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| Torâh | Haphtârâh | Âmar Ribi Yᵊhoshua | Mᵊnorat ha-Maor |
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| Setting: ca. B.C.E. 3075 Location: Mt. Ararat, Turkey (39° 43' N, 44° 16' E; see map below) |
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Postmedia News (for what it's worth), 2010.12.10:
A British researcher has published a startling new theory that the remains of untold ancient settlements from a 100,000-year stretch of human history were submerged by the rapidly rising waters of the Persian Gulf around 6,000 BC — the result, in all likelihood, of a catastrophic, planetwide flood triggered in Canada.
There's a consensus among scientists that the collapse of a kilometres-high glacial dam [containing the ancient glacial Lake Agassiz in central Canada – a remnant of which is today's Lake Winnipeg] at the end of the last ice age caused a massive outflow of meltwater into the Arctic or North Atlantic Ocean near Hudson Bay, generating a sharp rise in sea levels around the world and profoundly altering the Earth's climate…
But the new theory, advanced in the latest issue of the journal Current Anthropology by University of Birmingham archeologist Jeffrey Rose, offers the clearest picture yet of what may have been lost at the Middle East nexus of human civilization when Canada's super-sized Lake Agassiz — a remnant of which is today's Lake Winnipeg — suddenly burst its banks 8,000 years ago.
The resulting rise of the Indian Ocean flooded a Great Britain-sized expanse of the Arabian Peninsula that had previously been above water and was almost certainly inhabited by ancient peoples for as long as 100 millennia, Rose stated.
The rising water created the present-day Persian Gulf and drowned shorelines around the peninsula, along the northeast coast of Africa and elsewhere around the world.
And the flooding of those lands, Rose argued, would have submerged extensive archeological evidence of key moments in the evolution of the human race, of the initial stages of their eastward migration out of Africa, and of the cultural developments leading to the early civilizations of the Middle East.
Rose stated in a summary of the study that recent archeological discoveries along the Persian Gulf coast show relatively advanced cultures with no apparent precursor settlements to explain how they attained their level of cultural sophistication.
"These settlements boast well-built, permanent stone houses, long-distance trade networks, elaborately decorated pottery, domesticated animals, and even evidence for one of the oldest boats in the world," Rose noted.
"Perhaps it is no coincidence that the founding of such remarkably well-developed communities along the shoreline corresponds with the flooding of the Persian Gulf basin around 8,000 years ago," he added. "These new colonists may have come from the heart of the Gulf, displaced by rising water levels that plunged the once fertile landscape beneath the waters of the Indian Ocean." …
[Rose] also referenced groundbreaking studies by University of Manitoba geologist James Teller, whose reconstructions of the colossal drainage of ancient Agassiz — the meltwater basin that once covered most of Central Canada, and held a volume equivalent to 15 Lake Superiors — have initiated a wave of new research on outburst impacts ranging from global climate cooling to the origins of agriculture in southern Europe.
"There is now a critical mass of evidence to indicate that some significant flooding event greatly impacted an indigenous group that had been living within the (Persian Gulf) basin," Rose said. "Whether this was a gradual process over a few thousand years, or, as Teller suggested, happened relatively quickly due to a (meltwater outburst) in the North Atlantic at 8,200 years before present, is one of the questions to be addressed going forward." …
[Teller:] "But the floor of the Persian Gulf is really, really flat in the middle. And like dumping a cup of water on a table — or even a thimbleful — it will rush across the tabletop to the far end."
Rose, referring to recent archeological finds in Oman and Yemen, said there is now evidence suggesting a human presence in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula as early as 100,000 years ago. (accessed 2014.02.02)
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 Ten Northern Tribes = Twelve Tribes - éÀäåÌãÈä (Yᵊhud• |
While Jews are popularly equated to Israel, there are important differences.
