How could it blossom under the cover of the lid? I wondered.
Showing it to me, Enosh said in awe: “Isn’t it beautiful? Have you ever seen a branch like this?”
Indeed, it did not look like any of the trees I knew. And I knew much about trees and farming at that time.
“What keeps it alive inside the chest without light, grandpa?” I asked.
“It has life protection power inherent in it,” he said. “You see, it is a branch of Eden’s Tree of life. Adam and Eve gave it to me when I was your age.”
Then he explained. When Adam and Eve were driven out from Eden to live on Earth, he said, they lamented their loss. So the CREATOR allowed them in His MERCY to take with them to Earth just a branch of the Tree to Earth. Whoever owns it, the CREATOR said, shall live forever, even on Earth! Adam and Eve then lived long and fruitful life, thanks to this Branch. When they felt that their time had arrived, they bequeathed it to their beloved son, my father Sheth, who also lived a long and fruitful life. And when he felt that his time had arrived, he bequeathed the Branch to me. Now you know my secret, Noah. Though I am close to a thousand years of age, I still go strong. So far, Noah, I have not found anyone worthy of owning it after me. I am still looking for an heir.”
He smiled, looking at me. “Would you like to be its owner?”
I did not answer, so he said: The truth is that there is a danger in owning it. Once I had a talented disciple, Hanoch his name. I trusted so much that I gave him a twig of that Brunch. What a mistake! Later he grew impatient with me, and left me and my teaching, and he is still alive due to the twig he owns. Now I wonder: If I give it to you, would you too forsake me?”
How sad I am today, looking back, to realize that his words were a self fulfilled prophecy. I did later stir away from his teaching, as I shall tell you in due course. But at that time, when he uttered his prophetic words, I was horrified by another worry. “Grandpa,” I said, “why do you plan on giving it to me? Are you leaving us?”
“When my time arrives I’ll let you know.”
He showed me a text written on the Tree’s Brunch. “Can you read this to me?”
The text was in ancient Hebrew letters. I read it loudly. It said:

“In the Beginning, ELoHiM created the Heavens and the Earth.
And the Earth was full of confusion and tangled, and darkness was over the deep, And the spirit (wind) of ELoHiM hovered over the waters…”

You, my children, know those lines by heart since your mother and I have taught it to you so many times over. But this was the first time I saw it.
Enosh said: “Adam knew that the power of the Tree to render eternal life is embedded not in the tree but in the text that goes along with it. He therefore wrote this text on the Tree Branch itself, for posterity. He wished that his children would never forget it. He tells us at length about ELoKiM and how He rules the world….”
Still holding the tree Branch in his hands Enosh explained it to me:

“ELoHiM is the Almighty JUDGE. The CREATOR, who is beyond our conception and description, wears different hats or cloaks at different time. Adam says that upon creating the world, The Infinite, Nameless CREATOR set on the Throne of Justice as a JUDGE, ELoKiM. He created the world for a TRIAL. It was Adam who named Him ELoHiM, which in Hebrew means ‘the judge,’ as you know. On other occasions the CREATOR would sit on other Thrones wearing other ‘hats’ and assuming other Names. At CREATION, though, He ruled as a JUDGE…”
*
“But grandpa,” I asked, “how can the world stand on a trial? Does it possess a mind?”
“We may not comprehend the world’s trial in details. All we can tell is that each item in the world stands before ELoKiM in a trial, held in the creature’s sphere. Be it a mosquito or an elephant, each item in the world must stands a judgment by ELoHiM.”
“But grandpa, I don’t understand, what would ELoHiM demand from the mosquito or the leaf?”
“Only the CREATOR ELoHiM could answer this. We can imagine that, for instance, all creatures must abide by Nature’s Laws, His Laws.”
“And what about us, humans? Are we judged in the same way?”
“Of course, don’t we have the same CREATOR ELoHiM?”
“Grandpa, are you telling me that Man’s judgment is no different than that of the mosquito?” Tears of frustration came in my eyes.
“We are more complex than the mosquito, for sure, and our judgment is accordingly more complex. Yet we are obliged, like all creatures, to abide by His Natural Laws…”
*

ELOHIM’S WAYS
Strangely, as we spoke, I felt an urge to know more about Naama. Had not Enosh told me earlier that her family, the Cain’s descendants, worshipped ELoHiM? So why should they? Why did not they worshipping the Attribute of MERCY, like we, the Sheth family, did? What was their secret?
“Grandpa, please tell me more about ELoHiM,” I said.
Still holding the Tree of Life in his hands, he said: We can learn His ways from Nature. Thus:
ELoHiM is WISE. He created the world with Wisdom which is reflected in Nature.
ELoHiM is HARSH and MERCILESS, as is reflected in Nature.
ELoHiM is the ultimate PROVIDER. He provides every creature with the tools and the talents necessary to survive and thrive in its habitat. He gave fins to the fish, wings to the birds, speed and power to the lions and teeth to the crocodiles. He provides creature, including Man, with the best chance to excel in His harsh world.
ELoHiM’s seeks the ABSOLUTE JUSTICE. He heads to no other moral argument, not even to MERCY.
ELoHiM is PRECISE. His acts ‘MEASURE FOR MEASURE.’ Creatures are allowed to kill and eat other creatures, for they too would be soon eaten by others, in precise retribution. A wolf preys on the lamb only to be later killed by a fallen tree and eaten by vultures. Creatures may inflict pains on others only to suffer pains in return. The cycle of pains is always a close one.
ELoHiM assesses us by the balance of our deeds on His scale. The winners are ‘righteous,’ the losers are ‘sinners.’ He would not assess our heart or character, only our deeds.
ELoKiM’s eyes penetrate everywhere, like water that penetrates everything. This is why Adam’s verse says: “The spirit (‘wind’) of ELoHiM hovers over the WATERS.” Like water’ surface, His judgment is even and equal to all.
ELoHiM executes His Verdicts mainly by water, as it says: “And The Spirit of ELoHiM was hovering over the waters.” He would Flood the Earth if He decides so. His Throne of Judgment hovers over the waters.
***
Finding Comfort in ELoHiM’s Justice
“In ELoHiM’s eyes,” Enosh continued, “every creature, animal of Man, deserves death. Since we eat other creatures, we too deserve to be eaten. Even a vegetarian can’t escape this basic inescapable Judgment. Who can measure the value of the leaf’s life against the value of animal life? Who says that an animal life is more worthy?
“But Noah, there is something more about ELoKiM, then the above. ELoHiM watches us every minute, every day, paying attention to everything we do. He inspects our deeds night and day. He cares about us. We are never alone!”
“What about my mother,” I burst, “did He kill her?”
“Your mother, Noah, passed away by ELoHiM’s judgment. And His judgment is always harsh yet truthful. Time has come, Noah, to let your mother rest in peace. Let her go out from your mind. Do not mourn her too much anymore. She wouldn’t be happy to see you so tormented after her.”
“But grandpa,” I trembled, “You’ve never mentioned MERCY here. Where is MERCY in the picture? Couldn’t the CREATOR treat my mother with MERCY, despite her verdict?”
I anticipated that my words would anger him. Instead, his face lightened up with enormous passion. He kissed my forehead. “You can’t imagine,” he said, “how glad I am to hear your question. By this you have proven to me that you deserve to inherit the Tree-of-Life’s Branch. You are right! Although we live under ELoHiM, the Heavenly Court also consider MERCY. To comprehend my words we need to study more the text that Adam inscribed on the Tree of Life.”
*
The study room’s secrets
Enosh placed the Tree of Life Branch into the golden chest and together we exited the study room. To my surprise the attendant was still waiting for us outside the door, holding the keys. “That was quick,” he murmured as he locked the door.
I startled. “Quick? How many minutes did we spend there?”
“Oh, a couple of minutes,” he said.
I could not believe it! To me, we had spent in the study room much longer than a couple of minutes. But I did not dare to ask. Months later Enosh told me the room’s secret. “The Tree of Life,” he said, “creates its own universe, its own time and space. This is why the room seems bigger inside than from the outside. Time spent inside, is not appreciated from the outside. Noah, the Tree of Life’s Branch is a living miracle in our hand; the only miracle mankind would have. Studying Adam’s words is worthier than any other of our mental engagement. Time spent learning the Tree of Life would not be counted and deducted from the amount of life allocated for each of us. Indeed, to keep alive you must study the Branch forever!”
***
Finding out about Tubal and Naama
Is there a merit to words? Can they affect our behavior? Well, Enosh’s worlds about ELoHiM affected me profoundly. I mourned my mother’s death no more. I also felt I was not alone anymore. I felt that ELoHiM was watching me day and night, writing down my deeds. For my trial.
But alas! As my mother’s memory was fading from my mind, Naama’s pretty face seemed to surface even more. I tried hard to efface her picture from my mind, all in vain. Weird! What did she do to imprint her face in my mind so fiercely? Did she say that she wished me to visit her? Why not? And if I ever see her, I would find out the reason why the Cain’s family worshipped ELoKiM, rather than MERCY, like we did.
So I asked people from our household where did Cain’s family live. At first they denied any knowledge of Cain, as if it was a secret. When I pressed, they told me that Cain’s tribe lived in the woods, away and apart from the rest of humanity. “Don’t even try to visit them,” They warned me, “for you may either be devoured by a beast, or slain by Cain’s arrows. Beside, their compound is plagued by Demons which fly very fast in the air. So fast, that they are seen in two sites of space at the same time! Noted one is the Demon Naama, which devours the heart of young males, alive! So attractive is she that many have watched her dancing only to subsequently lose their mind. Many males have left their wives and children and followed the Demon Naama to wherever she went, finally committing suicide. Noah, beware of the Demon’s charms, lest she eats your heart alive!” So they told me.
Hearing these worlds my heart sank to my belly in horror. “What about Tubal Cain?” I asked.
“He is an arch murderer! Never cross his path!” They spat on the ground after mentioning his name.
So this was the ugly truth about Cain’s tribe, about Tubal Cain and his demonic sister Naama. I could understand now why she, or it, approached me in the Royal Plaza at Enosh’s sermon. She was just looking for a young male’s heart to consume for lunch. I should henceforth follow everyone’s advice and forget her and her pretty face to my safety.
On the other hand, why did her family worship ELoHiM? How could a Demon and a murderer worship ELoHiM? And why did they bothered coming and hearing Enosh’s sermon? I was terribly confused, which increased my longing to meet her and her ‘green people’ again.
***
MY QUEST TO UNDERSTAND ELOHIM
I felt that I needed more information about Cain’s family, Naama, and about ELoHiM. Why did they worship Him rather than MERCY? Was it because they believed that ELoHiM is the ultimate PROVIDER? Was this His charm in their eyes? So for the following months I studied Nature and the animals’ behavior in their habitants. I learned the truthfulness of Enosh’s words. Indeed, ELoHiM provides every creature with the necessary talent and tools to thrive. I think now that those early observations of mine did later help me to attend the animals in my Ark during the Flood. So thrilled I was to discover ELoKIM’s ways, that I could understand why Cain’s family called themselves “The Children of ELoHiM.” They lived in the woods at the core of Nature. It was quite natural for them, I thought At the time, to worship ELoKiM, the creator of Nature and the ultimate PROVIDER in Nature.
*
ELoHiM’s justice as seen in Nature
Having understood ELoKiM as the PROVIDER, I had to find out His capacity as a JUDGE. Does He rule by “measure for measure” as Enosh had said? The opportunity to find it out came soon. As part of my training, Enosh used to take me to a cliff overlooking the Sea of the Galilee, to watch and study Nature from there. You could see the Sea shores for far away, as well as the abundance of animals chasing each other bellow the cliff. How I loved those precious moments that I spent with him, sitting by his side alone and conversing about the CREATOR, CREATION and MANKIND. One day as we set on the cliff my eyes caught a small greenish snake that crawled at leisure along the waterline, looking for breakfast. Its hunger was insatiable, since it captured many tiny frogs one after the other. You could see their tiny bodies being pushed down its belly, still twisting. I was so sorry for them!
And then the snake passed by a huge frog which had been waiting patiently for it. This huge frog set still, without breathing or even blinking an eye. But as the unsuspecting snake passed by it, the huge frog moved swiftly and snapped the snake’s head off with just one strike. Another second passed and the huge frog swallowed the entire snake with the tiny frogs still inside it. Seeing this I jumped up and down the cliff, clapping my hands and shouting into the sea: “Behold! ELoKiM is here! And He uses measure for measure!” To my delight, my grandpa giggled too!

*
CREATION unfolded on the Sea shore
After that, I plunged even deeper into the study of ELoHiM’s ways. I read Adam’s text on the Tree of Life’s Branch and reflected at length on every word in it. Yet, it did not make any good impression on my mind. I could not remember which creature came first and which came later. It all seemed to me as a blend of a chaotic story. One day as my grandpa and I were watching Nature from our cliff I complained to him:“is there any sense in that chaotic scene by the shores? All I see there are animals chasing each other with endless struggle of life-and-death. Is there an order out here?”
“Yes Noah, there is an order there, and it is described on the Tree of Life,” Enosh said, dryly.
“But I’ve read the story and it made no sense to me,” I said. “I can never remember which creature came first and which came later. It all seems illogical.”
“No Noah, there is a perfect logic in the Story of CREATION. In fact, it is unfolded here on these shores every morning,” he said. Let’s come here tomorrow morning and I’ll show this to you.”
The next day before dawn, Enosh and I went to our cliff. It was still pitch dark, so we used torches till we settled ourselves on the cliff. Then we set in the dark waiting for dawn. I remember how cold this morning was, since I clang to his bosom to warm up. You can imagine the two of us sitting there, my tiny figure leaning on his giant one. You could hear the noise of the waves braking at the shore not far away. Then I felt an excitement in Nature as the new day was coming. Enosh said: “Noah, get ready! ELoKiM is about to repeat here the entire Story of CREATION! What a wonderful theater it this!”
Pointing at the dark sea ahead of us, he asked: ”Noah, tell me please, what do you see out there?”
“I see nothing, grandpa,” I said into the darkness.
“Well, you better say that you see Darkness, Chaos and the Deep out there. Noah, what you are seeing now is a new Beginning. Doesn’t it say that:
“In the Beginning, ELoHiM created the heavens and the Earth
And the Earth was Chaos and Disorder and Darkness over the Deep.
“Yes, grandpa,” I said.
“Look there! What do you see now?” He said. And as he spoke, a faint light appeared the first time on the eastern horizon.
“I see Light, grandpa,” I said.
“Indeed! As it says:
“And ELoHiM said let it be light, and there was light.”(Gen. 1:1)
“Yes grandpa.”
“What day is it, Noah?”
So I said:
“And ELoKiM said that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, One Day.”
“What’s coming next?” he said.
*
At first, as the day broke, the Sea blended into the Sky as far as the eye could see. But as the light gradually increased, it uplifted the veil that hung over the water. “Look Noah, how the day separates the Sky Above from the Sea Below. What Day is it, Noah?”
And I said: “The Second Day is here, as it says:
“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, (Gen. 1:6-8)
“Look Noah, what comes next?”
*
As the daylight intensified, I could discern on the far horizon the Dry Land from the Sea. “Day Three has arrived, grandpa!” And I quoted:
“And ELoHiM said let the waters under the sky gather 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)
“Wonderful, Noah! What comes next?”
*
As the daylight continued to increase, I could discern the thick Vegetation along the far shore. And I called up: “The second part of the Third Day has arrived!” And I quoted:
“And ELoHiM said let the Earth bring forth Grass, herb yielding seeds,
And fruit trees yielding fruits after its kind. And it saw so. ”

*
Only then the Sun’s halo appeared the first time above the eastern horizon with its full glory. Its rays pierced the morning fog that hovered over the Sea. “Grandpa, Day Four is here!” I called and quoted:
“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)
*
With the Sun up, the Sea swarmed with Fish of all kinds coming to the surface seeking the Sun’s warmth. Birds soon flew above looking to capture the fish. Frogs and Crocodiles emerged from the waters to crawl on the dry land. So I called up: “The Fifth Day arrived!” And I quoted:
“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…” (Gen. 1:20-21)

*
As the Sun continued to rise, herds of Cattle flocked to the shore for a morning drink. They were soon followed by Beasts which came to prey on the Cattle. Then creeping snakes came to prey on everything else. “The Sixth Day is here!” I called and 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 creature is coming next, Noah?” My grandpa asked.
“Adam!” I shouted with all my might from the cliff, for all the animals to hear. And I quoted loudly:
“And ELoHiM said let us make Adam in our form and our image.”
*
From that day on I could remember the order of the creatures as presented by the Tree of Life. The story made sense to me the first time. I could easily tell the needs of every creature by its position in the story of CREATION.
But one day I asked Enosh: “Is the story of CREATION based on what we see on the shores?”
So he said to me: “Not at all. What you’re seeing on the shore does only remind us the true story of CREATION as it happened. And the true story of CREATION took a very long time, Noah, certainly more than one day or even one of our seek. When I was at your age Adam told us, his grandchildren, that each Day of CREATON lasted many human years. How many years? We asked him, so he said: “millions and millions of our years,” which I could not comprehend.
“But when we, the children, pressed on him he explained this to us: “Look what I wrote at the end of the First Day. It says: and it was evening, and it was morning, ONE DAY. I did not write Day One but One Day, to tell everyone how long was One Day of CREATION. It was as long it took to bring CREATION from its BEGINNING to see in it Light, Matter and Water, in that order.” This is what Adam told us in our youth. A Day, Noah, is a long Era!”
“But grandpa, couldn’t a Day of CREATION be our day?”
“Absolutely not, since the Sun and the Moon were seen on Earth only later on the Fourth Day! On the First and Second and Third Days it was not so! Each Day was much different, longer, than our human short days.”
*
Now that I thought that I understood the way ELoKiM created Nature, I was still bothered why anyone would worship Him rather than MERCY. What brought Naama and her brother Tubal Cain, as well as the rest of Cain’s children to eject the Sheth’s faith of worshipping MERCY? I could not discuss this with the Children of ELoHiM themselves, since I was warned to stay away from them. So what was so attractive about ELoKiM in their eyes? Had not Enosh said that ELoHiM seeks only the absolute truth? Could this be His attraction in Cain’s family eyes? If this was true, I would admire them so much!
“Grandpa,” I asked, “is the story of CREATION as told by the Tree, really TRUE? ZDid it happened the way it is described by Adam?”
“What’s on your mind? Of course it is true. Adam wrote it and it must be true!”
“Yes, grandpa, but I mean: Can the story be verified objectively?”
“No one knows enough about CREATION to do this,” Enosh said.
“Would the Children of ELoKiM know the truth? Did they discovered something we don’t knw?”
“Well, I know one person who may answer your question in a convincing way. I refer to my old disciple, Hanoch, to whom I bequeathed a twig of the Tree of Life, as I’ve told you. Although he comes from our Sheth family, he has been walking in ELoHiM’s ways with Cain. I have not seen him for years but from what I have heard, he has mastered a large knowledge about CREATION by seeking to validate it. I think the two of you would enjoy meeting each other. I’ll arrange a visit with him.”
*
Few days later we went to meet Hanoch. On our way to his home, Enosh told me his story. “Hanoch was one of my better disciples. I trusted him so much that I gave him a twig of the Tree of Life’s Branch, which I’d never done to anyone before or after him. He clung to me and drunk my teaching avidly. At first he followed MERCY like the rest of our family, but then he began to seek ELoHiM and admire Cain’s teachings. He sought their company despite our ancient rivalry and animosity. Yet, I must say, he has remained also loyal to us and he did not abandoned our faith. In his quest, he first sought to emulate ELoHiM as a JUDGE. So he joined our courts, and I supported him in this endeavor with all my heart. But soon I discovered that his new faith blurred his decisions. Since ELoHiM judges by the Absolute Justice, paying no concession to any other moral argument, not even to MERCY, Hanoch tried to emulate ELoKiM. Sitting on a case, he would seek very passionately only the absolute truth about it. This may sound fine, but the trouble is that his verdicts expressed JUSTICE without a shred of MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS. His verdicts were insensitive to human suffering and pains; so much that people resented him and his judgments. We had to remove him from our Sheth’s Courts and he left us for good.
“From thereon, Hanoch dedicated his life to seek ELoHiM’s truth in Nature. The first thing his did was to copy the story of CREATION from my Branch and inscribe it on his twig. Then he studied nature, attempting to validate Adam’s words. As I have heard, he was quite successful in his quest. His findings and thinking have been phenomenal. I think he is the most knowledgeable scholar of CREATION alive, and I’m sure you’ll find him enlightening. He has also developed mechanical techniques to demonstrate his ideas as he speaks, as you’ll surelly see today. His only problem is that he tends to be carried away from subject to subject as he speaks, hence I’d have to interrupt him occasionally and stir him back to our topic…”
*
I found Hanoch’s house exciting in its simplicity. It was built with straight lines, large windows, high ceilings and full of light. Unlike Enosh’s home, it was hardly decorated. From every window you could see a natural garden with wild life roaming between the trees. Like Enosh, Hanoch was quite old. But unlike Ensoh he also looked old. His skin was dry and wrinkled, and he walked with a cane. This made me wonder, since Hanoch possessed a twig of the Tree of Life which should have given him strength and eternal youth. So why did he look so old?
Enosh and Hanoch hugged each other amiably. Despite their schism, they retained the master and disciple’s relationship. After a few words of greetings, Hanoch took us to his study room where he kept his twig of the Tree of Life. Like Enosh’s study room, this one seemed small from the outside yet large from the inside. His wooden chest that was also placed at the center of the room had no golden cover either outside or inside. Hanoch said that we could touch the chest with no fear of fire tongues exiting from it. “Without gold, the chest is available to everyone!” he declared proudly, “though no one bothers to come over and study the Twig with me.”
“My dear Hanoch,” Enosh interrupted, “my grandson Noah wishes to hear your explanation of the Story of CREATION. I know that you can do this better than any man, including me.”
“Well, young man, what exactly do you want to know?” Hanoch turned to me.
“The truth,” I said, “the truth about the story of CREATION.”
Hanch’s sharp eyes pierced mine. I could feel the power of his assessment of me.
“Oh, you can trust him,” Enosh said. “he is not rebellious. He just wants the truth.”
“Well, young man, I too used to wonder about the validity of Adam’s story. But unlike anyone before me, I took on myself to verify it by findings on the ground.”
“Tell him please about your experience,” Enosh said.
“Years ago, I decided not to take the story of CREATION for granted. I wanted to verify it myself. I had heard that Cain’s family had developed a method whereby you can find the truth about anything. First you gather facts, then analyze them and then derive your objective conclusions, paying attention to nothing but the truth. This way you can reach closely at the truth as Man can do. So I went to the Children of ELoHiM’s camp in the woods and I asked to meet their chieftains Aza and Azael, two very righteous men. Hearing my request they asked me, ‘as one of Sheth’s best scholar, what brings you over to us?’ So I told them that I came because they have the method to find and verify the truth.’
“So they asked me, what exactly are you looking for? And I said, I am searching to find the truth about the story of CREATION. So they asked why I doubted it, and I said to them that I had encountered many people arguing about the validity of the Tree of Life, saying that it is an ancient myth. So I wished to find out the truth about the story by myself.
“So they asked what I would do if I’ve found that the story told by the Tree is NOT true. And I said to them that in that case I’d follow my finding, nothing else. ‘Are you aware of the stake?’ they asked, ‘if you have invalidated the story on the Tree, you’ve destroyed the spiritual basis of our entire community!’
“So I told them that I was aware of the danger. After all, I said, ELoHiM’s name appears 32 times in the story of CREATION! And each time it appears, it is as if He placed on it a stamp of truthfulness. So if I invalidate the text, I’ve also invalidated His signatures! And this could have so many bad and serious percussions! So I am aware of the danger, I told them, but if I have validated it I would have proven that the moral messages in the story are true! And this, indeed, can serve humanity well!
“As I spoke, Aza and Azael exchanged glances than asked me how they could help me, and I said: Give me several of your best people and together we will search for the truth about the Earth’s history. And they said: Fine, here are your men.
“And for the following many years, Noah, for great many years my team and I searched for the evidence that could solve the secret of Earth’s CREATION. We followed meticulously the method I learned from them: OBSERVING, RECORDING and ANALYZING without fear. Whenever we arrived at a major conclusion, I went back to the Tree of Life and read it. I compared my conclusion to Adam’s story to see whether or not they match. I had all the time in the world, since my twig protected me and my crew from the Angel of Death. I also had unlimited financial resources provided by my supporters, the blessed Children of ELoHioM. They saw my endeavor as their own sacred duty!
“So my team and I traveled far away, crossed many oceans and climbed on the tallest mountains. We looked for evidences on the ground and in the sky above. We worked hard and invested countless days and sleepless nights. But I must tell you, this was the greatest time of our lives, and we had the greatest thrill Man can ever have.”
“And what exactly did you discover, dear Hanoch?” Enosh interrupted.
“Our mission was, remember, to compare our findings to the Tree Of Life…”
“We understand this part,” Enosh said.
*
Understanding the FIRST Day
“So at first we wanted to know how the world had started. It occurred to me quite early that the Earth has a spherical surface…”
As he spoke, a faint light came down from the ceiling and highlighted a man-sized half-ball, at a corner of the room. The surface of the sphere had a grayish color, with peaks and troughs on it, resembling the mountains and valleys of Earth.
“You see there at the corner? This surface presents Earth’s surface,” Hanoch continued. “You don’t need to be a genus to realize that the Earth’s surface is spherical. You can’t even see the town next to your town, since it is always below the horizon. And when you travel to the next town, the town next to it is father down. So the Earth surface resembles a ball. I tend to think that it is a complete ball, but I can’t prove it yet. You need to travel farther away to the east or west and come back to the original start, in order to prove this point.
“Next we realized that the spherical Earth must be floating somewhere. This idea occurred to us as we traveled over the ocean. You are in a ship, the starry sky is above your head, and your eyes are fixed on the Northern Star, which helps to navigate your way in the endless water. And as you watch that fixed star, it suddenly occurs to you that the Earth itself is like a ship that travels in a great Space. You see the sky rotating above your head through the night, and you understand that the Earth is a ship rotating constantly in the opposite direction. You really need to float on the vast ocean under a starry sky to feel what I am describing.”
As if by magic, the space above the half-ball was highlighted by a myriad of stars, resembling the Milky Way. Hanoch continued: “Do you see the dark space full of stars above Earth? This is where the Ship called Earth is traveling. Our blue sky is only a mirage caused by the Sunlight. At night it vanishes completely. Space is dark, Noah.”
“How big is that space in which the Ship called Earth is floating?” Enosh asked.
“It is DEEP…and OLD…”
“How old?”
“Older than Earth, certainly, and it is full of moving objects. My men brought me pieces of a ‘fallen star.’ They are pieces of rock, essentially, no different than our rocks. My men therefore concluded that ‘Space’ is full of rocky staff which travels in CHAOS. Perhaps Earth itself is a giant rocky ball that somehow floats in Space. And like these fallen rocks from the sky, the Earth originally must have had no air on it, no shrub and no tree and no life on it. No different than these rocks. Perhaps Space has WATER in it, since waters always comes from above. Then one of my men proposed that Space may harbor LIGHT that bounces between the stars.
“Fascinating!” Enosh said, sincerely.
“Fascinating indeed,” Hanoch said, “and then I went back to the Tree of Life and read in it that ‘At the Beginning, ELoHiM created the Heavens and the Earth, and that the Earth was full of CHAOS, DEEP, LIGHT and WATERS. Hence our findings and thinking did MATCH Adam’s words. You can say that my finding only added insight to the story told by the Tree of Life. When I told this to the Children of ELoHiM, they were so excited!
*
Understanding the SECOND Day
“Are you tired?” Hanoch asked me.
“O, no, I like to hear more,” I said.
“Well, as you know, the length of a Day of CREATION is much longer than our days. Master Enosh has once pointed out that at the end of the First Day it says ‘One Day’ rather than ‘Day one.’ What then constituted a Day? The length of time it took CREATION to advance from the BEGINNING to see in it Space, Chaos, Light and Waters. I did explain this to the Children of ELoHiM and they were thrilled…”
“Noah is aware of that explanation, Master Hanoch. Would you continue with your findings on the ground?” Enosh said.
Hanoch said: “Then I told myself that since the events of the First Day seem true, the rest of the verse must also be true. It says, as you know, that at the end of the First Day ELoHiM passed a judgment and said that ‘it was GOOD.’ Anything He deemed NOT GOOD He terminated, while anything He deemed GOOD was allowed to enter the next Day of CREATION.
“I therefore proposed to the Children of ELoHiM to think about ELoHiM as a Builder of a Six Floor Building. Each Floor is a Day. At the end of each Day, the Builder checks the strength of that last floor to see how viable it is and how well it fits His Master Plan. He checks to see whether or not the floor would support another one on top of it. If he is pleased, he would continue building. If he is not pleased, he would terminate that last floor or part of it, and start that floor all over again. This is how ELoKiM judged each Day at the end of the Day. Anything that He did not find suitable anymore He eliminated. Man too, I told the Children of ELoHiM, is judged in the same manner. If we do not fit ELoHiM’s Plan, or if we fail to support the next Day of CREATION, we too would be eliminated.”
“Well said,” Enosh smiled, “we surely agree on that!”
Hanoch continued: “Having established the events of the First Day, my team went on the quest to find out what happened to Earth next. We asked ourselves how the Earth turned from a barren, lifeless rocky ship, like all other ‘falling stars,’ to be covered by waters. And water, we knew, is essential for life. It had to come over here from somewhere. Did it come from the inside Earth? It could not, since it would have been boiling! On the other hand, water always comes from above. So one day as we traveled on the ocean we passed through a major storm. Huge waves came on board of our ship, trying to sink us down. Then it occurred to me that the Ship called Earth must have also passed through a similar ‘water storm’ in Space. Large waves of the ‘Water Above’ came on board and have stayed here ever since, forming the ocean. The water must have been cold, like any water coming from the sky. Perhaps the first waters were icy….
“Then I read on the Tree of Life that on the Second Day of CREATION, ELoHiM separated the ‘Water Above’ from the ‘Water Bellow.’ Again, our story did MATCH well the one told by the Tree of Life! I was in awe. How could Adam know about it? He had never traveled on the ocean like us! Someone, some entity who knew the Earth history, must have told it to him. It occurred to me that the story on the Tree of Life is indeed a living miracle, no less than the Tree of Life itself. I reported this to the Children of ELoHiM, and they were excited!”
As he spoke, and I have no idea how he did this, the half-ball representing Earth was covered by ice.
“How marvelous!” Enosh said, “dear Hancoh, I admire your technology. Would you go on with your story? We like to hear it!”
*
Verifying the THIRD Day
“On the Second Day,” Hanoch continued, “ELoHiM did not pass a judgment, so nothing was eliminated. Earth was ready to enter the next, Third Day of CREATION. The Second Day must have taken a long time, many human years, not less than the First Day. We figured out that something had to change. A Dry Land had to appear from the waters, to support life as we know it. But how could this happen? What came first, the Fish in the waters or the vegetation on the Dry Land?
So one day, as we traveled on the ocean, we witnessed a spectacular event of a whole island coming out of the Sea. And what an awesome event it was! Fire, explosions, hot substance pouring out from the ocean’s bottom, ashes rising to the sky, not unlike a volcano eruption. And after all was set and done, a new beautiful island set there in front of our eyes. An island bereaved of any life, any grass, any shrub or tree.
“And this gave us a clue. Returning to our shores, it occurred to us that our Dry Land too must have come out of the water in a similar way. Our men even found rocks along the shores that look like coming out from a volcano eruption. Moreover, this volcanic eruption at the bottom of the Sea could have been the reason why the original icy ocean had melted. It all fit together, so beautifully and so logically.
“And then I read in the Tree of Life that as the THIRD Day dawned, ELoHiM separated the Dry Land from the Sea. There was neither grass, shrub nor a tree on Earth, since they were planted later on the Day. Fish, it says, came much later on the Fifth Day. Again, our finding MATCHED well the story told by the Tree of Life. So I stood again in awe thinking how could Adam know all this? He had never seen eruption of a volcano in the ocean! Isn’t his story a miracle by itself?
“So I told myself: if Adam is so truthful, let me pay attention to the rest of his words. At the middle of the Third Day, Adam said, ELoHiM passed an unusual judgment while the Third Day was still in progress. On all other Days He would pass a judgment only at the end of the Day, but on the THIRD Day He paused, examined everything He had just created and passed a judgment. So as the Dry Land appeared, Earth stood on a crossroad. Would it have life on it? And as Adam reports to us, ELoHiM saw that it was GOOD and therefore He seeded life on Earth. That seed, Adam says, produced grass, shrubs and trees, in that order. How logic this description is! Life on Earth, Adam is saying, was not incidental; it came after a decisive trial and judgment. I think I know the details of this trial, but I would leave it for now.”
As he spoke, the icy cover of the half-ball melted, exposing patches of brownish dry land, which then changed into green; the color of a forest. “This is how Earth looked alike at the end on the Third Day,” Hanoch said. “It was covered by a thick forest with large trees that grew taller and taller to compete for light, as we see it even in our days. Do you know why I am saying that? Because in our journeys we encountered ancient big tress, so big that only ten people holding hand to hand can surround its trunk. Why did the trees grow so tall? Isn’t this a sign that the skies were constantly overcast? And remember, there was no mobile life forms on Earth, only Vegetation which spread by the wind…
*
Understanding the FOURTH Day
Hanoch relaxed. “Noah, what do you think? Where would mobile life develop first? Would it appear first on the Dry Land, or in the Oceans?”
“In the ocean, it is easier to move around in the waters,” I said.
“Precisely. And that is what we thought too. Life is tougher on the Dry Land than in the water. The water protects life from natural calamities that often happen on the surface. Hence vegetation had to first evolve in the Oceans to support mobile life. And vegetation requires sunlight. The overcast sky had to end. The sun had to shine clearly on Earth and penetrate the oceans. We still don’t know the details, Noah, but something happened to clear the sky and promote mobile life in the oceans.
“And then I read on the Tree of Life that on the Fourth Day, ELoHiM ordered the Sun and the Moon to be SEEN in a regular fashion on Earth. So regular, it says, that a calendar could henceforth be set. Apparently, on previous Days, the Sun and the Moon were NOT so regularly seen from Earth. Hence the Ship called Earth had been wobbling. But as the Fourth Day arrived it stabilized, so that the luminaries could be seen in a regular fashion. This must have promoted mobile life in the Oceans. Amazingly, how did Adam write such a truthful story without our traveling?
*
Understanding the FIFTH Day
With increasing excitement, Hanoch continued his story: “We’ve arrived at the appearance of mobile life in the oceans. First came most probably a sort of warm, which thrives on the vegetation. Then came fish which feeds on the worm. Then came bigger fish which feed on the smaller fish. ELoKiM’s justice is best seen in the oceans, as it says: And the Sprit of ELoKiM was hovering over the waters.
“Then we asked ourselves, who eat fish if not birds? So when the ocean swarmed with fish, birds must have appeared in the sky to feed on them. My men found ancient bones of birds. So big, Noah, that you can’t believe they really existed. They ruled earth at that time! Then some of the fish must have found themselves washed away on the shore, like in a tide, so they developed wings. Hence Bird came out of Fish. Then I read on the Tree of Life that on the Fifth Day, ELoHiM created Fish then Birds. My findings MATCHED the story on the Tree.
“And then, some of the Fish must have moved farther inland to escape the Birds. Crocodiles appeared. They can fool the birds and catch them. And we went to Adam’s story and read that on the Fifth Day, ELoKiM went on to create fish, then birds and then crocodiles, in the logical order that we could figure out. Now Noah, tell me, how could Adam know this order of events? He was not a scholar of Nature! He never seen large bones of predator Birds!
*
Validating the SIXTH Day
Hanoch continued uninterrupted: “You don’t need to be a genius, Noah, to understand that soon after invading the Dry Land some creatures would feed on the abandon Vegetation. CATTLE-like creatures arrived in the meadows and swamps, to consume the vast Vegetation. I’ve seen remnants of these giant Cattle-like creatures. They had large bodies but very short legs, since they lived in shallow swamps. They could not run fast. Then came predators BEASTS appeared which could run fast and feed on the Cattle. These Beast ruled Earth. My men brought me remnants of these fearful creatures, Noah. You would not like to encounter one of them alive. My men also found skeletons of large SNAKES, two stories high. They too ruled Earth at one point.
“Then we went back to the Tree of Life and realized that Adam’s words about the Sixth Day MATCH our findings. After years of painstaking gathering of evidences we developed a new understanding of the Tree of Life’s story. The more we derived from our finding on the ground, the more we found Adam story to be miraculously credible! I presented my conclusion to a large gathering of the Children of ELoHiM, and they all blessed me. Aza and Azel gave honored me so much!”
*
“Fascinating story indeed,” Enosh said. “Now, Master Hanoch, would you tell Noah about Man’s creation on the Sixth Day?”
“As I know you, Master Ensosh, you can tell this part better than I. I would therefore leave Adam’s creation to you. I’d only say that according to the Tree of Life, as the Sixth Day was going on, ELoHiM paused and conducted a major trial, not unlike He had done in the middle of the THRID Day. And like then, CREATION stood on a crossroad: Should it see Adam on it, or not? ELoHiM then decided that it was ‘GOOD,’ and He proceeded to create Adam. But there was a cost for that! Whenever ELoHiM passes a judgment, it is harsh. The creatures that He deems NOT GOOD are eliminated, and those He deems GOOD are allowed to continue into the next Day. So before creating Adam, ELoHiM passed a judgment on many of the Cattle and Beasts and Snakes He had created, and they did not fit His Plan anymore. They were eliminated. Others had to adjust and shrink in size to be able to live by Adam’s side. A new world was introduced, one in which Adam could thrive. Do not argue with ELoHiM, Noah. He is just, fair and truthful. He gives life and He takes life away. And He wished Adam to appear on Earth.”
*
As he finished, the half-sphere disappeared from the corner and the room darkened. We set there for a while in silence, reflecting on the marvelous presentation which we had just witnessed.
Enosh said, “Master Hanoch, how in the world could you develop this wonderful machinery to present your story?”
“The Children of ELoHiM did this for me. They excel in science and technology, since they see it as a sacred obligation of emulating ELoHiM, who created the world with so much Wisdom. They can build anything you wish. Noah, do you have any question?”
“Master Hanoch,” I said, “according to your finding, the Six Days of CREATION are Six long stages. Each Day must have lasted a long time, perhaps million of years. What then is our six days’ week?”
“Thanks for asking. Our week only commemorates the ‘real’ one, the long Six Days of CREATION. Would you agree with that, master Enosh?”
“Definitely, everything you’ve said is logical. But let me ask you: is this the end of your research?”
“I am old and quite exhausted. I hope that new generations of people will rise and search the truth about CREATION. They will invent more tools and find more evidences on the ground and in the sky and in the oceans and they will form their own view on the history of the Universe. But let me assure you one thing: as my experience has shown me, the more they would find, the better they would comprehend the story on the Tree of Life. And the more they find out the depth and the truthfulness of it, the more they would appreciate its miraculous nature.”
“If so,” Enosh said, “If Mankind can arrive at the story of CREATION by ourselves, why do we need the Tree of Life at all?”
*
We need the story to understand Adam
“Adam wrote it,” Hanoch said, “to teach us more than just history. He teaches us about the CREATOR, who created the world as a JUDGE, ELoKiM. He teaches us that we are here on a trial. You wouldn’t know that just by finding the world’s history. He knew that people would one day doubt his message about ELoKiM, seeing it as an ancient myth. So he laid out the story of CREATION in full; that can be verified objectively. People will stand in awe seeing it, then believe also in the rest of his words. Do you agree with me, Master Enosh?”
My grandpa stood up and placed his hands on Hanoch’s head and blessed him. I could not hear what he said, but I definitely saw tears of happiness running in Hanoch’s eyes.
“Thank you for the wonderful work you’ve done for humankind,” Enosh said. “And thank you for explaining all that to us.”
*
“I have one more question to ask, please” I pleaded before we left. “Master Hanoch, have you met a person named Tubal Cain?”
“Tubal? Where did you meet him?” He sounded alarmed.
“We met at Enosh’s sermon, on the anniversary of Adam’s creation holiday.”
Hanoch glanced at Enosh. “Was he there indeed? How could this be?”
“Yes, he attended my sermon with some of his followers.”
“I wouldn’t expect him to do this!” Hanoch said. Turning to me he continued: “Though I have not met Tubal Cain personally, I’ve heard a lot of bad things about him. He made a fortune for the Children of ELoHiM by his inventions, like strong metal weapons. They worship him like god. Unfortunately, Tubal Cain showed not restriction in his evildoings. His gangues fill the Earth with so much BLOODSHED and THEFT and INJUSTICE, violating Adam’s Commandments. I hope he will stand one day before ELoHiM’s judgment and suffer ‘measure for measure’ for all the pains and suffering he has caused. I would advise you strongly to stay away from him and his entire tribe. Unlike in my time, they have corrupted by his power!”
After that answer, I did not dare asking him about Tubal Cain’s sister, the Demon Naama.

