Parashat “Noah”

ùÑÅí

( åÇéåÉìÅã ðÉçÇ ùÑÀìÉùÑÈä áÌÈðÄéí àÆú ùÑÅí àÆú çÈí åÀàÆú éÈôÆú (áøàùéú, å, é

“ And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham and Jepheth “ (Genesis 6, 10)

Shem

In simple Hebrew the meaning of the word “shem” is “ name” .It is difficult however to believe that Noah would have chosen such a simple name for his firstborn. It seems that Shem’s name ( hashem shel Shem , in Hebrew ) means God. We know of other biblical names containing the prefix “ shem “ such as Shemuel and Shemida. Others assume that “ shem “ means fame and honour. While building the tower of Babel, the people said"äÈáÈä ðÄáÀðÆä ìÈðåÌ òÄéø åÌîÄâÀãÌÈì åÀøÉàùÑåÉ áÌÇùÌÑÈîÇéÄí åÀðÇòÂùÒÆä ìÈðåÌ ùÑÅí.. ." “

(áøàùéú, éà, ã “ Come we will build for us a city and a tower, whose head may reach unto heaven: and we will make for us a name…”

(Genesis 10, 4)

Wanting a name, (shem) expressed their desire for honor.

Noah, by choosing this name for his firstborn, meant to show his need for a son to carry on his own name.

The desire of a father to have a son carry on his name can be seen in the book of Deuteronomy:

" åÀäÈéÈä äÇáÌÀëåÉø àÂùÑÆø úÌÅìÅã éÈ÷åÌí òÇì ùÑÅí àÈçÄéå äÇîÌÅú åÀìÉà éÄîÌÈçÆä ùÑÀîåÉ îÄéÌÄùÒÀøÈàÅì )ãáøéí ëä,å)

“And it shall be, that the firstborn which she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name be not wiped out in Yisra’el “(Deuteronomy 25,6)

This might mean, that if Noah were living today he would name his son Noah Junior or perhaps Noah The Second, but certainly not Shem. Let us not forget that the word anti - Semitism (antishemiut in Hebrew) originated from Noah’s eldest son’s name, Shem. Imagine if he had been called Noah Junior, what would hatred of Jewish people be called – “Anti- Noah-Joniurism”???

Ham

Researchers believe that the name “Ham” (pronounced “Cham” in Hebrew) comes from the Hebrew word “ çîä “ (Chama) meaning “ sun “ . Giving a child this name shows the hope of the parent for his child to have the strength and respect that the “chama”, the sun has. Giving this name might also be related to the worship of the sun.

Yafet

The first word which comes to ones’ mind when hearing this name is the word “éåôé “( yofi ) meaning “beauty”. Hazal describe Yefet’s looks by using the word “yofi” – beauty "éÀôÅéôÆéåÌúåÉ ùÑÆì éÆôÆú" (îâéìä éà, à) “ Yefet’s beauty “ (Megila 11, 1) (Yefeifiuto shel Yefet)

However, researchers presume that the word “yefet” means a wide and large opening or entrance. The name Yefet is a symbol of a blessing of success and prosperity. In Noah’s blessing to his son,Yefet, he says: "éÇôÀúÀ àÁìÉäÄéí ìÀéÆôÆú åÀéÄùÑÀëÌÉï áÌÀàÈäÃìÄé ùÑÅí..." (áøàùéú è, ëæ “ God shall enlarge Yefet, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem “ ( Genesis 9,27)

åÇúÌÄùÑÈçÅú äÈàÈøÆõ ìÄôÀðÅé äÈàÁìÉäÄéí åÇúÄîÈìÌÅà äÈàÈøÆõ çÈîÇñ (áøàùéú, å, éà)

“ The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence “ (Genesis 5,11)

The word “ úÌÄùÑÈçÅú “ , meaning corrupt, is not commonly used as a verb in Hebrew, but the word "îËùÑÀçÈú", meaning corrupt ( when describing a person, for example), is used very often. In many election campaigns in Israel the opposition does not fail to remind the voters of the corruption which goes on in the government. A slogan very much heard prier to the election day is : "îËùÑÀçÈúÄéí, ðÄîÀàÇñÀúÌÆí".( “ corrupt people – we have had enough! )

According to the stickers which appear on many cars , one can detect, which political party the driver belongs to. Any how, even after a different party is in power, there is no doubt that the opposing party will use that same slogan which was used against them earlier. Manufactures of stickers and posters can rest assure that they will have business for many years without having to even think of a new slogan "îËùÑÀçÈúÄéí, ðÄîÀàÇñÀúÌÆí". will always be suitable for an effective election campaign.

