A startling contradiction in G-d's attitude to man
A startling contradiction in G-d's attitude to man

When God created the universe, he declared every aspect of his creation to be good. The totality of his creation he declared to be very good.  “And God saw everything that he had made and behold it was very good.”  (B’reisheet 1:31.)  Man was the pinnacle of that creation and it was for him that God had prepared the world.

At the conclusion of the Parsha, there is a startling reversal in God’s attitude and relation to man. “And God saw that the evil of man is great in the earth and all the desires of the thoughts of his mind are evil all the day.  And God repented (Vayinachem) that he had made man in the world and he mourned in His heart (for the loss of his handiwork- Rashi)”  (B’reisheet 6: 5-6.)

God thus decided to destroy all that He had created.

God’s declaration of repentance is a concept which is very difficult to understand.  God’s mind is absolute and his judgments are not dependent upon factors external to Him.  God does not repent nor experience regret. 

As a result of this problem, the commentaries on the Torah change both the meaning and import of the word Vayinachem (repented).  Rashi maintained that the term referred to the process of deliberation. “God was considering what to do.” (Rashi, B’reishit 6:6.)  To the Ramban and Ibn Ezra this language is a human convention which recognizes the enormity which is about to occur.  (See Ibid.) 

The text in Samuel I however, leaves no room for such interpretation.  After Saul failed to destroy all of the Amalekites, Samuel reproaches him stating that God will not forgive him because, “the Eternal of Israel (God) does not lie and does not repent (the Hebrew using the same grammatical root as vayinachem) for he is not a human being to repent.”  (Samuel I, 16:29.)   Samuel thus discusses the nature of repentance or regret which do not apply to God.  Regret or contrition is the first step in the concept of Teshuva.  God, by virtue of being God, does not do Teshuva.

This is especially troubling because when God first speaks to Samuel, He says, “I regret (Nichamti, again the same root) that I made Saul into a king, for he turned away from me and did not fulfill my words.” (Samuel I, 16:11.)

I would like to extend the notion that God’s repentance should be understood within a different context.  The concept of repentance as expressed by God is a process of teaching mankind a powerful concept.  When one surveys the history of humanity as described in the Parsha of Genesis as well as the nature of the first king of Israel, one aspect stands out.  In all of these instances the behavior of mankind demonstrates that whatever actions they take, they do not see themselves as accountable for their actions or demonstrate a sense of regret for what they have done.  There is a tendency to blame their misbehavior upon someone else.

After transgressing God’s command forbidding him from eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam shifts the blame to the woman and to God who gave her to Adam.  The woman shifts the blame to the serpent who misled her.  Caine never accepts responsibility for the murder of his brother.  The people in the days of Enosh who turn to idolatry, see nothing wrong in their actions.  Even after the flood, the people who build the Tower of Babel in order to attack God show now sign of remorse.  Saul, who violated God’s specific command on Amalek shifts the blame to the people who coerced him.  

God, thus, must demonstrate to mankind in the most tragic and overwhelming manner the importance and power of repentance and accepting responsibility for one’s actions. Thus, if God is able to repent, certainly human beings can do the same.  Just as God becomes the role model for mankind through his thirteen attributes of the quality of mercy, he also demonstrates through his actions the nature and power of repentance as well accountability.