***

THE CHILDLREN OF ELOHIM’S HISTORY
Shortly afterwards, Hanoch disappeared from us, taking with him his Tree of Life’s twig. Enosh said that he did not die, but was rather taken away by ELoHiM.( Since he had walked with ELoHiM al his life, ELoHiM took him to dwell by His Throne.
Hanoch, then, was rewarded for following ELoKiM, while neglecting MERCY. Recognizing this only increased my apatite to learn more about the Children of ELoHiM and their peculiar faith. So I asked Enosh to tell me more about them. “What exactly do you want to hear? He frowned. “Are you planning to forsake me and join them, like Hanoch did?” Sparkles of laughter appeared in his eyes. I knew he was just teasing me.
“No grandpa, I’m just fascinated by their search for the truth, and I want to know their history,” I said. Of course, I did not tell him about Naama, whose pretty face surfaced more persistently on my mind. Was her Demonic magic working on me?
“In that case, listen and never repeat their errors. As you know, having killed his brother Abel, the Heavenly Court sentenced Cain to exile. ELoHiM would have killed him right away had not MERCY intervened in his behalf and gave him seven more generations to live. Then Abel’s death would be avenged. To protect him in exile, MERCY placed on Cain’s forehead a horn, to ward off all who might be tempted to take his life before his time arrives. Moreover, as Adam told me, the Heavenly Court placed a curse on anyone who would kill Cain before his time. The prospective killer would be avenged not once, but seven folds!’ The killer’s own family would suffer the bad consequences for ‘seven’ generations.
“Cain first built a city, married several women and saw many children and grandchildren, seven lines after him. He then went voluntarily to exile in the so called ‘No Man’s Land,’ and he is still alive. As the curse says, for seven generations he has been protected. But now, after they have passed, the death penalty is hanging on his head. Rumors say that he vanished into the woods, living there by himself with only a ferocious dog for company. There he wanders among the animals naked with hair so over-grown he looks like an ape. The mark on his forehead, they say, has protruded so much that it looks like a horn of an animal. I personally believe that he has been suffering from a brain tumor that has protruded forwards and has caused him also to lose his mind. They say that the Heavenly mark on the forehead radiates miraculous light that keeps the animals away from him. Others say that the light emanates from the miraculous dresses that he inherited from Adam. Before he left to exile, Adam gave him those miraculous dresses which the CREATOR Himself had made for him and Eve in Eden. Whoever wears these dresses can understand and communicate with the animals. These dresses have allowed Cain to communicate with the animals in the wood.
“You have asked me about Cain’s Children faith. After he murdered Abel, Cain’s children experienced a spiritual metamorphosis. As if to atone for their father’s deed, they adopted ELoHiM’s harsh ways, with not adherence to MERCY. They complied strictly and absolutely with every one of the Six Commandment that ELoHiM had given Adam in Eden, namely: IDOLATRY, ADULTERY, BLOODSHED, THEFT, JUSTICE and BLASPHEMY. Cain’s Children followed these Commandments very stringently. For instance, they cut off the hands of thieves. They stone idolaters in public arenas for everyone to see. That is how they became known as The Children of ELoHiM.
“You may ask what could be wrong with this practice of faith. What could be wrong, indeed, with adherence to ELoKiM’s ways? But their harsh practice made them very insensitive to human suffering. They could not live anymore among us, the Sheth family. So they retracted to the woods to live not far from where their forefather Cain is still living. Over the years they have developed a unique culture of their own. Noah, theirs culture is dark, harsh, full of bloody events and superstition. On one hand they seek the truth as Hanoch has described the other day, but on the other hand they practice witchcraft. It came from years of living isolated in the woods among the shadowy trees. Yet they used to be pious and sincere by keeping ELoKIM’s Laws. I used to consider them righteous, till Tubal Cain came on the scene and changed them forever.”
“Tubal Cain? The person who attended your sermon?”
“Yes, he is a genius, a gifted artisan and a metal worker. From what I have heard, as a young boy Tubal became familiar with Cain’s method of searching. He used his skills to find stronger metals. His discovered a metal alloy from which he could make weapons so strong that it could break all other metal weapons. He could have used his findings for good purposes, like building metal ploughs, but instead he has devoted his talent to forge only very strong and sharp swords and arrowheads.. These weapons rendered the Children of ELoKiM wealth and power. That made them corrupt, I mean totally, completely corrupt. From a small pious cult isolated in the woods, they evolved into a huge military power that no police could overcome. As Hanoch has told you they rob, rape and murder without fear or shame under the watching sun. Noah, this wicked Tubal Cain is responsible for more death than anyone else on Earth. His very name, Tubal Cain, means ‘spices.’ It means that he placed spices on Cain’s murderous act. Whereas Cain had killed his brother Abel by his bare hands or by a stone, here came his descendant Tubal Cain and perfected his skills by killing thousands by his weapon. Because of Tubal, the Children of ELoHiM have transgressed all of Adam’s Six Commandments, the very ones they used to observe so stringently!”
“Grandpa, if he is such a killer, why did he come to your sermon?”
“Do not take this for any sign of repentance. From what I’ve been hearing lately, they have become extremely agitated. Proud as they are, they are keenly aware that the ancient curse over their forefather Cain’s head is about to materialize, and that someone, whoever he might be, would soon kill him in revenge for Abel.
“So nervous they are about Cain, that they began warning people against killing him. Foremost of them is Tubal Cain’s father, whose name is Lemech, the same as your father’s name. This Lemech has sworn in public that whoever slays Cain, he, Lemech, would avenge him not seven, but ‘seventy Seven’ times, by his own hands!
“Now this threat is really frightening, since this Lemech, unlike your father, has a small, foolish head but two strong hands that can smash an oxen head with just one clap. He is also such an arrogant person that he tends to speak about himself in the third voice, as if he is royalty. Strong he may be, he is an accident-prone who stumble over furniture and break them to pieces. This has been amplified lately by his half blindness. A nice family, aren’t they? So here is my advice to you, again: just stay away from them and save yourself much trouble!”
“Grandpa, people say they have Demons among them. Is that true?”
“What do you mean by Demons?”
“Demons that fly so quickly, that they can be seen in two sites of space at once. Demons which assume the look of beautiful girls, who eat young male’s hearts alive…”
“Would you stop that nonsense! The only Demons I know are evil humans who walk on two legs and never fly. So don’t believe in these superstitious rumors. Noah, we have only ONE CREATOR, ONE power and nothing else!”

***

MY THRITEENTH BIRTHDY

My thirteenth birthday was grandiose. Enosh invited not only my closest friends but also many dignitaries from the Four Corners of the Earth. I suppose he wished to introduce me to everyone as his potential heir. After the celebration was over, he called me into his study room. I expected him to deliver me the customary moral messages for this important birthday, when I entered manhood. But I was wrong.
“Noah,” he said as I entered his study room, “now that you are thirteen, you’ve become eligible to marry and produce a new generation. I’ve already received today several offers from fathers of potential brides. People are looking at you. So your time has arrived to learn about how the CREATOR made Adam. Once you have mastered that knowledge, you’ve become qualified to be a father of your own children. But first you need to find a proper bride for you.”
“Why should I search for a bride? Couldn’t I wait for her to come to me?”
“ELoKiM did the same, Noah. Before He made Adam He sought a BRIDE…”
I burst in laughter. “Grandpa, ELoKim sought a BRIDE? Is He human? Who could His BRIDE be?”
My grandpa did not laugh. Instead, he said: “ELoHiM’s BRIDE is another Attribute of the Infinite, Nameless CREATOR, whose Name is the Attribute of MERCY. While HE presents JUSTICE, SHE presents MERCY. They are as opposed to each other as human’s mind can ever tolerate. In ELoKIM’s eyes, SHE is VERY GOOD. And you too should emulate Him and seek for your wife a girl who is MERCIFUL, COMPASSIONATE and FORGIVING.”
I thought about Naama. She did not fit this prescription for a wife, to say the least. She was, mind you, a beautiful Demon. On the other hand, if I ever marry Naama, would she change? Could she change? But of course I did not raise these questions to my grandpa.
“Grandpa, whne you were young, have you found such a girl?”
“I’ve been blessed by many, many lovely, merciful and compassionate wives. My seed fills the Earth, and they all walk in my ways. Now it is your turn, Noah. Together we’ll search for a proper girl to be your very fortunate wife. But you don’t need to wait for me to help you. ELoKiM too courted several potential BRIDES till He found the only ONE who would make Him NOT just HAPPY but VERY HAPPY. Adam told me that ELoKiM walks towards His BRIDE. So did Adam walk towards Eve in Eden. He courted her and she agreed to be his wife…”
Didn’t Naama smile at me first, before I had ever paid attention to her? She certainly did not fit Enosh’s description of a perfect wife. But who or what is Naama, indeed?
*
After that discussion Enosh paraded many potential bides in his house before me. They were all pretty girls, smart, well educated and apparently compassionate, yet none captured my heart. The problem was that Naama’s face kept surfacing in my mind obstructing any view of another girl. Her image in my mind seemed to dominate me increasingly more. And I was puzzled by that. How could this happen when I had seen her only once? Wasn’t this a proof of her mysterious, demonic nature? On one hand, this recognition brought me to decide to never see her again. On the other hand, my heart was beating faster and faster just remembering her. What should I do?
*
At the same time Enosh kept teaching me about the Attribute of MERCY. At age thirteen, He said, I need to recognize HER since at this age SHE enters my heart!
So one day I asked him, “Grandpa, where does MERCY, the BRIDE, show up in the story of CREATION? I can’t see there is HER Name!”
Indeed, all I could see in the story was the GROOM’S Name, ELoHiM, repeated thirty-two times, the number of ‘Lb,’ heart, as Hanoch has noticed. But in nowhere I could see the Name of the MERCIFUL Attribute!
“Let me ask you, Noah: Can you see MERCY in Nature?” he said, dryly.
I was stunned. I had never thought about that. “Grandpa, there is mercy in the way that mothers treat their offspring, in Nature,” I said.
“Well, what mothers do is just an inherent compassion designed by ELoKiM to preserve the species. In fact, you are right. The word for MERCY, rachamim, is derived from rachem, ‘womb.’ Mothers in nature feel a sort of MERCY out of their bleeding wombs. Yet this inherent fixed behavior is not what we would call ‘conscious MERCY.”
“Grandpa,” I agreed, “there is no MERCY in Nature.”
“However,” Enosh said, “MERCY did show up and played a major role in Adam’s creation. Only that SHE appeared late in the Six Day, and only in a concealed fashion. We need to read the text more carefully to see this.”
***

THE MERCIFUL ATTRIBUTE, YHVH
AND THE CREATION OF ADAM
These are the precious words that Enosh said about the Attribute of MERCY:
Adam was born on a certain Day, at a particular time of the Day and under particular circumstances. Look at the verse that describes Adam’s creation. It says: ‘ELoHiM said let us make Adam in our form and our image.’ With whom did He speak in plural? Why did He make Adam?
*
When the Sixth Day dawned, ELoHiM continued to create as on all previous Days. He created things by giving commands. He said, “Let it be Cattle” and Cattle was. He said, “Let it be Beasts” and they were. He said “Let there be Crawling creatures,” and they were. No one dared to resist His orders, and He consulted no one’s opinion. For Six Days he ruled ‘awesomely alone’ like a dictator, who rules with the iron fist.
But on the Sixth Day’s midday, ELoHiM paused and passed a judgment on everything that He had created earlier on that Day, as the Tree of Life says—
“And ELoHiM saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:25)
How extraordinary this premature trial was! On all previous Days, beside the Second Day, he passed His judgment at the end of the Day, saying that it was good, viable, sustainable, ready to enter and support the next Day. But at the middle of the Third Day He paused and passed a judgment. The Earth stood on a crossroad: Would it have life on it, or not? And as it says, ELoKIM saw that it was good and He planted life on Earth. The course of history would never be the same.
Then at the middle of the Sixth Day ELoKIM did the same: He paused and passed a judgment: would Earth see Adam on it, or not? The world stood on a crossroad.
*

“Tell me more about the middle Day’s judgment, grandpa.”
Enosh said:
And as with all previous judgments, ELoHiM deemed the first part of the Sixth Day as ‘GOOD’ as ever before. The huge creatures which dominated Earth before Adam were deemed NOT GOOD anymore and eliminated, since they did not fit His Plan anymore. They would not live side by side with Adam. Other creatures which He deemed GOOD were allowed to live on and enter the rest of the Sixth Day.
And the watching Angles thought that having passed a ‘good’ verdict, ELoKiM would continue to create as ever before. How alarmed they were to notice that ELoHiM raised His sword on CREATION higher than before! This time it threatened to terminate not only yhr Sixth Day but rather the ENTIRE CREATION, from the Beginning to the end of the Sixth Day, where it says:
“And ELoHiM was everything that He had done. And behold! It was VERY GOOD.” (Genesis 1:31)
“What does ELoKiM seek now?” The Angles asked each other.
“He seeks perfection,” the Angel Gabriel, who knows everything, said. “Until now He was satisfied with a GOOD verdict. Henceforth He expects the ENTIRE WORLD to be not just GOOD, but VERY GOOD in His eyes!”
“What would happen if ELoHiM would not feel VERY GOOD?” They asked.
“He would return everything to chaos, to nothingness,” the Angel Gabriel said. This made them worried, since they too are part of this Universe, having been formed on the Second Day. If ELoHiM would wipe out the entire CREATION, He’d terminate them too.
“Has this happened before?” They asked.
“Yes indeed,” the Angel Gabriel said. “ELoHiM created many Universes before ours and then terminated them with wrath, khala. If our world would not be VERY GOOD, He would terminate it too.”
“But what could make Him feel VERY GOOD about CREATION?” The Angles wondered. “Does the world have a chance to survive His harsh scrutiny?”
*

As they spoke, the Angels noticed a new look appearing in ELoHiM’s eyes; not unlike the look of longing and love of a Groom to meet His Bride. This new look in His eyes, they felt, gave our Universe a new chance to survive.
The Angel Gabriel explained: “If the GROOM, ELoKiM, meets His BRIDE, the kahala, our Universe would survive. If He meet Her not, than Kahla! Annihilation!
“Who is His BRIDE?” The Angels asked in awe.
“SHE is the Attribute of MERCY, who dwells in the Eternal Sabbath,” the Angel Gabriel answered.
“What is the Eternal Sabbath?” they asked. After all, they had never heard of it, being confined to the Six Days.
“The Eternal Sabbath is the next, Seventh Day of CREATION,” the Angel Gabriel said.
“Do you know the BRIDE’S Name?” The Angles asked.
“Her name is expressed by the Holy Acronym Y-H-V-H, which means Eternal.”
*
Like a GROOM who addresses His BRIDE, so did ELoHiM turn to YHVH and asked, or ‘begged’ HER with a tone of Love: “Would you come into my world and share it with me?”
Judging by His tone, the Angles knew that if SHE accepts the invitation and enters CREATION, HER mere presence would enlighten His Heart and make CREATION seen VERY GOOD in His eyes. To their much delight, YHVH agreed and entered our world from HER domain, the Eternal Sabbath. She entered it as a thin ray of light, or a shy dove, or a beautiful cherub. Then, like a BRIDE observing Her GROOM’s home, YHVH observed ELoHiM’s world. Then SHE said:
“How can I share with you your world, ELoHiM, where there is no one who can comprehend me and do my work?
“How can I share your world, where I see no place to rest my Wing?
“How can I rule your world, ELoKiM? Had I built it to my specifications, it would have had in it neither trials nor tribulations; neither sins nor punishments, neither sickness nor death?”
ELoHiM then said to Her:
“Let Us Make and Adam in Our Form and Our Image.
Our child Adam, He said, will feel and comprehend you. In his heart you may rest. He will spread your light of MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVNESS in my harsh world. In his earthly Sabbath, you will rest.
*
Think of it as a male Cherub that asks its female mate to come into the nest it had painstakingly built and make their child together. This is how ELoHiM asked or ‘begged’ His BRIDE to come over into His world which He had painstakingly prepared for Six Days. In this nest, He told Her, we’ll make Adam in Our FORM and Our IMAGE: in our ONENESS.
What is ONENESS if not the expression of the Heavenly Love between YHVH and ELoKIM?

*

What would Adam do?”

Like two Parents, the Two Cherubs planned their child Adam in their ONE Form and Image:
ELoKIM said: I’ll make Adam capable to rule over his world.
YHVH said: I’ll fill his heart with my MERCY, COMPASSION, FORGIVENESS and HOLLINESS.
ELoKiM said: I’ll equipped him with all the necessary tools and talents to be a king over his world
YHVH said: I’ll teach Him modesty
ELoKiM said: I’ll make him wise
YHVH said: I’ll teach him to be charitable
ELoKiM said: I’ll prepare him to withstand my trial and win it
YHVH said: I’ll prepare him to enter my Sabbath
Both said: Adam should implement MERCY in ELoKIM’s harsh world
Both said: Adam should not prefer one Parent over the other. He should not worship ELoKiM alone or YHVH alone. He should accept them both at ONCE, uniting JUSTICE and MERCY.

*

“Grandpa, what would ELoKiM do after the Six Days?”
Enosh explained:

If Adam let the BRIDE, kahala, into his heart, ELoKiM would feel VERY GOOD about Adam and about the entire CREATION. ELoKiM would then allow CREATION to enter the next Day, the Eternal Sabbath, the BRIDE’s Domain, the KINGDOM of MERCY.
When that happens, ELoKiM would Cease His work, Cease His judgment and Cease creating. The very word Sabbath means “He ceased working,” rather than ‘rested.’ ELoKiM never rests, even on the Eternal Sabbath.
It is YHVH who rests here, in our world, when SHE enters our heart or when we celebrate our human Sabbath.
*
But if Adam fails to allow MERCY into his heart or do HER work in ELoKIM’s harsh world, YHVH would fly away from us back into HER Domain. SHE would leave us in the hands of the disappointed GROOM who would deem us and the entire World as NOT VERY GOOD. Using His uplifted huge sword, HE would terminate the Entire World with khalah, wrath, consuming everything to nothing, as it was before the BEGINNING; as He had done to numerous worlds before ours.
*
A ban on intermarriage
As I have said, Enosh paraded many potential brides before me in our house. It was our custom to engage a groom with a bride at a young age of about thirteen, and consummate their marriage later at seventeen. During this long-term engagement, the couple learns to love and long to each other’s presence. I was amazed to see how many parents sought me as their potential son-in-law. They must have anticipated that I would become Enosh’s heir, the spiritual leader of our times. How wrong they were, though they could not tell this at that time. But as I have said, none of the girls captured my heart.
“Grandpa,” I asked one day, “what would happen if I’d chosen to marry a girl from amongst the Children of ELoHiM?”
You should have seen the expression on his face. It turned ash. “What foolishness has come to your mind! Don’t you know that there is a ban on intermarriages between Cain and Sheth?”
“A ban? Why? What happened?”
“We learned our lessons. All the mix marriages between Cain and Sheth have ended with monstrous children that threatened to destroy the word. Both camps therefore installed a ban against mixed marriages. It has been strictly kept for hundreds of years!”
Seeing my fallen face, he added: “Noah, I am telling you the truth. Why do you think Hanoch lived with them all his life, without getting married? He knew the ban and feared it! He could not even get any of our Sheth’s women to join him and live in Cain’s camp, by no means. That is why he has remained childless. Do you want to end up like him?”
After that conversation I wondered whether I would ever agree to marry Cain’s daughter, giving up having children of my own.

