AND GOD SAID TO NOAH, THE END OF ALL FLESH IS COME BEFORE ME. R. Judah illustrated this passage from the verse: Lord, make me know mine end, and the measure of my days what it is; let me know how short lived I am (Ps. 39, 5). He said: ‘David said before the Holy One, blessed be He, “There are two ‘ends’, one on the right and one on the left, these being the two paths by which men proceed towards the other world.” The end on the right is referred to in the words “at the end of the right” (Daniel 12, 13); and the end on the left in the words “He setteth an end to darkness, and the ending of all things does he search out” (Job 28, 3). “End” here is the angel of destruction, who is also the serpent, and who is called “End of all flesh”. When the doom of destruction is hanging over the world, this “searches out” and explores every avenue through which it can bring accusations against the world so as to reduce men to despair. The term “end of the right”, as already said, is based on the phrase”at the end of the right” in the book of Daniel.
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Daniel, “Thou shalt go towards the end, and wilt rest” (Dan. 12, 13). Daniel asked: “Rest in this world or in the next world?” “Rest in the next world”, was the answer (cf. “They will rest in their beds”, Is. 57, 2), “and thou shalt stand up to thy lot at the end of days”. Daniel asked, “Shall I be among the resurrected or not?” God answered, “And thou wilt stand up.” Daniel then said, “I know full well that the dead will rise up in various classes, some righteous and some wicked, but I do not know among whom I shall be found.” God answered, “To thy lot.” Daniel then said, “As there is a right end and a left end, I do not know whether I shall go to the right end (I’qets hayamin) or to the end of days (I’qets hayamim).” The answer was, “To the end of the right (I’qets hayamin).”
Similarly, David said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “make me to know my end”, that is, he wished to know to which end he was allotted, and his mind was not at rest till the good tidings reached him, “Sit at my right hand” (Ps. 110, 1). So to Noah also the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “The end of all flesh is come before me.” The term “end”, as we have seen, alludes to the angel of death, who reduces men to despair, and who is indeed the end of all flesh.
“Is come before me”: from this we learn that though the wicked go half-way to meet him and draw him to themselves, yet only after he receives authorisation does he take a man’s soul: he cannot take it before. Hence we read “is come before me”, to wit, to obtain permission to darken the faces of mankind, and so “I will destroy them with the earth”. Hence the command given to Noah, MAKE THEE AN ARK OF GOPHER WOOD, to save thyself therein and so that he should not have power over thee.
There was also another reason. We have a dictum that when death rages in a town or in the world at large, no man should show himself in the street, because the destroying angel is then authorised to kill indiscriminately. Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Noah, “It behoves thee to take heed to thyself and not show thyself before the destroyer, so that he may have no power over thee.”
You may perhaps say that there was not here any destroying angel, but only the onrush of the overwhelming waters. This is not so; no doom is ever executed on the world, whether of annihilation or any other chastisement, but the destroying angel is in the midst of the visitation. So here there was indeed a flood, but this was only an embodiment of the destroyer who assumed its name. Hence the command given to Noah to hide himself and not to show himself abroad.
But, you may object further, the ark was exposed to full view in the midst of the world through which the destroyer was roaming. The answer is that this made no difference, since, as long as the face of a man is not seen by the destroyer, he has no power over him. We learn this from the precept given at the time of the Exodus, “and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning” (Ex. 12, 22), the reason being that the destroyer was then abroad with power to destroy anyone who showed himself. For the same reason Noah withdrew himself and all under his charge into the ark, so that the destroyer had no power over him.’
R. Hiya and R. Jose in the course of their travels came to the mountains of Kurdistan, and observed there some deep ravines which had been left from the Flood. Said R. Hiya: ‘These ravines are vestiges of the days of the Flood, and the Holy One, blessed be He, has left them throughout the generations so that the sins of the wicked should not be blotted out from before Him.