The Romans Hellenized the name of the Tribal Region of éÀäåÌãÈä (Yᵊhud•
éÀäåÌãÈä (Yᵊhud•
As a result, éÀäåÌãÄéí (Yᵊhud•
After Shᵊ
Forever after the forcible Syrian assimilation of the Ten Northern Tribes in BCE 722 and the consequent fleeing of the remnants of the Ten Northern Tribes into éÀäåÌãÈä (Yᵊhud•
The remainder of the "Ten Lost Tribes," by contrast, having been forcibly expelled by Syria from "Northern Israel" (today's Shom•
While the Ethiopian and Indian (Bᵊn•
The Roman identification of the primarily Hellenist population of the province of "Ιουδαια," coupled with the Roman preference for those Ιουδαιος who practiced Hellenism instead of Tor•
Like America and other countries, Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ, by contrast to "Jews," is a landed-people. Thus, Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ refers indivisibly to both the land and the people. Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ cannot refer in its full sense either to a holy people without the holy land or to the holy land without the holy people. Either without the other is incomplete. Accordingly (though blurring Jews with Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ), Tal•mudꞋ correctly defines Jews outside of the holy land as incomplete.
Unlike Roman-defined "Jews," Israel is defined by a áøéú (bᵊrit) in Tor•âhꞋ. A bᵊrit is a contractual pact, a legal contract. A legal contract is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Law as: "an agreement between two or more parties that creates in each party a duty to do or not do something and a right to performance of the other's duty or a remedy for the breach of the other's duty." The essentials are [a] an obligation on each party, [b] conditional upon performance by each party, and [remedy for breach of the contract.
The term áÌÈçÄéø is found in only 13 instances in the Bible and is never applied until AFTER the "chosen" has undertaken the conditions and obligations of the bᵊrit Tor•
In 6.8, we read
":åÀðÉçÇ
îÈöÈà
çÅï
áÌÀòÅéðÅé
In Hebrew, there is no word for "liking" something or someone, in contrast to love. Instead, in Hebrew one says it (he or she)
"îåÉöÅà
çÅï
áÌÀòÅéðÈé". In 6.8, Tor•âhꞋ is not conveying some supernatural – mythical – relationship that other humans cannot attain, simply that
The thinking person will ponder: what about ðÉçÇ found çÅï in the metaphorical (not anthropomorphic) Eyes of
The answer is right in the next pâ•
If Tor•âhꞋ had intended to convey "ðÉçÇ walked with God," just like ðÉçÇ walked with other humans, and English translations suggest, then it would have instead read:
àÆú-äÈàÁìÉäÄéí
äÈìÇêÀ-ðÉçÇ.
ðÉçÇ kept
It was because "with Ël•oh•imꞋ walked-around ðÉçÇ" that
This should not be even the least surprising. When an employer "chooses" an employee, a person "chooses" a spouse, a coach "chooses" an athlete, etc., (s)he never "chooses" a candidate whose prospects promise to be destructive, rebellious, contrary or generally cantankerous and belligerent. Of course, they "choose" the candidate who demonstrates a positive compatibility!!! No one should be in the least surprised that the "chosen," then, is the one who has demonstrated positive compatibility with the goal(s) of the "chooser"; that
It also follows from this that the "chosen" are those who have demonstrated love, faithfulness and obedience to
 300x225.jpg "Ur, Iraq Ziggurat (reconstructed facade)") |  |
 2576x1932.jpg "Click to enlarge"){kind=small} Ur, Iraq – Ziggurat (modern facade reconstructed around the ancient Ziggurat); the ancient Ziggurat can be seen protruding from top. |  Khâ•rân, southern Turkey near their Syrian border – mud-brick houses with conic roofs unique to Khâ•rân (Harran). |
At 75 years old, Av•râ•hâmꞋ, who was originally from Ur, Iraq, left most of his family in Khâ•rân (Harran), southern Turkey, about 100k north of today's Syrian border, and set out with his wife and nephew south into Kᵊna•anꞋ (12.1ff)—because
From birth, Ya•a•qovꞋ valued homo sapien civilization and learning, associated with the "tent," while Ei•sauꞋ pursued the more Neanderthal-like hunter life of the bush, intermarrying with two similarly uncivilized wives from neighboring tribes. Yet, only after living as
Referring back to Dᵊvâr•imꞋ 27.11—28.69 & 29.6, pâ•râsh•atꞋ Nitzâvim sets forth the bᵊrit governing the Tor•âhꞋ of Har Sin•aiꞋ in 29.9—30.20. These passages make it crystal clear and explicit that one practices Tor•âhꞋ and, only then, is recognized as "chosen."