*
“Grandpa, what is the meaning of the name YHVH?”
Enosh explained:
The Acronym Y-H-V-H should be pronounced ONLY as an acronym, letter by letter, without vowels between the consonants. Y-H-V-H stands for “He Was, He Is, He Shall Be” as follows:
He was – HaYaH,
He is – HoVeH,
He will be – YehyeH.
It is wrong to call YHVH as “Eternal.” ELoKiM, the Attribute of Judgment, is Eternal too. All Attributes of the Infinite, nameless CREATOR are “Eternals.” Also the gender is not important, since the Attribute have none. They are not humans and they do not resemble humans. We refer to MERCY in female terms because mercy, rachamim, comes form rachem, womb. But the truth is that fathers too have mercy on their children. Hence the gender is arbitrary and should be looked upon as metaphors.
It was Adam who coined the Name YHVH in Eden. By this he informed us, his children, that although YHVH appears ‘late’ in the story of Creation, SHE is not a new ‘face’ of the CREATOR. SHE was, in fact, before anything else, and SHE will be after anything else. SHE is a greater ‘sphere’ than ELoKiM. Yes, there is a smaller infinity and a greater infinity. And YHVH is the greater.
Was Adam correct in giving HER this Name? The verse attests that in Eden Adam was so smart that every name he gave was the right one. Hence YHVH is the right name, the very Name that the CREATOR had intended for it” (Genesis 2:20.)
*
You may wonder why YHVH appeared first as an Acronym. Think of it in the following way: A modest BRIDE would not enter her husband’s home to make a child right away. First SHE would enter it modestly, hesitantly, half way. SHE would observe its furniture, smell its air and taste its food. So did YHVH first enter ELoHiM’s world from the Sabbath as a shy, modest acronym, a Cherub that does not yet touch her Groom, ELoHiM. Her mere presence enlightened His heart and consolidated His home in His eyes. If SHE stays, He would feel VERY GOOD about His home! If SHE leaves, He would be extremely disappointed. What would make HER stay or leave is not the GROOM but their child, Adam. This is why the future depends on us!
*
“Grandpa, when the BRIDE observed our world and scrutinized it, SHE applied judgment. But how comes? Isn’t SHE MERCIFUL, COMPASSIONATE and FORGIVING?”
So he said this to me:
In Her Domain, which is the Eternal Sabbath, the BRIDE’s warmth is unconditional. SHE does not Judge anyone in HER Sabbath. But here in our world SHE would shower HER love and warmth on condition. Here SHE carries HER Court too, like the GROOM, only HER yardstick is different. SHE would judge you to see whether or not you’ve been MERCIFUL, COMPASSIONATE and FORGIVING. SHE would love you if you love HER, only that HER love is greater and un-proportional. Likewise, if you hate HER or do the evil that SHE hates, SHE would be disgusted, saddened or enraged by you more than you’d think. If you do evil, SHE would either fly away from you back to Her Domain, leaving you in the hands of the GROOM, or destroy you directly in HER anger. Yes, there is JUDGMENT inside MERCY.

*
Think about this in the following way: If Earth is a ship which travels in space, the entire Universe is a larger, huge ship which travels in a larger, Super Space. ELoKiM, as our Ship’s Capitan, is also its Builder and the Ship’s navigator. At the end of the Sixth Day, as He has finished his work, the Universe’ Ship wobbles. It may get lost in the Supper Space. This is what had happened to other Universes before ours. But this time, the Ships’ Capitan has turned to YHVH who dwells in the Sabbath and asks Her to give Him a ‘hand’ so that the Ship would safely journey towards the shores of the Eternal Sabbath, the Kingdom of MERCY.
For that purpose He changed His tone. Instead of giving orders, ELoKiM spoke to HER softly, begging HER, consulting HER. Moreover, to stabilize His ship, ELoKIM the Capitan invited HER to come over the ship on board, at least in part. One of HER legs, the VH, still lies in the Sabbath, the other leg, YH, entering the Ship and holding it on course.
The part of HER, the YaH, is already here. Like a Lighthouse which directs a ship to the shore, so is the Name YaH directing our Universe to Her safe shores which is the KINGDOM of MERCY.

***
Better to live in our Universe
On every Friday afternoon, Enosh used to lead a group of distinguished ladies in inspirational gathering. Among the women was our young queen, who was a great fan of Enosh. Let me remind you that despite his advanced age of close to a thousand years, Enosh resembled an everlasting thirty years young man, tall, thin, muscular and handsome. His eyes, oh, those eyes, radiated so much wisdom, humor, self criticism and love, that no heart could withstand its charm. His rich, harmonic voice vibrated in the room, capturing all ears. No wonder that women flocked from far to hear and see him, especially on the Friday afternoon’s session before the entrance of the earthly Sabbath.
Why did he choose Friday afternoon for those meetings? For he said: this time of the week is the most exciting one. Our Universe, he said, lives at the transition between the Six Day of CREATION and the Eternal Sabbath Day that is soon to arrive. Behind us, he said, are the Six Days of CREATION ruled by ELoHiM alone, whereas in front of us lies the Eternal Sabbath ruled by the Merciful YHVH alone. We, he said, live in the Sixth Day of CREATION under the rule of both YHVH and ELoHiM in Oneness. We move in history, he said, towards the Kingdom of MERCY, where YHVH reigns alone with Glory. What is more important, he asked the women, the Sabbath itself or the transition towards it? The BRIDE Herself, or the longing to see Her? You might think that the Eternal Sabbath is more important, he said, but let me tell you: Although the Eternal Sabbath is a wonderful, holy Day filled with YHVH’s Warmth, Love, Joy and MERCY, yet it lacks life as we know it. When our Universe will arrive at the Eternal Sabbath, he said, it will not be the same anymore. ELoHiM will cease His work, cease His judgment and allow the Kingdom of MERCY to take over. It means that there will be no death but also no birth. There will be no trials and no tribulations, but also no wining and no hopes. If you ask me, he said, I prefer to live in our mundane Day, to give birth and to seed a new life, rather than live in a static, everlasting and happy Universe.
Our task, he told the women, is to introduce the holiness of YHVH into our Universe. Our task is to do Merciful Work in ELoHiM’s harsh Universe. Our task is to keep MERCY here and hold HER from flying away from us, leaving us in ELoHiM’s harsh Hands. How amazing it is, he said, that no creature is capable to move our Universe towards Her, but us, humans! Even ELoHiM alone would not do this, since no one expects Him to do MERCY. Adam told me, he said, that had ELoKiM remained the awesome, sole-ruler of the world, still running it alone by Himself, He would not have led it to the Sabbath. He left this task to us, humans, to draw and keep Her MERCY into His World. If we do this, He would be Very Happy and the world won’t wobble anymore. It would be CONSOLIDATED and stay on course forever.
The glory of the Sabbath, he told the women, does not lie in the Sabbath itself. Think about this: In the KINGDOM of MERCY itself, in the Eternal Sabbath, there is no meaning to MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS. How can MERCY be meaningful without a harsh JUDGMENT? How can COMPASSION be meaningful, without someone hurting? How can FORGIVENESS be meaningful, without a sinner? Hence the glory of YHVH can be seen in full only in ELoHiM’s harsh world! This is why I’ve been saying, he said, that it is a great privilege to live under ELoHiM and YHVH. You need the two together to appreciate YHVH. And this is why the Infinite, nameless CREATOR who is beyond our conception, has decided to create the world first by the harsh and just ELoHiM, and then consolidate it by the presence of YHVH in our hearts. Think of it: Only with the advent of the harsh ELoKiM, YHVH has a meaning!
And he told them: The glory and magic of the Sabbath lies in our LONGING for Her coming. All week long we aspire to reach the Sabbath. But as we get closer to Her, like at this moment on Friday afternoon, our longing increases so much that our heart pounds with excitement like a GROOM who is about to meet His beautiful BRIDE!
*
And he also told the women this: Who is better equipped to feel MERCY if not women? The very Hebrew word for MERCY comes, as you know, from ‘a womb.’ It was no incidental, he said, that my grandmother Eve was the first human to ‘call the Name of YHVH’ alone, without mentioning ELoHiM. She did this after her first childbirth, holding her baby Cain in her hands for the first time. As only you can know, her labor was difficult and painful and she was about to die. But with her baby in her bosom, she forgot her suffering. Her heart filled with joy, happiness, love and hope like she had never experienced before. Holding her baby to her chest, her heart flooded with mercy and compassion which her husband Adam would hardly ever feel. No wonder that it was a woman, Eve, who was the first to see YHVH standing alone without ELoKiM by her side. This is why she named her baby Cain, saying: “I have purchased a Man with YHVH.” By her hard labor she ‘purchased’ appreciation for YHVH. With Man, Cain, she purchased YHVH. That is why she named him Cain, from ‘purchasing.’ Our mother Eve was able to feel what our Heavenly Mother, YHVH feels for us. Yes, you can think of YHVH as our Mother in heavens and of ELoKiM as our Father in Heavens, though they are attributes of ONE CREATOR. And it is appropriate to think about us humans as the Attribute’s precious child who is required to adore and worship them as ONE.
How proud Eve was, he said, to be created the last! In the ascending ladder of creatures, she told me, she was at the top, the last one and the better one. Why was she better? Because she is the only creature in the world who could feel in full glory what our Heavenly Mother YHVH feels for us.
Oh, you should have seen how the women’s eyes enkindled by Enosh’s words!

*

Holding the Tree of Life in his hands, Enosh told me:

At what point does a BRIDE aspire to enter her GROOM’S home? If you think that SHE aspires this only following HER GROOM’S invitation, you are wrong. The truth is that the BRIDE aspires to enter His home the moment SHE was born. Even as a young girl SHE would dream about it, dream about her wedding dress, dream about her life with Him and their mutual children.

And this is how you should regard YHVH. If you think that SHE had been just answering ELoHiM’s invitation to come over into our world, you are wrong. The truth is that YHVH felt the desire to enter ELoHiM’s world and shower HER MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS since SHE HERSELF had been ‘formed.’ The Infinite, nameless CREATOR who is beyond our conception and any Name and description, had ‘formed’ HER, so to speak, to shower MERCY in ELoHiM’s world. You may say that the BRIDE was formed even before the GROOM!
With Adam in Eden, the opposite happened: the male was formed first, then the female. This makes sense, since we are His Image. And Images in the mirror, as you know, are always revered!

***
Increasing split in humanity
Terrible news disrupted my peaceful existence of those days. Cain’s ferocious warriors attacked our Shet’s villages, raped, killed and ransacked them with no shame, under the watching Sun. They used Tubal Cain’s sharp weapons to overcome our defense. No soul of Shet’s people survived their vicious attacks. They knew no MERCY. The devastation, I was told, was total. The attacks increased so that Cain’s children committed RAPE, ADULTERY, BLOODSHED, THEFT, INJUSTICE and BLASPHEMY, violating all the Commandments given to Adam in Eden. Our society was falling apart.
Enosh was not enraged by the news. Instead, he tried to analyze Cain’s motives. The Children of ELoHiM’s error began, he said, the moment they committed themselves to worship ELoHiM alone, ignoring the Merciful YHVH. Their special brand of faith brought them to execute people in public for the smallest crime. Their faith made them insensitive to human suffering. But soon, he said, they would enkindle the wrath of ELoHiM, the very One whom they claim to worship!
Needless to say, the bad news made me keenly aware of the schism between Sheth and Cain that couldn’t be bridged. The prospect of me meeting Naama and Tubal Cain became unthinkable. But why was it that the more I dipped into learning about YHVH, the more I saw Naama’s face surfacing on my mind? I felt as if Naama’s pretty face was chasing away YHVH from my heart. Wasn’t this the way that Demons operate? Are they not the opposite of YHVH’s Holiness? If so, I should be careful not to fall into Naama’s Demonic traps!
But why was I attracted to her more and more, despite my logic?

*
Combining Mercy with Justice
In his capacity as our generation’s prophet and leader, the father of Mankind, Enosh conducted variety of official affairs. I remember a meeting he held with a graduating class of cadets from our Shet’s school for judges. As Enosh and I entered their packed hall, the cadets, dressed in their shiny uniforms, rose up in his Enosh’s honor. I stood by his side, absorbing every word he said.
He smiled at the young men amiably. “Many regard our ability to pass a truthful judgment as the highest achievement of the human mind. Aren’t we made by the image and form of ELoHiM the JUDGE? Hence we emulate ELoKiM when we sit in judgment. Acting as a judge is a holy task which deserves the best men and demands the highest mental capabilities that Man can have. A judge should emulate ELoKiM and always seek the absolute truth, nothing else but the truth. Truth is ELoHiM’s nickname. Judges should find out the facts, listen to all the testimonies and then arrive at a truthful verdict.
“Many think that this is all what is required from the human judge. The Children of ELoHiM’s courts would agree with that statement. They follow and worship ELoHiM alone, ignoring MERCY. They consider no moral argument apart from the sheer truth. Then they would implement justice at all cost, ‘measure for measure,’ with no mercy.
“But our Sheth’ courts think differently. In the story of CREATION, MERCY came after ELoHiM had almost finished His work. Hence MERCY should follow the truthful verdict in your court. Having arrived at a truthful verdict, you should apply MERCY. By this, you’ve climbed up in your ladder of moral values. You’ve first found the absolute truth and then you’ve introduced MERCY to form your final verdict. This way your final word reflects both YHVH and ELoHiM in ONENESS.
“But let me point something to you. Many think that adding MERCY to the verdict would always ameliorate it or diminish its harshness. But MERCY too has Her own criteria. Facing Evildoing, MERCY can become extremely enraged! If that happens, SHE would INCREASE the perpetrator’s liability rather than diminish it! And let me tell you, if MERCY is enraged, SHE would shower Fire and brimstones! Wow to those who face the TWO awesome swords acting against them: the sword of ELoHiM as well as the sword of YHVH, joining in one retribution against the evildoer!”

*
Enosh’s Flood
During this pivotal year of my thirteenth birthday, another calamity struck our society. Most of you, my children, have forgotten it by now, but at that time the sea level arose and flooded about a third of our inhabitant land. Some saw it as a prelude to my Great Flood that would take place six hundred years later. Others was this as a warning to our generation under Enosh leadership, though I could not understand this at that time. What could be wrong with Enosh?
And as the spiritual leader of our time, Enosh led a repentance campaign among the families of Earth. Everyone but Cain’s family participated. The campaign was successful and the Flood receded. Henceforth it would be named after him, as Enosh Flood, to separate it from my Flood.
I used to accompany my grandpa on his trips. I particularly remember a meeting with a help force he had organized for the refugees. He told the men and women: “When you help a homeless person who had just lost everything, you don’t ask who he is and to what camp he belongs. Your task is to perform YHVH’s MERCIFUL work and heal, save life, alleviate pains and raise the hopes of every soul. You are not a representative of ELoHiM on Earth and you are not a judge. Your task is to keep and perform MERCY. You are, I should say, the CHILDREN OF MERCY.”
This was the first time I heard the term. It gave a sharp contrast to the opposite name, “Children of ELoHiM.” The new name stuck. It entrenched the thrift between us and Cain’s Children. Peace was unthinkable.
*
A fatal accident: Cain’s demise
And what a tumultuous year this was for me! If ELoHiM brings grooms to brides, as Enosh said, He certainly did this to me. Several months after my thirteenth birthday, Cain’s final judgment was fulfilled. One day, as I was later told, Tubal Cain brought his father Lemech new arrows for testing on animals. This was their ugly custom to try first their sharp weapons on defend less animals, and then try it on innocent people. Tubal Cain made these arrowheads from the toughest metal he had forged. So hard were these arrows that they flew straight to their target with no deviation. Tubal Cain also brought with him a strong bow to his father that only his mighty hands could draw. To the amazement of everyone watching, the accident-prone Lemech loaded this tough bow easily, as if it was made from soft branch. He aimed it at a hairy, bison like ape that appeared in the wood. A strange light highlighted the figure and made it a good target. Half-blinded as Lemech was, Tubal helped him steady his arrow. “Shoot, father, shoot!” Tubal called with excitement.
Lemech released the arrow and it went straight and hit the hairy target so hard that it fell dead. “What a good shot!” Tubal Cain exclaimed proudly, and he ran into the wood for the catch. To his horror, he discovered that the hairy figure was no other than their forefather Cain, who lay dead with the arrow stuck in his forehead, right where YHVH’s ‘sign’ protruded. Nearby in the woods, Cain’s ferocious dog was crying. The light, Tubal noticed, came out from a bag which had fallen from Cain’s shoulders to the ground. Tubal opened it and saw there the miraculous dresses that Adam and Eve had given Cain to survive in the woods. Whoever wore these dresses could understand the animals. Later on Lemech’s servants brought the dresses into Lemech’s home, along with Cain’s body.
At first, Lemech didn’t comprehend what had happened. “What did Lemech hit this time?” he gladly called Tubal, who had already fled the murder scene. Remembering the curse on Cain’s murderer, Tubal was more afraid of his father’s wrath than of our king’s army. And when Lemech finally realized what had happened, he raged with anger and sorrow and clapped his huge hands cracking everything on his way. “Where is Lemech’s son?” he yelled, as always speaking about himself in the third voice. He looked through the house for Tubal with every intention of killing him to avenge Cain’s murder, although everyone thought that Lemech should kill himself since he had shot the arrow. According to eyewitnesses, Lemech tore his thin hair and cried out to his two wives—
“Adah and Tzilah listen to me—a man I did kill…” (Gen. 4:23)
“Who is the man you’ve killed?” Adah and Tzilah asked.
“Cain!” he shouted back. “I, of all people, have slain my forefather Cain! Now the curse will fall on my head and on our entire family! We will be decimated for seventy seven generations! Where is that bastard Tubal?”
“Shut up,” his wives told him, since it was he who had vowed to decimate Cain’s killer family for seventy-seven generations. But in his madness and sorrow, Lemech ran wild looking for Tubal, while people ran away from him screaming. In the noisy chaos, he stumbled over and broke furniture and dishes. “What should I do now? What will happen to us?” he cried in despair, while his wives tried in vain to restrain and calm him. Driven to madness he burst out the house and ran all over Cain’s compound, shouting “Where is the son of Lemech? Bring that son of a dog to me and I’ll teach him a lesson he won’t forget!” Oh, how much they laughed since he referred to himself as a dog. How many tents and homes he overturned that day!
To me, the story meant that ELoHiM’s cycle of sin and retribution was closed in a perfect way. Since Cain had killed his own brother Abel, here came his descendant Tubal Cain and slain Cain. ELoHiM’s visible hands inflicted punishment on Cain, ‘measure for measure.’ If the Merciful YHVH had given Cain a limited time to live on Earth, seven generations to be exact, this concession expired!

***
Enosh opened the golden chest and took out the Tree of Life, then said to me:
You may wonder where does YHVH appear first in the story of CREATION. Remember, SHE is shy. SHE appears therefore as an Acronym, conncting our Sixth Day to the Sabbath! Here is how the verses depict it:

“And ELoKiM said let the Earth bring forth Beasts, Cattle, creeping things.
And EloKiM made the animals…cattle…and everything creeping
And EloKiM saw that is was good.
And ELoHiM said let Us make Adam in Our Form and Our Image
And ELoKiM created Adam in His Image
And ELoKiM blessed them saying be fruitful and multiply
And ELoKim said let us make Adam in our form and our image
And ELoKiM said behold, I have given you all the grass
And ELoHiM saw everything that He had done and behold, it was Very Good,
And it was evening, and it was morning,
Yom, (Day)
HaShishi, (Sixth) (Genesis 1:31)
VaYechulu (and they ended)
HaShamyim (the Heaves)
And the Earth, and all their hosts,
And ELoHiM finished all the work he had done,
And ELoHiM finished on the Seventh Day His work which He had done,
And He abstained on the Seventh Day from all His work which He had done…” (Genesis 2: 1-2)
*
Enosh said:
Adam told me that one can see here how the Acronym YHVH ‘covers’ as a bridge the abyss between the Sixth Day and the Holy Sabbath. SHE stabilizes our world’s course.
He also told me that one can see here how the Acronym YHVH penetrates the Sixth Day from the Sabbath. Half of it, the ‘YH,’ lies in ELoKiM’s world, while the other half, the VH, still dwells inside the Sabbath.
Adam told me: Do not wonder whether the BRIDE is powerful or not. SHE is shy, but strong. Just see how easily SHE stabilizes our course with just one Wing, the YH. Relax, he said, be sure that with Her advent in our world the world would not wobble!
And do not be fooled by thinking that her Groom’s Love is what makes Her so powerful. SHE preceded Him in CREATION! SHE was before anything else, and SHE will be after anything else, and that is why I called HER YHVH!

***

Another fatal accident
Cain’s funeral was an impressive public event. Despite the schism between Cain’s children and the rest of humanity, our entire community showed up in the honor of Adam’s deceased son. A delegation from Shet headed by Enosh attended the sermon, which was held in a palace at the center of our town. I attended it too, standing as usual not far from my grandpa. I knew that this would be the first time in a year that I may see the Children of ELoHiM. Would Naama be there?
Of course, I did not expect to see Tubal Cain there. As I had heard, he ran into the woods after the fatal accident to save himself from his father’s wrath. He should have hid himself from his father’s mighty hands for long time. But to everyone’s surprise he did show up in the funeral, accompanied by several of his armed men. He was careful, though, to stand far away from his half-blinded father—who, of course, couldn’t see him. And at that point our fates crossed.
Because of Lemech, the mood of the mourners was far from solemn. People giggled at his sight. He sat ashamed, as if the sky had fallen on his head, tearing at his hair and clapping his hands in sorrow—not for his slain forefather, but for his own family’s expected demise. At that point I felt sorrow for him and in my foolishness I came to him to offer my consolations. What a mistake it proved to be! Enosh later said that he tried to stop me but it was too late. As I approached, the old man asked his attendant, “Who’s that coming?” The attendant replied, “This is the son of Lemech”—which was true, since my father’s name was also Lemech. Assuming I was his own son, the old man shouted, “Bring him here, that murderer!” Standing up he clapped his huge hands over my head trying to smash me to pieces, but he was unsuccessful. Instead of my head, he smashed a nearby pillar of the house that supported the ceiling. So hard the clap was, that the pillar cracked and started to swing around, displacing a ceiling beam that fell straight towards my back. Barely a moment passed, yet it seemed like an eternity.
“Move! Move!” Someone shouted at me, but I froze, unable to respond. The next thing I knew, a stranger threw me to the floor, away from the falling beam, out of harm’s way. The man who saved my life was none other than Tubal Cain. But unfortunately, the fallen beam crashed into his own back instead of mine, pinning him over me on the ground.
When they pulled us both from underneath the pile of stones and wood, I stood up shaken but intact. Tubal Cain, though, was not nearly so lucky. His right leg was severed from his body and his spine crashed. He bled profusely.
As through a dense fog, I saw Enosh rushing to me. He examined me then hurried to Tubal Cain. I saw him bending over his torn leg, pressing hard to stop the bleeding. He shouted orders, while he tore his own robe to bandage Tubal Cain’s leg. Then they took Tubal Cain away to his father’s home in their compound. Enosh ordered me to go to our home, while he offered Tubal Cain help.
I was later told that when Lemech realized what he had done, he was filled with deep remorse. “Is it you, my child?” he cried over Tubal Cain’s broken body. “Have I wounded you?”
“Adah and Tzilah hear me…
A man I had killed, to my wound,
And a child, to my hurt…” (Gen. 4:23)
But no one paid any attention to him. Enosh told their family that Tubal Cain’s spine was broken and he might not survive. Moreover, he decided to attend Tubal Cain by himself in their compound. This was unheard of, since Enosh had never visited the Children of ELoHiM’s place in the woods. So concerned was he about Tubal Cain’s fate, that he did not leave his treatment to anyone else but to himself.

*
Enosh said:
When you see an open wound or a torn muscle of the human body, you know that we are an extension of all the creatures that preceded us in CREATION. When you see the human brain, you realize that it is built as a summary of many others brains which preceded ours. ELoHiM consulted these brains and muscles and made ours. What is Adam, if not the last ring in a long chain of creatures that started in the Beginning and has ended up with us?
To build us, ELoKiM summoned the Six Days of CREATION and said to each one: “Let Us make Adam in Our Form and Our Image.” He consulted each Day like a Builder who consults his Master Plan, and made Adam accordingly. Thus,
ELoHiM consulted Day One with its primordial elements of Chaos, Deep, Light, Matter and Water, and made Adam accordingly.
ELoHiM then consulted the SECOND Day with its ‘Water Above’ and the ‘Water Below’ and made Adam accordingly. Adam’s body therefore comprises of so much water.
ELoHiM then consulted the THIRD Day, with its Vegetation and made Adam accordingly.
ELoHiM then consulted the FOURTH Day with its Luminaries and made Adam accordingly.
ELoHiM then consulted the FIFTH Day with its Fish, Birds and Crocodiles and made Adam accordingly.
ELoHiM then consulted the SIXTH Day with its Cattle, Beasts and Crawling Creatures and made Adam accordingly.
Adam is therefore the summary of everything created before him in Nature.
When Adam accepts YHVH in his heart, it is as if YHVH has entered Nature.

*

*
SEEKING THE CREATOR IN CREATION
Speaking before the elders of Shet, Enosh said:
“You’ve asked me to tell you the spiritual future of mankind. Well, I am not a Seer and I can’t see it. But I can read Adam’s text on the Tree of Life and it predicts the future.
“A day will come, and Mankind will forget our teaching. There might be a calamity that will change history and wipe out people’s memory, or there might be some other reasons why it would happen, but it looks to me that Mankind will have to start fresh.
“But one thing I am sure: Man may forget the CREATOR, but He will not forget Man. You see, even in Eden when Adam and Eve sinned, the CREATOR came to them asking “Adam, where are you? Come to me!” But they were hiding in the bush ashamed from their sin. They missed the opportunity to repent and therefore were driven out from there forever.
“Now on Earth Man will forget the CREATOR, yet He will not forget us. He will call again, “Adam, where are you? Come to me!” And Adam wil hear that voice and search for the CREATOR, only that on Earth the CREATOR is hiding in the bush while the humans seek Him.
“At first, this generation will seek the CREATOR in things close to people, made on the Sixth Day. They will seek Him in Crawling creatures, Snakes and Dragons, Beasts and Cattle. So magnificent these creatures will be seen in their eyes, so powerful, that Man will be tempted to worship them, thinking that they are his CREATOR. They will worship holy cows and fearful beasts. They will offer sacrifices to these Cattle and Beasts and Snakes. But soon Mankind would discover that these creatures are not as powerful as he had thoughts, and that they are not the CREATOR.
“Still hearing the CREATOR calling “Adam, where are you? Come to me!” Mankind will seek the CREATOR now in things created on the Fifth Day, like Crocodiles, Birds and Fish. So magnificent these creatures will be in Man’s eyes, so powerful that Man will be tempted to worship them. But soon Man will find out that these creatures are not as powerful as he had thought, and that the CREATOR is not hiding in them.

“Stile haring the CREATOR calling ‘Adam, where are you? Come to me!’ Adam will search the CREATOR in things created deeper in CREATION, on the Fourth Day, like the Sun and the Moon and the Celestial Bodies. And these things will seem so fascinating, so powerful that Man will bow to them and worship them instead of his CREATOR. . But soon Adam would discover that these entities are not as powerful as he had thought, and that the CREATOR is not hiding in them.
“Hearing the CREATOR calling ‘Adam, where are you? Come to me!’ Adam will continue seeking the CREATOR in things born on the Third Day, in majestic Trees, high Mountains and vast Ocean. He will be fascinated by these entities and worship them, thinking that they are his CREATOR. But soon he will find out that these entities are not as powerful as he thought and that they are not his CREATOR.
“Still hearing the CREATOR’S voice, Adam will seek Him in the most primordial elements of our Universe, in the ‘Water Above’ and the ‘Water Below’, in the Darkness and Light, in the Chaos and the DEEP. So fascinating, so powerful these entities will be seen in his eyes that Adam would be tempted to think that they are his CREATOR. Yet soon he will find out the truth that the CREATOR is not in these things.
“But then Adam’s journey of IDOALTRY will come to an end. Having exhausted all idols, the generation will face the CREATOR Himself sitting as a JUDGE, as it was at the Beginning. They may face ELoHiM alone without MERCY. Oh, what a tragic ‘end of the time’ judgment this will be!
“But if Man will discover ELoKiM and His BRIDE YHVH before the end of time, chances are that Man will still be able to restore his faith and proceed to the Sabbath.
“Well, this is my humble opinion on Mankind’s future based on the Tree of Life. By the way: Those generations who will keep the Tree of Life with them and never forget it, they will be spared its bad predictions. They will win their trial right away with no difficulties. Let me and my seeds be among them!”
So many years have passed since his sermon, and now I can tell that every word came true. After my Flood humanity forgot all my teaching. I became obsolete. And look what happened!

The Egyptians worship holy Cows and Beasts. The Greeks worship Snakes and Dragons.
The Philistines worship flies.
The Babylonians worship the celestial bodies.
The Canaanites worship high mountains and tall trees. They worship fertility itself.
My dear grandpa, I bow to you. Your predictions came true in full. You are a Seer!

TUBAL CAIN’S FATE

Enosh’s passionate care
Few weeks passed after Tubal Cain’s nearly fatal accident, and Enosh spent most of the days by his bed. From there he summoned the best physicians in our society, who ordered the best medication trying to sustain Tubal’s body and alleviate his excruciating pains. In the evenings he returned home, so that we could study the Tree of Life with more passion than before.
I noticed a change taking place in Enosh. It was as if darkness descended on his soul. Obviously Tubal Cain self sacrifice in my behalf had touched his heart. He had never expected the leader of the “insensitive, cruel Children of ELoHiM gangues” to act like this. And that puzzled him. He also found it hard to spend his time in the “idolater’s camp,” as he called Cain’s compound.
And when I asked his permission to visit Tubal and thank him for saving my life, he frowned and forbade this on me. He did not wish me to ever visit their camp, as if he was afraid of something. I also learned from him that the demise of Tubal Cain inflicted a great blow on the Children of ELoHiM’s coherence. His gangues dispersed and their compound in the wood was almost deserted. If I wished to help Tubal, he said, I should help the physicians to prepare their medications. I followed his advice and I stayed home, helping to cook all sorts of sedatives and pain killer to alleviate Tubal’s misery.
*

Who can deny that what makes us different from all other creatures is our smart mind? As a gift from ELoHiM, it helps us survive. But at the same time, our Wisdom and Science serves as a trap for our IDOLATRY trial. ELoHiM gives and takes, measure for measure. He gave us the precious gift of His Wisdom, but also made it as a base for our most successful idol. .
Do you want to know how ELoKIM introduced His Wisdom into our mind?
Having consulted with YHVH,
And with the Six Days of CREATION,
ELoHiM turned to His Own Wisdom and Science, by which He had created the world. “Would you like me to make an Adam who would rule over you?” He asked.
“I agree, as long as you’d make him like me. Otherwise, how would he be able to rule over me and comprehend my whims?”
ELoKiM agreed and said: “Come, let us make Adam in our Form and our Image.” He then consulted his Wisdom and Science the way a builder consults his blue print, and made Adam accordingly. And ever since then Adam’s mind can unravel all the World’s mysteries.
But at the same time, our Wisdom and Science has served as our most successful IDOLATRY trap. We call it successful, since it produces for us so much wealth and health that we would forever be tempted to worship it, thinking it can solve all our problems.
***
Enosh said, “Think of Wisdom and Science as another pretty lady with which ELoHiM consulted before making Adam. But this one is so attractive, so fascinating, that Adam would always be tempted to adore it instead of the BRIDE, YHVH. The more we advance in knowledge and technology, the more we would forget about our CREATOR! Noah, never fall into this lady’s trap!
I have never forgotten his advice. When I built my Ark, I made it a scientific, floating device according to a proven formula. The height was a third of its length, its width a fifth of its length, and it had a pyramidal shape. It had slanted walls which washed off the rain. Its weight center was underneath the water surface so it never capsized! You see, I used science to save me, but I never worshipped science!

