THE ZOHAR

[Louis Maye]

1. Noach and the ark

The Zohar reveals secrets within the literal story of Noah and the Ark. Noah embodies the Sfirot of Yesod. The Ark is a metaphor for our world of Malchut. The sins of this generation literally separated the Malchut from Yesod, which was its source of Light. This is the mystery behind the flood's destruction. Any disconnection from Light produces darkness, and from within this darkness chaos and destruction emerge. Reading this section helps bond Malchut with Yesod. It is comparable to the simple action of throwing a light switch and banishing the darkness in a room. Moreover, by reading these passages we arouse spiritual forces of Light to combat and eradicate the present day negative actions of society that once again are beginning to sever the link between the Malchut and Yesod.

1. "These are the generations of Noach..." (Beresheet 6:9). Rabbi Chiya opened the discussion with the verses: "NOACH WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN...", AND, "Your people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever" (Yeshayah 60:21). IT WAS DIFFICULT FOR HIM TO UNDERSTAND THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO PARTS OF THE FIRST VERSE, BECAUSE AFTER THE STATEMENT, "THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF NOACH," THE TEXT SHOULD HAVE CONTINUED, 'SHEM, CHAM, AND YEFET.' IT SHOULD NOT HAVE ENDED WITH "NOACH WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN." HE FURTHER STATED: Happy are the people of Yisrael, who occupy themselves with the Torah and are familiar with its paths, through which they will merit the world to come.
2. Rabbi Chiya continued: Come and behold! All Yisrael have a portion in the world to come. Why is this so? Because they observe the covenant on which the world is established. This is as it is written in the verse: "If my covenant be not day and night, it were as if I had not appointed the ordinance of heaven and earth" (Yirmeyah 33:25), MEANING THAT YISRAEL KEEP IN HOLINESS OF THE COVENANT OF CIRCUMCISION BY NEVER DESECRATING IT WITH SPILLING OF SEMEN IN VAIN, OR BY INCEST. Therefore, Yisrael, who has accepted the covenant and observes it, has a portion in the world to come.
3. Furthermore, as a result, they are called 'righteous.' We deduce from this that whoever observes the covenant upon which the world is established is called 'righteous.' How do we know this? We know this from Yosef, who observed the "covenant of the world," BY NOT MATING WITH HIS MASTER'S WIFE, and was therefore called 'righteous.' And this is why it is written: "Your people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever." RABBI CHIYA THUS EXPLAINED THE VERSE, "NOACH WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN," AS MEANING THAT NOACH OBSERVED THE COVENANT. FOR THIS REASON, HIS OFFSPRING HAVE CONTINUITY. THE VERSE THUS STATES: "THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF NOACH, NOACH WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN," BECAUSE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND THE CONTINUITY OF HIS CHILDREN ARE CONNECTED.
4. Rabbi Elazar said that we have learned that whenever the term "These (Heb. eleh)" appears, it always annuls something previously mentioned. Now, it is written in Beresheet , "A river comes out of Eden to water the garden and from thence it was parted" (Beresheet 2:10). THIS MEANS THAT this river, WHICH IS YESOD, is drawn and comes out OF EDEN, WHICH IS CHOCHMAH, and enters the garden, WHICH IS MALCHUT, to water it from the supernal waters and bring it pleasure, making it produce fruit and seed. This gives delight to everyone. The garden is pleased with its fruit, which brings pleasure to the river, because it made the fruit. As it is written: "Because in it he has rested" (Ibid. 3), MEANING "IN THE RIVER," WHICH IS YESOD. And it is also written: "And He rested on the seventh day," MEANING IN THE GARDEN WHICH IS MALCHUT. AS RABBI ELAZAR EXPLAINED, THE WORD "RESTED" IS DERIVED FROM 'REST' AND 'PLEASURE'. This is the secret of the matter of the river that comes out of Eden-MEANING YESOD, for it produces offspring, and no other SFIRAH CAN PRODUCE ANY FRUIT.
