Derasha 4 on Bereishis 6:3

TT #197 · Parashas Bereishis · Sixth Aliyah · Passuk 3

Complete Passuk

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהֹוָ֗ה לֹֽא־יָד֨וֹן רוּחִ֤י בָֽאָדָם֙ לְעֹלָ֔ם בְּשַׁגַּ֖ם ה֣וּא בָשָׂ֑ר וְהָי֣וּ יָמָ֔יו מֵאָ֥ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים שָׁנָֽה׃

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

TT points to Yerushalmi Nazir 7:2 (verified).

Core Text

Core Textמֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה — וְהָא קָרוֹב לְאֶלֶף שָׁנָה חַי אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן, וְאַתְּ אָמַרְתְּ וְהָיוּ יָמָיו מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה? אֶלָּא לְמֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה הוּא חוֹזֵר לְתַרְוָד אֶחָד רֶקֶב.
English of Core Text: “A hundred and twenty years” — but Adam the first man lived nearly a thousand years, and you say his days shall be a hundred and twenty years? Rather, after a hundred and twenty years he returns to a single spoonful of dust.
On the daf / in context: The 120 years is read not as the new maximum lifespan but as the period after which the body decomposes to a minimal remnant.
Type of Learning: Custom (120 years until full decomposition)
What Is Learned: After 120 years the body returns to a single spoonful of dust.