The message of Noach: tyranny, culture and religion

The parashah of Noach raises more than its fair share of controversies and discussion points. In its chapters which arise from this parashah, Judaism Reclaimed focuses on the theme of the Torah’s universalist message being borne by a small Chosen Nation.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, whose universalist understanding of the Torah features heavily in our analysis of this parashah, builds upon the ideas of earlier commentators such as Rabbi Yehudah Halevi and Rabbi Ovadyah Seforno. These earlier commentators indicate that God’s primary plan for the world was for the entire human race to strive together for spiritual and moral perfection. Parashat Noach, following R’ Hirsch’s approach, is a demonstration of how a manifestly unified society repeatedly squandered this opportunity, leading to the fracturing of mankind into distinct rival groups from which only one would emerge as being suitably quipped to bear the responsibility and privilege of carrying God’s message to the world.

It is in this context that R’ Hirsch presents an original and illuminating interpretation of Noach’s prophetic utterances concerning his three sons, and of the interrelationship of the nations which would become associated with them. Crucially, R’ Hirsch distances himself from the notion that Cham’s descendants were terminally cursed with being enslaved to his brothers -- a reading which has prompted some to justify African slavery and which is mocked by Ibn Ezra (“Some say that Kushites are slaves because Noach cursed Cham. But they have forgotten that the first king who reigned after the Flood was from Kush”).

How then does R’ Hirsch explain Noach’s words? He proposes that Shem, Cham and Yafet represent three distinct traits (and even ideologies) to which their names allude. Shem (literally “Name”) indicates great intellectual and spiritual insight to perceive the essence of matters. Cham (“Hot”) embodies a surrender to unrestrained “burning” physical sensuality while Yafet (“Open”) represents the openness and sensitivity of people’s hearts to beauty and aesthetics.

Identifying these core traits and ideologies as national aspirations rather than as characteristics determined by strict biological descent, R’ Hirsch interprets Noach’s vision as a prayer and as guidance for the direction and religious perfection of mankind. In brief: many nations have risen and fallen throughout human history, their only essence and aspiration being exploitation and domination over others. Such nations of ‘Cham’ are thus identified with tyranny, brute force and craven submission to humanity’s primal urges (phenomena which are reflected in their religions and gods of war). For such cultures to develop a more sophisticated moral and spiritual dimension, R’ Hirsch writes, they must first come under the refining influence of Yafet’s thought and culture. This bears the potential to stimulate the mind and soul to develop an awareness and consciousness which transcends humanity’s most animalistic elements.

Elevated by of the principle of “Yaft Elokim leYefet”, the next step is for Cham to be “yishkon be’ohalei Shem” – to dwell in the tents of Shem where Cham can absorb the ultimate moral, spiritual and religious truths which lie beyond aesthetic satisfaction. R’ Hirsch traces the various influences of the Greeks and Jews (primary exemplars of Yafet and Shem) throughout history, demonstrating how Noach’s prophecy has elevated humanity.

Judaism Reclaimed continues this discussion with an assessment of how R’ Hirsch’s interpretation might have viewed the violent combinations of (i) Cham and Yafet in Nazi Germany, as well as (ii) Cham and Shem in the barbaric theocracy of the Islamic State. We conclude by demonstrating that Noach’s prophecy and teaching remains both relevant and critical in the 21st

century.

[Other controversial discussions arising from parashat Noach such as the parallel Noach narratives, Gilgamesh Epic and how to approach apparent conflicts between the Torah’s text and science, feature heavily in later chapters.]

First posted to Facebook 29 October 2019, here.