RaYBaSH’s Torah Thoughts

Parashah # 2: Noach: “Noah”

Gen. 6:9-11:32

By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Intro:

The story of Noah and the Ark is one of the best well know Bible stories of all time, right on up there with David and Goliath and Daniel and the Lion Den. Even non-religious people know the story, it’s like a fairy tale or an Aesop fable to them. Another reason why this story is so familiar is that prior to the Tower of Babel, we were all one people and thus we all had a universal history up to that point, meaning, every people group has some version of the flood story in their culture.

Summary:

Parashah Noach begins with the mentioning of Noah and his three sons which are the Fathers of all who live on earth today. Adonai sees the moral and spiritual degradation of the world, and how Satan is attempting to wipe out the pure human seed with the co-habitation of human woman with fallen angelic beings to prevent the redemption of the Messiah from coming. Adonai only finds Noah and his family righteous and worthy to be spared and begin the human race once again. In order to do so Adonai must cleanse the world by a world wide Mikvah (Baptism), AKA: Flood. Noah and his family; 8 human souls, along with a pair of each unclean animal, and 7 pairs of all the clean animals on the earth, survive the Flood by living in a giant boat, sometimes called and Ark, which Noah and his sons constructed by the command and instruction of Adonai. All on the Ark will be the ones who repopulate the earth. Soon, Noah and his family become the 70 nations of the world.

After the Flood, Adonai establishes a covenant with mankind through Noah and His family, that He would never destroy the entire world by water again. The token of this covenant is the sight of a rainbow in the skies.

Next a world leader emerges to unite mankind under the banner of paganism, humanism, and hedonism, against the Creator YHWH. A temple-tower to testify to man’s unity and opposition against Adonai. Nimrod and the people begin the construction on the temple-tower, what we know today as a ziggurat, a triangular, stepped structure with a temple of worship as its crown. Adonai thwarts mankind’s plans by giving each of the 70 nations a language of their own so they could not cooperate to finish the Tower. Hence, because of the confusion (babblings) of the languages the unfinished tower was called the Tower of Babel.

Commentary:

B’reshit (Genesis) 6:9These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

B’reshit (Genesis) 7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. (KJV)

Noah was a “just”, and righteous man, a “Tzadik” as is called in the Hebrew. Why? Because he asked God to come into his heart to be his personal Lord and Savior? No.

Noah was “perfect,” in other words, “complete” in his generations. He was a balanced and whole person.

“In comparison with his generation he was righteous, but if he had been in Abraham’s generation, he would not have been considered of any importance. — [Sanh. 108a, Gen. Rabbah 30:9, Tan. Noach 5]” – Rashi

Why was Noah perfect? Because he realized he was nothing without the future Messiah that was to come? No.

It was because, “Noah walked with God.” He had an intimate and personal relationship with Adonai, he communed on a personal and intimate level with the God of the universe.

Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

So Noah and Adonai must have agreed on something. What was it?

The walk itself! “Noah walked with God.”

Who’s the superior, Noah or God? God! So Noah must have agreed on how God wanted Noah to walk with Him. In His ways.

Ones walk in Hebrew is called, “halacha,” meaning the way one lives out their life.

What way is that?

TORAH! We learned last Torah portion that Adonai relayed to Adam the Torah, thus Adam and his sons knew how to sacrifice, and what sacrifice meant, even though there was no Temple or Priesthood in operation. For the Scriptures tell us that the Torah is eternal.

Isa. 55:1-3 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. (KJV)

In the Haftarah reading, God invites us to walk with Him.

Walk is also an idiom meaning to live with, to have a relationship with someone.

As teenagers how did we ask one to be our boyfriend or girlfriend? We asked, “Will you “go” with me?” And we would say of a couple, “They’re “going” together.” For the time being the couple is walking the same path.

I Kefa (I Peter) 1:15-16 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (KJV)

The word “conversation” here means walk.

If Noah could be “perfect in his generation” and if Noah could “walk with God” in the worldly conditions he was in, if Noah could keep Torah and walk with God in a godless society with no one like Abraham to encourage him, what is our excuse!?

Here we see Noah is a type of Messiah in the Scriptures. Let’s see how Noah parallels Messiah:

· Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation, just like Yeshua (Gen. 6:9).

· Noah was a preacher of righteousness (II Pet. 2:5).

· Just as the Messiah is called the “Savior of the World” (Jn. 4:42) So Noah saved the world through his obedience.

