Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Noah Genesis 6:9-11:32

By Shlomo Riskin

Efrat, Israel - Genesis “Noah the man of the earth…drank of the wine, became drunk, and he uncovered himself within his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside.” (Genesis 9:20-22)

The name Canaan appears for the first time in the Bible in the context of this story of the degradation of Noah and the involvement of his sons. Indeed, Canaan was not one of his sons but rather his grandson, the son of Ham. The truth is that mentioning Canaan within the story seems totally out of place and superfluous. Noah became drunk, perhaps only because he did not realize the evil potential of drinking the fruit of the vine to excess. His son Ham does nothing to hide his father’s shame; he serves as the tail bear, reporting his father’s nakedness to his brothers outside. Shem and Yafet cover their father without looking at him in order to try to protect their father’s honor. Ham is the villain; Shem and Yafet are the heroes. Why mention Canaan? And even more to the point, Canaan is a super charged name; after all, the Land of Canaan is the Land of Israel, which will ultimately be taken over by Abraham and his progeny, descendants of Shem. There must be a very special significance to the mention of Canaan specifically at this Biblical juncture, wherein the text will soon record the various descendants of Noah and the Land - nations which they generate.

The majority of traditional commentators maintain that Canaan castrated his grandfather, rendering him impotent. This was what Ham really saw and reported to his brothers. This was the ultimate degradation.

In order to attempt to understand the fundamental message of the Bible and its significance for us today, we must take another look at the next time the Land of Canaan appears in the Bible. It comes right at the end of our Torah portion: “And Terah took his son Abram and Lot the son of Haran his grandson and his daughter -in- law Sarai, the wife of Abram his son, and they departed with them from Ur Kasdim to set out for the Land of Canaan; they arrived at Haran and they settled there.” (Genesis 11:31) It is quite curious that the Biblical text tells us that Abram’s father had initially meant to go to the Land of Canaan but never really arrived; he only reached Haran, and forever the reason chose, or was forced (perhaps by illness or oncoming old age, or the lack of any further money to complete the journey) to remain there. Only one verse afterwards, and as the opening of the next Torah portion, G-d appears to Abram seemingly apropos of nothing and without any prior buildup, commanding him “to go away from your land, your relatives and your father’s house (in Haran) to the land that I will show you (the Land of Canaan).” The commentaries as well as the midrash are hard pressed to discover why G-d is now electing Abram and why Abram is so willing to follow the Divine command. Maimonides suggests, on the basis of the Midrash that from the tender age of three Abram had already began his quest to discover the Ruler of the Universe. He even cites the very famous midrash that Abram’s father Terah was an idol maker, thereby positioning Abram as an iconoclast rebel against his father’s idolatry. And the first penitent - purely self motivated and generated - in history. (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Idolatry, Chapter 1)

But I would argue that the simple reading of the text leads us to a very different conclusion. Abram’s father Terah apparently wanted very much to bring his family to Canaan. Indeed, this very Torah reading will soon record how, when Abram successfully conquered the four terrorist kings of the region, Malki Zedek, king of Salam, priest of G-d, the Most High, brought him bread and wine and blessed G-d for having delivered Abram’s enemies into his hand. (Genesis 14:18-20) Abram even gives Malki Zedek tithes, a gift which one usually would give to our Israelite priests of the Holy Temple. And Salam is the ancient name for Jeru-Salem, which really means the City of Peace. Apparently in the Land of Canaan of which Salem is the capital there was a tradition harking all the way back to Adam of ethical monotheism, a G-d of the universe who will ultimately destroy terrorists and reward the righteous lovers of peace. And the midrash identifies Malki Zedek as perhaps Terah had heard of the ethical monotheism being taught in Canaan and wanted his children to be brought up specifically in that type of environment. From this perspective, Abraham is not a rebel but a continuator of his father’s geographical and spiritual journey. G-d is pretty certain that Abraham will accept the Divine Command because he has been primed to do so since he is the son of Terah.

In the story with which we began, the Bible is setting the stage for a Land of Canaan being a special location with very specific ethical requirements. Only those who truly aspire to ethical monotheism will be worthy of making Canaan Israel their eternal homeland. Canaan the grandson of Noah forfeited his right because, instead of following in his grandfather’s paths of righteousness and wholeheartedness, he chose to castrate and destroy his grandfather’s ability to pass these values on to succeeding generations. Abraham on the other hand continued the path of his father and endeavored to educate a household dedicated to righteousness and justice. The descendants of Abraham will be privileged to live in Israel only for as long as they likewise subscribe to such an ethical lifestyle. And even if Israel will eventually return to the land and be worthy of living in it, their return will always be dependant upon the ethical quality of the daily lives which they lead. As Rashi warns us in his very opening of the Book of Genesis, “… the entire land (Canaan - Israel) belongs to the Holy One Blessed be He; He created it and He will give it to whomever is righteous in His eyes….” (Genesis 1:1, Rashi)

Shabbat Shalom.