In the sparse, early chapters of Genesis, among the long lifespans and genealogical lists, we encounter a brief but mysterious verse about a man named Chanoch (Enoch), seventh generation from Adam:

And Chanoch walked with G‑d; and he was no more, for G‑d had taken him.1

What does it mean that he “walked with G‑d”? And most intriguingly, what is the meaning of “G‑d had taken him”?

Rashi, drawing from the Talmud, notes that the verse does not say “and he died,” as it does for everyone else it lists. This, along with the words “and he was no more,” implies that Chanoch did not experience a natural death. Instead, Rashi explains:

G‑d took him: He was taken from the world before his time. And why did He take him? “For G‑d had taken him”—because he was likely to sin and return to his foolish ways. Therefore, G‑d hurried and took him from the world while he was still righteous.2

A young girl, after learning this Rashi in school, wrote to the Rebbe with a series of questions:

  1. If G‑d took Chanoch early to prevent him from sinning, where was his free will? Doesn’t every person have the ability to choose good over evil until their last day?
  2. Surely there were others who could have benefited by being taken by G‑d before being tempted to sin. Why was Chanoch singled out for this unique intervention?
  3. Her teacher had explained that Chanoch was taken to become the angel Metatron.3 If he was so vulnerable to sin, how could he achieve such a sublime, angelic state?

In his reply,4 the Rebbe acknowledged the depth of her inquiry and offered one of many possible explanations.

The Rebbe began by explaining that a human being is a composite of two utterly different elements: a physical body (guf) and a G‑dly soul (neshamah). Often, these two are in conflict. The soul yearns for spirituality, while the body is drawn to physicality.

Chanoch, the Rebbe explained, possessed an exceptionally lofty and powerful soul—he was a true tzaddik (righteous person). His body, however, was of a particularly low and coarse nature, perhaps even more so than the average person. This created an intense and constant internal struggle. His great soul was housed in a vessel that was naturally inclined towards the mundane and the material.

This battle was fought in an especially challenging environment. Before the Giving of the Torah, the Rebbe noted, the world lacked the spiritual infrastructure to easily refine physicality. Humans had not yet been empowered by the Torah to synthesize the physical and the spiritual, to elevate the mundane into the holy. Every day was a tremendous test for Chanoch.

And yet, he persevered. Through immense effort, he “walked with G‑d,” battling his own nature and his generation’s tendencies.

As a reward, when G‑d saw that the tests would become so great that even Chanoch would not be able to withstand them, G‑d “took him.”

This, the Rebbe said, answers the young girl’s questions.

His free will was not compromised. On the contrary, he exercised it heroically every single day of his life.

Why was he taken? Not to save him from struggle, but precisely because of his incredible struggle and victory.

This also explains his angelic transformation. It was not that a vulnerable man became an angel. Rather, it was because he had successfully battled his powerful physical inclinations his entire life that he achieved the purity necessary to be transformed into a purely spiritual entity.