Hirsch on Personification

Bereishit 6:6 וַיִּנָּחֶם יְהֹוָה כִּי עָשָׂה אֶת הָאָדָם בָּאָרֶץ וַיִּתְעַצֵּב אֶל לִבּוֹ Then G-d was caused to alter His decision, that He had made man on earth, and He grieved in His heart.

Rav Hirsch comments that His heart, lev Elokim, symbolizes the deep love between G-d and man.  G-d’s heart, as it were, wished to rejoice in the thriving of mankind on earth, but He is compelled to forgo the joy of His heart.  Man’s continued existence would bring evil upon the earth; hence “G-d was caused to alter His decision”.  But His heart remained unchanged; His heart desired man’s continued existence, and He was grieved that He had to renounce this.

Scholars have philosophized about the anthropomorphic expressions in Scripture, in order to keep us far from ascribing to G-d material features. This gives rise to the danger that the Personality of G-d will become increasingly blurred and indistinct to our perception.  Had that been the Torah’s intention, it could easily have avoided such expressions. Rather the second danger (that of blurring the Creator’s Personality) is greater than the first (that of anthropomorphizing the Creator). 

The anthropomorphic expressions in this section uphold tow of the fundamental principles of our faith: the freedom of G-d and the freedom of man. Scripture says 6:5 “When G-d saw…” Man’s wickedness was not a matter of necessity.  G-d had to see it before He knew it.  This expression confirms the freedom of man. And the fate that overtook mankind was not the result of physical causality. G-d considered the matter before rendering His decision, and the decision grieved Him. All this affirms the Personality and freedom of G-d and preserves the purity of faith.  This is also the view of the Ravid, the distinctively Jewish thinker: Belief in the Personality of G-d is more important than the speculation of those who reject the attribution of material features to G-d.

Bereishit 8:21 וַיָּרַח יְהֹוָה אֶת רֵיחַ הַנִּיחֹחַ וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל לִבּוֹ And the Lord smelled the pleasant aroma (from the offering on the altar), and the Lord said to Himself, "I will no longer curse the earth because of man, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth, and I will no longer smite all living things as I have done.

It is easy for scholars to blur the concept of G-d and turn it into a transcendental, metaphysical concept.  It is a person’s duty, however, to believe with perfect faith in the Personality of G-d and in His close relationship to every man. This belief is more important than any speculation on transcendental concepts, such as the eternity and incorporeality of G-d, for these concepts are as detached from the morality of our lives as are algebraic codes.

Everything that connects a person to his surroundings, and particularly to the creature near to him, is here included in the term לב. Just as we say of G-d that His is רחומ, חנון, and so forth, so can all these attributes be included in and expressed by the term לב.  This corresponds completely to what was said in 6:6 וַיִּתְעַצֵּב אֶל לִבּוֹ, where G-d grieved concerning His “heart”; that is to say, He renounced with sorrow all the good that His mercy and love wished mankind to attain.  So, too, here, the whole complex of Divine mercy and love pleaded for the preservation of the world and of man.