by Rabbi David Katz

Beshalach: In a Parsha of “Shem” We Find Secrets of “Noah”

In this week’s Torah Portion of Beshalach, we find fascinating insight into the vast breadth of Wisdom that can be found in the name of “Noah.” Before we delve into the background of Noah’s name, let’s return to the source of where it all started: the birth of Noah, and the prophetic name he was given at birth. It should be noted, every Human Being on Earth has a name, and it is the Divine expression of the soul as it enters this world from the womb. This name is prophetic, divinely Inspired, and is the complete encapsulation of the entire Torah learning experience that accompanies the womb before birth. It is said, that in the normative nine-month term of pregnancy, the soul becomes attached to the body, and the entire Torah is taught to this individual from his own unique perspective and viewpoint. It should not then be a surprise that Noah’s name is one of the most powerful and prophetically inspired Names with implications into Torah Wisdom from the entire Torah; and the first, “Ben Noah (Noahide),” “Shem,”The Son of Noah, his name means literally, “Name.” Couple these two facts with the knowledge that Shem and Noah influence each other’s souls, and you have the recipe for the conception of Torah – much like the process of naming itself!

We are first introduced to Noah in the Book of Genesis 5:28: “Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and begot a son.” The hint to this verse, as the Bible Commentator “Rashi” states, is from the word “בן” / “Son”, which is a derivative of the word, “בונה” / “build”, meaning that from him, i.e. Noah, the World would be built. And onwards into Genesis 5:29: “And he called his name “Noah”, saying, “This one will bring us rest from our work and from our toil of our hands, from the ground which Hashem had cursed.” To look into the words of Rashi yet again, when explaining the words, “This one will bring us rest,” is a derivative of the name, “Noah”, yet in the Hebrew that expresses this point, the Torah uses, “ינחמנו”, and meaning, “to rest the toil of our hands.” When we look carefully into the Hebrew, one can see how “נח” / “Noah” is related to, “י-נח-מנו”, in the Hebrew, they both employ the common, “נ” and “ח.”

Thus we have now learned that Noah’s name means, “To ease the toil of our labor,” yet there is always a big misperception, that somehow the name Noah means to comfort instead, if so where does this idea come from in its origination? We thus turn to Rashi once again, as he states in his commentary further to Genesis 5:29, “Until Noah came along, there were not tools implemented to ease the labors of the World, as the World was still under the impact of the curse of Adam.” Rashi goes on to explain, nowhere do we see in the Torah, a relationship to the general thought that Noah’s name means to comfort, thus we are forced to explain his name, as it was given in relation to “easing labor,” for were it to mean comfort, his name would have been Divinely Inspired to be, “מנחם” / “comforter”, had that been the intention of Lamech upon Noah’s birth. We can see the similar usage of “נ” and “ח”, yet within the rules of Hebrew, the grammar would dictate a different meaning, one that does not fit well with the verses of the Torah.

We now have explained Noah’s name as given over by Prophecy: Lamech’s naming of Noah, as Noah, and the Torah itself, in its prophecy has explained through consistency within the story of Noah, that we can ascertain the exact meaning of his Name. However, at this junction, by opening up our minds to what the name Noah means in the Torah, we have uncovered other meanings to words that sound like, “Noah.” So far we have: comforter, ease – of- toil, and rest along with a hint of being a builder. Also, simultaneously, we have linked the concept of Noah to that of a name, thus showing the sublime unity between Noah and Shem, his son, who we must not forget that his name means, “Name.” Now if we are to move ahead to this week’s Torah Portion of Beshalach, we can begin to learn even more about Noah, Names, and even Shem!

To start with insight into the Parsha of Beshalach, we can note three facts before we begin to explore Noah’s Name in further detail: a) The Gematria of the Parsha is 340, which is that of Shem, b) we find two more derivatives of Noah’s Name: “נחם” – “To lead them “ and “ינחם” – “to relent”, and c) when we look at the proper name of Shem (שם בן נח / Shem son of Noah), we find in the end letters this same  combination of “ם-נ-ח.”