· Just as Yeshua made a way of deliverance by which man can be saved, so too Noah built the ark as a means of deliverance.

“Even the Noach can be related to the Messiah. A traditional title for Messiah derived from Lamentations 1:16 is the Hebrew word Menachem, which means “comforter”. When speaking of the giving of the Holy Spirit in John 14:16, Yeshua tells His disciples that the Father will send them Comforter (Menachem)…” – First Fruits of Zion

“By the name Noach he was called only by his grandfather Methuselah; his father and all others called him Menachem. His generation was addicted to sorcert, and Methuselah was afraid that his grandson might be bewitched if his true name were known, wherefore he kept it a secret.” –Legends of the Bible

“Others say that the Messiah’s name is Menachem the son of Hezekiah, for it is written (Lam. 1:16), “Far from me is a comfort (Menachem), one who restores my soul.”” –Sanhedrin 98b

In Legends of the Bible even Noah’s birth was a picture of the Messiah as described in Revelation.

“The body of the babe was white as snow and red as a blooming rose, and the hair of his head and his long locks were white as wool, and his eyes like the rays of the sun.”

Rev.1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; (KJV)

However, Noah knew the prophecy of Gen. 3:15…

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (KJV)

…about the Messiah, the Redeemer that was to come.

This begs the question how was Noah “saved”?

“It is the misconception of many that the “Old Testament Saints” were saved by works, keeping the Torah (law) in combination with the Levitical animal sacrifices, and “New Testament Saints” are saved by “Grace” and Yahshua’s death on the cross. How fair is that!? Christians say there is only one way of salvation. This view would contradict that. This is purely a Christian false doctrine; nothing could be further from the truth.

Then how were the Believers before the death and resurrection of Yeshua, saved!?

I believe the saints in the Tanak (Old Testament) were saved the same way as the saints in the Renewed Covenant (New Testament). The difference is perspective. Those in the Tanak looked forward to, and believed in the Messiah and His atoning work that was coming. The Renewed Covenant saints (us) look back and believe in the Messiah and His atoning work that already came, and is coming again! The sacrifices of the Tabernacle and Temple era, before Yeshua came, never atoned for or removed sin. In the Renewed Covenant, Hebrews 10:4 states “It is NOT possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” The sacrifices just rolled the sin back like a credit card debt until Messiah came to pay the debt in full, atoning for them all past, present, and future (Isa.53:6; I Pt.2:24; I Jn.2:2; Heb.1:3; 5-10). I believe that Yeshua worked within the framework of Torah, and the sacrificial system set up therein.” – Get Back to the First Century

Matthew 24:37-44 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (KJV)

In our Brit Chadasha (New Testament) portion it says that:

· We are living in times similar to the times of Noah. Yet we have each other. What is our excuse not to be perfect and righteous in our generation?

· We have the potential to outshine Christians and non-believing Jews. We have the Torah the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), the Messiah and each other. WE HAVE NO EXCUSE.

Matthew 24:39-44 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

This is NOT talking about the ones who’ll be taken away in the “rapture”. No, this is talking about the ones who’ll be taken in the flood. The ones left behind are the ones safe in the Ark.

“I want to say I DO NOT believe, nor adhere to in any way the Pre-Tribulationalist or Dispensationalist view of the End Times. The “Left Behind” books and movies are nothing but a bunch of fairy tales, and poor entertainment at that. Pre-Tribulationalism is a heretical view a little over a hundred years old that is chocked full of contradictions and replacement theology. Since this view is so young (a little over 100 years old), it in no way could be the view of Netzarim Jews in the first century. It has NO roots in Judaism, and did not even exist in Christianity until the 19^th century. Its main views are totally contrary to Judaism period. Such views are that, the Torah is not for today, and that, the “Church” has replaced Israel. I believe that many Christians will fall away when the “rapture” does not happen when they think it will, and have to go through the Tribulation.

So with that said, here is my general view of the chronology of the End Times:

Immediately AFTER the Tribulation (Mt.24:29; Mk.13:24) the Messiah will appear in the sky (Dan.7:13-14; Mt.24:29-31; I Thes.4:16-17) there will be a final trumpet (Rev.8:2; 11:15; Mt.24:31; Is.27:13; I Thes. 4:16-17; I Cor. 15:52) and there will be a resurrection (I Cor. 15:50-55; I Thes.4:16; Rev.20:4-6; Is.25:8; Hos.13:14; Ezk.37:1-14) and a gathering together to Messiah in the sky (Mt.24:29-31; Mk.13:24-27; 2 Thes.2:1; I Thes.4:17). This is followed by the Messiah coming with His set apart ones. In other words the “rapture, and the “Battle of Armageddon” happens all in one shot. (Jude1:14-15= I Enoch 1:9; I Thes.3:13; Rev.19:11-16; Zech.14:4-5). After this, the 1,000 year reign of Messiah is established (Rev.20:1-3, 7).