NAAMA
*
A girl that can split
Talking about Wisdom and Science? We had it all in our generations. As I have said, Enosh summoned the best physicians in our society to help Tubal. These were capable physicians who were known to have performed ‘miracles’ by their medications and surgeries. Yet they could not heal Tubal or alleviate his pains. Gradually his condition deteriorated. They drugged him, but even that wasn’t enough. Enosh in his endless compassion spent increasingly more time by his bed. When he came home he informed me that Tubal suffered intolerable pains from his spinal wound and his torn leg. His flesh was decaying, spreading a rotten stench. From time to time his mind drifted, offering him some relief from his agony. Would I be able to see him and thank him for saving my life before he passes away? I begged repeatedly, but Enosh remained adamant. I should not go there by any means, he said. What did he fear so much? I wondered.
Several more weeks passed, and then one day Enosh needed the medications delivered to Tubal at a certain time in the afternoon. He would be by Tubal’s bed with some physicians, so I volunteered to bring the medications to him. This time Enosh somehow succumbed to my pressure and agreed to my proposal. “But don’t go there by yourself,” he warned me, “and be there on time, so Tubal won’t suffer.”
The next morning I prepared the herbal mixture with excitement. At noon I put the medication in a bag and asked some members of our household staff to walk over with me to the Children of ELoHiM’s compound, but when they heard where I was going they refused, giving all sorts of excuses. Finally I had to go by myself.
What a mistake that was! Though I was familiar with the main road leading to their compound, I soon got lost in the woods. I wandered for hours, my heart sank and I felt sick. Lions roared nearby and shadows flew above my head. Were they chimpanzees, or was it the infamous Demon seeking male prey? Would the Demon catch me and eat my heart alive as people had said? Then a ferocious dog barked in distance—was it Cain’s lost dog? Would it attack me?
Oh, CREATOR, how scared I was. Then, miraculously, there I stood in front of the compound’s gate. The giant guards, the so called Nefilim, watched me with apathy and let me in without questioning. My white Shet’s attire did not bother them. I strolled in the compound’s nearly deserted streets, passed by the fortified mentions of their chieftains Aza and Azael, the former pious who had turned corrupt. Their homes seemed deserted too. I saw warehouses still packed with armors: blades, axes, swords and arrowheads—all evidence of Tubal Cain’s craftsmanship. I saw Tubal’s workshop that had produced these weaponry, inflicting so much terror and death over our population. Now, just a few weeks past his fatal wounding, the gang had abandoned everything and dispersed. I also passed by a site full of animal skeletons with Tubal’s arrows still stuck in their bones—grim testimony to the ugly practice of testing their weapon on innocent animals. How could anyone claiming the name of ELoHiM, torture animals and not fear retribution?
Then I asked direction and came in front of Lemech’s house. It was at the outskirt of the compound, close to the wood. Here it was where Tubal had shot the deceased Cain. The house itself was a one story high, quite hidden in the shadows of the trees. You could not estimate its size because of these shadows. Hesitantly, I knocked at the front door, and it opened slowly. A heavy man holding a thick wooden club peeked out. “Who are you? Go away!” he barked with hoarse voice.
“I am Noah, the grandson of Enosh.” Obviously, I would not mention my father Lemech in this place.
“What do you want?”
“Is my grandfather here? I’ve brought those medications for Tubal Cain,” I said, pointing at the large beg on my shoulder.
“Wait here; she is coming,” the man barked and disappeared into the house. Through the barely open door I glimpsed a hall, faintly lit by a few torches hanging from the ceiling. Heavy, dark curtains covered the walls. Fear struck my heart.
Then ‘she’ came to the door. “Is it you, Noah?”
“Naama!” I called back, quite surprised.
I watched those wide, warm eyes and the hidden smile of satisfaction appearing on her lips. “Nice to see you again, come in! Are you by yourself?”
“Oh, that was a mistake. I almost lost my way.”
“So what brought you here?”
“I prepared these medications for your brother, Tubal Cain.”
“It is so kind of you. You are probably exhausted from the way, hungry and thirsty. But I would take you first to Tubal. Your medication will surely help him. Then we’ll have a meal. Please follow me.”
She went ahead to the corner of the hall, and raised a curtain, waiting for me to follow her. As I drew closer she called me from the opposite corner of the room. “Noah, where are you going? Come over here with me.”
I rubbed my eyes. How could I lose her, going to the wrong direction? Well, I thought, it’s been a long, rough day and I was tired. So I turned around and walked towards her, grinning apologetically. She waited patiently and when I came close she called me again, this time from the first side of the room. “Where are you, Noah? I thought you were coming with me!”
I took a deep breath. Oh, CREATOR, here was the Demon playing with me! The infamous Demon which was known to fly in the woods so fast that it occupied two sites at once. But what a Demon! I would gladly spend my whole life with her, or better, with it!
“Oh,” I said, “you are playing with me!”
“Catch me if you can!” She said, smiling. So I left my medication bag on the floor and ran over to her with my hands stretched forwards. She waited and when I came close she disappeared, only to call me again from the other side of the room: “Catch me!”
I laughed and turned around and ran as fast as I could towards her, and when I came very close to her she disappeared again and reappeared on the other side of the room, laughing along with me. So did I run back and forth, trying to catch her with no success. I set on the floor in the middle of the room exhausted, hardly breathing, yet happy. She came in front of me, tall and beautiful, looking at me from above. Naama, I thought, I am yours, completely yours.
Soft flute music surfaced from nowhere. It captured my heart readily. Who was the magic player? A drum started to beat as if from far, as if it was approaching me.
She swirled around slowly, her gaze locked on mine as if to hypnotize me. Oh CREATOR, how beautiful the Demon looked by the moment! Then, in front of my eyes, she split into two identical, dancing halves. I mean exactly what I said—she split into two complete, identical girls, each wearing the same long dress. The girls first stood back to back then departed from each other while dancing with identical steps, like a mirror image of each other. Then, still dancing, they approached me with extended hands in an invitation to join them.
To join them!
I never even thought to resist. Hesitantly I grasped their hands—oh, CREATOR, they felt so…human. Then the three of us began dancing to the music, as I tried to follow their steps. Joy filled my heart, a sweet warm joy I had never felt before. They smiled with appreciation, as if I had just passed a talent test and been found qualified. My legs seemed to lift up from the ground as if I could fly too from one place to another.
“Noah, will you marry me?” the girl on the right said as we danced.
“Noah, will you marry me?” the girl on the left echoed.
“No,” I laughed, “I can’t marry either one of you; since we have the same father, Lemech.”
“We don’t!” they laughed. “So you can marry me!” Each said in unison.
I burst into laughter, still dancing. “It’s forbidden to marry two sisters,” I said. “Are you sisters?”
They laughed. Would you call your ‘split’ a sister?
“What is your name?” I asked the girl to my right.
“Naama,” she bowed her knees majestically.
“And your name?” I asked the girl top my left.
“Naama,” she bowed her knee too.
“Then I can’t distinguish between you!” I complained.
“Why should you? You can marry both of us and no one would know. The three of us can have so much fun together,” The girl on the right said.
“No sister, he’s right, he can’t marry the two of us together, it is forbidden,” the girl on the left said. Still dancing, they swirled around me, as if to measure me.
“Listen, I can’t marry you, period. You know that Sheth and Cain can’t mix well in marriage. They’ve produced unhealthy children,” I said.
“Sister, do you want any children?”
“Yes I do.”
“So he’s mine. I don’t care for having no children.”
They’re already deciding between them my future, as if I had no choice in the matter, I thought. And yet, my heart was still filled with joy.
“Sister, poor Noah seems tired, so let’s take him to his grandfather.”
With the soft music accompanying us, the three of us danced our way into a corridor, then to another corridor till we arrived at a large door. “Here is Tubal’s room,” they said in one voice. And then, before my dazed eyes, the two of them merged into one beautiful girl—the same one I had met at the entrance. She pointed at Tubal’s door politely and vanished up into the ceiling! What a sight! The music too faded away.
Beaming, I opened the door and walked in. A strong stench of rotten flesh, urine and feces hit my nostrils. There lay Tubal Cain on a bed, his face twisted in pain. Enosh sat by his bed, with some other people attending. They all gazed at me for long time.
“Well?” Enosh finally said.
“Well what?” I said.
“Why don’t you introduce yourself,” Enosh said. “This is Noah, my grandson,” he told the others apologetically. Then he turned again to me: “You’re very late. We’ve been waiting for you. Where have you been?”
I tried to collect my thoughts. How could I tell him about the barking dog in the woods, and a beautiful Demon named Naama who splits into two halves and dances around me?
“Why are you grinning? Are you…drunk?” Enosh frowned.
“No grandpa, I…I lost my way.”
“Did you come alone, then? I’ve warned you! And where is the medication bag?”
“Oh, the medication bag,” I said. Indeed, where was it? I tried to remember.
“Noah!” Enosh studied my face.
“I…I left it at the entrance,” I recalled.
“You left the medications at the entrance? Noah!”
“Let me go back and get it.”
“I’ll get it for you,” one of the attendants said.
As he departed, I looked at Tubal, but he ignored me. So I searched the ceiling. Would I see the Demon Naama flying up there?
My grandpa followed my gaze to the ceiling. Then he shook his head as if there would be no remedy for my newly acquired mental illness.

*

Later, at home, I asked my grandpa: “Will Tubal live?”
“I’m afraid he won’t,” he said.
“But he doesn’t deserve to die!”
“Only ELoHiM can judge that. Tubal did awful things in his short life. He is responsible for so much terror and death.”
“But he gave his life for me!”
“This might help to atone for his crimes in ELoHiM’s eyes,” Enosh said.
“So what might save him, grandpa?”
“Only MERCY,” he replied.

***

The Bride does not take over her Groom’s home right away. At first she enters it shy and modest. Then, as their marriage is consummated, SHE appears in the open by His Side, still never alone. Only after having her first baby She would take over His house. She would then become ‘the house.’
This is the way YHVH entered ELoKiM’s world. At first SHE appeared in the text only as shy, modest Acronym.
Then, in Eden, SHE and HER Groom appear Side by Side as YHVH ELoHiM. Like two Cherubs holding Wing against Wing in Heavenly Love, the two Attributes flew over their nest, Eden, where they would form the Adam. They appeared touching each other, the way they would never appear again in any text.
Then, on Earth, when Eve gave birth to her firstborn son, she named him Cain saying: “I have bought a Man with YHVH.” In her words Eve mentioned YHVH by herself, without ELoKiM by her side.. Back in Eden she could not do this, since she had seen there the two Cherubs holding Wing against Wing. But on Earth, having experienced a hard and painful labor, having faced possible Death, our mother Eve could appreciate the first time what MERCY is. Holding her baby in her hands, her blood still being flushed by happiness and compassion, her heart full of good hopes for the future of her child, Eve could appreciate the love that our MOTHER IN HEAVENS YHVH have for us, Her children. This is why Eve could draw YHVH from Eden into our Universe. Because of Eve, YHVH has become the Dweller of Her Grooms’ House.
***
YHVH coming into our world
The huge audience had already filled the Royal Plaza, waiting for my grandpa to come out and speak to them. Hours passed by, the Sun was coming down, yet he set secluded in the Royal Dressing room, with only me by his side. From time to time he watched through the windows the Sun’s position in the sky. From the Plaza came the roar of the huge audience, like gushing sea waves. They clapped their hands, chanted hymns and called his name. “Enosh! Enosh! We want Enosh!”
When the Sun descended to sit on the top of the trees, he arose and said, “It is the time to celebrate Adam creation. Let us go out to the people.”
As we stepped on the podium, the audience went wild. They stood up cheering and shouting his name, jumping and clapping their hands with all their might. Slowly, majestically, he walked to the speaker’s pulpit, me by his side like a little shadow. I could not but be amazed how beautiful he looked on that podium; his tall, slim body towering over the plaza for distance. Blessed by everlasting youth, health and beauty, he readily captured the audience’ heart.
Would I ever be like him? I wondered in my heart.
He did not speak to them right away. Instead, he looked at each person’s face, far and near, nodding his head as if to welcome them. His face radiated love. His smile and bodily posture said: We’ve won. We have made it. We went through a tough year with Flood, vicious attacks on our villages by the Children of ELoHiM, and we’ve made it. His posture said: Let’s pray now for another good year. The audience understood this and watched him with enthusiasm. There stood the father of humanity, the revered grandson of Adam and Eve, the spiritual leader of our generation, so who wouldn’t tremble?
Then his rich voice roared over the Plaza. What a voice! It sounded as several people singing in harmony, a miracle of Nature. He said: “Thousands of years ago, exactly at this moment of the day, Adam and Eve were MADE on Earth. It happened on the Sixth Day afternoon as the Sun came down to sit above the tree line. It is a special; moment, at the transition between the mundane Sixth Day and the coming Holy Sabbath.
“But in fact, Adam and Eve had TWO Birthdays. The first one when they were ‘formed’ in the Garden of Eden, I did not say ‘created’ but ‘formed,’ like virtual angels. This happened, as Adam and Eve told me, when there was not yet seed of life on Earth, no grass and no shrub and no tree and not even rain. When could this happen? Early, on the THIRD Day of CREATION, just after the separation of Dry Land from the Sea. Life was not yet seeded on Earth, so Eden was a virtual place, a sort of ‘bubble’ hovering over Mount Moriah, with a gate open to the Mountain’s top. Another gate is open south of the Mountain, to the site where Adam and Eve are now buried. So I asked my grandfather Adam, why did the CREATOR ‘form’ you up there in Eden? Why not straight here on Earth? And this is what he said: We were formed in Eden as a trial before we would be placed on real Earth. So I asked, why did He place you in Eden prior to Earth? So he said that the Merciful YHVH wished to spare Mankind the harshness of living on Earth. Hence, he said, YHVH ELoKIM offered Mankind to live first in the Garden of Eden, under the protection of the Tree of Life. Had we won our trial in Eden, Adam said, Mankind would have stayed there forever, never exposed to the Angel of Death on Earth. Had we won our trial, Adam said, Eve and me would have proceeded to the Eternal Sabbath from Eden, without ever living on real Earth.”
He paused. The audience breathed too.
“Had Adam and Eve won their trial, they would have been living in Eden till today, and we wouldn’t be here. In fact, in Eden there was no death, but also no birth. None of us would have been here today, not even in Eden. So I am not so sure, to be frank, if losing Eden was such a bad thing. You see, you need to live on Earth and face HARSH JUDGMENT, to appreciate MERCY.
“You need to experience PAINS and GONY, to have a meaning to COMPASSION.
“You need to SIN and feel GUILTY, in order to appreciate FORGIVENESS
“You need to live in a MANDAIN WORLD, to appreciate HOLINESS.
“Hence without living on real Earth, we would have never appreciated the Glory of YHVH. And the purpose of the entire CREATION, my children, is to have a meaning to YHVH features. To do HER work in ELoKiM’s harsh world.
Enosh! Enosh! The crowd shouted.
He continued: “So the first birthday of Adam and Eve took place in Eden, on the THRID Day of CREATION. When they failed their trial on that Day, the Heavenly Court decided to ‘make’ them on real Earth later, on the Sixth Day. Hence the entire story of CREATION, from the THIRD to the SIXTH Days, is to make Adam and Eve on Earth. For that, the CREATOR seeded on the THIRD Day life on Earth, from which Vegetation grew, grass then shrubs then trees. Then, on the Fourth Day, the CREATOR stabilized the Luminaries so that they would be seen regularly on Earth. Then on the Fifth Day, the CREATOR made Fish, Birds and Crocodiles. And then, on the Sixth Day, He made Cattle, Beasts and Crawling creatures. Only then He MADE Adam and Eve on real Earth. They were made on this moment of the Sixth Day, before the Sabbath. Thus Adam and Eve had two birthday, one on the THIRD Day in Eden, then one on the Sixth Day on Earth. AND WE SHOULD CELEBTRATE THEM ALL. E should remember today the circumstances around the First Birthday of Eden, as well as around the Second Birthday on real Earth. And since Eve was the last one to be made on Earth, we can say that all the creatures which preceded her were made for her sake. This is why Adam called her “Eve, the Mother of all life.”
“Enosh! Enosh! WSe women love you!” A group of women cried out and burst forwards through the crowd, pushing their way to reach the podium. They stretched their hands trying to touch his rob, but they were kept away by the rest of the people. Men too joined the women, calling “Our Father! Our Leader! Speak to us! We are all your children, Enosh!”
He nodded with thanks and raised his hands to hush them. Then he said:
“But having failed Eden did not bring the Merciful YHVH give up on us. She did not shy away and return to Her Kingdom, the Eternal Sabbath. She did not leave us in ELoHiM’s harsh hands, as She could. Had She done this, ELoKIM would have terminated the world. She decided in Her MERCY to stay with us. When Eve mentioned Her name alone, She drew YHVH deeper into our world. You see, Eve discovered that only we humans CAN bring YHVH closer and closer to us. We do not need to wait for the Eternal Sabbath to feel Her warmth and holiness. We humans CAN draw Her to us in our lifetime! This is what our mother Eve discovered by her giving birth to Cain. Little did she know that this child of her would become the first murderer, who chased YHVH away! But nevertheless, it is up to us to draw Her into our life. No Saraf, and no Angel could do this. Holy as they are, they can’t perform Her work in ELoHiM’s harsh world. What a merit it is to be a human!
“So today on Adam and Eve birthday, we pledge to dedicate our lives for YHVH’s work, to heal the sick, to feed the poor, to alleviate the suffering and to improve the world according to Her expectations!”
I could not but think about Tubal Cain. I could understand my grandpa’s tremendous dedication to alleviate his pains.
“Now, my children, I have a vision. I know that the Merciful YHVH aspires something more from us. She wishes to come into our world more starkly and dwell physically not only in our hearts, but in the real world, at least the way that ELoHiM dwells in Nature.”
All eyes were fixed on his lips. A true prophet was speaking, who wouldn’t listen?
“I see it. I feel it. I know it. She is coming. She would soon descend INTO our world and dwell in it not only in our hearts, but also in a physical PLACE outside our heart, in ELoHiM’s world, through the gate of Eden on Mount Moriah! Can you imagine this? The Powerful, sweet, shy and modest YHVH coming to dwell among us, here in the physical world, bringing a shower of holiness with her. She wishes us to perceive Her beyond MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS. She wishes us to FEELL Her warmth, joy and happiness, the kind you have never felt, the kind you will encounter only in another world, in the Eternal Sabbath. Imagine, She is bringing with Her Peace and Holiness to our World, into the Sixth Days of CREATION. In my Vision I see that YHVH wishes not to want for the world to enter the Eternal Sabbath. She wishes to come deeper and deeper to our mandarin world and fill it with holiness, and dwell in it right now, right here, as I speak, among you and me. Oh, Merciful YHVH, how I wish to see this happening in my lifetime!”
As he spoke, people young and old, men and women, burst in crying. I saw shoulders trembling, hands lifted up with the utmost devotion, mouths shouting hymns and prayers. And then the crowd lost control over themselves. The podium was besieged, and then flooded by a mass of fawning, screaming, yelling and crying human beings. “Enosh! Adam’s grandson!” they called, fighting with fists to come close to him, to kiss his hands and feet. Some prostrated on the ground, fainted.
“Noah, don’t leave my hand for a moment! Hang on to me!” He whispered to my ears. He grabbed my hands firmly and we paced slowly towards the exit. But this was impossible. The ecstatic crowd blocked our way from all sides. Women, in particular, threw themselves at his feet, caressing his perfect muscular body with their outstretched hands, and wetting his arms with their tears. Most were from our Sheth family, but many more were from the other families of Adam’s children. None, I noticed, were from the Children of ELoHiM.

*

Enosh spent now days and nights by Tubal’s bed, and the family gave him a courtyard to use during his stay. As for me, nothing could hold me back from visiting Tubal again and again. I prepared his daily medications and brought them to him. I never got lost in the woods again. I learned how to walk through the desolate Children of ELoHiM camp and enter Lemech’s house without even knocking. I met the rest of the family too. There was Tubal’s mother Tzilah, who was also Naama’s mother. And there was Lemech’s second wife Adah and her two sons, Yuval the musician , and Yaval the shepherd, as well as other household members. But my heart longed to see the Demon Naama who evaded me. I asked the family where the Demon Naama was, but they laughed and said that there was no Demon in their house. Had I imagined her? She had seemed very real to me. So I strolled through the halls and the meandering corridors of their large house, whispering her name into the curtains and to the ceiling—”Naama, come and dance with me again!” It was all in vain.
As for Tubal, he ignored both Enosh and me. He lay silently in his bed, biting his lips in a pointless effort to lessen the pain inflicted by any movement of his body. He said he wished to die, and refused to take his food or medications anymore. Sadness descended on me that I could not explain. Everything around me seemed bad, as if grabbed by evil.

*
EVIL

“I am tired of your endless debate about whether
Evil is subjective, objective, relative or absolute
Whether it is an adjective or a noun
Whether it stands on its own legs or is
An illusion of our sick minds.

“All I want is to understand how Evil is framed
Within the Story of Creation. All I want is to know
When was Evil born? Who invented it?
How did it enter our soul to exert its
Magic power over our hearts and minds?

“All I want to know is
How not to worship Evil,
How to conquer Evil,
And when, when will Evil end?”
(Enosh, to the Royal Academy)
***
What might chase YHVH away from the world?
What might hold the Sabbath from arriving?
What might deem the world as Very Bad in ELoHiM’s eyes?
What might deem the world Very Bad in YHVH eyes?
Only one thing can do all the above: The Evil in YHVH eyes.

***

As I have said, the daily encounter with Tubal Cain’s suffering took its toll on me. The stench coming out of his wound, his endless agony, the look of despair in his eyes made me think about Evil. Why do people suffer? Why accidents occur? I realized that Tubal had been a bad person, a murderer, but why people behave so badly to each other in the first place?
I walked through the Children of ELoHiM’s now-deserted compound. Why did they corrupt? I saw their deserted warehouses, still full of weapons. Why do people make such dreadful death tools? What is so fascinating about death? I picked up some of these deserted swords. They were so much decorated, studded with jewelry and precious stones. Why do people decorate their death tools? What’s the secret of the glory of evil?
At that time the so-called Enosh Flood came to its peak. The rising Sea level penetrated the Dry Land and affected the Sea of the Galilee. I could no longer sit on our cliff watching the Sea. Fierce waves hit it with so much power that dense fog covered the sea. Why are there so many calamities in Nature? Why does the Earth shake from time to time, killing people and animals alike? Why do volcanoes erupt and cover whole towns with ashes? Why are there parasites which are born to take advantages of their hosts? Why do animals kill each other? Why so stars break and fall down to Earth in a spectacular shower of lights, causing damages?
I saw villages that had been overrun by the water. There is magic in the sight of destruction. You tend to watch for long time the sight of fallen homes, broken fences, scattered corps of animals and sometime people lying around. Why there is so much magic in the sight of Evil? Why do people enjoy watching a life and death struggle? Why did the Children of ELoHiM laughed when they ransacked homes, killing and raping with no shame?
Oh, CREATOR, I had so many questions for you!
“Grandpa, can you tell me about Evil?”
“I am glad you ask. After learning about MERCY, we need to learn about EVIL!”

***

Evil is a perspective in the Merciful YHVH’s eyes. Evil never stands on its own legs. Think of Evil as whatever YHVH hates or opposes. When we are merciless, uncompassionate and unforgiving, we are ‘evil in HER eyes.’ When we are cruel, we are ‘evil in HER eyes.’
Adam acquired the perception of evil, the moment he acquired the perception of MERCY. We therefore stand a choice: to follow MERCY and perform Her work, or follow Evil and do its work. We are attracted to both. We are fascinated by Evil and adore it and even worship it. Evil is our most attractive idol. We’d perform it, or watch it being performed. Our only remedy for Evil is to conscientiously follow the Merciful YHVH and do HER work. We are engaged in a fierce battle of attractions: either to Evil or to YHVH.
*
It is difficult to have YHVH’s perception in our heart, while we live in ELoHiM’s harsh world. The Natural calamities that are harsh but just in ELoHiM’s eyes, may be seen as ‘evil’ in our eyes. The cruelty of animals to each other, the natural catastrophes and the bad accidents are an expression of the absolute justice in ELoHiM’s eyes, yet they are seen evil in our eyes. They are seen as evil to us since we harbor MERCY in our heart. We feel that the Universe could have been built differently, with no sorrow, pains and death in it. We feel that the Universe could have been CORRECTED, IMPROVED AND PERFECTED according to YHVH’s features. The truth is that we can only correct, improve and perfect OURSELVES. Note that other creatures, sophisticated as they may become, would never feel that way. A sophisticated spider or a putative smart serpent, may excel in Wisdom and Science, yet would not feel the clash between ELoHiM and MERCY. For this creature would live under the rule of ‘eat and be eaten,’ without any sense that something should or could be corrected.
*
Take the Serpent in the Garden of Eden for example. It was a virtual creature ‘formed’ in the virtual Garden. It was a sophisticated, cunning creature who could talk and walk, who knew only ELoKIM. It never mentioned YHVH. It was totally bereaved of any perception of MERCY. It was, rather, the creature which could have been made on Earth had ELoKiM continued to create without consulting YHVH. As the Sixth Day arrived, He created Cattle, Beasts, and Crawling creatures. The Serpent would have been created next, aas a sophisticated and intelligent creature. It could have developed organized societies and even sophisticated Science, but it would have NOT perceived YHVH. Had it been created on real Earth, it would have destroyed all other creatures around it!
*
The truth is that in YHVH’s eyes the world is not full of evil but, rather, full of ELoHiM’s absolute justice. Nature cannot be seen as Evil in YHVH eyes, for it complies in full with ELoHiM’s Laws which are just. The animals cannot be deemed Evil in YHVH eyes, even when they exhibit cruelty to each other, for they operate under His Justice. A cat that treats mice with cruelty would soon pay dearly in the same token. Only Man, who possesses a strong self-discretion and perception of YHVH, can be seen as Evil in YHVH’s eyes once he has acted against Her ways.
*
Why then did the Infinite CREATOR, who is above all description and Names, create such a world full of natural; calamities and animal harshness to each other?
The answer is that He did this to introduce Evil in Adam’s heart.
When ELoKIM created Adam, Evil came and prostrated before Him. “Speak out,” ELoHiM said.
“My King,” Evil said, “No one knows me in your world. Would you make me a room in Adam’s heart?”
ELoHiM agreed and said to Evil, ”Let Us Make Adam in Our Form and Our Image.”
“Are you not afraid that by speaking to me in plural the idolaters would err and think they have moore than one CREATOR, and they would worship me?” Evil asked.
“I take the risk, because I want to teach Adam that the Superior would consult the Inferior,” ELoHiM said. He then consulted Evil like a builder who consults his master plan, and made Adam accordingly.
And ever since that consultation Evil has gained an enormous magical status in Adam’s mind and heart, so much that Adam would be forever tempted to adore it, watch it, perform it and even worship it, instead of adoring and worshipping our true CREATOR, YHVH ELoKiM.

*
To introduce Evil into Adam, ELoKiM
• Consulted the First Day, with its Chaos, exploding stars, Darkness and the endless Deep, and made Adam accordingly.
• Consulted the Second Day with its Waters above and Water Bellow, which can Flood and wash away all creatures, and He made Adam accordingly.
• Consulted the Third Day with its poisonous shrubs and trees, and made Adam.
• Consulted the Fourth Day with its Sun that burns, and made Adam.
• Consulted the Fifth Day with its Fish which swallow other Fish, Birds that dive to catch the Fish, Crocodiles which tear flesh apart, and Made Adam accordingly.
• Consulted the Sixth Day with its Cattle which consumes masses of grass, Beasts that prey on the Cattle, Crawling creatures that bites and kills everyone else, and made Adam.
And ever since this extensive series of consultations, Adam can explode, destroy, flood, poison, burn, swallow, dive and kill, tear flesh apart, consume, prey, bite and sting.
But whereas the creatures are considered ‘good,‘ the Adam who emulates them despite his free will, is considered ‘evil in YHVH eyes.’

*
“Do you know why ELoHiM made—
Lightning that incites awesome fire,
Waters that sweeps everything away,
Earth that trembles and destroys its inhabitants,
Vegetables that poison and Sun that burns,
Stars which explode and Fish that swallow other fish,
Crocodiles that tear flesh to pieces,
Birds that dive and steal young litters away,
Cats that torture their victimized mice,
Beasts that roar and spread terror,
Snakes that bite treacherously, and
Insects and Ants that fight each other to the death?

ELoHiM made then out there, in Nature,
So that it would end up right here, inside you and me,
So that we too can—
Burn,
Flood and sweep things away,
Destroy,
Poison,
Explode
Swallow
Tear flesh
Steal
Torture
Prey
Bite
Wage war
And be Cruel to each other.

