THE
MYSTERY

In Genesis 5:21-24, the Torah speaks of Chanoch,
great-grandfather of Noah, who "walked with God,"
then was taken by Him. Who was Chanoch and
what actually happened to him?

R

abbi Moshe Englander,
fourth-grade teacher
at Akiva Hebrew Day
School, answers the question
this way:

Chanoch was the son of
Yered and lived in the period
between Adam and Noah.
Because he was one of the
few righteous men of his ge-
neration, God did not want
Chanoch to see the destruc-
tion that would be caused by
the massive flood. Conse-
quently, Chanoch's presence
on earth ended when he was
365, though it was common
for men of that age to live
longer (Methuselah, for ex-
ample, lived to be 969).
Rashi maintains that
when Chanoch was "taken
by God," he did in fact die.
"But not in the natural
way," Rabbi Englander
says. "Rather, God cut his
life short. For although
Chanoch was very pious, he
was easily inclined to be in-
fluenced by his evil surroun-
dings. God wanted to reward
him before he might become
corrupt, so He caused him to
die early, guaranteeing his
place in the world to come."
The Midrash has another
suggestion for this mystery,
Rabbi Englander says. The
Midrash contends that
Chanoch did not die, but
rather was taken on a fiery
chariot to heaven, as was
Elijah. Because of his righ-
teousness, Chanoch was one
of the few men allowed to
enter heaven without hav-

ing to suffer the pain of
death.
"What did Chanoch do to
deserve such a reward?"
Rabbi Englander asks "The
Midrash goes on to tell a fas-
cinating narrative of his
life":
Initially, Chanoch was as
corrupt as the rest of his ge-
neration. But he soon
became repulsed by this cor-
ruption and decided to
isolate himself from
mankind. For many years,
Chanoch spent his days in
prayer and self-
contemplation, believing
this was the only way to re-
main pure.
"But one day, Chanoch
wandered out and decided to
see if he could influence the
people of his generation,"
Rabbi Englander says. Hav-
ing been blessed by God with
deep mystic knowledge and
insight into the sublime
secrets of heaven and earth,
Chanoch began to teach his
fellow man to walk in God's
ways.
"So successful was he that
thousands of his generation,
including kings and princes,
flocked to Chanoch to bask
in his radiance. He effec-
tively changed the ways of
his entire generation to
righteousness," Rabbi
Englander says. "Thus, he
earned his name, akin to
chinech, meaning 'he
trained' or 'he educated.' "
The Malbim comments
that Chanoch's physical life

lasted only 365 years, like
the days of the solar year.
During that time, Chanoch
carried out his earthly tasks
of teaching and fathering
children. "Then he decided
to divorce himself complete-
ly from the physical world
and concentrate solely on
the spiritual."
At that point, the Sefer
Hayashar, (The Book of
Righteousness), says Chanoch
returned to seclusion.
Crowned as the king of his
generation, he promised to
return and teach again once
every three days, then once a
week, then monthly, then
yearly.

"He knew that the time to
depart this world was draw-
ing near," Rabbi Englander
explains. Soon, his disciples
watched as Chanoch ascend-
ed to heaven on a chariot of
fire.

Once he arrived in heaven,
Chanoch received 36 wings
each on his right and left
sides and was appointed to
be ruler over the angels. He
was called "The Great
Scribe."

After Chanoch's depar-
ture, the people turned to
Chanoch's son, Methuselah,
to guide them. "He, too, was
most righteous," Rabbi
Englander says. "But unfor-
tunately, later generations
returned to corrupt ways,
which led to the final
destruction caused by the
flood in the days of Noah."

THE
MYSTERY

Was Malkitzedek Jewish?

Genesis 14:18-19 speaks of
Malkitzedek, a
contemporary of Abraham,
who was king of Jerusalem
and priest of God Most
High. But it does not specify
his religion.

R

abbi Daniel Polish of
Temple Beth El says
Malkitzedek was not
Jewish though he "had the
capacity to bless God" and
even instructed Abraham in
religious practice.
In fact, nobody at that time
was Jewish, until Abraham
became a convert to Judaism
and then the father of the
Jewish people.
That Malkitzedek was not
Jewish, but still held up to
esteem, should not be such a
surprise, Rabbi Polish said.
"The Torah does not hold
non-Jews up to scorn," he
explained. "Malkitzedek is
one of a host of non-Jews de-
scribed in the Torah as righ-
teous, knowledgeable and
reverers of God. Malkitzedek
has the kind of relationship
with God any of us would
envy."
The Torah cites numerous
non-Jews as honorable men,
among them Avimelech,
Yitro and Balaam, Rabbi

Polish said.
Avimelech, described in
Genesis 20, both appears
before and speaks to God.
"He is depicted as a noble,
ethical person concerned
about his relations with God
and with treating others
fairly," Rabbi Polish said.
"But clearly, he isn't Jew-
ish."
Similarly, Exodus tells of
Yitro, Moses' father-in-law,
a non-Jew who instructed
Moses in organizing a
system of judges.
And Balaam, another non-
Jew, is defined as a prophet,
a man to whom God spoke
directly. Balaam. "felt bound
to do God's will," Rabbi
Polish said.
The rabbi also noted that
few Torah portions are nam-
ed after specific individuals;
even great Jewish leaders
like Aaron and Moses do not
have sedras in their name.
Yet there is a portion named
for Yitro.
"I think this is one of the
ways the Torah reminds us
that while we should be pro-
ud of our history and our
heritage, we shouldn't be
proud to the point of becom-
ing parochial," Rabbi Polish
said.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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