The “rapture” is the regathering of Israel to the Land of Israel at the return of Messiah, and not a pretrib rapture of the “Church.”” – Get Back to the First Century

II Kefa (II Peter) 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; (KJV)

I Cor. 15:17 And if Christ (Messiah) be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. (KJV)

We have a rainbow as God’s covenantal sign never to destroy or cleanse the earth by water. The rainbow made of water and light from the sun. A hint that next time the earth will be purged by fire.

II Kefa (II Peter) 3:9-14 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. (KJV)

In the Torah it is said that whatever cannot be cleansed by water must go through the fire.
Then ADONAI cleanses the world by fire it will be like a slash and burn agriculture project to renew the earth like in the time of Eden.

Rev. 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; (KJV)

Before we can grow, before we can do or be anything for ADONAI this year we must get ready for and willingly submit to refinement.

I Kefa (I Peter) 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of (Yeshua the Messiah) Jesus Christ: (KJV)
Mal. 3:2-4 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. (KJV)

We are soon introduced to one of Noah’s 3 sons:

B’reshit (Gen.) 6:10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (KJV)

Now one theory, that makes sense to me is that Noah’s 3 sons were triplets born different shades of melanin (skin color), or they were born separate with differing shades of melanin. Scientifically to be able to get the diverse colors of people we see on the earth today Mr. and Mrs. Noah had to be black. Genetically you have to have melanin before you have a lack of it. So we see that the children born unto Noach were:

· Shem – The father of all the Hebraic and Arabic / Middle Easter peoples. Shem let’s say looked as if he had a dark, healthy tan.

· Hamm- The father of all the “Black” peoples. Hamm was, like his mother and father, a dark shade of black.

· Yefet (Japheth) – The father of all the Caucasian Indo-European / Eurasian peoples. Yefet was lighter in skin tone than any of his family, or if the apocryphal literature is true, white, like Noah himself.

B’reshit (Genesis) 6:11-12 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. (KJV)

Just as in the Time of Yehoshuah (Joshua) when Cana’an was being conquered, ADONAI said it was because of their wickedness they were being expelled from the land.
As I said in the last Torah portion, I not only believe the flood was decreed because of man’s wickedness, but also because:

“B’reshit 6:2-4 Now I realize many people may disagree with me. As a matter of fact my Rabbi and I disagree on this matter, and some may even deem me as, “crazy”. But I believe the “Giants” these Nephilim which means “fallen ones” are the offspring of the fallen angelic race and mankind. This was Satan’s first attempt to try to thwart the Gen. 3:15 prophecy of the redeeming Messiah to come that was to bruise his head! If Satan through his fallen angels could pollute the human seed, then there would be no pure untainted human seed for the Messiah to come through. Thus is another reason for the flood and for Noach (Noah) and his family being spared. This is where the legends of the giants, and mythological type beings came from that Rome is so famous for speaking of. I believe this to be the modern explanation of the UFO and Alien phenomenon. Think about it, same ol’ plan, different package. Human women are abducted; they are impregnated and then re-abducted to extract the hybrid child, and many of them are shown their prodigy. There is no proof that these beings come from another planet, But the there is evidence leaning toward them coming from another dimension. Plus, if these “alien” give a message for mankind, it is usually a humanistic or new age message that belittles Messiah and His word and puts Him on the level of other world religions. Also the same paranormal activity that takes place during a poltergeist is the same type of things that happen when “aliens” and their craft are present. This sounds like Nephilim to me. Granted I can not prove this, however, my interpretation of the “sons of G-d” being the angelic race, not the children of Seth as Christians say, and the “daughters of men” human women, not the children of Kayin (Cain) as Christians say, is backed up over and over in Talmudic and other Rabbinic literature.”