For just as God causes the memory of those who do His will to endure on high and here below from generation to generation, so He ordains that the evil memory of the sins of the wicked who have not obeyed Him shall not pass away but remain for all generations, as it is written, “The stain of thine iniquity remains before me” (Jer. 2, 22).’
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל נֹחַ קֵץ כָּל בָּשָׂר בָּא לְפָנַי. (אהדרנא למלה קדמאה קץ כל בשר בא לפני. בא לפני ודאי בגין דאנון גרמו). רַבִּי יְהוּדָה פָּתַח (תהילים ל״ט:ה׳) הוֹדִיעֵנִי יְיָ קִצִּי וּמִדַּת יָמַי מָה הִיא אֵדְעָה מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי. אָמַר (לעיל נד א) דָּוִד קַמֵּי קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא, תְּרֵין קִצִּין אִנּוּן, חַד לְיָמִינָא וְחַד לִשְׂמָאלָא, וְאִנּוּן תְּרֵין אוֹרְחִין לְמֵיהַךְ בְּהוּ בְּנֵי נָשָׁא לְהַהוּא עָלְמָא. קֵץ לְיָמִינָא דִּכְתִיב, (דניאל יב) לְקֵץ הַיָּמִין, וְקֵץ לִשְׂמָאלָא דִּכְתִיב, (איוב כ״ח:ג׳) קֵץ שָׂם לַחשֶׁךְ וּלְכָל תַּכְלִית הוּא חוֹקֵר (אבן אופל וצלמות. מאי ולכל תכלית הוא חוקר, מאן הוא חוקר. אלא ההוא קץ לשמאלא דמחשיך אפיהון דברייתא) מַאי וּלְכָל תַּכְלִית, בְּזִמְנָא דְדִינָא שָׁרְיָא עַל עָלְמָא לְשֵׁיצָאָה אֶבֶן אוֹפֶל וְצַלְמָוֶת. קֵץ שָׂם לַחשֶׁךְ. דָּא מַלְאַךְ הַמָוֶת, דָּא נָחָשׁ, קֵץ כָּל בָּשָׂר, קֵץ שָׂם לַחשֶׁךְ, דְהָא מִסִטְרָא דְהִתּוּכָא דְדַהֲבָא קָאָתֵי. וּלְכָל תַּכְלִית בְּזִמְנָא דְדִינָא שָׁרְיָא עַל עָלְמָא הוּא חוֹקֵר לְמֶהוֵי קַטֵיגוֹרְיָא לְעָלְמָא לְאַחְשָׁכָא אַפֵּיהוֹן דִּבְּרַיְיתָא וְכוּ'.
AND GOD SAID TO NOAH, THE END OF ALL FLESH IS COME BEFORE ME. R. Judah illustrated this passage from the verse: Lord, make me know mine end, and the measure of my days what it is; let me know how short lived I am (Ps. 39, 5). He said: ‘David said before the Holy One, blessed be He, “There are two ‘ends’, one on the right and one on the left, these being the two paths by which men proceed towards the other world.” The end on the right is referred to in the words “at the end of the right” (Daniel 12, 13); and the end on the left in the words “He setteth an end to darkness, and the ending of all things does he search out” (Job 28, 3). “End” here is the angel of destruction, who is also the serpent, and who is called “End of all flesh”. When the doom of destruction is hanging over the world, this “searches out” and explores every avenue through which it can bring accusations against the world so as to reduce men to despair. The term “end of the right”, as already said, is based on the phrase”at the end of the right” in the book of Daniel.
