The Rabbi, in this telling, lays it out plainly: the angels, once dwelling in heavenly purity, gazed down and saw the daughters of Cain. Not just saw them, but saw them adorned, "walking about naked, with their eyes painted like harlots." It was too much. They were drawn in, seduced. The verse from Genesis, "And the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that they chose," (Genesis 6:2) becomes, in this light, a story of celestial downfall triggered by earthly beauty and, perhaps, earthly vice.
But Rabbi Joshua takes this a step further. He reminds us that angels are not what we might imagine. "The angels are flaming fire," he says, referencing Psalm 104:4, "His servants are a flaming fire." Imagine that for a moment – beings of pure, incorporeal flame. So, how could they possibly mingle with humans?
Rabbi Joshua offers a compelling answer: "fire came with the coition of flesh and blood, but did not burn the body; but when they fell from heaven, from their holy place, their strength and stature (became) like that of the sons of men, and their frame was (made of) clods of dust." They changed. They lost their fiery essence, becoming flesh and blood, susceptible to the same desires and limitations as humans. Their punishment, in a way, was to become what they lusted after. He even quotes Job 7:5, "My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust," emphasizing the stark contrast between their former glory and their earthly fate.
This isn't just a story about angels gone wild. It's a story about temptation, about the corrupting influence of the material world, and about the profound consequences of choices. It forces us to consider: what does it truly mean to be human? And what are we willing to sacrifice for desire? Is it possible to fall from grace, even when you're made of fire?