Factoid:

B’reshit (Genesis) 6:15 in the Bible tells us the Ark's dimensions were at least 135 meters long (300 cubits), 22.5 meters wide (50 cubits), and 13.5 meters high (30 cubits). That's 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high! It could have been larger because several larger-sized cubits were used. But the 45-centimeter (18-inch) cubit is long enough to show the enormous size of the Ark.
(A cubit was the length of a man's arm from fingertips to elbow.)
Noah's Ark was taller than a 3-story building and had a deck area the size of 36 lawn tennis courts. Its length was 300 cubits (450 feet, or 135 meters); its width was 50 cubits (75 feet, or 22.5 meters); it had three stories and its height was 30 cubits (45 feet, or 13.5 meters).
It took 120 years to build the ark.

It is said of Noah according to the Zohar:

“I (The LORD) lingered with you and spoke to you at length so that you would ask for mercy for the world! But as soon as you heard that you would be safe in the ark, the evil of the world did not touch your heart. You built the ark and saved yourself.”

“So all the righteous heroes shielded their generations and did not allow the attributes of Judgment to have power over them. And Noach? The Blessed Holy One lingered with him and spoke many words to him; perhaps, he would ask for mercy for his generation. But he did not care and did not ask for mercy. He just built the ark and the whole world was destroyed.”

II Kefa (II Peter) 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; (KJV)

Even though He preached righteousness (Torah), let’s just say he didn’t give any altar calls. Like Jonah, he didn’t preach repentance, he just gave an ultimatum.

Jonah 3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. (KJV)

B’reshit 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

“Starting with the second tav, counting 130 letters six times from right to left, spells toshiyam, which means, you will save them. The Hebrew word toshiyah, means, Slavation by G-d through a Man; and Yeshua is that Man.”—Yacov Rambsel “Yeshua: The Name of Jesus Revealed in the Old Testament

This would be the 17^th of the Jewish month of Cheshvan. Cheshvan is called Mar Cheshvan, and it is considered a month of sadness or bitterness (Mar) on the Jewish calendar because:

1. It has no holidays to celebrate.

2. And this is the month it was decreed that the world would be destroyed by a flood, a giant mikvah!

B’reshit 7:24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. (KJV)

The flood lasted 150 days (Gen. 7:24, 8:3).

B’reshit 8:13-17 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. 18And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: 19Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. (KJV)

Before we go any further the question always comes up. “Do you believe dinosaurs were on the Ark?” YES. They are mentioned in the book of Job, an event that took place after the Flood. I believe that some survived up till the 18^th century. This is where the medieval accounts of “dragons” and “monsters” which knights slew. Everyone assumes that Noah took full grown adults with him on the Ark. The Scriptures doesn’t say this anywhere. I believe it stands to reason that since dinosaurs are ancient relatives of our modern day reptiles, and reptiles never stop growing through out their lifetime, and the fact they are born very small, I believe Noah took baby or very young dinosaurs on the Ark. And in fact One Jewish legend account states that, “Noah led two cubs into the ark.” Since the earth had to be replenished it is very possible that he took young animals of every species and not just full grown adults. These animals had to be young and healthy enough to reproduce. Especially since he only took one pair of unclean animals.

“The duration of the flood was a whole year. It began on the 17^th day of Cheshvan, and it rained continued for forty days, until the 27^th of Kislev… From the 27^th day of Kislev until Sivan, a period of 150 days, the water stood at one and the same height, 15 ells above the earth… On the first of Sivan the waters began to abate, a quarter of an ell a day, and at the end of 60 days, the 10^th day of Av, the summits of the mountains showed themselves. But many days before, on 10^th of Tammuz, Noah had sent forth a raven, and a week later the dove, on the first of her three sallies, repeated at intervals of a week. It took from the 1^stof Av until the 1^st of Tishrei for the waters to subside wholly from the face of the earth. Even the soil was so miry that dwellers in the ark had to remain within until the 27^th day of Cheshvan, completing a full sun year, consisting of twelve moons and eleven days.” – Legends of the Bible, Louis Ginzberg

Chronology of the Great Flood of Noah
	EVENT	Day Length	Calendar Day
Gen 7:14	Rainfall Begins	Day 1	Month 2, day 17
Gen 7:12	Rain stops	Day 40
Gen 7:24 Gen 8:3	Water level begins to recede	Day 150	Month 7, day 17
Gen 8:5	Mountain tops exposed	Day 224	Month 10, day1
Gen 8:6	Window opened and Raven sent out. Did not return	Day 264
Gen 8:7	Dove sent out, returned.	Day 271
Gen 8:10	Dove sent out, returned with olive branch.	Day 278
Gen 8:12	Dove sent out, did not return.	Day 285
Gen 8:13	Cover removed from ark	Day 314	First month of year,1st day
Gen 8:16	Noah leaves ark	Day 371	2nd month, 27th day
	TOTAL DAYS	371