 300x199.jpg "Har ha-Bayit and Ir David") |  |
 892x591.jpg "Click to enlarge"){kind=small} Ir Dâ•widꞋ (l.) and Har ha-• |  Ir Dâ•widꞋ – City of David. |
Dâ•widꞋ served haSheim for much of his life before he was "chosen" to found the eternal messianic bᵊrit (Shᵊm•u•eilꞋ Beit 7.16; Divrei ha-Yâmim Âlëph 17.7; Tᵊhil•imꞋ 89.27).
Thus, to be "chosen," one must first exercise his or her own free will to undertake the obligations of the bᵊrit and then, and only then, he or she is regarded as "chosen." One is "chosen" by the process of undertaking the obligations of the bᵊrit.
Since at least as early as 70 C.E., "the world" has hated the "chosen" Jews for rejecting "the world's" religion: first Roman Hellenist idolatry and later the Hellenist displacement theologies (Roman Hellenist Christianity and now Islam as well).
But if you accept the terms of the bᵊrit—Tor•âhꞋ—then you don't even have to convert. You, too, can be hated along with the Jews! In fact, Orthodox rabbis refuse may refuse to convert you. Then you can even be hated by some of the Jews! So sign up today… you can be "chosen" too!
 300x203.jpg "Noakh-size 137m barge 135m (shipwrecklog.com)") |
 750x508.jpg "Click to enlarge"){kind=small} Modern NōꞋakh-size (137 m / 450 ft) barge — the 135 m / 440 ft "Jade" (shipwrecklog.com). |
Contrary to the English, ðÉçÇ didn't build an "ark." ðÉçÇ built a úÌÅáÈä, i.e. a barge, not an àÈøåÉï. In Israel, a post office box is a úéáú ãåàø (teivat doar, abbreviated .ú.ã).
Foreshadowing the future Ei•sauꞋ, Tor•âhꞋ tells us (6.1-4) that, in the days of ðÉçÇ, there were äÇðÌÀôÄìÄéí and the áðé-äàìäéí (Bᵊnei-hâ-Ël•oh•imꞋ) saw the áðåú äàãí ( Bᵊnot-hâ-âdâm), that they were good, and took them as wives… and the áðé-äàìäéí (Bᵊnei-hâ-Ël•oh•imꞋ) mated with the áðåú äàãí ( Bᵊnot-hâ-âdâm), bearing mighty warriors.
Everyone in the world that ðÉçÇ knew (which, almost certainly, insinuated the local or regional "world"; not the entire planet) was a wrong-doer (6.5). It was so bad that
Those who become an isolated luminary of Tor•âhꞋ as a geir or Yᵊhudi Nᵊtzâr•imꞋ often feel isolated and alone 
but you can't imagine the isolation and alone-ness of ðÉçÇ, the lone tza•diqꞋ in a world of wrong-doers—even before he went into the barge to emerge later all alone in his world except for his family. So, when you feel alone, think of ðÉçÇ. Additionally, you have an internet lifeline to the Nᵊtzâr•imꞋ and, if you can eventually convert, the opportunity to make âliyâh.
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Everywhere I look, I see the brightest and most highly educated youths, young men and women raised in dati families and educated in dati schools, assimilating into the secular world. During Khag ha-Suk•otꞋ, a dati friend of mine who teaches at Tel Aviv University related to me about an old schoolmate of his. His schoolmate was also raised in a dati home, and they both went through the entire dati school system. His old dati schoolmate is now the Catholic priest who advises the pope about Vatican relations with Israel. If you think your children are safe from Christianity or secular assimilation because they go to Orthodox schools in Israel, then you are fooling yourself.
