[Avodah] Limited Mabul?

[ygbechhofer at gmail.com]

Translation of the Yerushalmi:

HaMotzim" /(Yechezkel/ 47:8) /-/ this is the great [Mediterraenean] sea. 
And why is it called "Motzim?" Corresponding to the two times that it 
came out, once in the generation of Enosh and once in the generation of 
the Tower of Babel. R' Lezar in the name of R' Chaninah: The first time 
it came out up till Calabria and the second time up till the rocks of 
Barbary. R' Acha in the name of R' Chanina: The first time it came out 
up till the rocks of Barbary and the second time it came out up till 
Akko (Acre) and Yaffo (Jaffa) - "Up till here you shall come and not 
further" (/Iyov/ 38). Up till Akko you shall come and no further. "And 
here He shall extend the might of your waves." Up till Yaffo I will 
extend the might of your waves.

While it is true that the second time is linked to the generation of the 
Tower of Babel, I submit that this is not necessarily exact, as we know 
of no massive flood at that time. I therefore think that just as the 
generation of Enosh refers to the known flood of that time, the 
generation of the "Dispersion" (/Haflagah/) refers to the known flood of 
the /Mabul/. See also the /Yalkut Shimoni, Yechezkel/ 383. Nevertheless, 
see //Teshuvos B'Tzel HaChochmah/ /2:12////// that considers this 
Yerushalmi from a Halachic perspective and takes it as written (I added 
it to the blog post).

KT,
YGB

Micha Berger wrote:
> See RYGB's blog
> <http://rygb.blogspot.com/2007/12/yerushalmi-shekalim-26a-does-it.html>.
>
> He quotes Y-mi Shekalim 26a, which discusses the Mediterannian
> overflowing twice. See link for quote, Hebrew never worked well on
> Avodah.
>
> I'm not sure that can be used to explain the mabul, though. If
> anything, the reverse: The two times in the gemara are dor Enosh and
> dor hapelagah. (Then the gemara discusses the spacial extent of the
> flooding.) In either case, it would seem that this disqualifies a
> flooding event, even of the scale of flooding from the Barbary Coast
> until Ako. As that is being described as flooding less noteworthy than
> THE mabul.
>   
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