Gen. 8:4 Many people have sought the Ark, and many claim to have found the location of the Ark, and I do believe it has been found. However, many people get confused when it comes to the location of the Ark. Here it says the Mountains (plural) of Ararat. So in was one of these mountains in the mountain range called Ararat. The Book of Jubilees says it was Mount Lubar in the Ararat Mountain chain (Jub. 7:28)

Gen. 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. (KJV)

This verse does not say that the curse on the ground in Gen. 3:17. For we still have thrones and thistles. This is speaking of cursing the ground with the destruction of a world wide flood, which created a mass grave. However, I believe because of the flood, even though the curse of the ground was not removed, it was “toned down” for the decaying organisms beneath the earth infused the earth with new life. It made the soil rich and fertile.

B’reshit 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (KJV)

We have surety of seasons. Pagans have rituals to call back the sun in the spring etc. Ancients feared the sun was dying during winter and the short days and long nights.

Gen. 9:1-4 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. (KJV)

Here we see man is not vegetarians anymore and that the kosher slaughtering and consumption of meat is allowed by ADONAI, yet another allusion to the fact that the Torah is eternal and always has been. Even on the Ark they were vegetarians (Gen. 6:21).

Gen. 9:8-17 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. (KJV)

This tells us that the Noahtic covenant was not only made with the Jews but with all mankind. Next time ADONAI will not cleanse the earth by a mikvah (Flood) but by fire (II Peter 3:9-14)!

By the way, concerning v. 13, I am not a homo-phob, nor a paga-phob. What I mean is, I will use and display the rainbow when and where I want. It was ours before the homosexuals got a hold of it and used it as a symbol of their movement. The same goes for Chanukah, It is called the “Festival of Lights” and just because Christmas usually falls around that time of year doesn’t mean I will not display Chanukah lights for fear they may be seen as Christmas lights.

Gen. 8:20-21 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. (KJV)

The Rabbi’s and Sages say that the Altar that Noah built was built on the exact spot on which Adam, Kayin (Cain), and Avel (Abel) built theirs, and where later where the Temple sacrifices will be preformed. Also it is said that Shem became the family Priest.

Gen. 9:20-27 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. (KJV)

According to the Talmud Satan went into partnership with Noah to plant this vineyard. Satan sacrificed a sheep, lion, pig, and a monkey and saturated the vineyard with the blood of these animals. Because:

1. Before drinking wine one is quite as a lamb

2. When drinking in moderation one feels as strong as a lion.

3. When one drinks more than enough one becomes as a pig wallowing in ones own filth.

4. When on is intoxicated one acts like a monkey foolishly dancing around and uttering obscenities.

V.22-26, what does all this “uncovering nakedness” means? This is could be understood as a Hebraic idiom that to uncover your father’s nakedness is to have sexual relations with your father’s wife.

Lev. 18:8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. (KJV)

Hamm’s son Canaan, like Reuben did to Jacob (Gen. 35:22, 49:3-4) and like Absalom did to David’s concubine (II Sam. 16:22).
But the true Hebraic rendering is not that it is “thy father’s nakedness” but that it is “your father’s shame.” Meaning it is an embarrassment. So, it could be just as the Torah plainly says without reading between the lines, that Ham walked in and saw his father naked and made fun of him to his brothers.
Thy father’s nakedness is also alluded to in Leviticus as a euphemism for one’s wife. So Ham could have seen his mother naked or his mother and father having sex.

Leviticus 18:8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.

Leviticus 20:11And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

For Lev. 18 from which we quoted is all about sexual deviance that the goyim (gentiles) did and where destroyed for and that we should not imitate them. Lev. 18 is not speaking of accidentally walking in on someone undressing or showering, but is speaking of a premeditated act. A devious plot (Lev. 18:17 Stones Tanak).

Concerning v.25 one Jewish legend states:

“When Noah awoke from his wine and became sober, he pronounced a curse upon Hamm in the person of his youngest son Canaan. To Hamm himself he could do no harm, for God had conferred a blessing upon Noah and his three sons as they departed from the ark. Therefore he put the curse upon his lastborn son of the sons that prevented him from begetting a younger son than the three he had.”—Legends of the Bible, Louis Ginzberg

So Canaan, Hamm’s son really got the curse and not Hamm himself.
Now because the Torah states that the father cannot be punished for the sins of the father, and visa versa, (Deut. 24:16) it could be deduced that Canaan saw Noah naked and reported it to his father Hamm who in turn reported it to his brothers.
Was Noah just mad because Hamm and Canaan saw him naked? No, also I think Noah was mad because he knew sexual deviance was a major factor in God destroying the earth with a flood and if God promised not to destroy the earth again with a flood, Noach hated to think what God would use next (fire) if the earth needed destroyed again.
We see in v. 26 and 27 Shem and Japheth gets blessed because they covered their father’s nakedness.