In the Tᵊphutz•âhꞋ, the polls are so hard up to brighten the grave picture that they have to pad their polls by defining "highly committed Jews" as a person who identifies himself or herself as a Jew and belongs to two Jewish organizations. This means that a gentile Christian who identifies himself or herself as a Jew (all Christians identify themselves as "spiritual Jews") and belongs to the Jewish Community Center (gentiles can join the JCC) and, say, an organization for Jewish homosexuals and lesbians, is identified by major polls as a "highly committed Jew." It's nearly impossible to find a Jew among Tᵊphutz•âhꞋ "Jews." In the Tᵊphutz•âhꞋ, assimilation is nearly complete when polls have to go to such lengths to avoid reporting impending extinction.
Fish don't notice that they're wet. Often, those who are most vociferous and hateful about fighting assimilation are, themselves, the most assimilated. The most pristine of all Jews are the Teimân•imꞋ. Even most Teimân•imꞋ, however, cannot say that they are like their grandparents in Teiman. How much more so are all other Jews assimilated—Europeanized or Americanized?
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| Logic NOR gate |
Is your practice founded on reasons that withstand your children's education? Rambam didn't mindlessly regurgitate the sages before him, which is all that we hear from rabbis today. Rambam respected logic, and he thought—logically—about Tor•âhꞋ. In the Mish•nâhꞋ, Ram•
Moreover, those who neglect (much less deny or refuse) science "are making themselves blind to the handiwork of
Between the time of Ram•
We must apply the same method as Rambam: logic, not mindlessly regurgitate his Medieval and European perspectives. Do you think Rambam would have made no progress since medieval times? Do you think Rambam would approve of us making no progress since medieval times?
To succeed with our children, we must also recognize that the secular world is NOT identical to the modern world. There is a secular view of Tor•âhꞋ as foolish legend, interpreted by medieval rabbis to conform to their, usually European, world-view and frame of reference. But there is also a modern view of applying the principles of logic and science to understand Tor•âhꞋ.
Those who perpetuate Medieval perspectives rather than modern logical and scientific perspective place their children at risk of being persuaded by logic and science that Tor•âhꞋ is a mere fable.
Logic, historical documentation, archeology and science are not threats to Tor•âhꞋ. To the contrary, they illuminate Tor•âhꞋ. Logic and science threaten only modern interpreters who mindlessly regurgitate Medieval interpretations. To immunize your children against secularism, as well as against Christianity, you must apply yourselves to learning how logic and science reconcile with Tor•âhꞋ; and be prepared to discard interpretations that conflict with the Creator of logic and science in our universe—in other words, interpretations of Tor•âhꞋ that actually conflict with Tor•âhꞋ. If we are to preserve Tor•âhꞋ in our children, then logic and science, not traditional interpretations, must guide our understanding of Tor•âhꞋ, just as logic and science of his day guided Rambam.
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 Ancient cosmology, celestial sphere |
In ðÉçÇ, we find that hâ-âꞋrëtz was drowned in the Ma•bulꞋ. Our children learn in science that no flood could have covered the entire world with water; it's scientifically impossible. So, they begin to doubt Tor•âhꞋ because the rabbis flunk physics, because they tell our children that their Medieval perspectives are identical to Tor•âhꞋ. That is our fault, not Tor•âhꞋ's fault.
Today, we know the world is globular. But, in the time that the account of NōꞋakh was first related, hâ-âꞋrëtz referred to "the civilized world"—of a family: âdâm, then NōꞋakh. The account in Tor•âhꞋ relates NōꞋakh's perspective, not our modern perspective.