In general, the usage of the word “"ùÑÀçÄéúåÌú ( corruption ) increases as the moral values and behavior of the public’s representatives, decrease.

A similar meaning for the word "ùÑÀçÄéúåÌú can be seen in the expression : "àÂøåÌçÇú ùÑÀçÄéúåÌú" (“ a meal of corruption “ ) It is used to describe a large meal which the person eating it is not used to. It can also insinuate that the person eating this luxurious meal, has not paid for it. The meal has been funded by the public and he might be the only one enjoying it.

Corruption in the times of Noah must have been different than the corruption we see today. There were no public representatives to steal public funds and moral values might have been different then. In the verse above. corruption is equivalent to violence. Corruption and violence at any time, should never be accepted by society.

äÇùÑÀçÈúÈä" “ also means destruction : ãáøéí ë, éè: ) "ìÉà úÌÇùÑÀçÄéú àÆú òÅöÈä ìÄðÀãÉçÇ òÈìÈéå âÌÇøÀæÆï" )

“When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt destroy its trees…..” ( Deuteronomy 20,19 )

Many people use the expression “"áÌÇì úÌÇùÑÀçÄéú", ( “ bal tashchit “) to express the belief that one must not destroy anything created by God . This expression is based on the verse I mentioned above.

The Frigate is a known battle ship which carries many canons. It is mainly used to destroy other ships at sea and hit targets on land. In Hebrew The Frigate is called a “ "îÇùÑÀçÆúÆ The root of the word is of course ù.ç.ú .

åÇúÄîÈìÌÅà äÈàÈøÆõ çÈîÇñ (áøàùéú, å, éá)

“. . and the earth was filled with violence” ( Genesis 5,11 )

The word “çÈîÇñ “ ( chamas ) is translated into English as “violence”. The Hebrew word for “ violence” is “ àìéîåú “ ( alimut ). So what is the difference between

The two? çÈîÇñ is a much more severe type of violence. Violence which contains injustice. It does not have to necessarily contain physical violence.

Theft , embezzlement and fraud are all considered “çîñ “ .

"ëÌÄé îÄãÌÅé àÂãÇáÌÅø àÆæÀòÇ÷ çÈîÈñ åÈùÑÉã àÆ÷ÀøÈà ëÌÄé äÈéÈä ãÌÀáÇø ä´ ìÄé ìÀçÆøÀôÌÈä åÌìÀ÷ÆìÆñ ëÌÈì äÇéÌåÉí (éøîéä ë, ç, )

“ For whenever I speak, I cry out aloud, I shout of violence and ruin: therefore the word of the Lord is made a reproach unto me, and a derision all the day “ ( Jeremiah , 19,8 )

The prophet is hurt and offended. He shouts out with feelings of pain and outrage, as he sees the situation of the people. “ çîñ “ as we see is a social situation which does not always contain violence. There are situations when injustice is done, however, the person might not even know. Lying , deceiving and taking advantage of others are examples of çîñ . A persons who lies under oath in a court of law is called in Hebrew “ "òÅã çÈîÇñ ( ed chamas )

Israel is trying to cope with terror organizations that aim to harm the stability of the country. One of these organizations is the Hamas. I wonder whether the founders of this group gave a second thought to the horrifying name they had chosen? Obviously not . The letters of this word in Arabic stand for : The Islamic Resistance Organization. It is interesting however that their demands are nothing but çîñ . (chamas).

Finally lets meet the “úÌÇçÀîÈñ “ (tachmas). "åÀàÆú äÇúÌÇçÀîÈñ åÀàÆú äÇùÌÑÇçÇó" ( (åé÷øà,éà,èæ

"… and the kestrel, and the gull “ (Leviticus, 11,16) This vulture hunts on land. The Bible might have given it this name using the Hebrew root : ç,î,ñ to show the aggressive behavior of this bird which hunts on land so that other animals see and beware.