The Covering Of Shame
A d’rash for Parshat Noach
B’resheet (Gen.) 6:9–11:32, Yeshayahu (Isai.) 54:1–55:5
By Rabbi Reuel Dillon
From the very beginning, once the first sin against God was committed, man has tried to
provide his own covering through his own works. Before the first sin we read the following
in Beresheet (Genesis) 2:25, “They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were
not ashamed.”. Once they sinned we read in Beresheet 3:7, “Then the eyes of both of them
were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to
make themselves loincloths.”. But, as usual, the attempts of mankind to cover his own sin
on his own terms fails miserably. And, thus we read the following in Beresheet 3:21,
“HaShem, God, made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.”. As it
was in Beresheet 4:2-5 regarding the offerings of Kayin and Hevel, here we see that the
produce of the land could not cover the sin of man, but a blood sacrifice and a more proper
covering would be necessary. And, through the flood Adonai wanted to teach man so that
they would know, even in the end of days, that He is a just Judge and will judge sin and
mankind…But, through the ark He also wanted to teach us that those whom would trust in
Him and turn their backs on the wickedness of the world for such people He would provide
life and a covering. And, I believe Adonai is not only teaching us this throughout scripture,
but He knew that Mankind would continue to try to cover his sins in a way that is not
appropriate, either by completely ignoring God’s commandments, attempting to hide from
Him, or by trying by their own works to create their own covering.
Thus, from the beginning Adonai had begun to reveal this and share with the world His
“B’surot tovot”, which in Hebrew means; “Good News”. And, this Good News was that if
His people would simply trust Him, He would forgive them, heal their wounds caused by
their sin, and He would then take it upon Himself to cover their shame and restore a right
relationship with Him. Because the problem was from the beginning it is reasonable to
conclude that Adonai sought to teach people about the problem and the solution, and didn’t
wait four thousand years after the fact to eventually share the problem and solution with us.
Truly, Revelation 13:8 tells us that in regards to Yeshua The Messiah’s sacrificial death…He
was considered to be the, “Lamb having been slain from the foundation of the world.”.
Therefore, it has been said that all atonements ever accepted were only effectual by His
blood, and did cover the world from the beginning to end to all those whom would trust in
Adonai’s “B’surot Tovot”. Adonai wanted to entrust this message to a holy people that
would guard and deliver this message from the beginning until the end, and indeed from
which would issue HaMashiach, The Anointed One of Adonai.
At the beginning of Romans chapter three we read, “Then what advantage has the Jew?
What is the value of being circumcised? Much in every way! In the first place, the Jews were
entrusted with the very words of God” (Romans 3:1-2). As all peoples on the Earth today,
the Jewish people came from one of the three sons of Noach (Noah). In B’resheet 6:10 we
read, “Noach became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Yefet. From these three
sons the Jewish people came from Shem. In fact, Jewish tradition holds that Shem was
actually “Melchitzedek”, translated to mean “King of Righteousness”, and as we will
continue to read about in this parashah Noach, this may not be too far from the truth. It
has been said that many of the Goyim such as the Greeks, The Romans, and many from the
European nations with lighter skin came from Yefet. Although there seems to be a play on
words with his name in Beresheet 9:27 to mean “enlarge, or expand” from the Hebrew root
“patach” which means “open”, his name is said to also come from the Hebrew root “yafeh”,
which can mean “fair”. The question is, what nations came from “Ham”? The name comes
from the Hebrew word “Cham”, which means to be “hot” and from this sense to be
“darkened”, as if something was darkened from heat. Tehillim (Psalms) 105:23 tells us,
“Then Yisra'el too came into Mitzrayim (Egypt), Ya'akov lived as an alien in the land of
Ham.”. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that the Egyptians and similar peoples from that
area are from the family of Ham. We see this further confirmed in B’resheet 10:6 where we
read, “The sons of Ham were Kush (Sudan, Ethiopia), Mitzrayim (Egypt), Put (Lybia) and
Kena'an.”. And, from Kena’an were the children of Tzidon, Het, the Y'vusi, the Emori, the
Girgashi, the Hivi, the 'Arki, the Sini, the Arvadi, the Tz'mari and the Hamati.
So, what does this all have to do with “the covering of shame” and the Jewish people?? It
helps us to identify whom is whom in the history of the nations which can then give more
significance to the following passage that we will read about in B’resheet 9:20-27. It states,
“Noach began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine, and got drunk.
He was uncovered within his tent. Ham, the father of Kana`an, saw the nakedness of his
father, and told his two brothers outside. Shem and Yefet took a garment, and laid it on both
their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces
were backwards, and they didn't see their father's nakedness. Noach awoke from his wine,
and knew what his youngest son had done to him. He said, "Cursed be Kana`an; A servant
of servants will he be to his brothers." He said, "Blessed be HaShem, the God of Shem; Let
Kana`an be his servant. God enlarge Yefet, Let him dwell in the tents of Shem; Let Kana`an
be his servant.".
From this blessing and prophecy given by Noach we see several things worthy to note.
