WHY THE DELAY IN HAVING KIDS? THIS PERIOD WAS A BABY BOOM TIME!!!
‘And Noach was five hundred years old when he gave birth to Shem. Cham and Yafet’ (Berashit 5:32) Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz quotes Rashi (main commentary on the Bible) in the Medrash (book explaining the Bible) and asks a question “Why did Noach have kids so late?” The average age in that time period to have children was at one hundred. Did he have infertility problems? Why did G-d hold back?
G-d said, if Noach’s children will turn out bad then they will drown like the rest of mankind, and if they’ll be righteous then they will burden their father by building more ships. For this reason, G-d waited five hundred years for Noach to have children, preventing Shem, Cham, and Yafet from confronting that scenario.
Rav Chaim asks a very obvious question on this Medrash. It’s understandable a degenerate society can corrupt and influence. Therefore, one would not want his child to associate or ‘be around’ them. So out of protection to minimize the damage, G-d delayed the arrival of the children. However, if the children were able to be strong in their belief in G-d and persevere, why would that be a burden to build more ships? On the contrary, every father dreams and wants his child to follow in his footsteps at any cost. He should be happy that his sons want to build more ships and follow G-d’s command. Furthermore, we learn later on by Abraham how painful it was for him not to have children. So is it worth it to put someone in anguish by preventing him not to have kids just because not to burden him of building more ships?
Rav Chaim introduces us to a concept in the Torah with the help of these two examples. Elisha the prophet was Eliyahu’s student (the famous Eliyahu Hanavi who was given the power by G-d to revive the dead.) Rav Chaim points out something astonishing in which Elisha instructed Gichazi, his assistant, to take the prophet’s stick and give life to someone.
Apparently, one can transfer power to an inanimate object, and furthermore a second party can do the task.
We find Chana, the prophetess, sewed a coat for her little boy, Shmuel, which he wore all his life. He did not separate from this coat till the day of his death at old age. The sages say that the coat grew with him. What was so special about the coat?
It was essential for Shmuel the Prophet to wear this coat because it enhanced his spiritual state to great heights. Chana, his mother, who had tremendous love for G-d and the nation of Israel, sewed the coat and put her heart and soul into every stitch. These strong feelings were transferred to Shmuel by wearing the coat and enabled him to have such tremendous dedication to G-d that the scripture equates the Prophet Shmuel to Moshe and Aharon, the leaders who led us out of Egypt.
Furthermore, astonishingly, we find in the Torah (Shemot 20:23) that the altar in the temple should only be built by stone and not metal (steel) because the latter connotes weaponry. This is quite the opposite of what the Temple stands for – peace, tranquility and kindness. The altar is meant to increase one’s life and not the opposite, which metal (swords, knives) represents. When we were fortunate to have the altar in the Temple, we could use it to atone for our sins. Today the Shabbat table replaces that symbol where the kindness (inviting guests) and love (that we show to our family) atones for our sins. For this reason there are some communities that remove all utensils before one recites the bircat hamazone – grace after mealBut the question is asked, that if swords don’t kill, people do, why is the inanimate object implicated as well?
Rav Chaim seems to be implying that it goes beyond the concept of ‘association’. There are negative and positive forces that we create which penetrate the object. It is interesting to note that ‘the hot hand’ is definitely applicable today. Many years ago when I began my career in the colored stone business, my father took me on a buying trip to Bangkok, Thailand. I noticed my father buying rubies from a particular vendor even though he was more expensive than the guy down the block. I asked, “Hey Pop, why are you buying from him? He’s more expensive.” He answered, “I have a bracha with this vendor even though he’s at a higher price, I will sell it, whereas the other vendor, even though it’s a great deal, I’ll have a hard time moving it.”
Getting back to Noach, the scripture mentions ‘Noach found favor in G-d’s eyes’; that he, and only he was to be the redeemer. Although his sons might have been tzadikim in their own right, it was Noach who had the power. It was he who had to toil and work for 120 years. All his efforts will penetrate the ark and make it the vehicle to the new frontier. Rav Chaim teaches us that the concept of influencing materials in this world is not just on a physical level but on a spiritual one as well. This gives credence to the idea of a “magic wand”!!!!
The Torah hints through the scriptures that man had such an influence on nature during Noach’s time that the animals behaved in a degenerate way like humans. The animals were cross breeding with other animals similarly like man decadent lifestyle. For this reason the animals had to be destroyed along with mankind.
Why man has such an influence on the world?
G-d created the animals in one instant. In contrast mans creation was a process.
Why the difference between the creation of the two?
The first hour G-d thought about creating man; the second hour he asked the angels their opinion. We learn even though one thinks he’s the greatest, he should always ask advice. The third hour G-d gathered dirt from the four corners of the earth. The fourth hour He gathered all the materials together; The 5th hour He created the body; the 6th created a golem, a walking body; on the 7th, man was able to speak – He instilled a neshama-soul.
The way G-d created man is the way man can manipulate and influence on the world. He can take an object, a chair, a table, or an animal, and gradually elevate it to spiritual heights. We see this concept performed daily by reciting a bracha on a certain food. The piece of food is then elevated by the recitation.
The Zohar says we are movers and shakers; we are constantly increasing and decreasing spirituality around us. Unfortunatly the opposite holds true as well. We have the power to infuse the world with kedusha, and Tumah (evil) as well.
