Noach: His Downfall, and Determinism vis a vis Cham

 Two small matters, perhaps not related. 

Noach's fall from grace seems to have no apparent explanation. He certainly struggled with the trauma of the destruction of the world as he knew it. He struggled to enter the ark, and to leave it; for both, he needed prompting. He knew he would be the forbearer of a new world, something very intimidating, especially after he saw what happened to the world he had known so intimately, and Adam's world, which also ceased to be ever so suddenly. Yet, I still find it perplexing as to the lack of apparent impetus/catalyst for Noach's sudden downfall. If Noach had simply gotten drunk, and nobody witnessed it, then perhaps our world could have been different. It seems to be something exogenous, from the outside, imposed on Noah that led him to cease to function as the leader of mankind. He could never save face in his sons' eyes after having been disgraced by Cham.

That brings me to a second matter, that I also struggle with comprehending. I heard a very respected rabbi say that the reasons blacks were enslaved was the actions of Cham. Kush, or people of black skin, were the nation that sprung from Noach's son Cham, whose firstborn was Kush.  

I have a hard time with the idea of determinism; we see that with the rules of pedigree, and firstborn rights, that time and time again God eschewed the primacy of the dominancy of the firstborn, one generation after the next: Isaac was chosen over Ishmael, Yaakov over Eisav, Yosef over Reuven etc. etc. etc. Then, why would the actions of Kush - presuming the rabbi's thesis is correct - lead to millions and millions of people being enslaved, murdered, afflicted etc. With Avraham we understand. God says that he has chosen Avraham (in the story of the destruction of Sodom) because he has walked in His ways and taught his children to walk after Him. There is a practical explanation, a right Avraham has earned. With Kush, we see no pedagogical/educational reason for the nation's desperate plight; so, in essence, one forbearer had the ability to bring horrible tragedy on a whole nation. 

On a brighter note, one of my rabbis, Rabbi Faivelzon teaches, that the whole raison detre of humanity is to put an end to the bible's curses, so perhaps, with the end of slavery, and normalization of society, the Torah's wishes are now coming true. 

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