First, we see a particular blessing and anointing given to Shem. Apparently his conduct was
especially worthy of merit. The Sages rightly note that where it states, “And Shem and Yafet
took”, in regards the garment they used to cover, it uses the Hebrew word “vayikach” xqyv
which is the singular form for “and he took”, meaning that initially one person acquired the
covering. The Hebrew doesn’t say “vayik’chu” vxqyv which would be the plural form that
would be found if more than one person actually obtained the covering. This teaches us
about Shem, that he took the initiative to lead in providing the covering, but that later his
brother Yafet came along side him to assist. I would contend that it was primarily through
Shem that Adonai would provide the covering to Noach’s shame, which also looked back to
Gan Eden (The Garden of Eden) and the covering of Adam and Havah’s nakedness. And,
the covering of Noach’s shame by his son Shem was symbolically the covering of all
humanity’s shame through Shem…for Noach symbolized mankind as we know it today, as
all men that where on the Earth after the flood are descended from Noach. And, the most
prominent descendents of Shem are most certainly the Jewish people. Noach said, “Blessed
be HaShem, the God of Shem”…Is not the God of Shem, one in the same with the God of
Avraham, Yitz'chak, and Ya’akov? As we read earlier, it was to the Jewish people that the
oracles of Adonai where entrusted and from them that salvation and atonement would
come. In Yochanan (John) 4:22 Yeshua The Messiah states, “You people don't know what
you are worshipping; we worship what we do know, because salvation comes from the
Jews.”. And, thus the covering and atonement comes from Shem.
Noach also prophesied, “God enlarge Yefet, Let him dwell in the tents of Shem”. There is
in interesting relationship between these two sons that I would like to touch on. I spoke
earlier about some of the peoples and nations that came from Yefet. It is prophesied by
Noach that Yefet would be enlarged as a people, but that part of the blessing Noach spoke
of was that they would dwell in the tents of Shem. These would be the tents of faith as we
read about in Hebrews 11:8 –10, “By faith, Avraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out
to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he
went. By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling
in tents, with Yitz'chak and Ya`akov, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked
for the city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
The Targum Yerushalmi states, “Blessed be HaShem the God of Shem, whose work is
righteous…HaShem shall beautify the borders of Yafet, and his sons shall be proselyted and
dwell in the schools of Shem..”
This is an interesting commentary because it makes me think of something that happened in
the book of Acts where the Good News is being learned by the Greeks, Romans, and many
other peoples from the nations amongst the tents of Shem. The suffering Servant of
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 53, pointing to Messiah and His sacrificial work is directly connected
with the expanded peoples of Yafet whom where about to dwell in larger numbers in the
tents of Shem.
For our haftarah states in Yeshayahu 54:1-10, "Sing, barren woman who has never had a
child! Burst into song, shout for joy, you who have never been in labor! For the deserted
wife will have more children than the woman who is living with her husband," says HaShem.
Enlarge the space for your tent, extend the curtains of your dwelling; do not hold back,
lengthen your cords, make your tent pegs firm. For you will spread out to the right and the
left, your descendants will possess the nations and inhabit the desolated cities. Don't be
afraid, for you won't be ashamed; don't be discouraged, for you won't be disgraced. You will
forget the shame of your youth, no longer remember the dishonor of being widowed. For
your husband is your Maker, HaShem-Tzva'ot is his name. The Holy One of Yisra'el is your
Redeemer. He will be called the God of all the earth.
For HaShem has called you back like a wife abandoned and grief-stricken; "A wife married
in her youth cannot be rejected," says your God. "Briefly I abandoned you, but with great
compassion I am taking you back. I was angry for a moment and hid my face from you; but
with everlasting grace I will have compassion on you," says HaShem your Redeemer. "For
me this is like Noach's flood. Just as I swore that no flood like Noach's would ever again
cover the earth, so now I swear that never again will I be angry with you or rebuke you. For
the mountains may leave and the hills be removed, but my grace will never leave you, and
my covenant of peace will not be removed," says HaShem, who has compassion on you.”
It was through the Goyim (Gentiles) entering into the tents of HaShem and becoming part
of the commonwealth of Yisra'el that we read writings such as the following in Ephesians
2:11-13, “Therefore, remember your former state: you Gentiles by birth - called the
Uncircumcised by those who, merely because of an operation on their flesh, are called the
Circumcised - at that time had no Messiah. You were estranged from the national life of
Yisra'el. You were foreigners to the covenants embodying God's promise. You were in this
world without hope and without God. But now, you who were once far off have been
brought near through the shedding of the Messiah's blood.”
If you were born a Gentile and have not entered into the tents of Shem, yes, into the tents of
Yisra'el, than you need to you. You need to take hold of the Jewish Messiah and your
Hebraic roots that in Him belong to you. If you were born Gentile and have begun to dwell
in the tents of Yisra'el…don’t leave these tents. Remember, it was through these tents that
your shame was covered. But, as Romans 1:16 states, “For I am not ashamed of the Good
News, since it is God's powerful means of bringing salvation to everyone who keeps on
trusting, to the Jew especially, but equally to the Gentile.”
B’midbar (Numbers) 24:5
“Ma tovu ohalecha Ya’akov mishkenotecha Yisra'el”
“How goodly are your tents, Ya`akov, and your tents, Yisra'el!”.
Shabbat shalom!
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