 300x219.jpg "Mabul Black Sea 3D map (historum.com)") |
 1077x786.jpg "Click to enlarge"){kind=small} Prevailing Theory: sediment and shellfish evidence indicate that the Black Sea water basin turned from fresh to salty about 7600 years ago. The natural levee stretching from today's Dardanelles Strait (via the Sea of Marmara) through Istanbul was breached, apparently the result of flooding by deluge rains, ca. BCE 5,600, enabling the Aegean Sea, backed up by the Mediterranean Sea, to deluge the coastal settlements of northern Turkey (Mabul Black Sea 3D map, historum.com). |
Not surprisingly to me, scientists have found the area where the Ma•bulꞋ occurred. We know this area as the Black Sea. Scientists know that it was once landlocked, with far less water. The natural land bridge to the west formed a dam against the Mediterranean. It fragmented over time, due to tectonic shifting. Finally, during a torrential rain, the natural land dam, between what is now the Black Sea and the Mediterranean burst; and the Mediterranean flooded the Black Sea. Corroborating this, the ark came to rest on the nearby Ararat Mountains in Turkey. Even if we find this phenomenon wrong one day; nevertheless, it is this type of logical and scientific explanation that has the potential to prove correct one day. No less importantly, it is also this type of explanation that your child can rely on, and relate to, their intelligent and educated peers when they encounter questions in and after high school.
Further, logical explanations can in this way retrieve the 95% of the flock that regurgitating Medieval interpretations, instead of thinking, has alienated from Tor•âhꞋ.
In summary, turning to logic, historical documentation, archeology and science to understand Tor•âhꞋ results in Tor•âhꞋ becoming respected by everyone from scholars to your children. It results in your children being protected from inability to deal with questions that would otherwise destroy their love for Tor•âhꞋ. No less importantly, it results in the ability to retrieve those who have strayed from Tor•âhꞋ.
You can achieve this by first learning to answer questions about Tor•âhꞋ yourself; NOT unthinkingly, from medieval perspectives regurgitated by clerics, but by thinking through the issues, and applying a modern logical, historically documented and scientific perspective. Shᵊm•aꞋ Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ:
Dᵊvâr•imꞋ – åÀùÑÄðÌÇðÀúÌÈí ìÀáÈðÆéêÈ… (6.7); åÀìÄîÌÇãÀúÌÆí àÉúÈí (11.19)
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9.11 beReishit –
åÇäÂ÷ÄîÒúÄé
àÆú-áÌÀøÄéúÄé
àÄúÌÀëÆí,
åÀìÉà-éÄëÌÈøÅú
ëÌÈì-áÌÈùÒÈø,
òåÉã
îÄîÌÅé
äÇîÌÇáÌåÌì;
åÀìÉà-éÄäÀéÆä
òåÉã
îÇáÌåÌì
ìÀùÑÇçÅú
äÈàÈøÆõ:
Notice that the only promise is that there will be no recurrence of the îÇáÌåÌì. Clerics who represent that the Bᵊrit
Further details may be found in the chapter "The Bᵊn•eiꞋ-NōꞋakh" in Who Are The Nᵊtzarim? Live-LinkT (WAN)
and Atonement In the Biblical 'New Covenant' Live-LinkT (ABNC) in our Distance Learning Syllabus (see the appropriate Ministry).
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 300x193.jpg "Largest ship 2012 Knock Nevis 460m-1504ft (oddstuffmagazine.com)") |
 580x374.jpg "Click to enlarge"){kind=small} Largest ship 2012 – Oil tanker "Knock Nevis," 460 m (1504 ft) (oddstuffmagazine.com) – would hold almost 4 of NōꞋakh's "arks," end-to-end (not to mention side-by-side and stacking). Click to enlarge. |
According to bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ (6.15), the úÌÅáÈä was about 150 meters long by 75 meters wide by 45 meters high. NōꞋakh's úÌÅáÈä would be dwarfed by many of today's cruise liners and aircraft carriers. Yet, it would be impossible to load a pair of every unkosher animal on earth plus seven pairs of all kâ•sheirꞋ animals on earth into the largest aircraft carrier. Indeed, many of the species of the world weren't even found in the same hemisphere as NōꞋakh!
