TOPIC 1: The Torah isn't telling the history of mankind
3:10a וְאִם תֹּאמַר, הֲרֵי כָּל בְּנֵי הָעוֹלָם יָצְאוּ מֵאָדָם, (אינו כך, שלא) וְכִי יָרַד אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן לְכָל הָאֲרָצוֹת וְהוֹלִיד בָּנִים? וְכַמָּה נָשִׁים הָיוּ לוֹ? אֶלָּא אָדָם לֹא נִמְצָא אֶלָּא בָּעוֹלָם הָעֶלְיוֹן הַזֶּה מִכֻּלָּם, שֶׁנִּקְרָא תֵבֵל, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַרְנוּ, שֶׁכָּתוּב (משלי ח) (משחקת בתבל ארצו) וַיְצַו לְתֵבֵל אַרְצוֹ. וְהַתֵּבֵל הַזּוֹ אֲחוּזָה בָּרָקִיעַ שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה וְנֶאֱחֶזֶת בַּשֵּׁם הָעֶלְיוֹן. זֶהוּ שֶׁכָּתוּב (תהלים ט) וְהוּא יִשְׁפֹּט תֵּבֵל בְּצֶדֶק. בְּצֶדֶק וַדַּאי. מִשּׁוּם כָּךְ בָּנָיו שֶׁל אָדָם נִמְצָאִים בָּאָרֶץ הָעֶלְיוֹנָה הַזּוֹ שֶׁנִּקְרֵאת תֵּבֵל. וְהֵם עֶלְיוֹנִים עַל הַכֹּל, כְּמוֹ שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה.
And if you say, behold, all the people of the world descended from Adam (isn't right, that not), did the first man descend to all lands and bear children? And how many wives did he have?
Rather, Adam only exists in the highest world called "Tevel"., as we said. As it is written (Proverbs 8:31), ‘Playing in the Tevel of His earth,’ meaning He commanded [creation] to Tevel, His earth. And this Tevel is connected to the heavens above and is attached to the Higher Name, as it is written (Psalms 9:9), ‘He shall judge the Tevel with righteousness.’ With righteousness, indeed. Therefore, the children of Adam are found in this higher land called Tevel, and they are elevated above all, just like the realm above
The above Zohar notes an incompatability between our observations and the described history in the Torah. It is of great interest that the Zohar does not discount our observations and instead proposes a non-literal reading.
The interpretation of the Zohar is that the Garden of Eden is the place of wisdom, as implied by the verse from Proverbs, which is talking about wisdom. This is consistent with the Zohar's psycological interpretation of the story of Adam and Eve, as well as with Philo's and Maimonides' explanations.
מָה הַטַּעַם? כְּמוֹ שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה לְכָל הָרְקִיעִים יֵשׁ רָקִיעַ עֶלְיוֹן מִכֻּלָּם, וּלְמַעְלָה נִמְצָא כִּסְאוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר כְּמַרְאֵה אֶבֶן סַפִּיר דְּמוּת כִּסֵּא וְעַל דְּמוּת הַכִּסֵּא דְּמוּת כְּמַרְאֵה אָדָם עָלָיו מִלְמָעְלָה. אַף כָּאן בַּתֵּבֵל הַזּוֹ נִמְצָא הַמֶּלֶךְ שֶׁל הַכֹּל, וּמִיהוּ? אָדָם, מַה שֶּׁלֹּא נִמְצָא בְּכָל הַתַּחְתּוֹנִים.
What is the reason? Just as above, there is a highest firmament above all the heavens, and above it is found the throne of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said: 'Like the appearance of a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne, and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it from above.' So too, in this Tevel is found the king of all, and who is he? Man, who is not found among all those below.
The Zohar here explains that the image of a likeness of Man found in on the Throne of Glory is a meaphor for the intellegence driving the universe. In a similar way, the Man, Adam, in the Torah is a metaphor for the intellect.
וְאוֹתָם תַּחְתּוֹנִים מֵאֵיפֹה בָּאוּ? אֶלָּא מֵהָאֵדִים (מעשן) שֶׁל הָאָרֶץ וְהַסִּיּוּעַ שֶׁל הָרָקִיעַ שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה, יוֹצְאִים בְּרִיּוֹת מְשֻׁנּוֹת אֵלּוּ מֵאֵלּוּ, מֵהֶם בִּלְבוּשִׁים, מֵהֶם בִּקְלִפּוֹת, כַּתּוֹלָעִים הַלָּלוּ שֶׁנִּמְצָאוֹת בָּאָרֶץ, מֵהֶן בִּקְלִפּוֹת אֲדֻמּוֹת, שְׁחוֹרוֹת וּלְבָנוֹת, וּמֵהֶן מִכָּל הַגְּוָנִים. כָּךְ כָּל הַבְּרִיּוֹת כְּמוֹ כֵן, וְלֹא נִמְצָאִים בְּקִיּוּם, רַק עֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים (או יותר. ס"א מעט או פחות מעט).