קֵץ לְיָמִינָא כִּדְקָאֲמָרָן דִּכְתִיב לְקֵץ הַיָּמִין. אָמַר לֵיהּ קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְדָנִיֵּאל וְאַתָּה לֵךְ לַקֵּץ וְתָנוּחַ. אָמַר לֵיהּ מְנוּחָה בְּהַאי עָלְמָא אוֹ בְּהַהוּא עָלְמָא, אָמַר לֵיהּ בְּהַהוּא עָלְמָא כְּמָא דְאַתְּ אָמֵר יָנוּחוּ עַל מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָם. (דניאל י״ב:י״ג) (ותעמוד לגורלך לקץ הימין. אמרז ליה לאן אתר דהא לא ידענא מה יהא עלי בההוא עלמא. אמר ליה ותנוח). אָמַר לֵיהּ בְּזִמְנָא דִיקוּמוּן מֵעַפְרָא אֵיקוּם בֵּינַיְיהוּ אוֹ לָאו. אָמַר לֵיהּ וְתַעֲמֹד. אָמַר לֵיהּ הָא יְדַעְנָא דִּי יְקוּמוּן כִּתּוֹת כִּתּוֹת, מִנְּהוֹן דְּזַכָּאֵי קְשׁוֹט וּמִנְּהוֹן דְּחַיָּיבֵי עָלְמָא, וְלָא יְדַעְנָא עִם מָאן מִנְּהוֹן אֵיקוּם. אָמַר לֵיהּ לְגוֹרָלְךָ. אָמַר לֵיהּ הָא אֲמַרְתְּ וְאַתָּה לֵךְ לַקֵּץ. אִית קֵץ לְיָמִינָא וְאִית קֵץ לִשְׂמָאלָא, וְלָא יְדַעְנָא לְאָן קֵץ. לְקֵץ הַיָּמִין אוֹ לְקֵץ הַיָּמִים. אָמַר לֵיהּ לְקֵץ הַיָּמִין.
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Daniel, “Thou shalt go towards the end, and wilt rest” (Dan. 12, 13). Daniel asked: “Rest in this world or in the next world?” “Rest in the next world”, was the answer (cf. “They will rest in their beds”, Is. 57, 2), “and thou shalt stand up to thy lot at the end of days”. Daniel asked, “Shall I be among the resurrected or not?” God answered, “And thou wilt stand up.” Daniel then said, “I know full well that the dead will rise up in various classes, some righteous and some wicked, but I do not know among whom I shall be found.” God answered, “To thy lot.” Daniel then said, “As there is a right end and a left end, I do not know whether I shall go to the right end (I’qets hayamin) or to the end of days (I’qets hayamim).” The answer was, “To the end of the right (I’qets hayamin).”
אוּף הָכָא דָּוִד אָמַר לֵיהּ לְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא (תהילים ל״ט:ה׳) הוֹדִיעֵנִי יְיָ קִצִּי. מָה אִיהוּ חוּלַק עַדְבִי. וְלָא נָח דַּעְתֵּיהּ עַד דְּאִתְבַּשַּׂר דְּיֶהוֵי לְיָמִינָא דִּכְתִיב, (תהילים ק״י:א׳) שֵׁב לִימִינִי. תָּא חֲזֵי, אוּף קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא אָמַר לֵיהּ לְנֹחַ קֵץ כָּל בָּשָׂר בָּא לְפָנַי. מָאן אִיהוּ. דָּא קֵץ דְּאַחְשַׁךְ אַפַּיְיהוּ דִּבְרִיָּיתָא דְּאִיהוּ קֵץ כָּל בָּשָׂר
Similarly, David said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “make me to know my end”, that is, he wished to know to which end he was allotted, and his mind was not at rest till the good tidings reached him, “Sit at my right hand” (Ps. 110, 1). So to Noah also the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “The end of all flesh is come before me.” The term “end”, as we have seen, alludes to the angel of death, who reduces men to despair, and who is indeed the end of all flesh.
