Torah and Me: Parshah Noach

Genesis 6:9 through 11:32

Because of the way these portions break, we lose Noah's original introduction in Parshah Bereishit. It's an incomplete story without those few lines. According to what we have in front of us in Parshah Noach, the world was destroyed just because it had become "full of robbery." What exactly could people have owned back then that would have been worth stealing, to the point where theft would become an apocalypse-justifying event? The introduction in the last portion, however, includes that weird bit about the Nephilim. There were fallen angels in the world, or perhaps aliens, and that led to angel/alien/human hybrids. Now that might be enough of an abomination to justify wiping the world clean and starting over from scratch.

Also in this portion: The Tower of Babel. Traditionally, the scattering of the tribes and confusion of tongues was seen as a punishment because the people tried to reach God's domain. Or because they refused to disperse themselves across the earth. Or because they got along too well and showed too much cooperation. Personally, I think it was more of a challenge, like when you defeat a level in a video game and your reward is to move on to a bigger, better, more difficult level.

In this metaphor, Eden was a playable demo. You can see walk around the game world but there are no enemies to defeat and not a whole lot to do. The only challenge is to avoid eating fruit from one particular tree. Day after day, if you don't eat that fruit, you win! Eventually, with or without the serpent, Adam and/or Eve were destined to break down and eat that fruit. Once they've done so, proving that they have the ability to make choices of their own, God boots them into Level One of the real game.

In the time of Noah, there was no longer a winning move possible to advance any further--so God hit the reset button. That allowed the residents of Babel to master their version of the game-world and power up to the next level. "Nice tower. Now try that again, only this time your buddies are a thousand miles away and they only speak Sumerian!"

Maybe the challenges we face in this world are meant as rewards because we've earned the right to play the game of life on a higher level. Something to ponder.