And those lower creatures—where did they come from? Rather, from the vapors (or smoke) of the earth and the contribution of the firmament above, emerge different creatures, each distinct from the other: some are in coverings, some in shells, like those worms found on earth, some with red shells, black, white, and of every color. So too with all creatures; they are only found to exist for ten years (or slightly more, some say a little less or more).
The Zohar here suggests that humans evolved from other creatures that emerged from minerals in the earth. The comment on them probably just means that they don't live forever.
And in the book of Rav Hamnuna Saba explains more. The entire world and those upon it, spin round in a circle like a ball,' both those at the bottom of the ball and those at the top. All those creatures, look different because the air is different in each place, and they persist like other human beings.
The Zohar here remarks that different animals and people have different features in differetnt places because different features are optimal for survival in different environments. The species of animals persist forever, just like mankind. This is a similar to the perspecitve on providence found in the Guide for the Perplexed
TOPIC 2: Noah's failed attempt
1:73a רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אָמַר רָזָא דְּחָכְמְתָא אִיהוּ הָכָא בְּהַאי קְרָא. כַּד בָּעָא נֹחַ לְמִבְדַּק בְּהַהוּא חוֹבָא דְּבָדַק אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן. לָאו לְאִתְדַּבְּקָא בֵּיהּ, אֶלָּא לְמִנְדַע וּלְאַתְקָנָא עָלְמָא וְלָא יָכִיל. סָחַט עֲנָבִים לְמִבְדַּק בְּהַהוּא כֶּרֶם. כֵּיוָן דְּמָטָא לְהַאי, (ד"א כדין) וַיִּשְׁכָּר וַיִּתְגָּל. וְלָא הֲוָה לֵיהּ חֵילָא לְמֵיקַם. וּבְגִין כָּךְ וַיִּתְגָּל גַּלֵּי פִּרְצָה דְעָלְמָא דְּהֲוָה סָתִים. בְּתוֹךְ אָהֳלֹה כְּתִיב בְּה"א. וְעַל דָּא כְּתִיב וְאַל תִּקְרַב אֶל פֶּתַח בֵּיתָהּ. בְּתוֹךְ אָהֳלָהּ דְּהַהוּא כָּרֶם.
2) Rabbi Shimon said: The secret of wisdom is here in this verse. When Noah sought to examine that sin which the first man (Adam) had examined, it was not to attach himself to it, but rather to understand and to rectify the world—and he was unable. He squeezed grapes to examine that vineyard, but when he reached that point, (as it is also interpreted) he became drunk and uncovered himself, and he had no strength to stand. Because of this, he was exposed, revealing a breach in the world that had previously been hidden. It is written “inside his tent,” with a hei. And for this it is written, “Do not approach the entrance of her house,” within her tent, that is, the vineyard.
Do not come near the doorway of her house
The grapes here are a metaphor for the Yetzer Hara, the imagination or sense of fantasy. This is implied by the connection to the verse in proverbs, which is traditionally talking about the Yetzer Hara.
For more insight about what Noach was trying to do, we compare this with Nadav and Avihu.
כְּגַוְונָא דָא בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן דְּתָנִינָן שְׁתוּיֵי יַיִן הֲווּ. וְכִי מַאן יָהִיב לוֹן חַמְרָא בְּהַהוּא אֲתַר לְמִשְׁתֵּי. אִי סַלְקָא דַעְתָּךְ דְּאִנוּן חֲצִיפִין הֲווּ דְּרָווֹ חַמְרָא. לָאו הָכִי, אֶלָּא וַדַּאי מֵהַהוּא חַמְרָא רָווֹ דִּכְתִיב, (ויקרא י׳:א׳) וַיַּקְרִיבוּ לִפְנֵי יְיָ אֵשׁ זָרָה. כְּתִיב הָכָא אֵשׁ זָרָה וּכְתִיב הָתָם (משלי ז׳:ה׳) לִשְׁמָרְךָ מֵאִשָּׁה זָרָה וְכֹלָּא חַד מִלָּה.
(3) Similarly, it is said about the sons of Aaron, as we have learned, that they were drunk on wine. But who would have given them wine in that place to drink? If you think they were brazen enough to drink wine, it is not so; rather, they were surely drunk on that “wine” as it is written, “and they offered before God a strange fire” (Leviticus 10:1). Here it is written “strange fire,” and there it is written, “to guard you from the foreign woman” (Proverbs 7:5), and it is all one matter.
The Zohar again connects wine to the Yetzer Hara.
Because the Zohar and others, such as the Rambam, connect the Yezter Hara to the imagination, in distinction to the intellect, I will suggest that both Noah and Nadav and Avihu attempted to approach religion through the imagination and fantasy. Perhaps they were attempting to "fix" the imagination by using it in the service of God. Or perhaps using sensual experiences to try to bring others into the fold. However, this failed. Ultimately, the source of religious instruction is not the heart, but the mind.
Additional Questions:
- If the Flood never happened, what is the meaning of the story?
- What is the key difference between Noah and Avraham, and how is this expressed in Noach's failure?
- Noach invented the plow. What does this have to do with saving the animals and the world?
- How can Judaism the world from nuclear war and other world-ending events?