148. "And, behold, I will bring the flood of waters upon the earth" (Beresheet 6:17). Rabbi Yehuda opened the discussion with the verse: "These are the waters of strife, wherein the children of Yisrael strove with Hashem and He was sanctified by them" (Bemidbar 20:13). AND HE ASKS: This is not the only place where the children of Yisrael strove with Hashem. Why does the text say "waters of strife" here, but not at any other place? AND HE REPLIES: These waters in particular are the waters of strife, for they gave strength and power to the Prosecutor. There are sweet water and bitter waters, WHICH ARE THE SECRET OF HOLINESS AND ITS OPPOSITE - OF THE RIGHT COLUMN. And there are pure and mucky waters, WHICH ARE THE SECRET OF HOLINESS AND ITS OPPOSITE - OF THE LEFT COLUMN. And there are waters of peace and of strife, WHICH ARE THE SECRET OF HOLINESS AND ITS OPPOSITE - OF THE CENTRAL COLUMN. That is why IT IS WRITTEN: "These are the waters of strife, wherein the children of Yisrael strove with Hashem," THIS SHOWS THAT "THE WATERS" REFERS TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE CENTRAL COLUMN. As they drew upon themselves that which they should not have DRAWN, NAMELY THE OPPOSITE SIDE, CALLED THE WATERS OF STRIFE and they were defiled by them. And this is why it is written, "and He was sanctified by them."
149. Rabbi Chizkiyah asked him: If it is so, then why is it written: "and He was sanctified,"? It should have been written: 'and they were sanctified' IN THE PLURAL, REFERRING TO THE CHILDREN OF YISRAEL. AND HE REPLIES THAT there is a hidden meaning to the words "He was sanctified." THEY INDICATE THAT something that should not be damaged is damaged. It is as if the moon, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE, has been damaged. So the word "sanctified" is not mentioned here for praise, WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR THE DISCRETION EXPRESSED IN THE SCRIPTURES. AND RABBI YEHUDA CONCLUDED THAT "And, behold, I will bring the flood of waters" means that He shall send the Angel of Destruction upon them, just as they defiled themselves with him, as we have stated previously.
150. Rabbi Yosi said: Woe to the wicked who do not want to repent of their sins before the Holy One blessed be He, while they are still in this world, because when a person repents and feels sorry for his sins, then the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives him. But those who cling to their sins and refuse to repent will eventually fall into Gehenom and never be brought up again.
151. Come and behold: Because the generation of Noah was stubborn and bold enough to sin openly, the Holy One, blessed be He, brought Judgment upon them in the same manner. Rabbi Yitzchak said that if a person sins, and he does so secretly, then the Holy One, blessed be He, is merciful. If he repents, he is pardoned and forgiven. But if he does not repent his sins, He reveals them for all to see. How do we know this? We learn this from the way in which the faithless wife WHO SINS SECRETLY IS TREATED AND FROM HOW THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, REVEALS HER SIN OUT IN THE OPEN WITH THE CURSING WATERS.
152. In the same manner, the wicked, NAMELY THE GENERATION OF THE FLOOD, were openly destroyed and wiped from the face of the earth. And how were they wiped out? The scalding waters spurted up from the abyss, skinning them alive. As skin was torn from flesh, they were left only with their bones - and then the bones came asunder. As it is written: "They were destroyd from the earth" (Beresheet 7:23). Rabbi Yitzchak said: "And they destroyed from the earth." What is meant by the expression "destroyed out?" It is similar to, "Let them be blotted out from the book of living" (Tehilim 69:29). We learn from this that they shall not participate in the resurrection and will not stand for judgment.