This seems to suggest that "all of the beasts" in chapters 6-7 refers only to animals that were useful, domesticated or harmless, and local. Dangerous wild predators apparently are never intended; neither as being named by man (a task still not completed today), nor being brought aboard NōꞋakh's úÌÅáÈä (a physical impossibility), nor as being destroyed. What was preserved in NōꞋakh's úÌÅáÈä or destroyed in the îÇáÌåÌì was more likely all of the homo sapiens genetically most closely related to •dâmꞋ and Khaw•
Some may argue that this stretches the
This explanation would also resolve the enigma of 6:4—if •dâmꞋ and Khaw•
According to the Chronology of the Tanakh, from the "Big ðÈèÈä" Live-LinkT suggested by Tor•âhꞋ, the îÇáÌåÌì occurred circa B.C.E. 2468. Thus, the îÇáÌåÌì doesn't explain such things as the disappearance of the dinosaurs, which scientists think occurred millions of years earlier and, they theorize, was caused by a collision with a meteor.
In this pâ•râsh•âhꞋ, the Bᵊrit
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| Ancient cosmology, celestial sphere |
7:11 — On the 17th day of Secondmonth all of the great underground springs were broken open, likely by an earthquake and àøáú (arubot, lattices) opened in the heavens.
Here, apparently, is the first indication of the breaking up of the cloud cover, forming latticework in the heavens. Blue sky showed through.
Movies have depicted scorners mocking NōꞋakh as raindrops began to fall out of the blue skies. However, it would seem that when the rain started, no one in that area had seen rain of such magnitude, perhaps during that season; and perhaps not the blue sky – and rainbow – that displayed after.
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54.9: "For this is the 'Waters of NōꞋakh' to Me, which I swore, [to refrain] from passing the 'Waters of NōꞋakh' another [time] upon the land'"
55.3-5: "Then I will cut for you a bᵊrit o•lam [pact of the world-age], of the trustworthy kindnesses of Dâ•widꞋ. Look, the testifier [i.e., the Mâ•shiꞋakh, pop. "witness"] to the le•um•imꞋ [nations] I have given him [viz., Dâ•widꞋ], a nobleman and orderer of mi•tzᵊw•otꞋ for the le•um•imꞋ. Look, you shall call a goy you don't know, and a goy who doesn't know you shall run to you; for the sake of é--ä your Ël•oh•imꞋ, and for the Holy [One] of Israel for He has glorified you."
Here it is made clear that the bᵊrit that is for the world-age—i.e., "all the days of hâ-âꞋrëtz," as long as there is "planting time and harvest time, cold and hot, summer and winter, day and night" (bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 8.22)—is the Davidic bᵊrit that Yᵊshayahu ha-Nâ•viꞋ considered still in the future, to supplement (for those party to the new bᵊrit) the preceding, and limited, Noakhide bᵊrit.
Analysis of the sequence of bᵊrit•otꞋ demonstrates that they are not supersessive—which would imply contradiction, an impossibility. Two realizations are crucial to understanding the bᵊrit•otꞋ. Successive bᵊrit•otꞋ are both:
cumulative in both conditions and promises and
increasingly exclusive concerning parties that satisfy the cumulative conditions and, thus, are acceptable to be party to the bᵊrit and its promises.
Each successive bᵊrit selected an elite family from within the previous group, and imposed both higher standards and greater rewards until, with the Davidic-Messianic bᵊrit, ki•purꞋ is provided for all sho•meirꞋ-Torah Jews and geir•imꞋ who are recognized by .
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This week's Haphtâr•âhꞋ recalls the Bᵊrit
Compare this with the instruction of RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa in the 'Amar Ribi Yᵊho•shuꞋa' section.
