The 70 nations of the world came from and are named after the 70 descendants of the three sons of Noah: Yafes [Japeth, Shem and Ham.
Esau represents one of the major socio-political thrusts in the spiritual development of world history. This destiny was revealed even before he was born, in Shem’s prophecy to Esau’s mother Rebekah (Genesis 25:23) while she was pregnant with him and Jacob.
The Baal Shem Tov said: The final redemption and the work of the Messiah [the theme of the last day of Passover] involves teaching Gentiles the 7 Noahide Laws.
After the great Flood, Noah’s son Shem, and Shem’s great-grandson Eber (Ever in Hebrew) established a yeshiva of Torah learning. However, it’s difficult to find any details of their teaching, other than the fact that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob learned from them, and Jacob transmitted their teachings to Joseph.
RE: Shem's Torah academy - Director Michael - 07-13-2007 When Jacob ran away from his brother Esau, for the first 14 years he concealed himself and learned in the academy of Shem and Eber (see Rashi's explanation on Gen. 35:29).
There was nothing in the Baal Shem Tov's teachings that was new to Judaism, yet his spiritual teachings revolutionized Torah Judaism with new life and vitality.
Ask Noah Q&A Forum › Living the Seven Commandments › Ask The Academy Rabbis › Before Mount Sinai (R,T) Torah academy of Shem (Malchizedek)
The Baal Shem Tov taught that in Hebrew, the word “chamor” (donkey) is spelled the same as the word “chomer,” which means “materiality,” i.e., the physical in general, and in particular, the physical body.