“Though Shem and Japheth both showed themselves to be dutiful and deferential, yet it was Shem who deserved the larger meed of praise. He was the first to set about covering his father. Japheth joined him after the good deed had been begun. Therefore the descendants of Shem received their special reward the tallit (prayer shawl), the garment worn by them, while the Japhethites have only the toga. A further distinction accorded to Shem was the mention of his name in connection with God’s in the blessing of Noah.” – Legends of the Bible
“The relation of Shem to Japheth was expressed in the blessing their father pronounced upon them: God will grant a land of beauty to Japheth, and his sons will be proselytes (converts) dwelling in the academies of Shem.” – Legends of the Bible, Louis Ginzberg

The curse of Hamm’s descendants was that Shem would conquer and take over their land, the land of Canaan, which the Canaanites were descendants of Hamm and his son Canaan. And indeed Shem conquered Canaan and many Canaanites because their servants.

And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. Gen. 9:25-27

B’reshit 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. (KJV)

Nimrod, a descendant of Hamm, became a world leader. Nimrod married his mother Simeramus and had Tammuz who was seen as a deity, a god come in the flesh. This first world order was sheer pagan to the core! Later Tammuz is killed by a wild boar and the women weep for him (Ezk. 8:14) the modern incarnation of this is the Catholic Lent.

Nimrod is a type of False Messiah, the progenitor of humanism and paganism.

10:25 “And to Eber were born…” We will see this man Eber, shows up as an ancestor of Abraham, and it is from him that we derive the name of our people, the HEBREWS.

Gen. 10:25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan. (KJV)

This refers to the dividing of the peoples because of the confusion of the tongues.

B’reshit (Genesis) 11 is the account of the Tower of Babel. Here is the account according to the Book of Jasher which is mentioned in Josh. 10:13, and II Sam. 1:18 and was a very important book to the 1^st century believers.

Jasher 9:21-39 And all the princes of Nimrod and his great men took counsel together; Phut, Mitzraim, Cush and Canaan with their families, and they said to each other, Come let us build ourselves a city and in it a strong tower, and its top reaching heaven, and we will make ourselves famed, so that we may reign upon the whole world, in order that the evil of our enemies may cease from us, that we may reign mightily over them, and that we may not become scattered over the earth on account of their wars. And they all went before the king, and they told the king these words, and the king agreed with them in this affair, and he did so. And all the families assembled consisting of about six hundred thousand men, and they went to seek an extensive piece of ground to build the city and the tower, and they sought in the whole earth and they found none like one valley at the east of the land of Shinar, about two days' walk, and they journeyed there and they dwelt there. And they began to make bricks and burn fires to build the city and the tower that they had imagined to complete. And the building of the tower was unto them a transgression and a sin, and they began to build it, and whilst they were building against the Lord God of heaven, they imagined in their hearts to war against him and to ascend into heaven. And all these people and all the families divided themselves in three parts; the first said We will ascend into heaven and fight against him; the second said, We will ascend to heaven and place our own gods there and serve them; and the third part said, We will ascend to heaven and smite him with bows and spears; and God knew all their works and all their evil thoughts, and he saw the city and the tower which they were building. And when they were building they built themselves a great city and a very high and strong tower; and on account of its height the mortar and bricks did not reach the builders in their ascent to it, until those who went up had completed a full year, and after that, they reached to the builders and gave them the mortar and the bricks; thus was it done daily. And behold these ascended and others descended the whole day; and if a brick should fall from their hands and get broken, they would all weep over it, and if a man fell and died, none of them would look at him. And the Lord knew their thoughts, and it came to pass when they were building they cast the arrows toward the heavens, and all the arrows fell upon them filled with blood, and when they saw them they said to each other, Surely we have slain all those that are in heaven. For this was from the Lord in order to cause them to err, and in order; to destroy them from off the face of the ground. And they built the tower and the city, and they did this thing daily until many days and years were elapsed. And God said to the seventy angels who stood foremost before him, to those who were near to him, saying, Come let us descend and confuse their tongues, that one man shall not understand the language of his neighbor, and they did so unto them. And from that day following, they forgot each man his neighbor's tongue, and they could not understand to speak in one tongue, and when the builder took from the hands of his neighbor lime or stone which he did not order, the builder would cast it away and throw it upon his neighbor, that he would die. And they did so many days, and they killed many of them in this manner. And the Lord smote the three divisions that were there, and he punished them according to their works and designs; those who said, We will ascend to heaven and serve our gods, became like apes and elephants; and those who said, We will smite the heaven with arrows, the Lord killed them, one man through the hand of his neighbor; and the third division of those who said, We will ascend to heaven and fight against him, the Lord scattered them throughout the earth. And those who were left amongst them, when they knew and understood the evil which was coming upon them, they forsook the building, and they also became scattered upon the face of the whole earth. And they ceased building the city and the tower; therefore he called that place Babel, for there the Lord confounded the Language of the whole earth; behold it was at the east of the land of Shinar. And as to the tower which the sons of men built, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up one third part thereof, and a fire also descended from heaven and burned another third, and the other third is left to this day, and it is of that part which was aloft, and its circumference is three days' walk. And many of the sons of men died in that tower, a people without number.

