Why Did People in the First Millennia Live for So Long?

Dear Rabbi,

Can you explain why the lifespans of the early generations were incredibly long? According to Genesis, Adam died at age 930, Noah was almost 500 when he started building the ark (not bad!), and Methuselah lived a world record 969 years. So what happened? Why don’t we live that long anymore?

Answer:

The longevity of our patriarchs raises several questions. What does it feel like to hit 900? When did they have their midlife crisis? Were centenarians getting up to teenage mischief? Did parents tell their children, “Stop acting like a 40-year-old!”?

Whatever the case, the first few generations of humanity lived extremely long lives, and then after Noah’s flood we see a dramatic reduction in average lifespan—people begin to live as long as we do today.

We know that each soul that comes into the world arrives with a set of missions to fulfill. The person housing that soul is given a lifespan that is long enough to complete these missions.

The main difference between the earlier and later generations is that the first generations of humanity had large, “all-encompassing” souls. People in later generations possessed only fragments of those original souls. Those souls were broken up and shared between several individuals.

The earlier generations had big souls and long lifespans, because they had a lot of work to do. In later generations, these big souls were spread out among thousands and millions of individuals, in the form of smaller souls with less work to do, and thus shorter lifetimes to do it in.

But if, for whatever reason, a soul does not complete all the work it needs to in one lifetime, it is given more chances. A reincarnated soul is a spark of an earlier soul that comes back to earth in a new body to complete unfinished business from its previous life.

None of us know how much time we have, but we do know that we don’t have centuries. We don’t have the luxury to start building our ark when we are 500. Better start now.

By Aron Moss

Rabbi Aron Moss teaches Kabbalah, Talmud and practical Judaism in Sydney, Australia, and is a frequent contributor to Chabad.org.

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October 16, 2012

Who speaks for G_d?

I don't know about shocked, because I know many people who do totally believe in a journey of soul, and in fact, Jewish mysticism does speak to this. Have you read your Zohar recently? There is a beautiful picture at the MOMA that shows the souls of Jews circling back to earth from the ovens of the Holocaust, and I do believe this is true. I don't think it's wise to call people pagan in a pejorative way, that is condemning, nor do I think it wise to call others ignorant. I hear many voices all the time, speaking for G_d and they have some very diverse views, but one thing they do have in common, and that is they do not call others ignorant, without first checking "their" beliefs and sources. If they do, meaning speak words of hate in the name of... I consider this the yetzer in human form. Something like reincarnation is hard to prove, isn't it? But there are many, many Jews who totally believe they came back. I respect them and that view.

ruth housman
marshfield hills, ma

October 14, 2012

reincarnation

In the first place, if you can't trust the bible to be accurate about the lifespans of the preflood people,then why trust it at all? If you doubt one verse, how could you trust another? In the second place, where in the bible do you find even one word"reincarnation"? This is simply a pure PAGAN doctrine. I'm shocked at how little you know . Read Gen.2:7 ...and the man became a living soul (nephesh) Your viewpoint are diametrical to the word of . IG-D. It seems to me that you make up your own religion. I'll bet you won't print this comment.

Meyer Stahl
Las Cruces,NM, USA

October 14, 2012

Re: Reincarnation?

Please see Where is reincarnation found in G‑d's word, as opposed to Man's word

Yehuda Shurpin for Chabad.org

October 12, 2012

Ancestra Longevity

In Israel Torah scholars sometimes refer to the calendar year as having different Rosh Ha Shanahs. I have heard it said that there are 4 New Year dates every 365 days.
Add to this how we can glean from the Torah that the rainbow was not always visible until the misty atmosphere from pre-flood days changed. This pre-flood condition would have lent confusion to counting days between sun lit days and moon lit days, even counting one full day as two.
Depending on how long ago we are talking, the Earth's rotation could have been much faster. The result of which could have been giving misleading years of longevity to everyone back then. My guess is that one of their cookbooks with an unfamiliar ingredient might shed the ray of light we look for in the final answer for this age old question.

Sanford
Margate, Florida

October 11, 2012

Solar vs Lunar.

A previous comentor listed the harvest year as a measure to caculate age. This may be correct in that the solar calendar was not calculated untill Babylonian times when the 19 yr cycle was discovered. However, it a Greek astronomer named Menton, 432 B.C., that put the solar year into use. In other words pre Babilona, I would be 90 yrs old based on the number of harvest cycles. Remember, G-d, blessed be, did not introduce us to the lunar cycle until after we began our exodus. Thus, the age of our sages' was not as it appears.

Anonymous
Denver, CO

October 11, 2012

Reincarnation?

Where in the Torah and other holy texts and writings does it indicate reincarnation of the soul? Is this a belief of groups who worship different gods?

Anonymous
Houston

September 23, 2012

Biblical Longevity

In days (centuries) gone by people tracked time by seasonal changes.

Typically we have 4 seasons, in contemporaneity time. A millenia ago seasons were advanced by the strong shifts in weather patterns (cycles). Many (contemporary) years would have many more than four seasonal shifts. What now is a year could have been several -or more!

political_proxy
carson city, NV

June 24, 2012

Different time system/Calendar or Polution Florida

I have seen you mention twice that perhaps the there is no time in space. We do not know this.For all we know there are people out there seeking a similar knowledge of their creator This whole article causes us to question How G-d works in our lives and the world. While most of us do not directly mean to challenge G-d's words or His actions. We struggle to seek meaning in what was and what will be. So for this pupose we dialogue and learn how each other thinks. Thereby try to come closer to understanding each other and hopefully find Him in the process. I am enjoying the opinions and seeking the areas that are in common. Peace/Shalom

Midget
La Porte, In. La Porte

June 24, 2012

Long Lives of Patriarchs

At Genesis 37: 2, Joseph is said to be a “boy” at age 17 shanah. That’s because shanah in that context refers to a 6-month period; Joseph is age 8½ in 12-month years. When he is sold to traders a year later, Joseph is age 9½ years. Ishmael is repeatedly called a “boy” in chapter 21 of Genesis, about three years after he was circumcised at age 13 shanah per Genesis 17: 25. Ishmael was circumcised at age 6 ½ in 12-month years, and is a boy age 9½ years when he is exiled. Dinah is called a “boy” at Genesis 34: 3. All three -- Joseph, Ishmael and Dinah -- are called a “boy”, and are age 9½ in 12-month years, when they are involuntarily separated from their father’s families.

Dr. James R. Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

June 21, 2012

Long Lives

Do not confuse "Truth" with "Proven Facts."

Jack
Midland Park

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