His Lapse
The planting of a vineyard by Noah and his drunkenness (Genesis 9.20 et seq.) caused him to be regarded by the ancient rabbis in a new light, much to his disparagement. He lost much if not all of his former merit.
He was one of the three worthless men that were eager for agricultural pursuits (Genesis Rabba xxxvi. 5); he was the first to plant, to become drunken, to curse, and to introduce slavery (Tan., Noah, 20; comp. Gen. l.c.). God blamed Noah for his intemperance, saying that he ought to have been warned by Adam, upon whom so much evil came through wine (Sanhedrin 70a). According to Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer (l.c.), Noah took into the ark a vine-branch which had been cast out with Adam from paradise. He had previously eaten its grapes, and their savor induced him to plant their seed, the results of which proved lamentable. When Noah was about to plant the vineyard, Satan offered him his help, for which he was to have a share in the produce. Noah consented. Satan then successively slaughtered a sheep, a lion, an ape, and a hog, fertilizing the ground with their blood. Satan thereby indicated to Noah that after drinking the first cup of wine, one is mild like a sheep; after the second, courageous like a lion; after the third, like an ape; and after the fourth, like a hog who wallows in mud (Midrash Agadah on Gen. ix. 21; Midrash Abkir, in Yal?., Gen. 61; comp. Genesis Rabba 36.7). This legend is narrated by Ibn Yahya (Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah, p. 75a, Amsterdam, 1697) thus: "Noah, seeing a he-goat eat sour grapes and become intoxicated so that it began to frisk, took the root of that vine-branch and, after having washed it with the blood of a lion, a hog, a sheep, and an ape, planted it and it bore sweet grapes."
The vineyard bore fruit the same day that it was planted, and the same day, too, Noah gathered grapes, pressed them, drank their juice, became intoxicated, and was abused by Ham (Genesis Rabba l.c.; Midrash Agadah l.c.; Tan., Noah, 20).
Read more about this topic: Noah In Rabbinic Literature
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