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 Main St., KᵊpharꞋ Na•khumꞋ, viewed from the veranda of the village Beit-ha-KᵊnësꞋët. Photograph 1983, Yirmeyahu Bën-David. |
One of 
title of the words of the Tor•âhꞋ of Mosh•ëhꞋ shall be [confused and ex]changed until they are all completed" (i.e., observed completely) (NHM 5:18, where see note 5.18.2).
is one-half of a mated pair of cantillation points. is preceded by (reading right to left)  15x15.gif "Yemenite Ozeil (Ashkenazi Qadma)"){kind=small}
, in the No•sakhꞋ Teimân•iꞋ, which is closest to No•sakhꞋ Har Sin•aiꞋ. Together, this pair delineates, or book-ends, a phrase. Such phraseology is frequently critical in establishing the interpretation intended by the ancient Hebrew authors. If an were lost, by itself (without the closing bracket cantillation mate) is read, instead, as —changing a conjunctive into a disjunctive, thereby altering the meaning of the clause and the pâ•suqꞋ. An example of brackets the first two words of bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 6.13. An example of is found only four words later, marking the accented syllable of áÌÈùÒÈø. Notice that the subsequent cantillation mark is a æÈ÷Åó ÷ÈèÈï (two words later, over the accented syllable of ìÀôÈðÇé), not an .
Deprived of its Displacement Theology (i.e. that Christ replaced Tor•âhꞋ) and the Beit-Din system of mi•shᵊpâtꞋ (Ha•lâkh•âhꞋ in post-Biblical Hebrew) handed down by Mosh•ëhꞋ that Tor•âhꞋ records, Christianity is revealed to be self-contradictory, and self-destructs. But RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa's teaching, identical to
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Wine is one of those foods that are beneficial in small amounts but harmful in large amounts. Wine taken with meals helps to digest the food. Wine also uplifts the spirit. However, anyone who uses wine to intoxicate himself is making his body go to waste and destroying his mind; he is inviting catastrophe.
NōꞋakh came to grief because of wine, bringing disgrace upon himself and curses upon his descendants. The Tal•mudꞋ tells us (Ma•sëkꞋët Sunedrion 70a): Oveid of the Jalil expounded: "Speaking of wine, the Tor•âhꞋ uses the connective Ivᵊr•itꞋ letter vav followed by the letter yod thirteen times. Together these letters form the sound 'woy,' an expression of lament.
"It is written, And NōꞋakh became a man of the earth, and he planted a vineyard. And he drank of the wine and became drunk, and he undressed within his tent. And Kham the father of Kena•an saw the nakedness of his father, and told of it to his two brothers outside. And Sheim and Yaphet took the coat and placed it upon both of their shoulders and went backwards and covered the nakedness of their father, and their faces were averted, and they did not see the nakedness of their father. And NōꞋakh awoke from the stupor of the wine and realized what his youngest son had done to him (bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 9.20-24)."
There is a difference of opinion between Rav and Shmueil as to what NōꞋakh's youngest son Kham had done to him. One says that he had castrated him. The other says that he had sodomized him.
The one who says that Kham castrated NōꞋakh bases his interpretation on the fact that NōꞋakh cursed Kena•an, the fourth son of Kham. Since Kham had prevented NōꞋakh from having a fourth son, it was only fitting that his own fourth son should be the bearer of his accursedness.
The one who says that Kham sodomized NōꞋakh bases his interpretation on parallel expression. It is written here, And Kham the father of Kena•an saw (Ibid.). It is also written, And Shekhem the son of Khamor saw her. (bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 34.2) in reference to the rape of Dinah.
According to the one who says that Kham castrated NōꞋakh, the reason for NōꞋakh's directing his curse at Kena•an, the fourth son of Kham, has already been explained. However, according to the one who says that Kham sodomized NōꞋakh, why did he single out Kham's fourth son in his curse? Indeed, this one also agrees that Kham castrated NōꞋakh; he only adds that Kham first sodomized him.