5. Come and behold: so it was with Noach below. Noach was the sacred covenant below, as YESOD, OR THE RIVER THAT COMES OUT OF EDEN, was above. And he is called "Man of the Earth," BECAUSE THE EARTH REFERS TO MALCHUT AND YESOD IS MALCHUT'S MAN. So now we have learned a secret, that Noach needed the ark, WHICH ALLUDES TO MALCHUT, so he could unite with it and preserve the seed of the whole world. As it is written: "To preserve seed."
6. RABBI ELAZAR ASKED: What is the ark? AND HE ANSWERED: It is the ark, WHICH IS MALCHUT, of the Covenant AFTER IT RECEIVES YESOD, WHICH IS CALLED THE COVENANT. And Noach and the ark below were like YESOD AND MALCHUT above, BECAUSE the covenant is mentioned in relation to Noach, as it is written: "And I will establish my covenant with you." As long as the covenant was not established in Noach, he did not enter the ark, as it is written: "And I will establish my covenant with you and you shall come onto the ark." Only then does the ark become the ark of the Covenant, MEANING THAT AFTER THE ARK RECEIVED AND ACCEPTED NOACH THE RIGHTEOUS, WHO IS THE COVENANT, IT BECAME THE ARK OF THE COVENANT.
7. So the ark and Noach are joined below, as are MALCHUT AND THE COVENANT above. And because the covenant above brings forth offspring, so Noach below bore generations. That is why IT IS WRITTEN: "These are the generations of Noach." THIS IS TO TEACH US THAT LIKE THE COVENANT ABOVE, WHICH IS YESOD OF ATZILUT, NOACH BORE EVERLASTING GENERATIONS. BECAUSE HE MERITED THE HOLY COVENANT, YESOD OF ATZILUT, WHICH IS CALLED THE COVENANT, RESTS UPON HIM.
8. "Noach was a righteous man." This is assuredly so, for his righteousness corresponds to YESOD above. That is why it is written: "the righteous are the foundation (Yesod) of the world" (Mishlei 10:25), and the earth, WHICH IS MALCHUT, is established upon him. He is the pillar that upholds the world, WHICH IS MALCHUT. That is why he is called the foundation of the world. And what is THIS YESOD? It is the righteous. Thus, Noach is the righteous below, AMONG THE SOULS. AND HENCE IT IS WRITTEN: "NOACH WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN"-TO TEACH US THAT THE WORLD IS BASED ON HIM.
9. And the secret of all this is revealed in the words, "Noach walked with Elohim," which mean to teach us that he never separated himself from Him, FROM MALCHUT. And he merited being called a righteous man on earth, as did the supernal Yesod, the Foundation of the World.' He is the covenant of peace and the peace of the world. Thus, he is called "Man of the Earth," MEANING THE 'HUSBAND' OF THE EARTH. And that is why the verse is written: "Noach found favor in the eyes of Hashem."
10. RABBI ELAZAR ASKED: What is the meaning of "his generations" IN THE VERSE "perfect in his generations?" AND HE REPLIED THAT they are his descendants, who issued from him, all of whom he perfected THROUGH HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS and by whom he was also perfected. IN OTHER WORDS, THE VERSE "PERFECT IN HIS GENERATIONS" HAS TWO MEANINGS: (A) HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS PERFECTED ALL THE GENERATIONS THAT DESCENDED FROM HIM, AND (B) HE WAS PERFECTED BY THE GENERATIONS THAT DESCENDED FROM HIM. ANOTHER EXPLANATION IS THAT Perfect MEANS that he was born circumcised. As it is written: "Walk before me and be perfect," (Beresheet 17:1)MEANING CIRCUMCISED. "In his generations" includes only Noach's descendants and not the generations in the world in general. IN OTHER WORDS, EVEN THOUGH THE VERSE MEANS THAT HE WAS PERFECT IN ALL THE GENERATIONS OF THE WORLD, IT SAYS "HIS GENERATIONS" TO INDICATE THAT ALL THE GENERATIONS OF THE WORLD ARE HIS, AS THEY ALL DESCEND FROM HIM.
