Parashat Noah- Destroying the Yeser Ha’ra

The Gemara in Masechet Zevahim (116) tells that at the time of Matan Torah, a loud, thunderous noise was heard throughout the world. The kings came to Bilam, the gentile prophet, to ask what was happening. They feared that G-d was bringing a flood to destroy the earth, as He had done during the times of Noach. Bilam assured them by reminding them of the promise Hashem made to Noach after he left the ark, that He would never again destroy the earth. The noise that the people heard, Bilam explained, was the sound of Hashem giving His beloved nation the sacred Torah. How might we understand this story – that the event of Matan Torah was initially mistaken for a repeat of the flood? The answer emerges from a fascinating comment of the Zohar, in Parashat Pinhas, teaching that the Torah was supposed to have been given during the time of Noach. The flood of water that destroyed the earth was initially to have been a "flood" of wisdom and spirituality. But that generation was sinful and undeserving of the Torah, and so G-d flooded the world with water instead of with Torah. This explains an otherwise baffling passage in the Gemara, in Masechet Hulin, where the Gemara asks where the Torah makes an allusion to Moshe Rabbenu. The Gemara answers by citing a verse toward the end of Parashat Bereshit (6:3) in which G-d bemoans the sinfulness of the generation of the flood ("Be'shagam Hu Basar"). The word "Be'shagam" in this verse in Gematria equals 345 – the same Gematria as the name "Moshe," and it is in this verse, the Gemara states, where the Torah makes an allusion to Moshe Rabbenu. The Gemara's discussion seems very peculiar. The vast majority of the Torah is about Moshe. Why must the Gemara search for a subtle allusion to him? The answer might be that the Gemara searched for an allusion to Moshe in the context of the originally intended time of Matan Torah. As he was the one who brought us the Torah, we should expect him to be associated in some way with the story of the flood, the period when the Torah was to have been given to the world. The Gemara found such an allusion in the word "Be'sha'gam" describing the generation of the flood. The Arizal developed this point even further, teaching that Moshe's soul was a "Gilgul" (reincarnation) of Noach's soul. This special soul descended to give the Torah, but the generation of the flood was unworthy, so this soul returned centuries later in the form of Moshe Rabbenu, who brought the Torah to Beneh Yisrael. This is evidenced by the fact that Moshe's mother, Yochebed, placed him in a "Teba" (basket) to hide him from the Egyptians (Shemot 2:3). This marks the only time in the Torah when the word "Teba" is used except during the story of Noach, who of course built a "Teba" (ark). As these two righteous men shared the same soul, they were both saved in a "Teba." What might be the practical lesson to be learned from this? What is the significance of the fact that the Torah was to be given during the time of Noach, but the event of Matan Torah was substituted with the flood? The explanation, perhaps, is that Torah, like the flood, destroys – specifically, it destroys the Yeser Ha'ra, people's sinful inclinations and tendencies. The connection between Torah and the flood teaches us that the Torah is given to us to destroy the negative aspects of our characters. If we properly devote ourselves to Torah learning, and we open our minds and our hearts to imbibe its timeless wisdom and its sanctity, we have an opportunity to be refined and cleansed. Just as the floodwaters in Noach's time had the effect of resetting the earth, so does Torah have the power to "reset" our souls, to change us, to make us better and more spiritual beings. Let us, then, commit to utilizing this sacred gift to "destroy" our Yeser Ha'ra and draw closer to Hashem.