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Who Were the Nephilim According to Kabbalah in Judaism?

Questions on Judaism and Religion

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Question

Greetings, esteemed Rabbi! I would like to know who the Nephilim are according to Kabbalah? Are they a type of angels?...or perhaps other spiritual beings...

Answer

Greetings and blessings.

The simple interpretation is that the Nephilim are giants.
According to the plain meaning, these were the offspring of the second generation following the creation of man, who were very large, larger than the generations that came after them.
Thus, they had the power to take women by force from any whom they chose, and therefore had no specific role.
However, in the Midrashim, our sages explain that these were two angels who argued against the sins of mankind and demanded their punishment.
But the attribute of mercy requested to forgive humanity due to their difficult trials in this world. The two angels, however, claimed that it was not at all difficult to withstand the trial,
and a ruling was given that the two angels would descend to this world to see if they would withstand the trials faced by humans in this world.
And so it happened, and indeed, the angels did not withstand the trial and sinned with promiscuity, and from them came the giants.

Blessings - Binyamin Shmueli


Tags:kabalahJewish wisdom

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