But before we get to the ark and the flood, let's rewind a bit. According to Legends of the Jews, a collection of stories compiled by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, Noah’s arrival on the scene was Before he was born, the sea was a bit… unruly. Ginzberg writes that it flooded the land twice a day, reaching the graves! But the moment Noah entered the world, the sea calmed down, staying within its boundaries. And that's not all. There was a terrible famine during the time of Lamech, Noah's father, one of ten great famines destined to plague the world. But with Noah’s birth, the famine ended. Talk about a good omen!
Now, as Noah grew into a man, he followed in the righteous footsteps of his grandfather Methuselah. But here's where things get complicated. The rest of humanity? Not so much. They rejected Noah's pious ways and embraced their evil inclinations. What was driving this wickedness?
Ginzberg tells us that much of the blame rested on the shoulders of fallen angels and their giant offspring. These giants were spilling so much blood that it cried out to heaven. It got the attention of the archangels, who accused the fallen angels and their sons before God. This wasn’t just a minor infraction; it was a cosmic crisis demanding divine intervention.
So, what did God do? He sent the archangels on a mission, each with a specific task. Uriel was dispatched to Noah himself, to warn him about the impending flood and to teach him how to save his life. Think of it as divine disaster preparedness.
Then there was Raphael. His mission? To deal with the fallen angel Azazel. Raphael was instructed to chain Azazel and throw him into a pit of sharp stones in the desert of Dudael. This wasn't a gentle punishment; it was a harsh confinement in darkness until the great day of judgment, when Azazel would be cast into the fiery pit of hell. The idea was that by removing Azazel, the earth could be healed of the corruption he had brought.
Gabriel had a grim task as well. He was sent to deal with the bastard children, the offspring of the angels and human women. According to the narrative, Gabriel was charged to plunge them into deadly conflicts with one another, a brutal solution to a brutal problem.
And finally, Michael. He was given responsibility for Shemhazai's descendants. Michael forced them to watch their own children die in bloody combat, and then he bound them and pinned them under the hills of the earth. There they would remain for seventy generations, until the day of judgment, when they too would be cast into the fiery pit of hell.
It's a pretty intense story. It speaks to the idea that sometimes, drastic measures are taken to restore balance to the world. But it also raises some tough questions. Was this divine intervention just? Was it fair? And what does it say about the nature of good and evil?
These are questions that Jewish tradition has grappled with for centuries. And as we continue to explore these ancient stories, perhaps we can find new ways to understand ourselves and the world around us.