Zohar: Genesis: Chapter LXXII. And Every Living Substance Was Destroyed. . .

This is a passage from the Zohar (or a closely related kabbalistic midrash), presenting a chain of rabbinic commentary in the classic form of attributed teachings by named sages — Rabbi Abba, Rabbi Jose, Rabbi Simeon, Rabbi Eleazar, and others — on the Genesis flood narrative and its aftermath. The central interpretive concern is the precise meaning and timing of "And God remembered Noah," with each sage offering a distinct angle: divine memory of an individual, the rabbis argue, is withheld during active judgment and only restored once punishment is complete. A notably distinctive claim is Rabbi Abba's teaching that the flood destroyed not only earthly creatures but also their presiding celestial/angelic rulers, annihilated by primordial fire while their earthly charges perished by water — a two-tiered cosmic punishment drawn from Isaiah 24:21. The text also advances a theology of strategic invisibility: Rabbi Jose argues that during divine wrath the destroying angel harms those it sees, so hiding (as Noah hid in the ark) is not cowardice but wisdom, and being judged collectively with a community is safer than being singled out before God, as illustrated by the Shunamite woman's refusal of Elisha's offer to "speak for her" to the divine King. Rabbi Simeon contributes a mystical digression on God's governance of sea-storms and the interplay of forces from the divine right and left, concluding that one who earnestly pursues divine mysteries is praiseworthy even without success. This passage will interest readers drawn to kabbalistic hermeneutics, angelology, and the rabbinic theology of divine judgment, memory, and protection.

Zohar: Genesis: Chapter LXXII. And Every Living Substance Was Destroyed. . .

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