A Deluge of Problems

And the L-rd saw the land and it was destroyed for all flesh had perverted its way upon the land. And the L-rd said to Noach: The end of all flesh has come before Me because the land is full of violence before them. I will destroy them with the land. (Sefer Beresheit 6:12-13)

I.           The Deluge punished two sins

Parshat Noach describes the Mabul – the Deluge. This catastrophe destroyed all life. Only Noach, his family, and the creatures with them on the ark were spared. What sin brought upon humanity this terrible punishment? The above passages identify two behaviors that prompted Hashem to destroy all life. The first sin is described as “perversion”. According to our Sages, this perversion was sexual immorality and idolatry.[1] The second sin is identified as “violence”. Rashi explains that this refers to theft or robbery.[2]

The Tosefot note a contradiction in Rashi’s comments concerning the role of these sins in bringing about the Mabul. Rashi explains:

“The end of all flesh… In every instance that one finds sexual immorality, indiscriminate punishment comes upon the world and kills both the good and the bad.” (Rashi, Sefer Beresheit 6:13)

Rashi seems to say that the Mabul was a punishment for the sexual immorality of humanity. This behavior provoked the severe punishment that indiscriminately destroyed all life.

Rashi then comments:

“Because the land is full of violence… The punishment decree upon the generation [destroyed by] the Mabul was sealed only by the [practice of] robbery.” (Rashi, Sefer Beresheit 6:13)

In this comment, Rashi explains that humanity was destroyed because of the sin of robbery. This seems to contradict his earlier explanation for the Mabul – that it was a response to sexual immorality.

II. The roles of the two sins

The Tosefot respond that Rashi’s comments are not contradictory. The two comments address separate issues. In his first comment, Rashi is explaining why humanity was punished with an indiscriminate punishment. The Mabul destroyed all life. It did not and could not discriminate between those who were good and those who were bad. In his second comment, Rashi is explaining the process of Hashem’s judgment of humanity. He is explaining that in this judgment, Hashem balanced humanity’s sins against its merits. The sin the decided the final judgment was robbery.[3]

An analogy will be helpful. A judge is deciding upon the sentence of a repeated felon. He has engaged in numerous crimes. He snatched purses and shoplifted. He intimidated and even harmed numerous people in muggings. For these many crimes, he received relatively light sentences. Most recently, he broke into a grocery and emptied the cash register. The judge decides to sentence the felon to an extended prison term. Let’s understand the mechanics of this decision. The most recent crime – the robbery of the grocery – convinced the judge that the perpetrator was a chronic felon. Another light sentence would not suffice. However, this was not the criminal’s worse crime. He had engaged in more violent and dangerous crimes – mugging. The judge decides upon an extended prison sentence because of these more violent crimes.

This analogy demonstrates the difference between the crime or sin that brings about the conclusion to execute a punishment and the factors that determine the severity of the punishment. Hashem concluded that it was necessary to punish humanity because of the sin of robbery. However, the magnitude or type of punishment was determined by the sin of sexual immorality.

Of course, two questions arise from this explanation. First, why did the sin of robbery seal the judgment of humanity? Second, why is sexual immorality punished with indiscriminate destruction? Let us begin with the first question.

III. Sins that defy self-interest

Some sins are excused by the sinner as being harmless. Sexual immorality is this type of sin. The sinner can rationalize the behavior. If two adults consent to engage in an illicit sexual relationship, who is harmed? Other sins are obviously destructive. Robbery is not easily rationalized. The sin has a victim. Furthermore, the perpetrator of the crime harms himself or herself as well. How is the sinner harmed?

The superior power or strength of the perpetrator allows him or her to take advantage of the weaker person. But the behavior contributes to lawlessness. In a lawless society, the strong oppress and impose themselves upon the weaker. No one is safe. The person who is the perpetrator today, will, on another day, be the victim at the hands of someone more powerful. One who engages in robbery is acting against self-interest. Robbery epitomizes instinct overpowering intelligence. The drive to satisfy one’s instinctual needs so overwhelms the sinner that he or she ignores obvious self-interest.

III. Self-interest and repentance

Repentance is often motivated by enlightened self-interest. One recognizes that one has not truly benefited from one’s sins. One has harmed oneself through these sins. This evaluation of one’s self-interest motivates choosing a different path – repentance.  Their engagement in robbery demonstrated that the members of the generation were completely overpowered by their instinctual drives. They could not even act in their self-interest. When self-interest cannot overcome instinct, repentance is unlikely. This generation was not destined to repent. Once the path to repentance was obstructed, there was no reason to defer punishment. [4]

This answers the first of the above questions. Robbery was not the worse sin of the generation. But it sealed the decree of their judgment. Widespread engagement in robbery demonstrated that this generation should not be expected to repent. When repentance could not be foreseen or anticipated, the moment for punishment arrived. 

IV. Intergenerational sins

Why does sexual immorality provoke indiscriminate punishment? Some sins harm only those who are involved in them. Some sins harm those who commit them and also damage the sinner’s offspring. A criminal may encourage his or her children to choose a different path. A sinner may even decide to hide one’s sins from one’s children, hoping that the children will not adopt the behavior. The tragedy of sexual immorality is that it harms the sinner and also damages the offspring of the relationship.

To mature properly, children need a family. Children born out of an illicit relationship are denied the benefits of a traditional nuclear family. Too many children born with this handicap do not overcome it. They are scarred. They are the victims of their parents’ poor decision. Their burden hinders the ability of these unfortunate children to live healthy lives and make proper moral choices.

This destruction is inter-generational. The children of the relationship are denied the opportunity to mature within a proper family. Their parents are poor role-models. Furthermore, because they are not raised in a strong traditional nuclear family, they do not have its example to emulate. This hampers their ability to create a proper family for their children. Another generation is harmed. Through this process, the damage of the initial illicit relationship is transmitted from generation to generation and extended further and further into society. In each subsequent generation, the sin works its way further into the community.  

V. A crippled society meets its destruction

Perhaps, based on this analysis, we can understand the indiscriminate punishment for sexual immorality. The punishment reflects this sin’s impact on society. As the generations pass, its damage spreads further into the community. It undermines its most fundamental structure – the family unit. In the passage above, the Torah explains that sexual immorality was widespread. The Torah declares that “all flesh had perverted its way upon the land.” The society was destined to crumble. The punishment was that a community already doomed to dissolution was eliminated by Hashem. 

VI. The responsibility of parenting

If this analysis is valid, then it communicates a very urgent message. We must protect the sanctity of our families. We must appreciate and embrace our roles as parents. We need to be involved in our children’s lives. We need to be role models. This responsibility encompasses two elements. First, we need to model individual virtue. Second, we must provide our children with a family model that they can implement when they become parents. The family is the foundation of society. A healthy society is built upon strong families.

[1] Mesechet Sanhedrin 57a.

[2] Rabbaynu Shlomo ben Yitzchak (Rashi), Commentary on Sefer Beresheit 6:11. Rashi’s position is supported by the Talmud in Mesechet Sanhedrin 108a. The term violence suggests that the sin was robbery through the threat of force or its use.

[3] Hadar Zekainim, Tosefot and the ROsh on the Torah (Livorno), p 3c.

[4] For a more extensive discussion of this issue see Rabbi Bernie Fox, Chidushim on Sefer Bereseheit, Rabbi Eliezer Barany, editor, pp. 56-7.