Shabbat Parashat Noach - 5784

Shabbat Parashat Noach - 5784

Rabbi Hal Miller

And the earth had become corrupt before God, and the earth had become filled with

robbery. [Bereishit 6:11]

Most people translate the last word as robbery, but this might not necessarily be a good

choice of an English word to convey the meaning of our verse. The Hebrew word is 'chamas',

the same word used nowadays as the name of the terrorist group running Gaza and

attacking Israel. Normally that word is translated as violence, injustice, or to do wrong,

although robbery is a valid albeit less-commonly used option. The word appears again two

verses after ours, "the earth is filled with robbery" but again we need to understand what it

means in context.

R'Elie Munk explains that "chamas is not gezel. Gezel is robbery, chamas is a malicious,

cunning crime". We know from various places in the Talmud that robbery is a brazen

taking, face to face, while burglary in done in secret, so the brazenness of robbery seems

to at least be close to his definition of chamas.

Our translation above is from Rashi who specifically defines the word chamas here as

gezel, robbery. He places more emphasis on the earlier part of the verse, on the word

shachat, corrupt. He defines it as "an expression of sexual immorality and idolatry" and

says, "Wherever you find promiscuity, catastrophe comes to the world" which he implies

leads to robbery. In Gemora Sanhedrin 108a, R'Yochanan notes that the generation of

the Flood transgressed every violation possible, but their fate was not sealed until "they

stretched forth their hands in robbery."

Torah Temimah translates our verse as "the earth became full of violence", but in verse

[13] he uses the word robbery. He asks what did the people steal that made such a

difference, and says that they stole less than a perutah each time, the minimum amount

that would get them punished. This stretching of a loophole shows the immoral thought

process and was the reason for the Flood. This is also the opinion of Rav Hirsch.

Talelei Oros and Kol Dodi look at the phrase "corrupt before God" and explain that the

people thought that their lifestyle was quite satisfactory, "Robbery and adultery were so

prevalent that they did not sense their corruption." There is a Talmudic saying that if one

sins three times in a row, the sin becomes a mitzvah in their eyes.

Rav Soloveitchik is like Torah Temimah, that God could have forgiven all the other sins,

but the punishment was sealed with robbery. He brings Ramban that the prohibition against

robbery is a logical one that everyone should recognize, thus violating this one is an open

act of rebellion against God. Rav Soloveitchik expands chamas beyond mere theft to the

point that it is a blatant interference "with someone else's rights and prerogatives".

Chamas is more than the wrongful taking of property from someone, such as gezel. Our

verse is discussing intentional, malicious behavior, flagrant rebellion against God. For this

the world was destroyed and through Noach given a new start.