But there is a difference:
While in Nature these features are ‘good,’ in ELoKIM’s eyes,
Because they comply with His wishes,
Inside us they become ugly, despicable evil that YHVH hates. ”
(A sermon by Enosh)

*

Note that good in YHVH’S eyes is different from good in ELoHiM’S eyes. And evil in YHVH’s eyes is different from a sinner in ELoHiM’s eyes.
ELoHiM the JUDGE wishes us to comply by His Laws. For that he placed in us the perception of RIGHT from WRONG.
YHVH the Merciful wishes us to feel Her and do HER work. For that we perceive and distinguish GOOD from EVIL.
ELoHiM judges us by the weight of our deeds on His scale, our merits against our sins. When the scale tilts towards our sins we are WICKED. When it tilts towards our merits we are RIGHTOEUS.
YHVH assesses us too. SHE either would LOVE us when we do Her work, or would HATE us when we are Evil in Her eyes!
*
In Eden, the CREATOR wished to spare Adam from knowing evil. Hence Adam and Eve were formed there under the Tree of Life, not knowing Good and Evil. They knew, however, RIGHT from WRONG. They could stand the trial of the forbidden fruit since they had a Free Will. But in Eden their perception of MERCY was theoretical, limited, not practical. Indeed, how could they be aware of MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENSS in a world bereaved of any calamity, sorrow and death?
But the CREATOR showed them the “Tree of Knowledge Good and Evil.” Whoever eats from it would die, be driven out to Earth and pace the Angel of Death. On Earth Adam and Eve would indeed acquire the full, practical knowledge of GOOD and EVIL, along with the full perception of YHVH.
Only on earth, when Eve faced possible death in her labor, she perceived YHVH the first time alone, in full Glory. Cain, she hoped, would be the one who would eradicate Evil and “buy man with YHVH,” which is the very meaning of the name Cain. How little she knew that her beloved Cain would be the first to do evil, by murdering his brother!
*

To have a meaning for our trial, ELoHiM gave Adam and Eve the six most primordial Laws: IDOLATRY, ADULTERY, BLOODSHED, THEFT, INJUSTICE and BLASPHEMY. Adam could transgress in Eden only IDOLATRY by not listening to the CREATOR, and transgress ADULTERY when Eve was born. She could violate it by cohabiting with the smart SERPENT which was a smart humanoid beast which did not know YHVH. The rest of the Six Commandments could be violated only on earth. hence they were potential.
YHVH on the other hands gave Adam a heart that can feel MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENSS. But all these features were potential. They could be felt in Adam’s heart only later on Earth.
*
*

*
“Grandpa, did you say that the Serpent of Eden did not know YHVH?”
“It was a ‘smart beast of the field.’ A beast can’t be aware of YHVH. This is why when it spoke to Eve it mentioned ELoHiM, but it did not mention YHVH.”
“What happened to it? Did it follow Adam and Eve to Earth?”
“I don’t’ think so. It was a virtual creature.”
“Could it join the Children of ELoHiM, who also deny YHVH?”
“The Children of ELoHiM are worst than the Serpent. As humans, they have the knowledge and the feeling of the Merciful YHVH. They should have known better.”
“Grandpa, did the Serpent have a female counterpart?”
“They say it had Lilith. She enticed Adam, the way the Serpent enticed Eve. But this is but a myth, Noah.”
“Was she a Demon?”
“I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
“Could she have joined Adam and Eve to Earth?”
“Who knows?”
“Could she still be living today among the Children of ELoHiM?”
“Don’t be silly. I’ve told you, that the only Demons I know are humans who perform evil!”
I wanted to ask him whether the Demon Lilith could split into two beautiful dancing girls, but I kept my mouth shut.
***

Enosh also said: During the Six Days, there was no Evil around. ELoHiM deemed everything ‘good’ because everything complied with His Command. Had any item dare to disobey ELoHiM’S command, it would’ve been eliminated in a flick of an eye. ‘Bad in ELoHiM’s eyes’ existed only in potential.
But when YHVH came into this world, Her presence changed everything.
In ELoHiM’s eyes, the nature’s calamities, the animals which eat and then are eaten, the acting by the rule of measure for measure is painful, yet just. In YHVH’s perspective, the world could have been created differently, without pains and without death. But in YHVH eyes, ELoHiM’s world is not ‘evil’ since it performs ELoHiM’s justice with no self discretion. Only Adam, who is blessed with a strong sense of self-discretion, can be deemed VERY BAD or EVIL in YHVH eyes. When Adam is merciless, uncompassionate and unforgiving, he is evil in YHVH’s eyes. SHE would hate him.
Noah, he said, it is difficult for Adam to live in ELoHiM’s world yet see it from the perspectives of YHVH that dwells in our heart. We feel that the world should be CORRECTED, IMPROVED AND PERFECTED. The truth is that we can only correct, improve and perfect OURSELVES!

Righteous & Sinner, Good & Evil

What is good in YHVH’S eyes is different from what is good in ELoHiM’S eyes.
ELoHiM demands from us to comply with His Laws. He wants us to respect our father and mother, and to refrain from IDOLATRY, ADULTERY, BLOODSHED, THEFT, INJUSTICE and BLASPHEMY, the Six Commandments he gave to Adam in Eden.
ELoHiM judges us merely by our deeds, rather than by our character. He weights our actions on His Scale, the ‘good’ ones against our sins. If our scale tilts towards the good deeds, we are Righteous in ELoHiM’S eyes. If the scale tilts towards our sins, we are, well, Sinner in His eyes. He neither ‘hates’ us nor ‘loves’ us. We are not ‘evil’ in His eyes, only sinners. And He pays us ‘favor for favor’ and ‘pain for pain.’ Blame only yourself, if you have broken His Laws.
YHVH is different. You are ‘good’ in Her eyes if you are Merciful, Compassionate, and Forgiving beyond the requirement of the Law. You are ‘Evil’ in YHVH’S eyes if you are cruel, deceitful, treacherous, merciless, unforgiving and uncompassionate.
YHVH relates to us emotionally. She either ‘hates’ or ‘loves’ us. She ‘observes’ and evaluates our character, thoughts and inclinations, as much as our deeds.
As the verse says of me—
“Noah found face in the eyes of JHVH.”
The advent of YHVH in our world may sweeten our final verdict. She is our defense in the Heavenly Court. But Her advent may sometimes INCREASE our liability, like when we are evil. A cruel murderer would face both ELoHiM’s wrath and YHVH’s vengeance. Such a cruel perpetrator would face TWO SWARDS seeking his demise.

*

Was Tubal evil? He had killed so many innocent souls, yet he gave his life for me. In my eyes, he wasn’t evil. Yet who could tell how he looked in YHVH eyes? To my sorrow, I watch him deteriorating fast. His spirit eroded and he sank into deep depression. No one of his old friends visited him. I, in contrast, spent increasingly more time by his bed, sometimes replacing my grandpa who had to leave for his functions. One day I was alone in Tubal’s room, and I could watch him extensively. How powerful his body must have been to stay alive despite his misery! We did not talk ever since the accident. He kept his eyes away from me, as if I did not exist. Was he accusing me in his heart for the accident? I could not tell. After sitting by his bed for long time I stepped out of his room to breathe fresh air. I walked aimlessly through the dark corridors, and then I found a corner to hide. I set there starring at the empty walls, wishing I could cry, but I did not. Then, so unexpectedly, Naama appeared before me. She stood under a faint light from the torches that illuminated her pretty face. She did not smile, nor did she play with me as before. This time she gazed into my eyes, as if studying me, absorbing my feelings.
Then I saw tears, giant, pearl- like tears emerge from her pretty eyes, dampening her cheeks. Was she imitating me? Was this her new game?
Then she split into those two identical girls. Side by side and ever so slowly they departed from each other and began dancing gracefully, elegantly—mirror images in motion. I heard that sweet music, the drumbeat and the flute, coming from nowhere. As they dances I could see and feel their talking to me through their entrancing movements, their bewitching body language—
There is a young, talented and promising scientist, the dance whispered, his spine injured by a falling beam.
He is confined to his bed in horrible misery.
He is dying. He wishes to die, he cannot live any longer…he is seeking help…your help, Noah.
Only you, Noah, can help him…
Only you, no one else, can help him…
Come now, please, with us…
The music faded and the girls lead me back to Tubal’s room. They opened his door and waited for me to enter. Then they smiled, stood back-to-back, and merged into one. Then the Demon Naama disappeared in the thin air. I then entered the room and found it empty beside Tubal himself in his bed. The attendants were gone. The ‘girls’ knew it and wished me to come and talk to him PRIVATELY.

***
When a child misbehaves, his parents ache. If the child misbehaves badly, his mother may be saddened. If the child annoys her, she might even regret bringing him to life. A rebellious son may even break the unity of his parents, so they may depart or divorce each other. When that happens, the child is left with one parent. How bad the child must be if his former loving mother had to escape from him, leaving him at the hand of his disappointed father.
This is the way we should think about YHVH ELoHiM and us. If we misbehave, both Attributes would ache. If we misbehave badly, YHVH would be saddened and even regret making us. If we misbehave even more, so that we are deemed evil in YHVH eyes, YHVH would depart from ELoHIM, and return to Her Kingdom, the Eternal Sabbath, leaving us forever in this world under the harsh scrutiny of ELoHIM.

***

Hesitantly I sat beside him but as usual, he ignored me. He needed my help, the Demon Naama had said. So I cleared my throat, “Hello,” I said softly.
Still looking away, he nodded acknowledgement.
“Tubal, I wish to thank you for what you did for me. You didn’t have to push me away from that falling beam, risking yourself…”
Slowly he turned his face to me. “What did you say?” His face twisted in pains as he spoke.
“You did not have to risk yourself for me,” I repeated.
“My father meant to kill me, not you,” he said.
“It was my fault. I shouldn’t mention my father’s name, Lemech, to him. It confused him.”
A long silence descended on us.
“Can I do something for you?” I asked, “I would do anything for you.”
“Anything?” He raised his head from the pillow and starred at me. “Did you say anything?”
“Yes, anything.”
“Raise your hand,” he said, “and say: I, Noah the son of Lemech, hereby swear in the name of ELoHiM to do anything that Tubal Cain asks me to do.”
Here he was—the infamous gang leader. I raised my right hand and made the pledge sincerely, word by word, just as he asked. Then he relaxed on his pillow, his eyes sparkling with relief.
“Now listen,” he said clearly, yet each word an effort. “Go to my personal shop…I’ll tell you where… and get me a dagger…the sharpest one you can find…and don’t tell anyone.”
“Why do you need a dagger?”
“Just bring it to me. I’ll tell you exactly where to find it. You owe it to me. You gave me your pledge.”
“But why a dagger?” I repeated, though I knew exactly what he was thinking and wanted no part of it.
“Will you get it for me?” he begged. “You promised!”
“ELoHiM forbids suicide,” I said. “It’s part of the BLOODSHED prohibition.”
“Don’t worry about ELoHiM,” Tubal answered. “He’ll be more than happy to see me die. I deserve it, Noah. I’ve done horrible things—things you can’t even imagine. Just do as I ask. ELoHiM will bless you for it.”
“I can’t,” I said. “YHVH too hates killing.”
His eyes pierced mine. “Don’t play games with me. You come from Shet, who call in YHVH’S name. YHVH hates evildoers, and I’m the worst among them. YHVH and ELoHiM will both be happy to see me gone,” he said bitterly. “Don’t hesitate. Bring me my dagger, I beg you…”
“You’ve given your life for me. You’re not evil, Tubal. YHVH can’t hate you.”
“Then go away.” he turned aside.
I hesitated. “Go away,” he whispered.
I backed away slowly, as if leaving a holy site, and left the room. I can’t tell how, but the moment I exited his attendants came back. Where they part of a plot?

*
In Eden, Adam and Eve received Six Commandments, out of which they could violate only two: IDOLATRY and ADULTERY. How would they violate BLOODSHED in Eden, where they all lived under the protection of the Tree of Life? How would they violate THEFT in Eden, where there was no private property? How could they violate THEFT in Eden, where there was no society? And how would they violate BLASPHEMY in Eden, where they lived so close to the CREATOR?
Only on Earth, with the advent of the Angel of Death, they could commit BLOODSHED. Only on Earth, where they could acquire things, THEFT became possible. Only on Earth, where they develop society, INJUSTICE became an issue.
But in Eden, they could violate IDOLATRY and adultery, which they did. Then on earth, they stumbled upon BLOODSHED when Cain killed Abel. Next, humanity failed with THEFT. Look at Tubal Cain’s gangues! They rape, kill, rob, steal, abduct and commit THEFT under the watching Sun with no shame. The passion of our generation, however, still lies in committing BLOODSHED and THEFT.
Who can tell what the future will bring? Most likely humanity will stumble over the next Commandment, namely INJUSTICE. Then a generation will come and be fascinated with BLESPAHMY. And then, having completed and failed our trial, humanity may lose Earth the way we have lost Eden. We would be driven out from Earth to live on a lower world. That is unless Heavens pardons us and give us a new start here on Earth.

***

Should I succumb to Tubal’s wish? Didn’t I pledge to help him? How could I ignore the plea of the person who had saved my life? So I went out to look for his workshop. People helped me to find it. When I entered the workshop I stood in awe, looking at the pile of shiny armors. This was the place where Tubal had found his strong metal, from which he fabricated his strong weapons. This was the place where he made the Children of ELoHiM so militarily powerful. I searched through the stacks of weapons and finally found an exquisitely sharp knife hidden in a drawer. It was a masterpiece, a meticulous metal death tool, bearing Tubal’s personal emblem. This might well have been the dagger he was thinking about.
What should I do? I stuck it into the hard, stony ground, wishing to bury it. To my surprise, it penetrated the rock easily, without bending. I pulled it forwards effortlessly through the dirt, making a long trench. An idea flashed in my mind: I could use it to make a metal plough—a strong metal plough, the first of its kind.
Had not my parents given me the name Noah, which means “the comfortable one”? Wasn’t it my destiny to improve the lot of the farmers?
I could take Tubal’s death tool—an Evil in YHVH’S eyes—and convert it into a tool of life. I would overcome evil by using the tool of Evil. Oh, my grandpa would surely be proud of me!

*

I entered Tubal’s room, the dagger hidden in my robe. He was pleased to see me and when we were alone he said, “You’ve found the dagger, haven’t you? I see it in your eyes.”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
I showed it to him. He smiled widely. “This is one of my best daggers. Give it to me!”
“No,” I said. “If I do that, I would be assisting suicide, which is forbidden by ELoHiM.”
“You invent all sort of prohibitions,” he said. “The Children of ELoHiM do not teach that. Come on, give it to me!”
“I can’t.”
“So why did you bring it?”
“To ask your permission to use it. I want to make it into a metal plough,” I said.
His face went blank as he struggled to wrap his mind around what I had just said. Slowly he smiled. “You’re a genius, Noah. A metal plough—what an idea!”
“It’ll make the farmer’s life much easier,” I said. “I’ll tell everyone that it was your tool, your art, your invention. It’ll bring forth great happiness in your name.
“Give it to me and then you can do as you wish.”
I slid it back inside my robe.
“Go away,” he said. “Do whatever you want with it.”
I left. This dagger will one day atone for your sins, Tubal Cain, I told myself.

***
“There is an inherent logic in the Six Commandments.
It starts with IDOLATRY. For if you don’t accept the CREATOR,
Who and what would stop you from violating the rest?

For if you do not fear your CREATOR,
Who would stop you from lusting your best friend’s wife
Thereby committing ADULTERY?

And if you’ve committed ADULTERY,
Who would stop you from killing her husband?
Or who would stop him from killing you, in terrible BLOODSHED?

And once you’ve gotten rid of her husband,
Who would stop you from stealing his property,
Thereby committing terrible THEFT?

And once you’ve committed THEFT,
Who and what would stop you from hiding your crimes,
Thereby committing INJUSTICE?

And once you’ve sledded along the path stated above
You’ll curse your mother and father for bringing you to the world,
You’ll curse the CREATOR for breathing in you His life,
Thereby committing the worst: BLESPHAMY!”
(Enosh, speaking to newly married couples)

***
Enosh and I were in our room at Tubal’s house, when Tubal’s half-blind father Lemech rushed in followed closely by Tubal’s mother, Tzilah. Sure enough the clumsy Lemech stumbled over a nearby cabinet knocking it down with a loud clatter. Then Lemech fell on the cabinet only to be helped up by his wife.
“Where’s Enosh?” he demanded. Tzilah guided him to us.
“Enosh, are we alone?” Lemech asked in his harsh voice.
My grandpa answered, “Only my grandson Noah is here by my chair.”
Lemech said: “What I’m about to say, Enosh, should remain strictly confidential.”
“Speak out, Lemech.”
“Enosh, you and I are important people, each leading a clan,” Lemech said. “You lead Shethand I lead Cain.”
What a comparison, I giggled behind my hand.
“The only difference between us,” Lemech continued, “is that you have been blessed with many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren for eight generations. Your seed fill the Earth, whereas I have begotten only three sons and two daughters.”
“Each of your children is very special and talented,” Enosh said.
“Master Enosh,” Tzilah stepped forwards, “your wisdom is known all over the world. My husband and I wouldn’t do anything without first conferring with you.”
“Like what?” Enosh asked.
Ignoring his wife’s words, Lemech continued: “I have few children, but the blame for this falls on my two wives’. They have rebelled against me since my marriage and thrown me out of my bed.”
Enosh coughed lightly. I could barely hide my laughter behind my hands.
“So I came to talk to you—man to man, as equals,” Lemech continued. “Only a man like you can understand and give me the right advice.”
“Master Enosh,” Tzilah pleaded, “please help us, we would not do anything without your consent.”
“What’s bothering you, Lemech?” Enosh said.
“The Curse, Enosh, the Curse bothers me. Oh Enosh, the hand of ELoHiM is after me, I can feel it. His absolute justice suffocates me at night and makes me sweat with terror in the daytime. If Cain was punished sevenfold for slaying Abel, Cain’s killer will be punished seventy-seven fold! And who is this Cain killer? It’s me, Enosh—me. I’m the cursed one who will be punished seventy-seven fold. ELoHiM will decimate my whole family. I see it happening already—right now even as we speak. My poor son is dying and in such terrible pain…but that’s only the beginning. Who knows which of my children will suffer next? My entire family is about to disappear from the face of the earth without a trace, Enosh. And that is what I’ve come to talk about. I call on ELoHiM for justice, Enosh.”
“Call on ELoHiM for justice?” Enosh repeated slowly.
“Master Enosh,” Tzilah interrupted, forcing her way in front of her husband, who tried to hold her back.
Enosh turned to her. “What is on your mind, Tzilah?”
Escaping from her husband’s grip she said: “Master Enosh, you have such a compassionate heart and I know you seek only the best for my son…”
“I care great deal about him,” Enosh said emphatically.
“You wouldn’t let him suffer too long…” she searched his eyes.
“Shut your mouth a minute,” Lemech interrupted he and stepped forwards in front of her. “Look, Enosh, I call on ELoHiM for justice.”
“What is your claim?” Enosh said.
“Since when did I kill a man knowingly? Did I shoot Cain on purpose? Why accuse me of killing him? And my poor son—did I knowingly inflict his mortal wound?”
As it says—
“And Lemech said…Since when did I kill a man? And (since when did I) wound a boy to my punishment?” (Gen. 4:23)
“Calm down, Lemech,” Enosh said, “ELoHiM knows who is right and who is wrong. He is kind and fair. He’ll treat your family justly. He won’t punish your family if you don’t deserve it.”
Lemech looked down to the floor and his voice broke as he spoke:
“That is precisely what I’m worried about, Enosh. Let’s keep this between us. If ELoHiM were to treat me fairly and justly, my family should certainly be lost.”
My grandfather was deeply moved. As crooked as this man was, as murderous and corrupt as he was, he still had the courage and humility to do the unthinkable for his family—he confessed his sins before my grandpa.
“If you have repented sincerely, Lemech, the curse will not affect your family at all,” Enosh said warmly. “Don’t worry about ELoHiM’S verdict. Just follow YHVH and do her work, and you and your family will be saved from ELoHiM’S wrath. YHVH will forgive you and save you, and tear your verdict to pieces…”
“YHVH will tear ELoHiM’S verdict to pieces?” Lemech repeated in disbelief. For him, as the Children of ELoHiM’S leader, the All Mighty JUDGE was the ultimate power.
“Yes, Lemech. Listen to me and spread my word to your entire family. Whoever prays to YHVH and walks her way shall not be touched by ELoHiM’S verdict.” As the verse says about my grandpa—
“And he named him Enosh, It was then that they began
Calling in the name of JHVH.” (Gen. 4:26)
“Master Enosh,”Tzilah said, pushing her husband aside, “that’s not why I came to see you. I don’t care about our family’s future. I care about my boy.”
“Go on, mother,” Enosh said warmly.
“My heart bleeds when I see my poor child suffering so much without hope of recovery,” she said.
“Yes, mother,” Enosh said. He inclined towards her, encouraging her to speak.
Weeping profusely, she fell to the ground before my grandpa embracing his legs and kissing them. She trembled, shook all over.
“Master Enosh,” Tzilah cried, “the soul of our nation, the living grandson of Adam and Eve, I beg you, let my son die in peace. I could’ve done that by my own hands, I could’ve given him a poison, but I’m afraid to hurt his soul in the world to come. I wouldn’t do anything without your blessing.”
My grandpa bent over her. He placed his hands over her head as if he was going to touch her, but I knew he wouldn’t intentionally touch a married woman.
“What can I do for you, my child?” he asked.
“In the name of MERCY, let him die,” she cried out.
She has just used the magic word, MERCY, I thought. Nothing would move my grandpa’s heart as invoking the All-Merciful YHVH.
“Mother, I hear you. Does your family support your plea?” he asked.
Lemech said: “I support it. That son of a bitch deserves dying. He caused me to murder Cain.”
“I have just told you to follow MERCY and learn to forgive,” Enosh said.
“Forgive that bastard?” Lemech said, “I should have smashed his head right away. Go ahead. Give him a dagger or a poison and let him kill himself. I won’t be sorry.”
Ignoring him, Tzilah said, “Our entire family— including my husband’s second wife Adah and her children Yaval and Yuval— they all support my plea.”
“I’ve heard you have a daughter,” Enosh said.
“Yes, her name is Naama,” Tzilah said.
“Does she agree?” Enosh asked.
Tzilah looked around helplessly, then said: “Naama is a teenager with an attitude, you know.”
“We need her consent too,” Enosh said.
Lemech shrugged, “Naama is there!” He pointed at the ceiling and walls.
“I don’t understand,” Enosh said, “she is there? Where?”
She is a Demon, I laughed in my heart. But I did not say a word.
“She’ll be all right, I promise you,” Tzilah said, “I’ll talk to her…and one more thing…”
“Yes?” Enosh said.
Tzilah looked at me: “Master Enosh, your blessing is everything that I’ve ever cared for. But my son Tubal, in his mental distress and agony also requested Noah’s blessing. After all, my son Tubal saved Noah’s life and he’s entitled to have that small request granted.”
“So what is the problem?” Enosh looked at me.
“Noah has refused. He even refused to hand Tubal his own dagger.”
All eyes turned to me.
“I did not know that Tubal had communicated with you. Why didn’t you tell me about it? Did he give you a dagger?”
“Grandpa,” I said, trying to circumvent his question, “doesn’t ELoHiM forbid suicide?”
“Yes, of course,” Enosh said. “But…”
“That’s why I didn’t give him his dagger,” I said.
“You did the right thing. But…we should act in MERCY.”
“What does it mean?”
“Well, we should consider render him his wish,” he said.
“But Grandpa,” I weighted every word, “doesn’t YHVH forbid killing as much as ELoHiM? How can we terminate Tubal’s life in the name of YHVH?”
“Noah,” Enosh said calmly, “this is different from a regular killing. We are dealing with a sick man in terrible pain with no hope for recovery. Why prolong his agony? Why not act in Mercy, in YHVH’S name, to alleviate his misery?”
“Despite ELoHiM’S prohibition against BLOODSHED?” I dared to confront him.
A fire flared in Enosh’s eyes. “Who is greater, Noah, ELoHiM or YHVH?”
I was stunned. I’d heard that question before, but I hadn’t associated it with practical applications—certainly not questions of life and death.
“But how can we intentionally take Tubal’s life, when YHVH herself hates murder?” I insisted.
“This would not be a murder, Noah. We would act in MERCY!” Turning to Tzilah he said, “Let Noah and I straighten out our differences between ourselves. Then we’ll give you our blessing.”
“It wouldn’t take too long…”Tzilah said.
“Not at all. Meanwhile, let Noah register the family’s consent, you know, to comply with formality.”
“Register all of us?” Tzilah said.
“Yes, even the opinion of those who are missing today. Like your daughter Naama…”
“I’l take care of her,” Tzila interrupted, “and she might also change Noah’s opinion.”
“Enough of all this talking! I want revenge! I want my son to die for what he did to me,” Lemech shouted loudly as his wife pushed him out of our room.

*

Who is greater, JHVH or ELoHiM?

“In the Infinite,
A Part equals the Whole,
Small is as great as Large,
Many equal ONE,
Paradoxes resolve effortlessly.

In Infinity, unbelievably,
One Infinite might supercede another,
Plurality might coexist with ONENESS,
Disagreement heralds Unity.
Why not?”
(Enosh, at the Royal Academy)

*

Who is greater, YHVH or ELoHiM?
When I was ten years old my grandpa and I sat on our cliff overlooking the Sea of the Galilee, watching the sunrise. And what a beautiful sunrise it was! A perfectly round, red ball ascended from the Sea as if from a morning bath. A dense fog hovered over the waters, pierced by Sunrays that danced across the water in a dazzling display.
“Look how impressive the Sun is,” Enosh said, “whom does the Sun wish to attract, to entice into worshipping her?”
Worshipping the Sun? I found the notion ridiculous.
“Grandpa, we should worship only our ONE CREATOR,” I laughed.
He sank into his thoughts. “Noah, look how perfectly round the Sun is, without any blemish! Now tell me, could you see that beauty without the fog?”
“No, grandpa.” Indeed, without the fog, the Sun would certainly have burned my eyes.
Enosh said, “Think of it. We need fog to see the Sun clearly! How paradoxical it is that our limited minds need fog to see the truth…”
I buried my face in the warmth of his giant body. Where was he leading me this time?
Enosh said, “The Sun raises the fog on purpose, to allow us to contemplate her beauty. The CREATOR does the same thing.”
“What do you mean, grandpa?”
“Consider ELoHiM,” Enosh said. “We need ELoHiM to appreciate the full glory of YHVH, like a fog that outlines the Sun. Think about YHVH as the Sun, and about ELoHiM as our shield. ELoHiM stops us from burning our eyes…”
As it says—
“Like the Sun and as a Shield
Is JHVH ELoHiM,” (Psalms)
From that conversation I derived that YHVH is ‘greater’ and ‘brighter’ than ELoHiM. But at that time, the whole discussion seemed theoretical.
Now, at Tubal’s deathbed, the truth of YHVH’S dominance became paramount. If Her Light is greater than ELoHiM, Mercy should override any other moral objection to terminate his life.
Hence Tzilah’s request had a legitimate basis. Tubal was suffering and he was doomed. For the sake of Mercy—for the sake of YHVH’S light—why not help him to die quickly and in peace?
Yes, normally YHVH hates murderers. But in Tubal’s case, we were not dealing with murder. My grandpa seemed so right. I should then give Tubal his dagger. And yet, why did my heart refused to do so?
***

It is childish to think that the CREATOR’s Attributes as residing above the Sky.
Think about the relationship between the Heavenly Attributes as Spheres inside Spheres; the inner ones as ‘condensations’ of the outer ones.
The outer sphere stands for the Infinite, nameless CREATOR that has no name and is beyond our conception.
Inner to Him is the sphere of YHVH,
Inner to Her is the sphere of ELoHiM,
Inner to Him is the sphere of our Universe.

Hence you may address the CREATOR in prayer by addressing a leaf, thinking about ELoHiM inside it, and about YHVH deeper than anything else. .
***

“Grandpa, don’t you think that this teaching can lead to IDOLATRY? People who see you praying to the leaf may misunderstand your philosophy and worship the leaf!”
This was the second time I challenged his authority within a week. The first time when Tzilah presented her petition, the second time when he taught me about praying to the leaf. To his credit I should say that he swallowed my rebellion in a dignified way. In fact he looked at me with appreciation, yet he remained quiet.

***
(6/17/12) He consulted with Evil/The Miraculous Wedding Dress

After Tzilah’s request from Enosh, I found myself at the center of the family’s attention. Not only was I supposed to register the opinion of the entire family, but also expected to be the one who would give Tubal his dagger, according to his wish. I hated and rejected my new responsibility, especially since I knew I would never fulfil his wish. One by one the family members voiced to me their consent, besides Naama. A whole week passed by and she did not show up. Would Tzilah tell her to meet me?
Then one day the two Naamas appeared before me at the hall just outside Tubal’s room.
“Hello, Noah,” one Naama said from the side of the hall.
“Hello, Noah,” the other Naama said from the opposite side of the hall.
The two identical halves seemed to float towards me, mirror images. My heart filled with delight. They wore the same, beautiful, airy dress that sparkled with infinite stars.
“Hello,” I said.
“My mother has asked me to see you,” each one said at the same time.
“I remember that,” I said.
“And when a mother asks her daughter to see a young man, of righteous upbringing,” they giggled, “she has only one thing on her mind. She wants me to marry you.”
“Ah!” I said, remembering Tubal’s dagger. Tzilah had something else on her mind than marrying her demonic daughter.
“And I told her,” each continued in one voice, “that you wouldn’t marry two sisters. So she said, ‘Let him choose.’”
“How nice of her,” I said.
“And I told her,” each continued, “that Shethand Cain families have never mixed well, that their children have always attempted to destroy the world. So she gave me this wedding dress and said, Naama, let the dress decide if you and Noah are an eligible couple.”
“Let the dress decide?” I repeated.
The two swirled around each other, a thousand sparks showering from their dresses in a dizzying cascade.
“Do you know who made this wedding dress?” each Naama said. “YHVH ELoHiM made it in Eden for Adam and his wife Eve.”
As it says—
“And JHVH ELoHiM made Adam and his wife dresses of light (skin) and He dressed them,” (Gen. 3:21)
“These dresses make you smart. They helped Adam and Eve give the right names to all creatures,” the two said. “But the dresses only work their magic for an eligible Man and Wife, like Adam and Eve. So my mother said: Take this dress and test it on you and Noah.”
“Where did you get these dresses?” I wondered.
“Our Forefather Cain inherited them from Adam and Eve. When he was slain by Tubal, the dresses became my mother’s Tzilah property,” each said.
“And how would you test it on me?” I asked.
“Let you and me walk along the aisle,” each said. As they spoke, lit torches mysteriously appeared on the floor, marking an aisle. The Naamas stood beside me.
“Let’s pretend that Enosh is sitting there at the end, ready to bless our marriage. The dress will tell us who’s destined to be your wife.”
“Interesting,” I said.
“Sister, you go first,” one said. “You don’t wish to have children, anyhow.”
The ‘sister’ took my hand and held it up as couples did back then when walking down the marriage aisle. From her hand wafted the scent of heavenly perfume that pleased me beyond words.
“Let’s go now,” said this split of Naama.
There was no music, but I felt no need for it. Walking along that magic isle with this pretty girl wearing that starry dress was an experience by itself. My heart filled with joy. We looked like a perfect couple indeed. When we came to the end of the isle I wondered out loud, “So, has the dress magic worked?”
“It did not,” Naama said, “and I am not eligible to be your wife. So I shall be content to be your lover, the one you’ll really love…”
We returned to the head of the aisle. “It’s your turn, sister.”
But the second Naama said: “I don’t wish to go. I want to have good children.”
“Mother told you to go,” the first one reminded her.
The second Naama nodded and took her place beside me. She gave me her hand, and oh, how it stank of animal dung! I almost vomited. She smelled like a Demon!
“Go now,” the first one said.
We headed down the aisle. Overwhelmed by the stench from her hand I turned away but I could feel her drag her legs along with increasing reluctance. She doesn’t want to be here anymore than I do, I thought. And then, Oh CREATOR, a motion caught my attention. I noticed her dress moving up and down along my body, as if it had a life of its own, as if it was testing me. And then it wrapped the two of us and lifted us up.
WOW!
What is this? Where are we?
The two of us flew now in a dark space amid thousands of stars, until we came to a round, large ball swathed in a delicate, bluish aura—and I knew, it was Planet Earth. The dress took us through the bluish sky into cotton wool clouds. Hand-in-hand, Naama and I flew above flocks of birds and vast plains covered with grazing, roaming herds of zebras, elephants, deer, horses, and more. We saw lion prides, wolf packs and a host of other predators.
Not only did I know their right names, I could communicate with them—just as Adam and Eve had in Eden. So this was the dress’ magic!
Then like the two cherubs flying over Creation on the Sixth Day, we flew over deep canyons and high mountains, hot deserts and stormy oceans. “Noah, look there! Naama, look there!” We called to each other through the wind. Then we saw young litters of animals being fed by their mothers, and Naama let go off me and covered her face, as if to avoid seeing.
“Enough,” she cried.
Thud!
We fell suddenly and found ourselves standing once more in the aisle. Naama immediately ran away, the dress still wrapping her body.
“You are his eligible wife,” her sister came to her, comforting her. “So be happy!”
“But I want good children, many children,” the second Naama said, and her shoulders trembled.
The two hugged each other and their dresses became one dress. Somehow the blazing torches were extinguished leaving nothing but wreaths of smoke. In the darkened room, the two girls merged into one Naama, who turned to me with a smile. She was going to vanish in the thin air.
“Wait! Wait!” I called to her. “I am supposed to talk to you, not to your splits!” But before I could move, the Demon Naama gracefully disappeared into the ceiling. .
I pinched myself. Was it a dream?
But the scent of both Naama’s hands—one smelling of heavenly perfume, the other reeking of animal stench—lingered in the air. The Naamas were…real!
Oh, Demon, I know your plot. You split into two beautiful girls to get me one way or another—as a lover or as a wife. But what do you, the real ONE Naama, want from me? Why are you evading me? Distraught, I entered Tubal’s room.
Oneness of a Demon versus the Oneness of the CREATOR—oh, what a strange idolatrous notion!
*

“The CREATOR’S oneness is
Not a philosophical,
Not numerical,
Not the origin, and
Not the end.