בָּא לְפָנַי. מִכָּאן אוֹלִיפְנָא חַיָּיבֵי עָלְמָא מַקְדִּימִין לֵיהּ וּמָשְׁכָן לֵיהּ עֲלַיְיהוּ לְאַחְשָׁכָא לוֹן. דְּכֵיוָן דְּיָהֲבֵי לֵיהּ רְשׁוּתָא נָטִיל נִשְׁמָתָא. וְלָא נָטִיל עַד דְּיָהֲבֵי לֵיהּ רְשׁוּתָא. וְעַל דָּא בָּא לְפָנַי לְמֵיטַל רְשׁוּ לְאַחְשָׁכָא אַפַּיְיהוּ דִּבְנֵי עָלְמָא. וּבְגִינֵי כָךְ וְהִנְּנִי מַשְׁחִיתָם אֶת הָאָרֶץ. וְעַל דָּא עֲשֵׂה לְךָ תֵּבַת עֲצֵי גוֹפֶר בְּגִין לְאִשְׁתְּזָבָא וְלָא יָכִיל לְשַׁלְטָאָה עֲלָךְ.
“Is come before me”: from this we learn that though the wicked go half-way to meet him and draw him to themselves, yet only after he receives authorisation does he take a man’s soul: he cannot take it before. Hence we read “is come before me”, to wit, to obtain permission to darken the faces of mankind, and so “I will destroy them with the earth”. Hence the command given to Noah, MAKE THEE AN ARK OF GOPHER WOOD, to save thyself therein and so that he should not have power over thee.
תָּא חֲזֵי, תָּנִינָן בְּזִמְנָא דְמוֹתָא אִית בְּמָתָא אוֹ בְּעָלְמָא (נ"א דאתייהיב רשו למלאך המות לחבלא). לָא יִתְחֲזֵי בַּר נָשׁ בְּשׁוּקָא. בְּגִין דְּאִית לֵיהּ רְשׁוּ לִמְחַבְּלָא לְחַבָּלָא כֹּלָּא. בְּגִינֵי כָךְ אָמַר לֵיהּ קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא בָּעֵי לָךְ לְאִסְתַּמְרָא וְלָא תֶחזֵי גַרְמָךְ קַמֵּי דִמְחַבְּלָא דְּלָא יִשְׁלוֹט עֲלָךְ.
There was also another reason. We have a dictum that when death rages in a town or in the world at large, no man should show himself in the street, because the destroying angel is then authorised to kill indiscriminately. Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Noah, “It behoves thee to take heed to thyself and not show thyself before the destroyer, so that he may have no power over thee.”
וְאִי תֵימָא מָאן יָהִיב הָכָא מְחַבְּלָא. דְּהָא מַיִין הֲווּ וְאִתְגַּבָּרוּ. תָּא חֲזֵי, לֵית לָךְ דִּינָא בְּעָלְמָא אוֹ כַּד אִתְמַחֵי אוֹ כַּד אִתְמָסַר עַלְמָא בְּדִינָא, דְּלָא אִשְׁתְּכַח הַהוּא מְחַבְּלָא דְּאָזִיל בְּגוֹ אִנּוּן דִּינִין דְּאִתְעֲבִידוּ בְּעָלְמָא. אוּף הָכִי הָכָא טוֹפָנָא הֲוָה, וּמְחַבְּלָא אָזִיל בְּגוֹ טוֹפָנָא. וְאִיהוּ אִקְרֵי הָכִי דְּאִתְכְּלִיל בִּשְׁמָא דָא. וְעַל דָּא אָמַר קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְנֹחַ לְטַמְרָא גַרְמֵיהּ וְלָא יִתְחֲזֵי בְּעָלְמָא.
You may perhaps say that there was not here any destroying angel, but only the onrush of the overwhelming waters. This is not so; no doom is ever executed on the world, whether of annihilation or any other chastisement, but the destroying angel is in the midst of the visitation. So here there was indeed a flood, but this was only an embodiment of the destroyer who assumed its name. Hence the command given to Noah to hide himself and not to show himself abroad.
