HKB”H Prevents the Sea from Deluging the Entire World in the Merit of Yisrael Who Are Compared to Fish since They Live in the Sea of Torah
I would like to propose a fascinating idea explaining why HKB”H prevents the sea from inundating the entire earth. Let us begin by referring to the berachah Yaakov Avinu bestowed upon Ephraim and Menasheh (Bereishis 48, 16): "וידגו לרוב בקרב הארץ"—and may they flourish like fish within the land. Rashi comments: Like those fish that reproduce and multiply, and the evil eye does not affect them. This can be understood in light of the following elucidations in the Gemara (A.Z. 3b): "מאי דכתיב ותעשה אדם כדגי הים, למה נמשלו בני אדם כדגי הים, לומר לך מה דגים שבים כיון שעולין ליבשה מיד מתים, אף בני אדם כיון שפורשין מדברי תורה ומן המצוות מיד מתים". What is the meaning of that which is written (Chabakuk 1, 14): “You have made man like the fish of the sea”? Why are human beings compared to the fish of the sea? To teach you that just as the fish of the sea die immediately if they go up onto dry land, so, too, do people who separate themselves from the words of Torah and from the mitzvos die immediately.
Elsewhere in the Gemara, we are taught (Kiddushin 30b): "יצרו של אדם מתגבר עליו בכל יום ומבקש המיתו, שנאמר צופה רשע לצדיק ומבקש המיתו"—a man’s yetzer overwhelms him daily and attempts to kill him, as it states (Tehillim 37, 32): “The wicked one watches for the tzaddik and seeks to kill him.” Additionally, they teach (ibid.) that HKB”H announced to Yisrael: "בני בראתי יצר הרע ובראתי לו תורה תבלין, ואם אתם עוסקים בתורה אין אתם נמסרים בידו"—My son, I created the yetzer hara, and I have created Torah as its antidote. If you engage in Torah-study, you will not be delivered into its hand. Furthermore, we know that the Torah is compared to water (B.K. 17a): "אין מים אלא תורה שנאמר הוי כל צמא לכו למים"—there is no water other than Torah, as it says (Yeshayah 55, 1): “Ho! All that are thirsty, go to the water.”
This explains very nicely the analogy of Yisrael to fish; their existence relies wholly on the waters of Torah. When they study it diligently, they are able to overcome the deadly, spiritual influence of the yetzer hara. Yet, when they abandon the waters of Torah, chas v’shalom, they perish spiritually under the influence of the yetzer hara. Now, Ephraim and Menashe represent the entirety of Yisrael. This is evident from Yaakov’s berachah (Bereishis 48, 20): "בך יברך ישראל לאמר ישימך אלקים כאפרים וכמנשה"—by you shall Yisrael bless saying, “May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menashe.” Hence, he bestowed upon them the berachah above: "וידגו לרוב בקרב הארץ"—that all Jews should never forget their resemblance to fish; they can only exist and survive, if they live within the waters of the Torah.
In this manner, we can explain Rashi’s comment above beautifully: Like those fish that reproduce and multiply, and the evil eye does not affect them. In the Gemara (Berachos 61b), our blessed sages tell us about the self-sacrifice Rabbi Akiva endured in order to study Torah publicly:
"תנו רבנן, פעם אחת גזרה מלכות הרשעה שלא יעסקו ישראל בתורה. בא פפוס בן יהודה ומצאו לרבי עקיבא שהיה מקהיל קהילות ברבים ועוסק בתורה. אמר ליה עקיבא אי אתה מתיירא מפני מלכות. אמר לו אמשול לך משל למה הדבר דומה, לשועל שהיה מהלך על גב הנהר, וראה דגים שהיו מתקבצים ממקום למקום, אמר להם מפני מה אתם בורחים, אמרו לו מפני רשתות שמביאין עלינו בני אדם. אמר להם, רצונכם שתעלו ליבשה ונדור אני ואתם כשם שדרו אבותי עם אבותיכם. אמרו לו, אתה הוא שאומרים עליך פיקח שבחיות, לא פיקח אתה אלא טיפש אתה, ומה במקום חיותנו אנו מתיראין, במקום מיתתנו על אחת כמה וכמה. אף אנחנו עכשיו שאנו יושבים ועוסקים בתורה, שכתוב בה (דברים ל-כ) כי הוא חייך ואורך ימיך כך, אם אנו הולכים ומבטלים ממנה על אחת כמה וכמה".
The Rabbis taught in a Baraisa: Once, the wicked regime (Rome) decreed that the Jewish people should not engage in Torah-study. Pappus ben Yehudah came and found Rabbi Akiva as he was convening public assemblies and engaging in Torah-study. He (Pappus) said to him, “Akiva, are you not afraid of the regime?” He replied to him, “I will provide you with a parable to which the situation is comparable. It is comparable to a fox who was walking alongside a river and saw fish that were gathering from place to place. He said to them, “What are you fleeing from?” They said to him, “From the nets human beings are bringing to catch us.”
He said to them, “Is it your wish to come up onto dry land, and we shall dwell together just as my ancestors dwelt with your ancestors?” They said to him, “Are you the one they describe as the cleverest of the animals? You are not a clever one but a fool! If in the place that sustains us, we are afraid, in the place that will cause us to die, all the more so.” The same applies to us. Now, as we sit and engage in Torah-study, about which it is written (Devarim 30, 20): “For it is your life and the length of your days,” we are in danger; if we go and neglect it, all the more so!