The CREATOR’S oneness is
YHVH ELoHiM’S oneness, which is
The challenge and duty to
Unite YHVH’S Mercy
With ELoHiM’S justice
In your thoughts, life and Courts!”
(My son Shem)

*

On my way to Tubal’s home I often stopped by his deserted warehouse. I watched in awe the piles of shiny weapons, which once had spear so much terror. In my nmind I could hear the noise of clashing troops, of crossing swords, of flying arrows, of roaring warriors running at the throat of each other. I sank into these imaginay scenes. Had not Enosh said that there is a magic in Evil? That our soul is attracted to Evil? Then I said to myself that I would overcome that attraction, that I would one day melt these weapons into ploughs, good and strong ones, which would ease the farmer’s lot. I would conver Evil to YHVH’s work.
From there I would go into his deserted ore oven. You could stil see the piles of dirts waiting to be thrown into the fire. They were trown following a formula which only Tubal knew, so I was told. This was the core of the Children of ELoHiM’s power. This place was once full of workers, warriors, chieftains, but now it stood idle. Once Tubal became incapacitated, the fire was extinguishehd and the people disparesed. I set there looking at the dirt, dreaming that I would one day make form them again strong metal for more ploughs.
I should recive from him a permission to melt down his weapons. I should also learn from him his secret formual to make more strong metal. I should harry, before he dies.

*

Immediately as I entered Tubal’s room, the attendant stepped out. It was obvious that someone had ordered them to leave me alone with Tubal, should he influence me to give him his dagger. Who could have given that order to the attendants, if not Tzilah, the strong willed wife of Lemech? So I set by his bed, overwhelmed by the stench of urine, feces, and decaying flesh. On the floor were piles of rotten foods, apparently thrown by Tubal in a rage.
He did not say a word, so I watched him closely, intensely. Several months had passed since the accident, and he did not eat. How was it, then, that his body was not emaciated? Why did his cheeks seem full, stained with good red color? I was hard for me to think that way, but how come he had not died as expected by everyone?
Then a thought struck my heart. He was, after all, Naama’s only brother. Was Tubal a Demon too? Could he alos split into two, like Naama?
And if Naama was Lilith on Earth, could Tubal be the Serpent on Earth? In Eden, the Serpent focused on ADULTERY. He slept with Eve, despite her marriage to Adam. Could it be that on Earth, the Serpent-Tubal had been focusing on violating BLOODSHED? Is this why Tubal had fabricated all these weapons?
And if Tubal was a Demon, could the whole accident be a show? A show that had trapped Enosh and me? Why me? Could the Serpent be aware that I had been born circumcised, like Adam, and that I was destined to be a new Adam? Is that why he and his sister had targeted me, like they had done in Eden to Adam in Eden?
I should chase away those thoughts. Perhaps I was soaked too much with my grandpa’s teaching. I should come to Earth.
“Tubal,” I said softly.
He did not answer.
“Tubal, please, I want to talk to you.”
“Go away, leave me alone.”
“I want to talk to you about the dagger.”
“Have you decided to give it to me as you’ve pledged?”
“No, I can’t, but I want to make more like it,” I said.
He turned around and searched my face. I continued: “I need your help to make more metal for my ploughs.”
His face twisted with a sarcastic smile. “My metal, for ploughs?”
“Yes, and then I’ll plant fruit trees on your compound.”
He burst into laughter that was cut short by his pain. “An orchard on my compound, oh, the Children of ELoHiM would love to see it…”
He still cared about them. They had left him to his fate after the accident, in such an uncompassionate way. Not a single person from them had visited him since the accident.
“You can teach me your secret formula to make the strong alloy, and I’ll put it to good use,” I said. “Farmers all over the world will praise your name.”
“My metal…” his face enlightened by his memories, as if given a new life. He set up. “You know? The day I discovered my metal alloy was the best day of my life. Would you like to hear about it?”
“Please,” I said. Like Naama, he did not sound demonic at all when he talked.

*

“How old are you?” he asked.
“Fourteen.”
“I am only sixteen years older than you, but among the Children of ELoHiM I am considered a survivor. Most of the people of my age are now either dead, or butchered, or badly crippled. So I’ve got no quarrel with ELoHiM. I’ve lived long enough.
“Soon I’ll stand before ELoHiM to be judged, and I have no fear of that either. I’ve never killed a man with my own hands, Noah. My weapons have killed, oh yes, but I haven’t.
“I was born into a clan that needed weapons desperately. Noah, ELoHiM does not forbid the making of weapons as long as we use them to protect ourselves. And for the Children of ELoHiM self-protection is paramount, a religious obligation. We cherish the art of crafting defensive weapons. We decorate our swords and spears; we dance with them and sing their praises.”
The Shethtribe does not do that. We would dance only with Adam’s Tree of Life, I thought.
“When I was your age, Noah, the Children of ELoHiM tribe was in shambles, on the run from our enemies. We’ve always engaged in skirmishes, protecting ELoHiM’S honor and Laws, responding violently to anyone who had breached our treaties and our rights. But as violent as we were, we kept ELoHiM’S laws meticulously. We committed no atrocities.
“Back then, Noah, my family was poor. Besides our weapons and honor we had nothing. My half brother Yaval the shepherd is still like that, very sensitive to his honor. We lived on the outskirts of the forest and I had very few friends. Moreover, because of my scientific interest I grew up isolated from my peers. When they played with toys, and later with girls, I spent my time in my workshop, by myself. My mother Tzilah made me an oven where I played with different types of metal ore. You wouldn’t recognize me on those days. I was completely covered with dirt, rust and ashes. You’d see only my eyes peeking through a dark, masked face.
“Then one day, Noah, I made my first strong metal-alloy. I took the first bar out of the oven, and hit other metal bars with it. They all broke to pieces. I hit with it furniture and tools and they all broke readily. My new bar didn’t show a dent. How proud I was! And what made me so proud, Noah, was the method I had used. You see, I followed our tradition of experimenting, recording and analyzing. For months I’d tried different mixtures of ores, different fire intensities, different temperatures, paying attention to the minute details. That way I proceeded towards my goal.”
Yes, ELoHiM consulted His Wisdom and Science and made Adam accordingly.
“So I took that strong metal bar and I made from it a sword. It was short, but wide and strong—very strong. I held it up, tried it, and then left my workshop and walked straight to the main hut, where the Children of ELoHiM leaders, Aza and Azael were dining with four hundred armed men. The honor guard, two giant nefils (Gen. 6:4) stood by the gate armed to their teeth. I came at the first one and held my sword forwards, shouting, ‘Stand up you bastard and defend yourself!’
“He must have thought I was a deranged boy, my face and body covered with ash and dirt, my short sword pointing at him—a giant nefil guard who had never been defeated. At first he tried to scare me off, ‘Go kid to your mother!’ But with my sword coming at his throat, he drew his and we crossed just once Noah, and that was it! His sword broke in pieces, leaving him holding just its wooden handle. He stared at me in disbelief, not comprehending what had happen. The entire hut stopped eating and watched us.”
“‘Now you, defend yourself!’ I yelled at the second nefil guard as I lunged in his direction. He too drew his sword and we crossed—just once. He too was left holding only the wooden handle. The metal blade lay shattered at his feet. The two nefils backed away from me.
“You could hear a fly in the hut. Oh, Noah, I’ll always remember that moment of wonder and dismay, as four hundred of my tribe’s best men gaped at me. What they had just seen made no sense at all—a weird lad defeating two nefillim guards by breaking their swords to pieces! No one had ever done that before.”
Goliath was a remnant of the nefillim. No man defeated him but David.
“Our revered leader Aza rose and came to me. I handed him my sword and he examined it from all sides. He called one of his men and used my sword to hit his shield. It broke on contact. He hit another shield, and it broke too. Then, Noah, Aza smiled. Do you know what that meant to me to see that ferocious, master warrior Aza smiling? He raised my sword toward the sky triumphantly, as if we, the Children of ELoHiM, had already used it to smash all our enemies, as if we had already conquered the world. The entire camp rose, hailing me as a hero, clapping their hands and yelling. Aza then bowed to me—to me Noah, to me!—and gently gave me back my sword.”
Tubal’s eyes shone as he spoke. For a moment he was once again that promising young scientist, who had just discovered something that would make his clan the most powerful military power on Earth.
Tubal continued: “From that day on, Noah, I, Tubal, the Son of Lemech, was treated like a prince by our Cain tribe. I could have anything a man would wish—girls, properties, gold, silver, precious stones—you name it! But I wasn’t interested in any of that. All I wanted, and received, was a larger oven and an unlimited supply of rare ore from every corner of the Earth. Our people were sent to dig for ore in far away mountains and forgotten deserts, and they brought me an endless supply of materials for my ongoing experiments. My new swords, spears, arrowheads and shields made our warriors victorious in all combat. No one—not even the King’s army—could withstand our new weapons. I became a household name in Cain camps. People named me Tubal Cain, meaning the one who has perfected Cain’s art. Cain killed with his hands, yet I taught Cain Tribe to kill with hard metal. I took this as a compliment.”
He stopped, clearly exhausted. “Won’t you rest?” I asked.

*

Carried away by his own story, Tubal ignored my question. “So let me tell you what happened next. Drunk with my success, I tried to improve my weapons by testing them on living targets. I mean living creatures of ELoHiM! So I hunted, not for food but for the sake of my weapons, to determine their efficiency on living targets. First I tried them on animals, then on people. I didn’t shoot them myself, but I witnessed close hand as my gangues used my newest weapons on victims. My ears were oblivious to their agony. My Science was all I cared about.
“You see, my people corrupted because of me. Equipped with my weapons, my gangues raped, robbed and butchered as they pleased. Some of us even preached that we should be, intentionally, merciless as animals are. Aza and Azael became so corrupt with power, that they took any woman they wanted—married or not.”
As it says—
“There were the Nefilim on Earth those days,
And after that when the Children of ELoHiM came to the Daughters of Adam and they bore children…” (Gen. 6:4)
“Then Noah, Aza discovered my sister, Naama. He tried to take her too, the poor man. He had no idea what he was up against.”
“What happened?” I asked.
Tubal laughed, “The poor man lost his mind. She made him marry a horse, Noah, a female horse. Now he lives happily in a fancy barn with his beloved horse, happy as only totally deranged person can be. Can you imagine a greater fall than that?”
Nefil in Hebrew refers to a giant, but also a “fallen” person.
“Never mess with my sister Naama, Noah,” Tubal winced.
“Tell me about her,” I said. “She said that she wants to marry me.”
He stared in disbelief.
“Will she turn me into a horse?” I asked.
“She might well do just that,” he smiled widely, exposing his teeth.
A chill ran down my body.
“You see,” he said, “I don’t deserve to live. I am the one who brought so much corruption to my clan. I am the one who corrupted my sister Naama. I am the one who perfected Cain’s murderous act. My accident was not in vain. ELoHiM regards me as a sinner. YHVH hates me as a cruel murderer. My death will atone for my actions, Noah. I therefore beg you, give me my dagger.”
“Not before you’ve given me the secret of making the hard metal,” I said.
“So go away,” he said, this time with no animosity.

*

(6/17/15) He consulted with Evil/A Demon Who Worships JHVH

“The Holy of Holy
And the Filth of Filth
Are separated by only a hair’s width.
So tell me—on which side do you stand?”
(Enosh, in a sermon)

“Perhaps as a result of experiencing Adam and Eve’s starry dress, I found myself more attentive to animals than ever before. Walking through the woods to Tubal’s home became a pleasant task. I watched the animals with a new interest and understood their desires and needs. In return, they seemed to sense my newly acquired talent, and never attacked me. Once I faced a hungry lion, which turned around and walked away, his tail tucked between its legs in submission.
There could be only two other people on Earth blessed with this talent—the two Naamas, if you counted them separately. Having worn those miraculous dresses, they too had acquired these remarkable abilities to understand and communicate with the animal world.
Proof of this came soon. One morning when I walked through the wood by their compound, I saw Naama leaning against a tree, holding a flower to her lips. She looked like a teenage girl waiting for her first date. “Hello, my lover,” she smiled. “It seems that you like animals. I like them too. Do you wish to see my pets?”
Was she the undivided Naama, or one of the two? I would find out! “Hello,” I answered and bent over her flower, as if to smell it. In fact, I smelled her hand. It was perfumed. So she was one of the splits, the one who did not ‘qualify’ to be my bride.
“I’d like to see your pets,” I said.
She jumped with joy. “Let’s go, you’ll love it.” She led me to the other side of the Children of ELoHiM’s compound, a place I’d never seen before. Up on a hill stood a large pyramid-shaped hut surrounded by flowers and fruit trees. It looked so different from the rest of the compound.
“Here is my Temple,” she said.
“Who is the talented architect that built this piece of art?” I asked.
“My half-brother Yuval built it for me. He is such a gifted architect and a musician (Midrash). He excels in making boats and arks that never capsize, as well as beautiful huts like this one.”
We climbed the hill, and passed by one of the fruit trees. I think it was a cider tree. Naama cut off the cider and sat down beneath it. “I am Lilith, and you are Adam,” she laughed, “here is your forbidden fruit. Would you eat it for me?”
She did not know this, but she hit right at what was on my mind. I set by her side, shaken. She laughed and tickled my cheeks and nose with the fruit. Her action, I admit, aroused pleasant feelings through my body. Her perfumed hand added to my feeling. On the western sky, a dark cloud moved in our direction. The wind picked up too. A storm was brewing.
“Don’t wary, I’m not Lilith. In fact, I am glad you came with me. You spend so much time by Tubal’s bed. We all appreciate it, I want you to know that.”
“He suffers a lot,” I said.
“Too much, and he wants your blessing.”
“What about you? Would you consent to take his life away?”
“I abide by whatever Enosh says. I adore your grandpa,” this Naama said.
“Why do you adore him?”
“His sermons and speeches…everything he says…”
“Where have you heard him?”
“Oh, many times. When I was a little girl, Tubal used to take me to hear him speaking.”
“And what do like in his sermons?”
“Enosh is so…spiritual, so compassionate. He knows how to lift people’s spirits. I loved to hear him speak about life, love, marriage, forgiveness, mercy…about the coming of YHVH, and the Sabbath. Do you know he made me, a daughter of the Children of ELoHiM, love YHVH rather than ELoHiM?”
“What do you mean?”
“I love YHVH and her forgiveness, considering the complexity of the human heart. I don’t appreciate the punitive ELoHiM and His laws—not at all. I’ve never understood why ELoHiM forbids us to do the very things we love the most. What do people want if not love, peace and happiness, everything that YHVH stands for? Ever since I heard Enosh, I’ve called upon YHVH in prayer to come and take over our world, to chase away misery, death, disease, suffering, and bring more Love…”
As it says—
“Enosh, it was then that they began calling the name of JHVH.”
“Would you then support taking Tubal’s life to save him from misery?” I asked.
“Yes, I hate his suffering. I see no reason to extend it. Noah, we the Children of ELoHiM have seen enough suffering. Even as a young child I saw atrocities beyond description. I think that most of it is caused by the way our people have followed ELoHiM’S harsh laws. So I have learned my lesson, Noah. I love YHVH.”
She speaks well—not at all like a Demon, I thought,
“Come, let’s go now inside my Temple and see my pets.” She stood up and offered me her hand. Its fragrant aroma made me dizzy. I grabbed her hand and together we went into her hut.
*
A soft hum of quiet conversation filled the entrance hall. I was surprised to see that we were not alone. There were in her hut people from all the ranks of our society, from all of Adam’s Children. Among the people I noticed animals—sheep, goats, dogs, all trimmed, cleansed, combed and heavily perfumed. “Welcome to my kingdom,” Naama said proudly. “Aren’t my pets beautiful?”
“They’re gorgeous,” I said. With my newly acquired talent I could sense these animals. They were…strangely satisfied.
“These pets are the best of the best. Each has been selected for the task.”
“What task?”
“Come into the main hall, and see for yourself. You can enjoy it,” this Naama said.
*
Nothing had prepared me for what I saw next. And I shall skip its description to avoid you from reading about the filth of the filth. In short, people there committed the worst and the ugliest sexual perversions. People engaged with other people, and people engaged with pets, and pets engaged unnaturally with other pets. And what was the worst: Naama walked among them as a queen, talking to the people, encouraging them, laughing with them, all while playing on a drum.
For centuries people would remember her as a legendary drummer.
“And the Earth was corrupt before ELoHiM, and ELoHiM looked upon the Earth and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh corrupted its ways on the Earth.” (Gen. 6:12) ‘Corrupt’ means unnatural sexual behavior (Midrash).
“Believe me,” she said to me, “this is hard work. I have to understand all these people and animals, and I have to match them to each other, all that to ensure the best outcome.”
“Outcome?”
“I need to ensure their happiness. You see, it takes me long time to train these animals and also train the people to elicit that happiness. Noah, my task is to collect their feeling and offer them to YHVH (Midrash, Zohar).”
“But YHVH hates sexual promiscuity,” I said.
“What you see here is a natural, innocent love,” the Demon Naama said.
“I’ve never even imagined such behavior,” I said.
“Welcome to the real world, young boy. For your information, I’ve set up many similar places all over the land. People come by, try my pets, love them, and ask for more. This way I spread YHVH’S love and compassion on Earth.”
“But this behavior is ADULTERY!”
As it says—
“they would cling to each other and become one flesh.” (Gen. 2:24) This means only ‘one flesh’ of the same species may copulate (Midrash).
“I don’t care about His commandments anymore. As your grandpa is saying, YHVH is here, and She prevails.”
“What about you?” I said, “Have you found happiness with these animals?”
“I only collect other people’s feelings. I think I have been waiting for…a person like you.”
“Why me?”
“Don’t you understand? Hasn’t the Dress said that I’m destined to be your lover? Noah, I appear in many people’s dreams. I dance, sing, play the drum, and excite their desires. I would love to be in your dreams, to make you happy and content. I know how. I’ll never marry you, don’t wary, but I’ll be your mistress. I, Naama the daughter of Lemech, would love to collect your dreams, our dreams, and offer them to YHVH…”
“No! This can’t be!” I cried out and ran out her hut. I breathed fresh air then ran down the hill towards their house. But as I passed the tree where we originally met, she stood there waiting for me calmly with the same flower in her hand, looking as shy as a schoolgirl on her first date. Oh, she could indeed fly much faster than I could run.
“Hello Noah. Where are you running so fast?” she teased me.
As it says—
“Naama, who confused everybody.” (Zohar)

(6/17/16) He consulted Evil/A true worshipper of JHVH

“I run, but not as fast as you,” I snapped in a growing panic.
“Do you want to see my pets?” she asked. Here she was starting our earlier conversation again. I looked around with increasing panic. Could I escape? What was the limit of her territory? Could she fly fast to their house? Could she stop me if I run away to the end of the woods? Is this how the Demon Naama ate young man’s heart alive?
“I’ve seen your pets more than enough!” I shouted.
“What happened? Why are you so upset?”
“Would you let me pass?” I tried to break through and proceed to the house.
But she just stepped aside. “Go,” she said, as if disappointed.
Which one of the girls was she? I’d find out who you are, I thought. I went close to her and bent over her flower as if to smell it, but I just wanted to smell her hand. It smelled of animal stench—definitely no perfume. Her nails, too, were darkened by animal dung. Oh CREATOR, I thought, this one is the worst! She can’t even hide her demonic nature behind perfume! On the other hands, she was the one with whom I had shared the miraculous starry dress…
“I’m going up there to my place. Would you come with me?” She said, pointing at a second pyramidal hut standing across the road from the hut I’d just escaped. How had I missed it?
“I’d rather go home,” I said. But the storm hit us fiercely. Heavy rain began to pour, as if she could control the weather too.
“I am not standing here anymore. If you wish, you can stay. I am going up,” she said, and went up the hill. I watched her disappear inside her hut, barely noticing me. Should I leave? But an inner voice called from my heart: “Follow this Naama! After all, she is eligible to be your wife!”
The rain turned into a torrential downpour. For years to come I would wonder how my life would have been had that storm not chased me into her hut. ELoHiM’S whip is Water, Enosh had said, just as it is written “and the spirit of ELoHiM was hovering over the waters.” And His whip forced me to follow her.
Soaked to the bone, I climbed the hill and stood by her door, hesitantly. I peeked inside, curiously. No, I didn’t hear any conversation inside. Nor did I smell rich perfumes. Instead, animal stench hit my nose, the same stench I’d smelled on her hands. I entered slowly, and found myself in a large room, very similar to the first building. Animal cages lined its slanted, pyramidal walls. They held many different animals, large and small. Each looked sad and subdued. A light, a very pleasant light, radiated from a nearby closet. It was the only source of light in the room.
I saw Naama standing in a corner preparing food. “I’m glad you came,” she said, not looking at me. The animals began crying when they heard her voice, so she went to one cage and took out a small animal, I think it was a young monkey. She lifted it up to her lips and kissed it gently. “Isn’t it lovely? Look at its legs.” They were broken. “I found it yesterday. Its mother died and it fell from a tree, poor thing.” With loving care, she fed it, and put it back into its cage. Then she opened the next cage and took out a baby fox, cleansed it, fed it and put it back. The rain hit the roof hard, yet she ignored it. Continuing from cage to cage, she attended each animal individually, smearing then bandaging their wounds and feeding each one. Among them were birds, mice, rabbits and even a baby tiger that had fallen from a rock. She told me what had happened to each one of them. With her bare hands she cleaned wounds and cleansed their bodies.
Now I knew why her hand smelled so badly with animal stanch.
I asked whether I could help, and she thanked me. She showed me how to prepare food for the animals, and I eagerly did her bidding. We worked side by side for several hours, hardly speaking. I must tell you, I’d never been really fond of animals, but with her by my side I could attend them endlessly. A loud clap of thunder scared the animals and they cowered at the backs of their cages. We interrupted our work to sit on a log by the entrance, watching the heavy rain gush in streams down the hill. I noticed how the hut’s pyramidal shape protected it from the falling rain.
“Naama, since when have you done this work of Mercy?”
“For years.”
“Who built this hut?”
“My half-brother Yuval-the-architect built it for me. He’s so talented. I wish you would get to know him better so he could teach you his art. He builds boats and arks that never capsize.”
“I’ve heard about him. You ‘sister’ in the other hut told me about him.”
She just smiled. “I have heard that you want to learn from tubal to melt his weapons into ploughs. I like that. You’ll be doing YHVH work,” she said.
“Naama, may I ask you, if you care so much about animals, how come I haven’t seen you attending Tubal?”
She gazed sadly into the rain: “I can’t talk about that now.”
“You’ve mentioned MERCY. Would you support your mother’s wish and take Tubal’s’ life away in Mercy?”

(6/17/17) He consulted Evil/Atrocities in the name of JHVH (Naama’s confession)

“My father Noah said that the Flood
Came not for our moral wickedness,
As much as for our false piety.
And when I asked whom he had in mind,
He hid his face in his hands and wept like a child.”
(My firstborn, Shem)

Tears ran down her cheeks. Or were they drops of rain?
“No, I don’t,” she said.
“Enosh, the Priest of Mercy, will bless that action, you know that.”
“I hate Enosh. Don’t mention his name to me,” this Naama said.
“How can you say that?” No one had ever uttered such blasphemy to me.
“Your grandfather has instigated so much evil in the name of Mercy,” she said.
“Why are you saying that?”
The flash of lightning reflected in her pupils seemed to come from inside her. I could feel her anger. Could a merciful girl be this angry?
“He’s brought more evil than anyone else in history,” Naama said.
“Enosh wouldn’t hurt a fly,” I protested.
“He doesn’t do evil with his hands, no, but his teachings have brought unspeakable evil on us—the Children Of ELoHiM. He is responsible for the most heinous crimes committed by your people, the Shethclan, against my people.”
“I can’t believe what you’re saying.”
“You may not know it, but my Cain clan has been victimized by Shethfor years.”
“How?”
“It hurts to speak about it, Noah. For generations we, the Children of ELoHiM, have been forced to live on the fringe of society, considered tainted by our forefather Cain’s sin—the murder of Abel. People say that the first murder is the prototype of all murders, and Cain and his children are the prototype of all killers, so they shy away from us as if from a plague…”
“How was Shethinvolved in that?”
“Don’t you see? Abel was the one YHVH preferred. YHVH would have entered our world spreading more holiness, but Cain killed Abel and destroyed that hope with one stroke. Because of Cain, YHVH would not come soon. To Shet, who worship YHVH so avidly, Cain’s deed was the ultimate crime. Shethhave never forgiven us for Cain’s sin. So strange—the very promoters of forgiveness have been so reluctant to forgive Cain’s children for something we didn’t do.
“You may not understand, Noah, but for years Shethhas turned us into pariahs, an abomination of humankind. But one day, when I was small, Shethturned out to be our killers. They attacked us for no reason, with unprecedented ferocity and cruelty.
“They treated us with disgust, as though we weren’t worthy of life itself. Their intention, they said, was to exterminate us like rats and roaches. At first we couldn’t comprehend what had happened to inspire this new wave of Shethhatred.
“Then one day when I was ten years old girl, Tubal and several of his friends took me along to a Shethgathering to hear your grandfather’s famous sermon. We wore Shet’s uniform, so no one recognized us as we entered the Royal Hall. Your grandfather stood at the podium preaching and you, Noah, stood beside him. I’m sure you know how inspired the crowd becomes by his fiery speeches. He inspired me too. I fell in love with YHVH and her Mercy. I longed to see her come to lighten our world. And I knew your grandfather was a true prophet. If he could see YHVH coming soon, it had to be a true vision. If he saw the end of suffering and death, he spoke the truth. If he said that sin would be soon forgiven with compassion, he told the truth. And if he saw the Sabbath just around the corner—so close that he could smell it in his nostrils and taste it in his mouth—I believed every word. I knew he would not lie.”
She was right. YHVH was about to come, but only into my Ark.
“After his speech, everyone crowded around him, many women tearing off their clothes in an ecstatic frenzy. Though I was young, I joined the crowd, kissing his legs and crying at his feet. I even called to you, I loved you too, but you were too absorbed to notice me.
“Then your grandfather said something that disturbed me, even at my young age. He said that as long as there were evildoers who knew no Mercy, YHVH wouldn’t come. The evildoers break YHVH’S Name, he said, and YHVH is hurting, ‘bleeding,’ and SHE would not come.
“It was as if someone had poured cold water on my head. Who are these evildoers that know no mercy and prevent the sweet, Merciful YHVH from coming? It was us, the Children of ELoHiM. He didn’t have to say our name openly. The crowd understood. In one stroke he pushed us out of the heavenly scheme. We no longer belonged.
“After the sermon, Tubal with his friends joined the Shethcrowd streaming out of the Royal Hall. One by one the crowd passed before their spiritual leaders who blessed them and promised forgiveness for all their sins past or future, in the name of MERCY.
“At sunrise, the Shethmob marched to attack one of our camps. We followed them. They walked quietly, with fierce determination, totally assured in the truth of their faith and in what they were about to do. They neither talked, nor smiled. In horror we watched them descend on the quiet, sleepy village, killing women, men, young and old, cattle, pets—everything that had life in it. Then they burned the camp to the ground. All that BLOODSHED, Noah, was done because they believed we hindered Mercy! What a paradox!
“We watched and wept. When we arrived at our main camp, we told everything to Uza and Azael. They ordered a retreat, and since then we have lived in the woods, away from the rest of humankind, just surviving. But I pledged, Noah, that I, Naama, the daughter of Lemech would dedicate my life to the true worship of YHVH, in the only true way: by doing her work of MERCY and COMPASSION with Man and animals alike. YHVH is for life, for care of the sick and the poor. YHVH would not support murder, bloodshed, suicide or even unkindness. That is why I asked Yuval to build me this hut.”
*
The rain ebbed, and I could discern the world outside more clearly. Across the road stood the other pyramidal hut, from which I had escaped. In that hut, the other Naama dwelled and she spoke so differently—also in the Name of YHVH. The other Naama loved my grandpa, and supported taking Tubal’s life.
Was the ‘Mother Demon’ Naama fooling me, sending at me her two halves who held opposing arguments, to capture my heart one way or another?
“Naama,” I confronted her, “you speak well, and your sister speaks well too. But the two of you negate each other completely. Can I meet the one Naama, who I saw at the entrance?”
She looked at me with wide, innocent eyes. “Noah, we are two.”
Oh CREATOR, I thought, neither half is aware of the whole.
“Naama, if Shethis such a murderous clan, and Enosh is so bad, why are you friendly to me?”
“Because you’re different. Unlike your grandfather, you walk with ELoHiM—everyone has noticed that. You’ve refused to give Tubal his dagger, because it goes against ELoHiM’S laws of BLOODSHED. For the same reason you’ve objected to my mother Tzilah’s wish to take Tubal’s life in Mercy. And at the same time, you also aspire to do YHVH’S merciful work, by melting Tubal’s weapons into ploughs, and using his metal to fabricate more ploughs. And I have seen you working here by my side. You follow YHVH ELoHiM’s Oneness in its full meaning.”
As it says about me—
“Noah was a righteous man, with ELoHiM did Noah walk,” (Gen. 6:9)
And Noah found face in the eyes of JHVH,” (Gen. 6:8)
I have walked all my life in JHVH ELoHiM’S ONENESS.
Her words illuminate my faith. Enosh, in his fiery speeches, had emphasized YHVH over ELoHiM. He breached ONENESS, which constitutes IDOLATRY. The Children of ELoHiM did the opposite: they emphasized ELoHiM over YHVH, also breaching ONENESS. Both camps deteriorated into BLOODSHED. And I , so she said, followed YHVH ELoHiM. How could a Demon understand so much?
The sun came out. Naama seemed so real, so human.
“Naama, will you marry me one day?” I asked, just playing with the notion. “After all, we’re an eligible couple according to the YHVH ELoHiM dress, remember?”
“Oh, I do remember that well. Perhaps we’ll have just few children despite the ban, in order not to take the risk. You will teach them ELoHiM’S laws, and I shall show them YHVH ways of Mercy, and our small family will be the only one in the world that observes ONENESS. We shall live among a sea of people who worship either ELoHiM or YHVH, who are engaged in endless BLOODSHED, but we shall stick to YHVH ELoHiM’S Oneness and live in peace. Is it a dream, Noah?”
How right Naama was! Marriage is predicated on the CREATOR’S ONENESS. When JHVH ELoHiM made—singular—Adam and Eve, the verse says: “Therefore shall a man forsake his father and mother and cling to his wife and become one flesh.”
The animals in the cages started crying and we returned to our work of Mercy. “What is that glow?” I asked, pointing at the closet.
Naama smiled shyly. “It’s Adam and Eve’s airy dresses. They belong to me now.”
“Why not to your sister across the road?”
“It won’t shine there,” she said sadly.
She went to the closet and took out the wondrous, airy dress. She let it go, and it flew up on its own to the center of the slanted ceiling. From there it spread soft light and pleasant warmth over the entire hut. The animals seemed to relax just seeing it.
Later it would shine in my Ark too, throughout the Flood.
Do you know that the windows in the Holy Temple of Jerusalem were opened wide, to spread the light of JHVH ELoHiM into the world?