וְאִי תֵימָא הַאי תֵּיבוּתָא אִתְחֲזֵי בְּגוֹ הַאי עָלְמָא וּמְחַבְּלָא אָזִיל בְּגַוֵּויהּ. כָּל זִמְנָא דְּלָא יִתְחֲזֵי אַפֵּי דְּבַּר נָשׁ קַמֵּי מְחַבְּלָא לָא יָכִיל לְשַׁלְטָאָה עֲלֵיהּ. מְנָלָן מִמִּצְרַיִם דִּכְתִיב, (שמות י״ב:כ״ב) וְאַתֶּם לֹא תֵצְאוּ אִישׁ מִפֶּתַח בֵּיתוֹ עַד בֹּקֶר. מַאי טַעְמָא בְּגִין דְּאִיהוּ אִשְׁתְּכַּח וְיָכִיל הוּא לְחַבְּלָא. וְלֹא אִצְטְרִיךְ לְאִתְחַזָּאָה קַמֵּיהּ. בְּגִין כָּךְ הֲוָה גָנִיז נֹחַ וְכָל אִנּוּן דְּעִמֵּיהּ בְּתֵיבוּתָא. וּמְחַבְּלָא לָא יָכִיל לְשַׁלְטָאָה עֲלַיְיהוּ:
But, you may object further, the ark was exposed to full view in the midst of the world through which the destroyer was roaming. The answer is that this made no difference, since, as long as the face of a man is not seen by the destroyer, he has no power over him. We learn this from the precept given at the time of the Exodus, “and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning” (Ex. 12, 22), the reason being that the destroyer was then abroad with power to destroy anyone who showed himself. For the same reason Noah withdrew himself and all under his charge into the ark, so that the destroyer had no power over him.’
רַבִּי חִיָּיא וְרַבִּי יוֹסֵי הֲווּ אָזְלֵי בְּאָרְחָא. אִעָרַע בְּהַנֵּי טוּרֵי דְּקַרְדוּ, חָמוּ רְשִׁימִין בְּקִיעִין בְּאָרְחָא דְּהֲווּ מִן יוֹמֵי דְטוֹפָנָא. אָמַר לֵיהּ רַבִּי חִיָּיא לְרַבִּי יוֹסֵי הַנֵּי בְּקִיעִין דְּהֲווּ מִיּוֹמוֹי דְּטוֹפָנָא, וְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא שָׁבִיק לוֹן לְדָרֵי דָרִין בְּגִין דְּלָא יִתְמַחֵי חוֹבֵיהוֹן דְּרַשִּׁיעַיָא קַמֵּיהּ.
R. Hiya and R. Jose in the course of their travels came to the mountains of Kurdistan, and observed there some deep ravines which had been left from the Flood. Said R. Hiya: ‘These ravines are vestiges of the days of the Flood, and the Holy One, blessed be He, has left them throughout the generations so that the sins of the wicked should not be blotted out from before Him.
דְּכָךָ אָרְחוֹי דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא. לְזַכָּאִין דְּעָבְדִין רְעוּתֵיהּ, בָּעֵי דְּיִדְכְּרוּן לְהוּ לְעֵילָא וְתַתָּא וְלָא יִתְנְשֵׁי דּוּכְרָנֵיהוֹן לְדָרֵי דָרִין לְטַב. כְּגַוְונָא דָא לְרַשִּׁיעַיָיא דְּלָא עָבְדִין רְעוּתֵיהּ, בְּגִין דְּלָא יִתְנְשֵׁי חוֹבַיְיהוּ וּלְאַדְכָּרָא עָנְשַׁיְיהוּ וְדָכְרָנֵיהוֹן לְבִישׁ לְדָרֵי דָרִין. הַיְינוּ דִכְתִיב, (ירמיהו ב׳:כ״ב) נִכְתַּם עֲוֹנֵךְ לְפָנַי וְגו'.
For just as God causes the memory of those who do His will to endure on high and here below from generation to generation, so He ordains that the evil memory of the sins of the wicked who have not obeyed Him shall not pass away but remain for all generations, as it is written, “The stain of thine iniquity remains before me” (Jer. 2, 22).’