It is written, And NōꞋakh became a man of the earth, and he planted a vineyard (bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 9.20). •marꞋ Rav Khisda •marꞋ Mar Ukva, Amar Rabi Zakai: "•marꞋ The Holy Blessed One to NōꞋakh: 'NōꞋakh, you should have learned from the lesson of •dâmꞋ, the original man of the earth, who was banished from Gan Eiden because of wine. ' " This statement coincides with the view that the forbidden Tree of Knowledge was a grapevine, since nothing else brings people as much grief as does wine.
There are, however, other views. RabꞋi Yᵊhudah contends that the forbidden fruit was wheat grain, grain being called the Tree of Knowledge because an infant speaks his first words only after he has begun to eat grains. Rav Nekhemyah contends fhat it was a fig tree, the source of their downfall participating in their rehabilitation, as it is written, And they sewed together fig leaves, and they made themselves robes (bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 3.7 ).
The Tal•mudꞋ outlines the proper use of wine (Ma•sëkꞋët Sunedrion. Eiruvin 65a):
•marꞋ Rav Khanan: "Wine was created for no other reason than to console the bereaved and to repay the sinful in this world for any merit they may possibly have, as it is written, Give spirits to the doomed and wine to the embittered souls (Mishlei 31.6)." •marꞋ R' Yitzkhaq: "What is the meaning of that which is written, Do not look at wine in its redness (Mishlei 23.31)? "Do not be drawn to wine that flushes the faces of the sinful in this world but makes them become pale in the world to come. " Amar Rava: "Do not be drawn to wine for there is bloodshed in its aftermath. "
Rav Kᵊhana asked: "Why is it written, New wine (Ho•sheiꞋa 4.11) in the abbreviated version of the Ivᵊr•itꞋ word but read in the variant full form?" There is an intimation here that if wine is used wisely it helps one attain greatness, but if it is abused it brings destitution."
Rava asked: "Why is the Ivᵊr•itꞋ word in that which is written, And wine will devastate the heart of people (Tehil•imꞋ 104.15) read in the variant form meaning 'will gladden'?" There is an intimation here that if wine is used properly it brings gladness, but if it is abused it brings devastation. " This coincides with what Amar Rava: "Wine and fine scents have sharpened my wits."
Amar Rabi Amram in the name of RabꞋi Shim•onꞋ the son of Avin, Amar Rabi Khiya the son of Aba, Amar Rabi Khaniya: "What is the meaning of that which is written, Who cries out, who howls, who has quarrels, who has complaints, who has undeserved wounds, the ones who have bloodshot eyes, those that linger over wine, that search out blended wines (Mishlei 23.29-30)?" When Rav Dimi came, he said: "It was said in the Land of Eretz Yisraeil that these verses can validly be read both as a question and answer and as a declaratory statement. In the first meaning, they are asking who are the ones that have all of these and answering that it is the ones who linger over wine. In the alternate meaning, they are saying that those who are bereaved and cry out in pain and those who are quarrelsome and sinful are the ones for whom wine is fitting."
The Tal•mudꞋ also tells us (Avot 3.10): Rav Dossa the son of Harkinos says: "Oversleeping in the morning, drinking wine at noon, idle chatter, and participating in assemblies of the ignorant cause a person to be banished from the world."
The Tal•mudꞋ further tells us (Berakhot 63a): It was taught: Rav Meiir says: "Why are the laws of the Nâ•zirꞋ, written next to the laws of the suspected adulteress?" To tell you that whoever sees a suspected adulteress in her disgrace should take on the Nâ•zirꞋ vow to refrain from the drinking of wine. " This, of course, is because it was drunkenness that clouded her judgment in the first place and led her to commit adultery. A person who sees the consequences of debauchery would, therefore, be well advised to take the Nâ•zirꞋ vow, thereby placing a strong barrier between himself and the potential dangers of wine. The wise person will always take care not to overindulge his thirst for wine. It will save him from disgrace and misfortune.
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