We spent the rest of the day together in her hut. I told her, while attending the animals, about the Tree of Life in Enosgh’s room, about the story of CREATION and how we can derive from it the notion of which animal was created first and which one came later. This knowledge, I told her, can help us to comprehend the animal’s needs. She listened attentively, with a smile of approval on her face.
As the night approached we finished our work and together we went to their home. I carried a wounded fox on my shoulder, while she carried a small wolf that needed further more care. When we parted, I went to Tubal’s room.
Tubal was twisting in pain and his mind was unclear. I should learn from him how to melt the metal before he would pass away. I had no time left.

*
What does JHVH really want? (Enosh speech)

“Grandpa,” I said, “you’ve said that YHVH prevails over ELoHiM. But what does YHVH really want? It seems to me that people don’t agree about that.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I talk to Tubal, he claims that YHVH hates him and would be happy to see him die. And when I talk to his sister Naama…”
“Yes?”
“She seems confused about YHVH. One part of her holds like you, that his life should be taken in Mercy. The other part of her holds the opposite, that YHVH would never approve taking life away, certainly not in her Name. She says YHVH stands only for healing and prolonging life.”
“So she is torn apart by that moral issue,” Enosh said, tears in his eyes. Obviously he was deeply moved. “It seems that your Naama is a special girl. Her mind has engaged the very core of our moral fabric, the mystery of YHVH. How old is she?”
“A bit older than I.”
“So young and already so introspective. May I meet her?”
I coughed hard.
“Never mind. Just tell her that she is right to be confused, to be torn apart by that important moral issue.”
“Grandpa, why is it so confusing to know what YHVH wants from us?”
“YHVH gives us the freedom to think as we wish. YHVH is forgiving.”
“So how shall we ever decide about what to do about Tubal?”
“We must listen to Tubal himself,” he said. “I’ll gather the family and tell them my decision to listen to him.”

*

A few days later the family gathered to hear Enosh’s decision. Because Tubal’s case had already aroused much attention, Enosh also invited several prominent wise men from the ShethHigh Court, to attend and offer their opinions. Enosh realized the verdict would be studied by the entire society and for generations to come. The meeting took place at Tubal’s home, in the presence of Lemech, Ada and her two sons Yaval and Yuval. Tzilah entered flanked by both Naamas who supported her on each side. They looked and dressed as alike as two drops of water. Enosh whispered to me: “I thought Tzilah has just one daughter, Naama.”
“Yes, but as I’ve said, she is torn apart by moral issues,” I responded.
“You need to explain that to me later,” he snapped. Then he stood up to address the family and the audience. “Thank you for your confidence in me. I must say that Tubal’s fate has touched my heart and mind profoundly. Is it because he gave his life for my grandson Noah, or because I mourn the loss of his talented, scientific mind? In either case, I’ve been totally absorbed and engaged in his care, since his tragic accident.
“Now Tubal’s family has asked me to give my blessing to shorten his misery and take his life away in MERCY. They did not approach their own Children of ELoHiM court, but me. Why? Because they know that I am an avid follower of the Merciful YHVH. And they also know that my father, Shet, was the pillar of morality. Shethmeans ‘Foundation.’ When Adam and Eve gave him that name, they hoped that he would be the spiritual leader of humanity. Adam said on his son Sheththat he, the son, was born in Adam’s form and image. Since Adam himself had been made in the CREATOR’S form and image, it comes out that Shethtoo was made in the CREATOR’S form and image. This means that whatever Shethtaught us was the true faith. From all of Adam children it was him that Adam and Eve bequeathed their Tree of Life, which he later gave to me.
“So when Tubal’s family approached me, I took this as a token of their belief and confidence in my father’s teaching. They say that they want to do the right thing, so that Tubal’s misery would end, and that his soul would ascend back to sit by the CREATOR’ Throne.
“Now my father Shethused to say that Man’s ability to emulate the Heavenly Court and issue the right verdict, is the highest achievement we can ever have. And usually we can tell what the Heavenly Court would do in a given case. ELoHiM would arrive at His verdict which is based on the Absolute Justice, than YHVH would mitigate or sweeten the harsh judgment. If ELoHIM says ‘a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye,’ YHVH would demand monetary compensation only. YHVH always attempts to reduce pains and sorrow. Only when YHVH is enraged, like facing an evil person, She would add Her own anger to ELoHiM’s harsh verdict, making it even harsher. But you can always figure out where their dialogue ends, and what their final decision is. My father Shethhas said that the Heavenly Court’s ONENESS does always prevail. The Attributes come to agreement, one way or another.
“But there is only one difficult case that paralyzes the Heavenly Court, one challenge to their ONENESS. And that is Tubal Cain’s case. Here the Court enters a loop of moral arguments that can’t end.
“You see, it is relatively easy to understand what ELoHiM wants from us. He wants us to follow His Laws. Had ELoHiM made us alone, we’d know what to do with Tubal. We’d follow ELoHiM’S Law of BLOODSHED strictly, with no deviation. In ELoHiM’s opinion, taking anyone’s life is an unthinkable sin, except for punishment. Shortening life intentionally is tantamount to murder, even if done to alleviate misery. Had He made us alone, we’d have no room for debate about that prohibition.
“But we are made in YHVH ELoHiM’s Form and Image. We must therefore comply also with the Merciful Attribute, YHVH. And when it comes to Tubal, it is impossible to know what She wants. If we leave him alone to his fate and prolong his misery, would She be angry with us? On the other hand, if we actively shorten his life, would She deem us as evil murderers?
“Thus we are locked in a dilemma that cannot be solved by following the Attributes’ ONENESS. Moreover, no clergy, king, councilor nor any authority can claim to know what Tubal should do with his own life. When all moral arguments contradict each other, we must let the individual himself determine his own fate.
“Look, by definition Mercy and JUDGMENT are only Attributes. And as I understand, Attributes are not the CREATOR’S Essence. ‘I,’ Enosh, am ‘higher’ than any of my individual attributes. People may say that I am compassionate or cruel or any other characteristic. But I know that none of these single traits is ‘me.’ ‘I’ can change any of my attributes. ‘I’ can decide whatever I wish, in favor or against one of my attributes. ‘I’ can decide to be more merciful or to be harsher, more stringent or more lenient. And my ability to over-ride my attributes stems from my ‘essence,’ which is superior to any of my attributes.
“And since we are made in our CREATOR’S form and image, we can understand that He too has an ESSENCE that is above His Attributes. His ESSENCE over-rides both MERCY and JUDGMENT, both YHVH and ELoHiM.
“So I cherish my essence and your essence. More importantly I cherish Tubal’s essence. Therefore, I submit to you all today that we should not discuss anymore what MERCY or the LAW says. Let us listen ONLY to what Tubal Cain himself says.
“I therefore propose that we form a special court that will convene by his deathbed and register his will for all to see. Then we will follow his will to the letter. And I am sure the Heavenly Court will abide by that and his soul will reside in Eden with all righteous people.”
Enosh sat down and the room filled with whispers of agreement. All those present nodded in acceptance of Enosh’s proposal. Tzilah’s face shone and, to my surprise, both Naamas seemed to agree too. I knew for sure that one was adamantly opposed to taking Tubal’s life, so why was she agreeing to Enosh’s proposal to hear and register his will? And why are the two split here instead of the one, real Naama? What would this one Naama say about the entire deal?
As for me, I was still reluctant to violate ELoHiM’s Law of BLOODSHED. I also believed that YHVH hates killers, regardless their motives. In addition, I wanted him to live for my own selfish reasons. If Tubal died soon, who would teach me his secrets of metal art? Who would teach me to melt his spears and swords and convert them to ploughs? Who would show me how to make new metal bars? And I wished so much to improve the lot of our farmers, and worship YHVH as I, Noah, understood.

*
“Saying ‘Let us make Adam,’
The CREATOR made
The ‘you’ and the ‘me’
And the ‘I’ and the ‘us.’

He looked at his ‘I’
And made my ‘I.’
He looked at His ESSENCE
And made my essence.
(Enosh to the Royal Academy)

“ELoHiM spoke
In the plural
To hide His
Loneliness.”
(Your mother Naama

Enosh’s speech made me ponder our self-perception. If it was important to find out, and register Tubal’s ‘self’, why not seek Naama’s self?
Yes, how could the two Naamas consent to have the Court listen to Tubal’s wish? If I could discover the truth about the real Naama’s wishes, perhaps she might help me negate the Court’s decision—which would undoubtedly support Tubal’s desire to die. And I wanted him to go on living. From the entire family, so I had heard, her half-brother Yuval, the musician-architect, was very close to her. Would he give me more information about her? So I went down to the Sea of the Galilee to talk to him at his workshop.
At that time, Enosh’s Flood continued to peak. Driven by the rising waters, Yuval, the boat architect, began experimenting with ark designs. Like Tubal his half-brother, he had inherited the marvelous scientific tradition of the Children of ELoHiM that directed him to conduct detailed experiments with many different models, meticulously recording and analyzing his results. ELoHiM is the CREATOR of Nature and He Consulted His Wisdom and made Adam. We, Mankind, have the ability to discover all of Nature’s mysteries and use them for our benefits.
After traveling through the flooded areas and new refugee camps, I found his workshop by the Sea of Galilee. The lake was so swollen I barely recognized it. I asked directions to his shop and soon recognized a pyramidal ark that closely resembled the two Naamas’ huts. Three stories high, the ark floated marvelously on the water.
Through Naama’s family I learned—
The Art of Metal Work from Tubal,
The Art of building Arks from Yuval,
The Art of cattle farming from Yaval,
The Art of animal care from Naama.
He greeted me warmly and we spent the day in his ark as he explained the basic science of his marvelous floating device. When fully loaded, he said, its center of weight (gravity) would be just below the water surface, so it would not capsize. It had no deck and neither front nor back. “I don’t intend to go anywhere in it,” he said. “I just want to stay afloat to survive any Flood.” When night arrived, we sat by a bonfire and watched the stars. Then, responding to my question, he told me the life story of his half-sister Naama.
*
“No,” he laughed, “Naama is not a Demon as she lead people think. The Naamas are sweet, talented twin girls, and I’m proud to be their brother.
“The twin sisters Naama were born to Tzilah after she gave birth to Tubal. As you know, the Naamas and I share the same father—Lemech—but not the same mother.”
As it says—
“And (Tubal Cain’s) brother’s name was Yuval; he was the father of all those who handle the lyre and the flute. And his sister’s name was Naama.” (Gen. 4:21)
“When our father Lemech married my mother Adah,” Yuval continued, “he chose her to be the future mother of his children. And as our family custom dictates he took another wife for sexual pleasure only—her name is Tzilah.” (Rashi)
Adah means ‘an ornament’ whereas Tzilah means ‘the one who sits barren in his shadow.’
“They say we inherited that custom from Adam, who married a second wife after Eve—her name was Lillith—for sexual pleasure only. As intended, my mother Adah gave birth to me and then to my brother, Yaval. On Tzilah’s wedding night, she was supposed to drink a ‘sterilizing cup’ prepared from exceedingly strong poisonous herbs. These herbs are so powerful that whoever drinks this mixture either dies from diarrhea and vomiting, or survives but remains sterile forever (Rashi). I must say that our family adopted that cruel custom out of false piety. As you know, the Children of ELoHiM have taken piety to the extreme. We aspire to separate motherhood from sexual pleasure. I myself think that this custom is wrong.
“No one knows, Noah, whose mistake it was, but after Tzilah’s wedding night, they found my accident-prone father writhing on the floor with a terrible stomachache, while Tzilah was intact. Did she exchange his wine cup and her poisonous cup? No one knows for sure. She was, and still is, a very shrewd woman who is known to get what she wants. Thus Tzilah didn’t become sterile at her wedding night as everyone had expected. Instead she was happily impregnated that night and subsequently gave birth to her firstborn son, Tubal Cain.”
Yuval winced. “That was only the beginning of my father’s marital misfortune. Soon after that terrible accident neither one of his wives would sleep with him, leaving him unfulfilled and frustrated.”
As it says—
“Adah and Tzilah hear my voice”—please sleep with me now (Gen. 4:23, Talmud)
“After that accident,” Yuval continued, “Tzilah refused to drink the sterilizing cup anymore. She claimed that her wedding night’s accident was a sign from Heavens that she should be exempt from that custom. Years passed by, and she wanted another child. This time she gave birth to beautiful twin girls. Now you need to understand Tzilah’s mindset, to comprehend what she did next. She came from a poor background, and she married my father for his status and wealth. Now she found herself an outcast, a rebellious wife and a disgrace to Cain clan, and as a result, she became even more defiant than ever before. When she realized her daughters were identical—like two drops of water—she decided to raise them alike, to confuse everyone as much as she could. So much that she even gave the twins the same name, Naama.”
Thousands of years later the Rabbis still debate whether Naama was one demon or two persons (Midrash).
“Tzilah had her revenge, confusing everyone, Noah. To this day, my father can’t tell his daughters apart. I can’t either unless I talk to them. Another thing about Tzilah—you have seen her—she was a beautiful woman in her youth and made her living by dancing and performing magic in Cain tents. She grew famous, attracting audiences from far away. That’s how my father fell in love with her. Now that she had the twins, she taught them her art. She taught them to look and behave alike, and dance so perfectly that they look like a mirror images of each other, as you’ve seen. When they were young, I’d play the flute for them and I still do on occasion—like the first night you came to our home. When they dance, people perceive them floating in the air and merging into one another. So masterful is their command of their art that they seem to disappear into walls and ceilings. Over the years, they developed many tricks and magical acts—clever visual deceptions that make a brilliant show. Now Noah, when they were young and innocent, they performed within our compound for fun. It was a wonderful time. We all enjoyed it. But . . . then things changed.” He grew silent and pensive.
“How?” I urged him.
Yuval sighed. “Well to begin with, the twins grew into exceptionally beautiful young ladies, who could easily excite their male audience. And as the Children of ELoHiM became corrupt, openly engaging in sex and violence, the twin Naamas learned how to raise the audience’s excitement to the level of sheer madness. Their performance—with the help of their mother—became so seductive that people abandoned their spouses and families, coming to our compound night after night to see them perform. Some committed suicide after seeing them. I saw it because I played the flute for them, as I’ve told you. Eventually they created the deception that there was only one Naama, a Demon who lived in the woods, who could occupy two places simultaneously. Now you can see how the legend of the Flying Demon began, the one that eats human males alive. (Zohar pg. 55) Oh, Noah, I used to laugh so much hearing that legend.
“But as they grew, their different characters began to show up. Moreover, they heard you grandfather preaching about YHVH, and they decided to follow him. So each of them came to me asking to build for her a sanctuary for YHVH. They had heard from your grandfather that YHVH is about to ‘bud into our world’ and dwell in a sanctuary. So I built them two identical pyramidal huts, wand each used according to her perception of what YHVH wants. Here their character was decisive. One Naama became the priest of sexual perversions; the other dedicated her life to treat the sick.”
“I know that part,” I said. “I’ve been inside both huts. How did all this affect you?”
“I remain their proud brother and musician,” he said. “Tell me, I have the feeling you might wish to marry one of them, despite the ancient ban on such intermarriage. You will not be allowed to bring children to the world…”
“Your sister and I have already discussed that. We might have just three sons, and no more.”
“Three sons may still destroy the world! By the way, which one of my sisters would you choose?”
“Which one would you suggest?” I answered back.
He shrugged, “To tell you the truth, it won’t really matter. Whichever one you choose, you’ll get the other too. Either Naama would not live without the other nearby.”
“So how would I tell them apart? As a future husband, I need to be careful!”
“Let me tell you a secret: smell their hands. One is heavily perfumed, the other spreads terrible animal stench.”
“I’ve already noticed that,” I said.
“So what bothers you?”
“If I marry one the one whose hands smell of animal stench, the other would try to trick me. She might smear her hands with animal stench too, just to deceive me,” I said, laughing.
So there was no ‘one demon’ named Naama, after all. There were, rather, two beautiful, talented and misguided twin girls, with whom I would have to cope for the rest of my life!
For the next six hundreds of years—until the Flood—my sister-in-law would try time and again to sneak into my bed disguising herself as my wife. I would have to develop all sorts of secret codes to identify your mother properly.

(7/18/3) Modesty/Tubal’s ‘self’ish Wish

“And ELoHiM said (to His Angels) Let Us make Adam.”

“My Essence, my ‘I,’ is an arbiter
Between my attribute of Mercy,
And my attribute of Justice.
My ‘I’ is superior to any of my attributes.

And since I am His image –
His Essence, His ‘I’, is an arbiter
Between His Attribute of Mercy, JHVH,
And His Attribute of Judgment, ELoHiM.

Hence always address your CREATOR
In the declining order: I pray to
You—the Essence,
YHVH—the Attribute of MERCY, our
ELoHiM—the Attribute of Judgment .
And never alter this sequence.”
(Shem in his Jerusalem Torah Academy)
*
As in Israel’s’ blessings: “Bless are you, JHVH our ELoHiM, for….”

*
On the scheduled day, seven learned people representing Shet’s court gathered in Tubal’s room. I knew that our entire society was waiting to hear their verdict. Everyone was aware that this court’s session would be a formality only and that the Tubals’ wish would be granted. Enosh sat on one side of Tubal’s bed, I stood by him and the judges sat across Tubals’ bed along the wall. The family waited patiently and solemnly in the hall. The rank odor of feces, urine and decaying flesh was so thick that the judges covered their noses. Tubal’s face was distorted with pain. His eyes expressed despair. Soon the session started and the family members entered one by one. Each approached Tubal and asked him with a faint voice to confirm whether he wished to die. His mother, Tzilah, was first, followed by Lemech, Adah and her two sons Yuval and Yaval. The Naama twins were last. The perfumed Naama—as I call her—approached Tubal first. The second waited shyly by the door. To all, Tubal gave the same answer: Yes, he wished to die. The judges were obviously impressed. They looked at each other and nodded to Enosh. Then they asked, “Does anyone want to say anything more? Oh, there is another Naama?”
My Naama, as I would henceforth call her, stepped forward. Unlike the others, she did not go to Tubal but rather to a window which she opened wide. Fresh air wafted into the room bearing rich garden smells. She opened another window and the room filled with bird songs from a nearby nest. Then she stripped away Tubal’s filthy blanket deftly replacing it with a clean one she had prepared. Now sunlight streamed into the room. Silently Tubal watched her, his eyes shining.
She filled a clean bowl with porridge she had made and then, spoon in her hand, sat on his bed and gently kissed his forehead. “Hi, brother,” she said with a cheerful, soft voice.
“Hi, sister,” he whispered, smiling.
She brought the spoon of porridge to his lips and waited. Like a child being fed by his mother, he opened his mouth and ate. Patiently she let him swallow the food slowly. She wiped his mouth with a clean towel and rested, looking out the window. She whistled, and the birds sang more vigorously filling the room with their happy songs. Then she fed him more porridge and he swallowed it promptly with the same child-like expression on his face.
“Brother,” she said cheerfully, “do you wish to live?”
“Yes,” he nodded his head strongly, like a child.
“I knew that,” she said and kissed his cheeks. “Brother, do you wish to die?” she asked, smiling.
“Oh, no,” he said clearly.
She gave him another spoon of food, then placed the bowl aside. Without looking at the judges she placed her head near his and wept. There was hardly any sound coming from her mouth, only her shoulders trembled.
I looked at the judges—they sobbed too. They wiped their eyes, obviously moved to their bones. The family stood by the bed in silence, and Enosh grew pale. Her face still buried in Tubal’s shoulder, my Naama said, “My brother is sick, his ‘I’ is sick…anyone can manipulate him…he can tell the family what they want to hear, and tell me what I want to hear…his ‘self’ is unreliable.”
The judges looked at each other with amazement.
“So what should we do with him?” Naama continued. “I’ve never seen any creature—human or animal—that doesn’t wish to live given the chance,” she said, firmly.
Enosh sat there stunned, as if the sky had fallen on his head. Tzilah frowned and said: “I don’t understand! He’s just told everyone he wishes to die!”
“His mind is sick, his ‘self’ is weak, mother,” Naama said calmly. “One cannot rely on his words, especially when he is in pain.”
“Naama, tell us, is this the first time you feed him?” the judges asked.
“No. He eats well whenever I’m alone with him.”
“How often have you fed him?”
“Whenever I’ve had a chance. Sometimes at night—I feed him when no one sees us, and he eats well.”
So that’s why he wasn’t emaciated! CREATOR!
“But why at night or when no one sees you?” the judges asked.
“My mother….wouldn’t approve.”
Tzilah looked extremely embarrassed. The judges whispered amongst themselves and declared the session over. They exited the room followed by the family, leaving Enosh, the two Naamas and myself by Tubal’s bed. I could hear Tzilah arguing with the judges in the hall, but they were adamant: They had heard enough. They would not subscribe to her wish to take his life.
I studied my Naama’s profile. In it’s clear lines I saw the Hebrew letters YHVH— the J(y)od in her eye, the Heh in her mouth, the Vav in her nose, and the last Heh up in her forehead and curl of hair.
For the next thousand years I would see the Holy Name on her profile. For me she was the embodiment of the merciful YHVH’S ways, throughout her long, fruitful life.
Enosh also stared at my Naama, but with…envy. I’d never seen that look on his face before. He looked now old, obsolete. His eyes followed Naama’s graceful movements, as if she were a new Eve.
*

After the court’s decision, Tubal’s care was given to ‘my’ Naama. He lived for two more years and then passed away in peace. But these were two rough years for him. His pains remained intractable, though he did not wish any more to die. During these two years he taught me the art of metal craftsmanship, which I used to melt his weapons and make metal ploughs. He also taught me to forge more metal for more ploughs. I often wondered whether it was selfish from my side to with that he would live long so that I would benefit from his misery.
l My personal preference was, and still is, to engage in carpeting and farming, especially planting fruit trees and vines. I used the Children of ELoHiM’s scientific method of experimenting, recording and analyzing to improve my vines so that may name became a household name in my generation. This is how I received my nickname “Noah, the man of the ground.”
When I was seventeen, Naama and I got married. Since we dared to breach the ancient ban on intermarriage between Cain and Shet, no one showed up for our wedding celebration. I recall how funny it was to see the two Naama girls appearing in the wedding in the same cloths, so that no one, including me, could distinguish between them. The three of us remained very close to each other thereafter, and the truth is that I loved my sister-in-law and appreciated her talent and intelligence, though I was always scared that she might trick me and present herself to me as my wife.
The ban on our marriage gravely affected our lives. For the next four hundred years we produced no child. Everyone warned us that our children would be ‘monsters that would destroy the world.’ This had happened before, to other mix couples, they said, and this would happen again to us. It was tough on Naama. While our peers bore children and grandchildren and great grandchildren and their seeds filed the Earth, we lived by ourselves with no child. Only when I became aware of the forthcoming Flood, we bore three sons and then no more. Our sons too got married, and refrained from bearing children, till after the Flood. So when you, my descendant, read my words, you ought to be aware of the risk we took to bring you into the world. So be sure that your generation is not these monsters we feared so much. Don’t let your generation to destroy the world. Remember, if this scroll has reached your hands, it is because the sea water have already risen to wash it out of my Egyptian pyramid.
From where did my grandson Egypt receive the idea of the Pyramid? He received it from my Pyramidal Ark.
But let me tell you first the reason for my Flood. My generation downfall entered a speedy course soon after Enosh’s death. He first attended our wedding, then he bequeathed to me the Tree of Life, and then passed away peacefully. His flood, ‘Enosh Flood,’ receded. This should have prompted our generation to improve their morality, but the opposite occurred. Enosh’s death only increased the schism between Cain and Shet. Half of humanity worshipped ELoHiM alone, the other half worshipped MERCY alone. And I knew that separating between the Attributes is considered IDOLATRY. Only Naama and I and our small family remained loyal to Adam and Eve’s worship of YHVH ELoHiM in ONENESS. We combined the tradition of the Children of ELoHiM and the tradition of Shethto ONE tradition, which was not easy. I should tell you that walking in the Attribute ONENESS is the toughest challenge that mankind can ever have.
(“And Noah found face in YHVH’’s eyes,” than “Noah was a righteous man, with ELoHiM Noah walked.” I have found face in YHVH’s eyes because Naama and I were merciful, compassionate and forgiving. At the same time we never forsook ELoHiM’s laws. This combination was tough, and we were the only humans who still followed that tradition, but this practice and belief saved us from the Flood.)
When I thought about that I realized that it was no incidental that our society was split in the middle between the Attributes. Has not YHVH ELoHiM formed their child Adam in Eden? And as a child, Adam may be torn apart by his love to each of his heavenly PARENTS. This inherent weakness in us is a part of our eternal IDOLATRY Trial, into which we were born. Mankind would always be tempted to prefer one Attribute over the other, thereby violating IDOLATRY. No wonder then that our society has split right in the middle between the Attributes.
Then I remembered Enosh’s teaching about Man’s sliding along the list of the Commandments. Once you’ve breached one Commandment, he said, you’d be tempted to breach the rest one by one.
So I watched our generation’s moral decline, after they have breached IDOALTRY. As it turned out, EACH CAMP followed the path predicted by Enosh. First they sledded from IDOLATRY into violating ADULTERY. Everywhere you went you could rampant sexual sins and perversions of the worst kind. It was as if our entire society became engaged in forbidden sex. How sad I was to see that the chief instigator of this moral decay was no other than my beloved sister in law, Naama. Under her influence, ‘Sex Temples’ were established all over the land, where homosexuality and bestiality were preformed with no shame, beside other forms of ADULTERY. Since the two Naamas did not perform together anymore, my sister-in-law danced by herself, hence her new nickname ‘Naama the Drummer.’ She enticed her audience to sheer madness. From ADULTERY our society rapidly sledded into terrible BLODSHEED, the kind I had ever encountered before. The two camps began to fight each other to the death with increasing ferocity, filling the Earth by innocent blood. First the camps fought for ideology and power, but soon they MURDERED for THEFT. You could not walk our streets without being mugged, raped or killed. INJUSTICE prevailed since no one listened to the victims anymore. Our judiciary system collapsed, and no one cared about the law. And I knew then that since our generation has exhausted by their sins the entire list of the Commandments, their fate was doomed and sealed. Like Adam and Eve who lost Eden, we would lose Earth.

*
“When I am saddened by you,
I tend to keep quiet, and may depart from you.
When I am angry at you,
I tend to shout, and act against you.

But,
When I am angry at you, I engaged you.
When I am saddened by you,
I’d give up my connection to you.

When I am angry at you,
I’d hit you till you’ve changed.
When I am saddened by you,
You’d have no recourse.”

(Naama, talking to women group)

*
The moral decay of our generation did not make my Naama angry, but rather saddened her. It was as if she was disappointed from Mankind. This caused her to stay away from her former friends, so we became quite isolated. I concurred with her. This affected my role as the spiritual leader. I did not call for spiritual campaigns and I did not held fiery sermons.
My sister in law, the other Naama, bloomed those days. You could see on her how content and happy she was. Followed by herds of adoring fans, she danced and sang and led public orgies the kind I never seen. She also kept trying to sweep us, my wife and me, into her filth but in vain.
My sister in law also nagged us about Tubal Can’s fate. We should had allowed him to commit suicide in the name of MERCY, she kept arguing. Where does it say that suicide is forbidden? She kept saying. She also argued against my Naama, telling her that she had done wrong by feeding him in secret. If you allow the person to die from hunger, she said, well, it was the hunger that had killed him not you! She also said to me: If you refused to give him his own dagger, the family could have hired someone else to do so. The responsibility on his death would have fallen on the murderer but not on those who had hired him. In any case, she said, the ancient BLOODSHED Laws are so nebulous, so indistrict, that we could have found a away to shorten his misery!

When I was about five hundred years old, I received my revelation. I told about it to none, but my son Shem, and he recorded it in a scroll he wrote. This is how he accurately describes the Heavenly Court appearing to me before the Great Flood:

“And YHVH saw that the wickedness (evilness) of Adam was great on Earth, and That all the impulses of his heart are evil all day long, And YHVH
Regretted that He had made Adam on Earth, and was
Saddened to His Heart, and YHVH said,
I will wipe out Adam whom I had
Made from the face of the
Earth, both Man and
Cattle to creeping
Things and the
Bird of the air,
For I regret
Making them.”
“And Noah found face in the eyes of YHVH
These are the generations of Noah,
Noah was a complete, righteous man, In his generations, with ELoHiM did Noah walk, and Noah Begot three sons, Shem ham and Yafet,”
“And the Earth
Corrupted before
ELoKiM, and the Earth
ELoKiM saw The Earth
And behold, it was corrupt; for
All flesh filled with hamas, And
And ELoKiM Said to Noah, the end of
All flesh has come before me, for the Earth is
Filled with Their hamas, and I shall destroy them with
Earth. And I, myself, shall bring the Flood on Earth to destroy
all flesh In which is breath of life, from Under the Heavens, and everything
that is on Earth shall die.”