When the Jewish Nation was coming out of slavery, fleeing from Egypt, and about to cross the Red Sea to the demise of Pharaoh, (A lesson that spoke loud for the Jewish People and can resonate quite clear to a Noahide and his flight from falsehood into Truth of Torah), Hashem “led them” on a special route. Thus now upon hearing this, and the usage of our famed, “נ-ח” combinations, we are able to derive yet another meaning from the name Noah. This meaning is to inhabit all levels of leadership, to go along with our other definitions of building, comforting, easing, resting, etc. Thus with the hints into both Shem and Noah’s names, we find the highest expression of leadership, along with the Gematria/Numerical Value of this, “נחם” in Hebrew to be that of, “…And the Righteous will live by his Faith/Truth/Craft.” The Talmud states that this is one commandment that encompasses the entire Torah. We have already stated that while in the womb, a name can contain the entire Torah, and now we have witnessed a live example of this aspect in the Torah’s intellect.

And finally, we come to our last definition latent into Noah’s name, “ינחם”, to relent. In the story leading up to Noah’s revealed greatness, and finding Grace in the eyes of God, Hashem expresses that He has regretted making Mankind, and seeks to relent on Creation. Again, we find our common, “נ-ח” combination present, but not only in the demise of Man, but in the greatness of Noah! Noah found Grace in the eyes of God, “ח-ן” = “נח”, “Grace” is contains the same letters as “Noah.”

Thus in our Torah Portion Beshalach, Hashem says, “Perhaps the people will relent when they see war, and will return to Egypt!” In times of war, people may fear from doubt and return to subjugation, relenting. Noah comes to reiterate a power against relenting, such that even Hashem was moved to not relent when he saw the Grace and Charm of Noah. This passage in the Torah was written about the Jewish People coming out from Egypt, yet its application may even be more precise to describe the Noahide escape to freedom, returning to be with Hashem, and one must take notice of the direct implications to Noahides due to Noah’s name and Shem’s Gematria being clearly vocal at this stage of the redemption process! Interestingly, the letters that compose, “Beshalach,” spell, “a quiet heart,”       ( בשלח = לב חש) expressing the opposite of relent, as Hashem said in Parashas Bereishit, “Hashem had in His heart sadness from Mankind.” Noah calmed the Heart of God, and found Grace in the eyes of God.

In closing, Noah isn’t just a man, nor is he a man with an accidental and insignificant name. Noah comes to teach us how a Man should be, for once Noah saves the World, he is given the seven laws upon which true righteousness is defined by all of Mankind and of which he is tested daily. Once commanded, Noah is elevated to the stature of “Adam”, a Man of Torah, and he is considered, “In the Image of God he was made,” while being instructed to be Fruitful and Multiply. Thus Noah reached levels of True Torah Righteousness, passed on these levels to Shem and all of Mankind. In the Name of Noah we find some of the gifts that he left us with: Rest, Torah, Comfort, Ease/Technology, Leadership, Truth, Righteousness, Noahides and Jews, and the most important aspect of all: He Built a better World, one that would be guaranteed to be a better place. It may not seem like it now, but it will be Noah’s post flood, Torah induced World that will see the Complete Redemption. And when this happens we shall take part in the Name of Noah and all that it represents, and Nations of Noah shall not relent. If Passover was the skipping over the Israelites in that they shall live, which led to crossing the Sea, so too in times of war, the Noahides of the namesake “Noah”, shall take refuge, and witness Divine Deliverance and partake of redemption, in the merit that comes from “The Name (Shem) [and] of Noah.”

Noah was a righteous Man in his generations; from this point onwards, Noah and his righteousness may live not just in his time, but in all of time, as the world was built from the name Noah. Noah’s Blessings will strengthen over time, and with the deliverance of the Noahide Nations, we are guaranteed righteousness will flourish and will fill the Earth, much like the World had a glimpse of at Noah’s birth and while his prophecy was given into his name. If the World is in “Noah’s hands”, then we can take comfort from his leadership and not relent – For Noah will ease the toil of our labor; for Noah built the World from Torah and passed it on through his son Shem who delivered it to Sinai and onto the World. If this is why Noah found Grace in the eyes of God, and Hashem shall never seek to relent again, then it will be in the merit of the Naming of Noah, his inherent Torah, and the influence into the World that Noahides and the Jewish People will witness, take part in, and merit a complete redemption. This will all be from the process of two Men that were really one: Shem and Noah who came together at first in thought; the thought of Naming Noah, Noah.