The foundation of the Tower of Babel, which structure is called a ziggurat, has said to be uncovered, and there is evidence that it served the purpose of pagan worship and astronomical observation.

In the building of the Tower of Babel Nimrod not only is a type of False Messiah, but a mimicker of Lucifer and his war in Heaven! And history will repeat itself, when the Anti-Messiah comes he will also set up a pagan memorial and end up waging war with the God of the Heavens, just read the book of Revelation.

“The iniquity and godlessness of Nimrod reached their climax in the building of the Tower of Babel. His counselors had proposed the plan of erecting such a tower, Nimrod had agreed to it, and it was executed in Shinar by a mob of six hundred thousand men. The enterprise was neither more nor less than rebellion against G-d, and there were three sorts of rebels among the builders. The first party spoke, Let us ascend into the heavens and wage war with Him; the second party spoke, Let us ascend into the heavens, set up idols, and pay worship unto them there; and the third party spoke, Let us ascend into the heavens, and ruin them with our bows and spears.” – Legends of the Bible, Louis Ginzberg

Gen. 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. (KJV)

It is said according to Jewish Tradition that Sarai and Iscah is the same person.

This concludes the Torah portion for this week, as always I hope and pray you were able to carry something very valuable away from this drash (teaching).

Shalom and Shavuah Tov,

--Yehudah ben Shomeyr

RaYBaSH’s Haftarah Hashings

Parashah #2 Noach: “Noah”

Isa. 52:13-55:5

By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Commentary:
Isaiah 54:7-10, 16-17 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee… Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

I often think, between the time the rain stopped and the time the waters began to recede, I wonder what the in between time was like.
I imagine an eerie silence, all except the sound of the water lapping against the sides of the ark.
Maybe it was the same silence that was at the cross when Yeshua cried;
“My God, My God why have you forsaken me!?”
Both instances probably felt like an eternity! Both felt as if God had departed and was not present at all. Yet in the whole scheme of things it was but a moment.
I suppose this is how Judah felt in exile and captivity, but what does God say to comfort Judah?

Isaiah 54:7-10 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.

The flood is likened unto a mikvah (baptism), and we read in Brit Chadashah that Kefa tells us that next time God judges the world He’ll do it with fire (II Pet. 3).
Both can be likened unto a refining, a purifying process, designed to cleanse and temper that which is being refined.
The silence of the intermediary days of the flood, and the years of exile is like passing through the fire, like a sword being forged in the flames, and once the door of the ark opened and fell on dry land, and when Judah started marching back to Jerusalem, a free people after exile, it must have been like the hiss of the metal being cooled in water.

Isa. 54:16-17 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Through the harsh experience of the flood and the exile (which God designed and allowed) Judah became a sword in the hand of ADONAI in which nothing can stand against.

The flood and the fire is what God sometimes used to purge us of sin while at the same time refining us for His Glory and His use.

For best results we must patiently endure it when it comes.

Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov!

- Yehudah ben Shomeyr

RaYBaSH’s Brit Chadashah Connections

Parashah #2 Noach: “Noah”

Matthew 24:37-44, I Peter 3:20, II Peter 3:9-14, Rev 21:1

By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Noah is a type of Messiah in the Scriptures. Let’s see how Noah parallels Messiah:

· Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation, just like Yeshua (Gen. 6:9).