11. Come and behold: from the day the world was created, Noach was destined to be joined in union with and to enter the ark. And until they were joined as one, the world had not reached a fully stable condition. And as soon as this occurred, it is written: "From these was the whole earth overspread" (Beresheet 9:19). What is meant by "overspread?" These words are analogous to the verse: "And from thence the river parted" (Beresheet 2:10), MEANING THAT SPREADING OUT IS SIMILAR TO THE SUPERNAL ARK, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE GARDEN. For from that point in the text onward, we find the separation and diffusion of progeny into all quarters of the world. THIS MEANS THAT AFTER THEY WERE PERFECTED IN THE ARK, THEY WERE ABLE TO COME FORTH AND EXIST IN THE WORLD OF SEPARATION WITHOUT BEING ANNIHILATED, AS WAS THE GENERATION OF THE GREAT FLOOD.
12. And all is one and one is like the other, BECAUSE THE BRANCHES BELOW ARE SIMILAR TO THEIR ROOTS ABOVE. So THE VERSE STATES, "These are the generations of Noach." "These" INDICATES THAT THE OTHER GENERATIONS ARE NO LONGER OF ANY CONSEQUENCE, BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT EVERLASTING IN THE WORLD. Only Yesod (the foundation of the world,) WHICH IS NOACH, produced the fruit that still exists in the world. Rabbi Aba approached and kissed RABBI ELAZAR saying, 'The lion in his might has pierced through the rock and broke it asunder,' MEANING THAT IT WAS HARD AS A ROCK FOR HIM TO UNDERSTAND THE INNER MEANING OF THESE VERSES, BUT RABBI ELAZAR REMOVED ALL THE DIFFICULTIES HE HAD IN COMPREHENDING THE TEXT. All this is certainly true, BECAUSE ALL THAT HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT NOACH AND THE ARK BELOW CORRESPONDS TO THEIR SUPERNAL ROOTS IN THE WORLD OF ATZILUT ABOVE. Even the measurements of the ark correspond to their roots above. Tosefta (addendum)
13. RABBI ELAZAR ASKED: Why is the name of Noach written twice? AND HE ANSWERED: Each and every righteous person in the world has two spirits. One stays in this world, while the other is in the world to come. And so we find that the Holy One, blessed be He, named all the righteous twice: "Moshe, Moshe" (Shemot 3:4), "Ya'akov, Ya'akov" (Beresheet 46:2), "Avraham, Avraham" (I Shmuel 3:10), "Shmuel, Shmuel"--with the exception of Yitzchak. He is not named twice because when he approached the altar to be sacrificed, the soul that was within him in this world left him. And because it is said of Avraham, "blessed are you who resurrects the dead"--THAT IS, "LAY NOT YOUR HAND UPON THE LAD," AFTER HE HAD LIFTED HIS HAND, INTENDING TO SLAY HIS CHILD, so only the soul of the world to come was returned to him. AND THAT IS WHY HE IS NOT NAMED TWICE, YITZCHAK, YITZCHAK. And that is why you shall find that the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, was not unified UPON ANY OTHER RIGHTEOUS PERSON DURING HIS LIFETIME. It was unified only on Yitzchak, because he was already considered as dead. FOR HE HAD NO SOUL OF THIS WORLD, ONLY THAT OF THE WORLD TO COME. HE WAS LIKE THOSE WHO PASS AWAY FROM THIS WORLD. The verse states: "Even in His holy ones He has no trust" (Iyov 15:15) BECAUSE HE DOES NOT UNIFY HIS NAME ON THE RIGHTEOUS DURING THEIR LIFETIMES.
14. A different explanation given OF THE WORDS "NOACH NOACH" (Beresheet 6:9) is that because he was righteous, He praised him twice BY CALLING HIM "NOACH, NOACH." THAT IS, "perfect he was in his generation," but if he had lived in any other generation, such as that of Avraham or Moshe or King David, then he would not have been considered at all. Still another explanation is that if this is what he was able to perform in a generation in which all were wicked, how much more he could have done in a generation in which all were righteous. (end of the Tosefta)