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and wife. Immoral conduct destroys the unity of mankind and dissolves
the bond which holds Hashem’s Name together. This is why it says “And
the earth became corrupted before Hashem.”
Why does the Torah mention that the Ark came to rest upon the mountains
of Ararat? The numerical value of is the same as . Holiness is
not just an esoteric or abstract concept. It is the abstinence from illicit
relations, as Rashi writes in parashat Kedoshim. The Torah hints to this
rectification by saying that the Ark came to rest upon the pristine
mountains of Ararat.
The Kli Yakar explains that the measurements of the Ark also refer to the
dissolution of Hashem’s Name caused by their actions. The square and
cubic meterage of the Ark is equally divisible by fifteen, which is also the
numerical value of Hashem’s Name .
Other references to the number fifteen can be found in the height to which
the waters rose above the tops of the mountains, as well as the days of the
Flood’s duration.
Even the Hebrew word for the Ark ( ) also contains the letters and
in alternating sequence. Thus the Ark came to remedy the corruption of
flesh that tore at Hashem’s Name.
“And Hashem looked upon the earth and behold
it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way
on earth”
(Bereishit 6:12)