· Noah was a preacher of righteousness (II Pet. 2:5).

· Just as the Messiah is called, the “Savior of the World” (Jn. 4:42) So Noah saved the world through his obedience.

· Just as Yeshua made a way of deliverance by which man can be saved, so too Noah built the ark as a means of deliverance.

“Even the Noah can be related to the Messiah. A traditional title for Messiah derived from Lamentations 1:16 is the Hebrew word “Menachem,” which means “comforter”. When speaking of the giving of the Holy Spirit in John 14:16, Yeshua tells His disciples that the Father will send them Comforter (Menachem)…” – First Fruits of Zion

“By the name Noah he was called only by his grandfather Methuselah; his father and all others called him Menachem. His generation was addicted to sorcery, and Methuselah was afraid that his grandson might be bewitched if his true name were known, wherefore he kept it a secret.” –Legends of the Bible

“Others say that the Messiah’s name is Menachem the son of Hezekiah, for it is written (Lam. 1:16), “Far from me is a comfort (Menachem), one who restores my soul.”” –Sanhedrin 98b

In Legends of the Bible even Noah’s birth was a picture of the Messiah as described in Revelation.

“The body of the babe was white as snow and red as a blooming rose, and the hair of his head and his long locks were white as wool, and his eyes like the rays of the sun.”

Rev.1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

However, Noah knew the prophecy of Gen. 3:15…

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

…about the Messiah, the Redeemer that was to come.

· We are living in times similar to the times of Noah. Yet we have each other. What is our excuse not to be “perfect (complete/whole)” and righteous in our generation?

· We have the potential to outshine Christians and non-believing Jews. We have the Torah the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), the Messiah and each other. WE HAVE NO EXCUSE.

So with that said, here is my general view of the chronology of the End Times: Immediately AFTER the Tribulation (Mt.24:29; Mk.13:24) the Messiah will appear in the sky (Dan.7:13-14; Mt.24:29-31; I Thes.4:16-17) there will be a final trumpet (Rev.8:2; 11:15; Mt.24:31; Is.27:13; I Thes. 4:16-17; I Cor. 15:52) and there will be a resurrection (I Cor. 15:50-55; I Thes.4:16; Rev.20:4-6; Is.25:8; Hos.13:14; Ezk.37:1-14) and a gathering together to Messiah in the sky (Mt.24:29-31; Mk.13:24-27; 2 Thes.2:1; I Thes.4:17). This is followed by the Messiah coming with His set apart ones. In other words the “rapture,” and the “Battle of Armageddon” happens all in one shot. (Jude1:14-15= I Enoch 1:9; I Thes.3:13; Rev.19:11-16; Zech.14:4-5). After this, the 1,000 year reign of Messiah is established (Rev.20:1-3, 7).

The “rapture” is the regathering of Israel to the Land of Israel at the return of Messiah, and not a pretrib rapture of the “Church.”” – Get Back to the First Century

I Kefa (I Peter) 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

A flood came in Noah’s time and only 8 human souls were saved. 8 is the number meaning, a New Beginning”. And from that 8 we today have over 6 billion people in the world.
Torah tells us that if something cannot be cleansed and purified by water, it must be purged with fire (Lev.13).

II Kefa (II Peter) 3:9-14 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

Rev. 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away;

God promised Noah that He would never destroy the world by a flood; Kefa (Peter) and Yochanon (John) however says that next time it will be cleansed by fire. This tells me that possible before Messiah returns that we will become worse than those living in Noah’s day, possibly worse that that of Sodom and Gomorrah.

God is definitely great in mercy. He told Enoch that the flood would come to destroy the world when his son Methuselah died. This also according to legend represented the time when all of the righteous generation has died off except Noah and his family.

Methuselah was 187 when Lamech was born, and he lived 782 more years. Lamech had Noah at the age of 182. The Flood occurred when Noah was 600 years old. 187 + 182 + 600 = 969, the year Methuselah died!

Who knows who God is waiting on to die before He decides to return and judge the world with fire!? All I know is that as in Noah’s time it will be ripe and long over due out of God’s mercy to mankind. Question is; will you be ready?

Shabbat Shalom,

- Yehudah ben Shomeyr

RaYBaSH's Ramblings

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Torah, Haftarah and Brit Chadasha Portion #2 Noach

Leviticus 20:11And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Torah, Haftarah and Brit Chadasha Portion #2 Noach

Leviticus 20:11 And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Leviticus 20:11And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.