Powerful Giants

However, this explanation requires further clarification for a novice student of Torah:

How can it be (a) that an angel would rebel against Hashem, or (b) that an angel would even have the ability to execute his rebellion against Hashem!?

To address these difficulties, Rashi adds “(who fell from the heavens) in the days of the Generation of Enosh,” resolving both questions:

• a) Regarding the Generation of Enosh, the Torah states, “then men began calling by the name of Hashem,” and as Rashi explains, “calling the names of man... by the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, to make them idols....” This shows that the angels’ fall from the heavens in that generation was also connected to rebellion against Hashem.
• b) Since the Nephilim descended from the angels “who fell from the heavens in the days of the Generation of Enosh” {which was before the Flood}, this tells us that these Nephilim were not destroyed during the Flood. That is: Even though the Flood came through the windows of heaven opening, with rain from the heavens, and boiling waters, through which “He wiped out all existence,” it nevertheless did not wipe out the descendants of the Nephilim! This indicates that they possessed such tremendous strength that Hashem did not allow a punishment, even a heavenly one, to have any power over them!