***

Here you see the Heavenly Court in session, deciding the fate of Mankind before the Great Flood. The Court comprises of two Wings, presenting the two Attributes. The first is YHVH’s Wing, then ELoHiM’s Wing. This Court’s PROTOCOL, I told Shem, is not incidental. YHVH would always be given the ‘honor’ to speak out first, then ELoHiM. This PROTOCOL, I told him, would be followed in all future Sessions of the Heavenly Court assessing Mankind.
Each Wing describes the opinion of its Attribute. The Wings are perfectly symmetrical. YHVH Wing carries Her Name four times, and ELoHiM’s Wing carries His Name four times. The two Wings ‘meet’ in the middle, as if each one supports me on its side. My name too appears in the middle four times. The Wings seem to carry me over mighty water. On the other hand, I and my family are the ‘glue’ that keeps the Attributes connected. Without us, each Wing would fly away to its own world.
You see, had I followed just one Attribute, such as YHVH, the Wings would have departed from each other and I would have fallen into the abyss. Similarly, had I followed ELoHiM only, the Wing of YHVH would have flown away leaving me to fall into the abyss. Only by keeping YHVH ELoHIM in ONENESS I and my family stayed afloat over the mighty waters of the Flood.
My son Shem did also describe the content of each Attribute words. YHVH was not angry, but saddened to Her heart. She regretted the making of Adam. She was concerned about the human heart that it was evil all day long. She did not mention Man’s sins, only Man’s evilness. ELoHiM’s Wing, in contrast, mentions the transgression of the Six Commandments. ELoHiM did not address the human’s heart, only Man’s actions.
ELoHiM counts the Commandments one by one. Thus:
“And the Earth was corrupt,” referring to ADULTERY.
“For all flesh filled with hamas,” referring to BLOODSHED and THEFT.”
My generation’s fate was sealed by their ADULTERY, BLOODSHED and THEFT.
IDOLATRY was the beginning of their fall. Once you’ve started to separate the Attributes, you’ve become bound to transgress all the other Commandments one by one.
Then my son Shem placed the heavenly Court’s final decision: “And I, myself, shall bring the Flood.” The ‘Self’ or the Essence has spoken, therefore there was no recourse!

*

“Make for yourself an Ark of Gofer wood, make the Ark of enclosures for animals
And cover it inside and out with a pitch…” (Genesis 6: 14)
You see, ELoHiM could have saved my family and me in a miraculous fashion. He could have created a bubble around us, or take us above the clouds till the Flood was over. Instead, ELoKiM instructed me to build an Ark using a proven formula, and coat it by a Water-proof Gofer, in a logical, scientific fashion. ELoKiM, the creator of Nature, wished to save us by a scientifically smart device. It had a pyramidal shape, three stories high, with no deck and no front or back. It could not capsize. It resembled the ark I had seen in Yaval’s workshop by the Sea of the Galilee, as I have told you. This should serve as a lesson. Had he not ELoHiM consulted His Wisdom and Science and made Adam accordingly? We should always try to save ourselves by our wisdom and science.
So for close to a hundred years my sons and I built the Ark slowly and meticulously according to the Heavenly Court’s instructions. But I did not build it by the sea shore but rather on the top of the highest mountain overlooking our town. We built it there for everyone to see. And when the skeptics asked me in laughter: “Fool! Why do you build your beautiful ark up there? Do you think that the Sea Water would rise up there?” So I said to them: “You’ve said so.” And when they continued mocking me saying: “Do you wish us to repent so that the water would not rise? Are you a prophet? Ah!” So I said: “Well, you’ve said so.” You see, I never rebuked anyone in his face, not did I humiliate anyone by my words. Perhaps this is another meaning of my name Noah, the comfortable one, the accommodating one. Miraculously then my wife’s name, Naama, means the same, that she too is a pleasant person, an accommodating one. It shows that we were matched to each other from our birth.
*
2. Build with a formula
“…and the length of the Ark shall be three hundreds cubits,
and the breadth of it fifty cubits,
and the height of it thirty cubits.” (Genesis 6: 15)
The Ark’s breadth was one sixth of its length,
and its height was one tenth of its length.
These dimensions comprise a formula for an ark which would never capsize (Talmud.)

3: 3. A Pyramidal Ark
Moreover, the Hebrew word for Ark, teiva, does not mean ‘boat.’ The teiva is ‘a box,’ in this case designed to stay afloat. It did not have to go anywhere. It did not have to cross the ocean. Its precise shape is given by ELoKiM’s following words:
“A window shall you make in the Ark and to a cubit shall you finish it above.” (Genesis 6:16)
It culminated in one square cubic. Hence it was shaped as a pyramid.
Thus its slanted sides allowed the rain to be washed off into the sea.
Moreover, its gravity-center set below the water surface, so it could not capsize (Ebn Ezra.)
It was, indeed, a smart floating devise.

4. A WINDOW AT THE CEILING
“And a window shall you make to the ark” (Genesis 6:16)
This window was used as (1) Observatory (2) to allow air (3) to allow light. It was a natural Ark.

5. THREE FLOORS
“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 stories: the bottom for storage, the middle for the animals, and the top for the human’s residence. It was large.
*

Science and Wisdom are important, but you should never think that they alone saved us from the Flood. As my son Shem wrote, when we entered the Ark, the animals and my family, YHVH was waiting for us in there, as my son says:”And YHVH said to Noah, come into the Ark.” YHVH was inside the Ark, inviting me, while ELoHiM was executing the Flood outside.
And I readily realized how Enosh’s prophecy about the forthcoming of YHVH into our world was being fulfilled in front of my eyes. I recalled his fiery sermons about the forthcoming of the KINGDOM of MERCY that is just around the corner, and here I saw this KINGDOM being established IN MY ARK. During the Flood, while ELoHiM wiped out every living soul from the face of the dry land, YHVH’s Presence protected us inside my Ark. Throughout the Flood, there was no sickness and no death in my Ark, the wolf did not prey on the lamb and a child could play on the snake’s pit with no harm. Moreover, YHVH’s Presence enlightened the darkness in the Ark and warmed it from the outside cold.
But as my son Shem wrote, YHVH exercised HER scrutiny at the door of the Ark, and no evil person could enter. My son Shem, who witnessed this, wrote: “And YHVH closed for him,” meaning “YHVH closed the door for him.” What happened? YHVH surrounded the Ark by ferocious animals that scared people away. Many tried to break in, but the animals chased them away. Then darkness caused by the heavy clouds descended on Earth so that no one could find our door. Then YHVH closed the door ‘for me’ from the inside. I tried hard to open it but YHVH closed it. How painful that was! You see, when we entered the Ark, my sister in law, the other Naama, came along with us. She was sure that her way of worshipping YHVH would save her too. As it happened, my family entered first to cater to the animals, while the other Naama followed us behind. But as he tried to enter too, YHVH shut the door and did not allow her to enter. I still remember my wife’s crying out to her sister, and her sister’s crying back, but the door remained closed. I bang on it, I tried hard to open it, al in vain. Gradually Naama’s crying vanished as she was swept away by the gushing water. My heart still belief that she might have been saved somehow, but I have no proof for that.

*
And here comes the crux of my entire story. You see, we worked hard in the Ark to cater for the animals, yet we also had enough time to ponder about the past, present and the future. I asked myself why did our generation sin so much? Would my sons and their descendants sin again? If so, would the Flood return? Should I start civilization again?
The more I thought about these questions the more depressed I became. It seemed to me that whatever your faith, you’d end up with BLOODSHED. Half of my generation followed ELoHiM, the other half followed MERCY, yet both ended up with terrible BLOODSHED. Faith, I concluded, is just a superficial façade, a cover for our bloodthirsty heart.
If that is so, we, Mankind, are doomed.
I watched my three sons: Shem, Ham and Yeffet. While we lived in the Ark, we did not have any marital relationship. But soon, when the Flood would be over, Shen would covet Yefet’s wife, and Ham would covet Shem’s wife, and what would come next if not ADULTERY and BLOODSHED? And then, what would stop them from committing INJUSTICE and BLASPHEMY? If so, the Flood would certainly return!
I sank into despair. Would my descendants become the monstrous people that Naama and I had feared so much? Would they destroy the world?
If so, why should I start civilization again?
*

The Ark had already landed on Mount Ararat, the dove had returned with an olive branch in her mouth, the Flood waters had receded, the clouds had dispersed, the Sun had already shined on Earth, and yet we did not exit the Ark.
Almost two months had passed since I saw the dry ground, and yet we kept staying inside the Ark.
I am sure you are saying: Had I been Noah, I would have run out of the Ark immediately! What kept him in there so long?
But those who ask this question may not be aware of how loaded my heart was with worries about our future. They are unaware of how fearful I was to start civilization again only to see another Flood coming.
“Go out!” I heard the voice of ELoHiM talking to me from outside. But why should I comply? Why should I leave the peaceful world of YHVH, to live again under the harsh world of ELoHiM?
How could He command me to come out, while His Mighty Sword was still drifting the blood of my generation? No, I would not go out.
What a change took place in me! In the past, before the Flood, I was known as a “righteous person who walked with ELoHiM.” I had never doubted His verdicts. I had never asked Him to change His harsh posture. But now I was ‘rebellious.’ I would not go out of the Ark, not until I have been promised a change in the human heart, a promise that it would be less bloodthirsty. I would not exit the Ark, unless I’ve been promised that the Heavenly Court would also change its Heart, and be more tolerant to our sins. I would not exit the Ark, unless I’ve been promised that the next Flood would not return SO FAST.
But who am I to ask such a drastic change in both the human heart and the Heavenly Court’s heart? Who am I to ask for something that no one had ever asked before?
And ELoHiM’s voice was persistent: “Noah, go out, you and your wife, and your sons and their wives!” Clearly He was ordering us to exit the Ark and begin to PROCREATE.
So we exited as ordered, and let the animals out, but we did not comply with His command in full. We exited by genders. I and my sons came out apart, and our wives apart. We remained adamant NOT to start a new civilization.
Where should we go next? Where should we offer our petition to the Heavenly Court?
I decided to go first to Mount Moriah. Why?
Because Adam and Eve had frost appeared on Earth on Mt. Moraih. And Naama and I felt as if we were the new Adam and Eve.
And because Cain had killed his brother Abel there, on Mt. Moriah. And all I had on my mind at that point was to prevent my children to do the same.

Traveling to Moriah
So for several weeks my family traveled from Mt. Ararat to Mt. Moriah. We traveled on foot, in silence, deeply sadness by the sight of empty villages and towns, bereft of any life. Many houses were so intact that they looked as if their owners would soon return from their fields. When we arrived at Mt. Moriah I showed my family the stone remnants of Cain and Abel’s old altars. There Cain had committed the first murder. I also showed my family the crack in the rock where Abel’s blood had once been soaked into the underground. From there, I told them, Abel’s blood had re-surfaced on the ground through the small Shiloach Spring seen on the eastern slope of Mt. Moriah. From there, I told them, Abel’s blood streamed into the valley at the southern foot of Mt. Moriah. There the blood was soaked into the ground. “This is Cain’s hell,” I told my family, “here is where YHVH had told Cain: The voice of the blood of your brother I hear from the ground. Cursed are you from the ground that opened its mouth to swallow your brother’s blood.” Every killer, I told my son, has his or hers own hell in the ground from where he would be cursed!
Later in history this Valley would turn to be hell on earth, since the Canaanites burned their children there to the idol Molech. In Jeremiah’s time the Valley was called after its owner, Henom, as “Gey Ben Hinom,” shortened to GeheinomHell.
Then we assembled the stone remnants of Cain and Abel altars and built our own altar, made in the same fashion: a square of stones filled by dirt, with a ramp on the southern wall. Why the southern wall? Since a person should ascend from the bloody valley on the south onto the altar to reach our CREATOR. And I alos told my sons: Here on Mt. Moriah is the gate of the Garden of Eden which still hovers over our heads. This is the Place where we can address our YHVH ELoHiM, who had formed Adam and Eve in Eden. If we have a petition to present, this is the best place to do this!

*
My Altar was ready. But what should I offer on it?
That night on Mt. Moriah, Naama came from her tent into my tent to speak with me. I want to remind you that we still refrained from having any marital relationship, since before the Flood. It was the first time since before the Flood that we spent alone with each other. “My dear husband,” she said, “what will you offer on the Altar tomorrow?”
“I have not decided yet,” I said. “I have two choices: either to bring fruits as a gift offering, like Cain, or sacrifice animals, like Abel.”
“You need to be careful,” Naama said, “since people will study your offering and emulate it forever, for many generations to come.”
“And I tend to emulate Abel and offer sacrifices,” I said. “Had not YHVH preferred his sacrifice over Cain’s?”
“This is exactly what I was afraid you’d do,” she said. “Are you willing to slaughter and sacrifice the very animals that you and I have been taking care of with so much love, in the Ark?”
“Naama,” I pledged, “if I bring tomorrow a gift offering, I’d make it from fruits only.”
“Good night,” she said, pleased, and back she went to her tent.
*
And what a torturing night it was for me! I turned on my bed and I could not sleep. My heart was loaded with worries and protests. Would I offer a gift-offering, like Cain and Abel did? Not for me! Not now! I was not in any mood for a nice, friendly gift. I sought a way to unload my heart feelings, and relieve the burden of my rebellious thoughts.
Nothing would be more appropriate for that than a bloody animal sacrifice.
If you, CREATOR, made me a bloodthirsty animal, than here I am, standing over the bloody sacrifice I’ve offered to you.
If you have made my heart to become so excited by the sight of blood, than here I am, excited by the blood of my sacrifice.
If you are pleased to execute your harsh judgment on my generation with so much blood, well, here I am your servant, Noah, holding a knife in my hand and taking a life away. I canemulate you, ELoHiM!
Am I rebellious? Well, I have the right to be one. Have you not given me the freedom of choice?
So let me tell you, my CREATOR. Here I am, standing before your ‘I am.’ Me, against You.
I shall not bring you a gift offering like Cain and Able. I shall bring you a burnt offering, where the smoke of the burning flesh will ascend and take with it my feeling and thoughts.
I want a change in the human heart. I want to see a human heart that is NOT excited by the sight of blood; that is NOT excited by the smell of war, by the sight of evil, murder, and killing. I want to see a human heart that is NOT thrilled by the sound of clashing armors. I want to see a human heart that feels that it has no enemies. Is that possible? Is that a dream?
And at the same time I want to see a change in your Heart, my CREATOR. I want to see a Heavenly Court that has with less harsh JUDGMENT, and more MERCY. I want to see an Heavenly Court that is more tolerant to our sins. Is that possible?
If I don’t see all the above, I would not agree to procreate again and start civilization.
You see, my CREATOR? I have some power too in my hand.
With this tormenting train of thought running in my head, I finally fell asleep.
*
YHVH’s response to Noah

“And YHVH smelled the sweet aroma, and YHVH said to His heart,
I shall not again curse the ground any more for Adam,
For the drive of Adam’s heart is evil from his youth,
Neither shall I smite Again living Creature…”

Next morning, I woke up to the noise of strong thunderstorms. The sky in the west was heavenly overcast, as if the Flood was returning. This was a perfect background to execute my plan. In a hurry, before the rain would come and wash us again, I told my sons to fetch me an animal from those species which YHVH had told me to bring into the Ark in samples of seven. These were goats, sheep, cows, deer, antelopes and the like. Ignoring Naama’s horrified look, I took out Tubal’s sharp knife, which I carried with me since his death, and slaughtered the animals, thinking about my ‘bloodthirsty heart.’ The truth is that I hardly knew how to do this, because ever since Abel’s sacrifice no one had offered another animal sacrifice to the CREATOR. We even had a ban on eating animal’s flesh. Now it was me, Noah, slaughtering these innocent creatures in the Name of the Merciful YHVH, trying to stir up Her empathy. The irony of my action did not evade me, yet I continued it nevertheless. Nor did I feel cheating Naama. I was not offering a gift, but burnt-offering, whose flesh is totally consumed by the fire.
Wrapped by the smoke of burning flesh, I downloaded my heart. Take me as I am, CREATOR, and accept my petition, I thoughts. I stood there with closed eyes, meditating, listening to the approaching thunderstorm. Soon the rain would arrive and wipe out the fire on the Altar. Would it wipe out my petition too?
The smoke surrounded me, instead of ascending to Heavens as I had anticipated. It chocked me and I hardly breathed. The smell was awful, and I could not stand it. If the smoke stays by me, isn’t it a sign that my thought too would not ascend to heavens?
From far I saw Naama. She lit her face and her shoulders trembled. Oh, CREATOR, what had I done? I felt deflated, despaired. My petition would not be heard. We are doomed. My sacrifice would achieve nothing.
*
Then, as the thunders were coming closer and closer, we all heard the voice of YHVH. It sounded like a child playing with a toy. “What a good smell it is. I like it very much!” the voice said.
I heard it, Naama, heard it, and my sons heard it too. We looked at each other. Naama stopped trembling. She stared at me with awe. Her eyes said: Your petition, Noah, was accepted!
Despite the increasing wind, the smoke ascended straight to the sky. I relaxed. YHVH did like the smell of my burnt offering, after all. I also knew that I’d paved a way for humanity to try and affect the Heavenly Court’s heart by our prayers and burnt-offerings. No man before me had ever done that.
And then the Heavenly Court passed by us to the sound of the thunderstorms on the west. The Court spoke along the same PROTOCOL that I had seen before the Flood: YHVH spoke first and then ELoHiM. Moreover, like before, each Attribute spoke about its own concerns and its own perspectives. YHVH spoke about the human heart, while ELoHiM spoke about the BLOODSHED laws. Then the Court’s ‘Self’ or ‘Essence’ sealed the Court’s final verdict.
I know that you would like to hear what the Court was saying. Later on, Shem wrote it down in his scroll, from where he would teach the revelation to his children. Here is what Shem writes:

“And YHVH smelled the sweet aroma, and YHVH said to His heart,
I shall not again curse the ground any more for Adam,
For the drive of Adam’s heart is evil from his youth,
Neither shall I smite again living Creature
Moreover, all the days of Earth, seeding
and harvesting, cold and warmth
day and night will not cease.”

“ELoKiM blessed Noah and his sons
and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply,
and filled the earth, and surely the blood of your life
shall I require, from the hands of every beast, and from the hands
of man, from he hands of man’s brother I shall Require the blood of man,
whoever shed blood of man, by man will his blood be shed. For in the Image of ELoKiM
He made the Adam.”

As before the Flood, the two Wings were symmetrical. Each carried its Attribute’s Name twice. And unlike the Court before the Flood, this Court did not carry me and my family between the Wings. After all, we were OPPOSING the Court, asking it to change its own ways, beside our ways.
And since I worried about Man committing BLOODSHED, the Court’s entire revelation was about this, BLOODSHED.
“And YHVH smelled the sweet aroma…” The revelation started by appeasing my apprehension. Since I worried about how would the MERCIFUL YHVH look upon my bloody sacrifice, here She was telling me that the awful smell of burning flesh that had ascended to Her was seen as ‘aroma’ in Her yes. YHVH liked my heart’s silent petition.
“… and YHVH said to His heart…”
YHVH was addressing my tribulations one by one. First She talked to Her heart, about Man’s heart. By this, She showed me that Man too should TALK TO OUR HEARTS. Man’s heart, She was saying, lies in our hands. We should therefore never despair and say that we are prisoners of our bloodthirsty heart. We have a strong free choice. It is not true, She was saying, that we are trapped to perform BLODSHED regardless of our faith.

“…I shall not again curse the ground any more for Adam…”
Next thing YHVH addressed my worried about the possibility of another Flood. Henceforth, Her MERCY would increase in the world.

The Rabbis noted that throughout the Bible, righteous people are depicted as talking TO their heart, while the wicked ones, like Esau and Haman, talk IN their heart.

“…For the drive of Adam’s heart is evil from his youth…”
YHVH agreed with me that Man’s heart is evil and bloodthirsty. But, She says, this is true only in Man’s youth. Man would mature in history and would overcome his evilness. Do not despair, Noah, She was saying, Mankind is still growing.
How right She was. Leave children alone and you’d see the chaos. Only at age 13 for a boy and age 12 for a girl, a person is mature enough to accept YHVH in his heart.

This is why we celebrate the Bar Mitzvah, the ability to accept the Commandments at age 13 for a boy and age 12 for a girl.(Zoahr)

“…Neither shall I smite Again living Creature…”
YHVH repeats Her pledge not to bring the Flood as fast as before.
ELoKiM’s response to Noah

As YHVH ended her words, ELoKiM passed by me and gave me the BLOODSHED laws, as follows:
“And EloKiM blessed Noah and his sons and said to them,
Be fruitful and multiply, and filled the earth, and

ELoHIM addressed my wicked sister in law’s accusations about our handling Tubal.

“(1) surely the blood of your life shall I require,
(2) from the hands of every beast,
(3) and from the hands of man,
(4) from the hands of man’s brother I shall Require the blood of man,
(5) “whoever shed blood of man, by man will his blood be shed.
For in the Image of ELoKiM He made the Adam.”

“And ELoKiM said to Noah and his sons saying:
And I, MY SELF, shall establish my Covenant with you and your seeds after you,
this is the sign of the Covenant I’ve set my Rainbow in the cloud,
and it shall be a token for the Covenant between me and Earth

More moderate Judgment
It was a new, more moderate or ‘attenuated’ Attribute of Judgment. Whereas before, ELoKiM spoke harshly to me, ordering me to go out, after the burnt offering He seems to have changed His tone. He BLESSED me and my sons, the way He had blessed Adam and Eve: be fruitful and multiply.
Hence my silent prayer changed the Heavenly Court’s heart. I saw both more MERCY and attenuated JUDGEMENT.

Addressing Noah directly
ELoKIM gave me His Laws of BLOODSHED one by one.

You may eat animal’s flesh
“Of all that moves upon the ground and of all the fish of the Sea,
into your hands are they delivered, every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.
As with the green herbs of the fields have I given you all these…” (9:2-3)

Being vegetarian would not keep you away from shedding blood of HUMANS. Had not Cain been a vegetarian? Since I took the animal’s life for my offering, ELoHiM permitted me to slaughter animals for our consumption.

My Seventh Commandment
“…But a flesh whose blood is still in its soul you shall not eat…” (9:4)
Here ELoHiM told me a new Law; forbidding on me and my descendants to eat a limb torn from a living animal, while it was still alive. He also forbade on me to eat or drink blood.
The message is: No cruelty!
By this, ELoKiM expressed the essence of the New Heavenly Court: More MERCY and less harsh JUDGMENT than before the Flood. You see here how ELoKIM translates the guidelines of YHVH into a new Law that never existed before.

The new, Seventh Noahide Commandment
In these precious words, ELoKiM added to Noah and his sons a new, SEVENTH COMMANDMENT, one above the previous Six of Adam.
It is the only Commandment given to Noah in a negative language, of Do Not Do.
Hence there is a price for eating meat: make sure that the animal had painlessly died before you eat it, and make sure that all he blood has been drained.
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These ideas are at the core of what we call kosher meat

Adding one more Commandments brings us closer to our CREATOR
ELoKiM added to Noah one more commandments. Why?
Whenever the Shechina (YHVH’s ray that dwells in our world) comes deeper into our heart and world, our moral obligation TO HER increases. We need to show more mercy, compassion and forgiveness than ever before.
Otherwise, SHE would fly away from us!
This increased commitment to YHVH is translated by ELoKIM by giving us another, special Commandment.
This was done here with Noah, and would be done later throughout the Book of Genesis as follows:

Adding more commandments:
Thus when the Shechinah came closer to Abraham (he was considered HER Chariot), ELoHiM added to him one more Commandment s, the eight: CIRCUMCISON. (We’ll learn why circumcision)

And when the Scechina came even closer to Jacob, as his name ‘Israel’ infers, ELoHiM add to him the ninth Commandment: The prohibition to eat the sciatic nerve. It symbolized Jacob’s struggle against Esau’s Angel.

And when the Shechinah descended even closer to Israel on Mt. Sinai, ELoKIM added to Israel the entire Ten Commandments.
Each additional Commandment expresses increased dedication to YHVH’s Scechinah.

A new light of MERCY shed over the commandments
There is another important aspect of the New Commandment. It adds another aspect to all the previous Commandments.
For instance:
ADULTERY is forbidden ALSO because it is cruel. Rape is not only a violation of a girls’ privacy, but ALSO a cruel act than need to be avenged.
BLOODSHED is forbidden ALSO because it involves cruelty.
THEFT is forbidden ALSO because it is cruel. The thieve may cause lot of agony to the victim.
INJUSTICE too is forbidden ALSO because it is cruel.
Hence with the advent of more MERCY in the world our liability INCREASES! A new moral argument is added against any sin: IT IS CRULE!
2: Suicide is Murder!

“But your blood which belongs to your souls I will demand.” (9:5)

From discussing slaying animals, ELoKiM moves on to discuss slaying peoples. And He begins with someone who kills himself, committing Suicide, as it says above: “the blood which belongs to your soul I shall seek.”
In ELoHiM’s eyes, a person who has committed Suicide is a murder, to be punished by ELoKiM.
One may ask: where would the perpetrator be punished? He/ she is no longer among the living!
The profound answer is that indeed, there is a trial in the after-life.
There are exceptions to the rule of suicide; like Samson who killed himself along with the Philistines who tortured him. And King Saul who fell on his own sword, rather to be captures alive by the philistines. )

3: Killing by indirect methods

“From the hand of every beast, will I require it.” (9:5) )

ELoKiM would punish even a beast for having devoured a man. That is nice to know, but the verse has obviously a deeper meaning.
Which is the beast that ELoHiM is speaking about here?
The answer that the Talmud gives is that ELoKiM speaks here about a person who has been tied and thrown before a vicious beast to devour him.
Thus the killing method is indirect. But ELoKiM says: The perpetrator cannot claim that the beast had made the killing, not himself.
Before Noah’s prayer, such a perpetrator would have been executed by the human court. The excessively pious Children of ELoKiM who had ignored MERCY, would have done that.
But with the advent of the Shechina in the world because of Noah, the Law has changed. The perpetrator who has killed by indirect methods would be punished by death BY THE HEAVENLY COURT, but NOT by the human court.
The human court may give him a life sentence, but would not execute him.

Levels of responsibility
But there are different ways to kill indirectly. Some may be more direct, and some less direct. Thyew responsibility of the perpetrator would change accordingly.
The Talmud brings several examples: The ‘beast’ can be either a lion, a snake or a swarm of vicious bees.
The lion sometime kills, and sometime won’t.
The snake would more likely kill.
The swarm of vicious bees would certainly kill.
The perpetrator’s responsibility would change accordingly.

Modern examples of Indirect-killing
These ‘beasts’ have become a metaphor for different indirect killings.
One who starves his victim to death, is tantamount to a lion.
One who holds back essential medications, is closer to a snake
One who disconnects a life-supporting breathing machine is closer to the vicious bees.
Again, had it been before the Flood, the Children of ELoKIM, Cain’s descendants would have executes all the indirect killers.
But with the advent of more MERCY in the world, after Noah’s prayer, the perpetrator would receive the death penalty only by the Heavenly Court, but not by the human court.

4: Killing by mercenariesr

“And from the hands of Adam.” (9:5)
From discussing killings by vicious beasts, ELoKiM moves on to discuss killing by ‘another Man,’ a mercenary. Like killing by Beasts, killing by mercenaries is also an indirect method of murder. The perpetrator can hide behind the hired mercenary and claim that aftr all, he did not kill by his own hands.

Again, had the case been brought before the Flood to the Children of ELoKIM court, the person who hired the mercenaries would have been executed by the human court.
But after the Flood, with more MERCY around, such a perpetrator would be punished by death only by the Heavenly Court, not by a human court.
Of course, the mercenary should be executed by the human court, as we’ll soon see.

5: Merciful Killing is Murder

“And from the hands of man’s brother, I shall require the life of Adam.” (9:5)

Now ELoHiM discusses DIRECT, intentional killing of a man by another man.
The first case here is killer whom ELoKiM refers to as ‘a brother.’ Who could this killer be?
So the rabbis said: it is the person who has acted in Mercy to alleviate his brother’s’ suffering; i.e. euthanasia.
What a bombshell! If there is more MERCY in the world, why is the merciful killer be punished at all?
But ELoHiM explicitly says: I would regard such a perpetrator as a sheer murderer, despite his good, merciful intentions. He would receive the death penalty by the Heavenly Court, but not by the human court.
Again, such a merciful killer would be executed by Children of ELoKIM’s courts. After the Flood, things have changed.
The merciful killer may get a life sentence, but not the death penalty by a human court.

6: Abortion is Murder!

“Whoever shed blood of Adam, in Adam will his own blood be shed.” (9:5)
ELoHiM addresses now another direct killing, of ‘Adam in Adam,’ i.e. abortion.
But here is a change: For the first time ELoHiM demands that the perpetrator be executed by the human court!
Life is precious. Man is precious, “for in the image of ELoKiM he had made the Adam.”
Again, mercy for the mother suffering can be an argument for allowing abortion.
Before the Flood, in Enosh’s court, such a perpetrator would be sent free.
But the truth is that with the advent of more MERCY in the world, abortion is less tolerable.
Excluded are cases where the life of the mother is at stake.

7: Direct, intentional killing

“Whoever shed blood of Adam, in Adam his blood will be shed,
for in the image of ELoKiM He had made the Adam.” (9:5) )

E LoKiM speaks now on a murderer who kills intentionally, in front of witnesses. He should be executed by a human court.

THE RAINBOW COVENANT
Tthe remedy for bloodshed

“And I, willingly, I’ll establish my Covenant with you and with your seed after you.” (9:9)

YHVH has spoken then ELoHiM. Then the Court’s Essence, the “Self” finalizes its verdict.
A new Covenant is established between the Court and Man.
(9:11) “And I shall establish my Covenant with you.”

This is the second of seven times that the word ‘covenant’ appears here.
The Covenant is therefore endowed with holiness. It is eternal, never to be abrogated.
<blockquote(9:15) “And the Rainbow shall be in the cloud,
I’ll see it, and I’ll remember the everlasting Covenant between ELoHiM and every living soul.” </blockquote

Tradition says that henceforth the Attribute of Judgment, Din, has reduced its harsh presence in the world, and has ‘ascended’ above the Rainbow, leaving an ‘attenuated’ measure of Judgment to rule beneath the clouds.
At the same time, the Attribute of MERCY has shined on Earth with increasing warmth, making the returning of the Flood less possible.
Thus Noah, by his silent burn-offering, achieved what no one had done before: A change in the human heart, as well as the Heavenly Court’s Heart.
A Covenant is established between the Heavenly Court and Mankind.
As long as Man observes the Covenant’s spirit and laws, the Flood will not return.

We should inscribe these precious verses on our prayer-halls,
on the UN corridors, and in every public arenas.
Let every child learn the Rainbow Covenant in details, and know it by heart, so that BLOODSHED would indeed be eradicated from our world.