As for you, take for yourself some of every kind of edible food and gather it in for yourself, so that you and they have food to eat.” Noach did everything that Hashem commanded him to do exactly. (6:21-22) Hashem said to Noach: I am about to bring the Flood of water upon the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh that has in it a breath of life. Everything on earth will expire. Make yourself an ark out of cypress wood. You must make the ark with compartments for each type of animal, and you must caulk it both inside and outside with pitch. Noach was put to task to build an enormous ark for thousands of creatures. Then he is ordered to gather enough food for his family and the thousands of creatures who would be in the ark for a long period of time, and would need a tremendous amount of food.
The mystery is how did Noach know how to build such an ark. Was he an architect or engineer? Secondly: How did he know how much food to bring? Third: How was it possible to store all of the food necessary for their survival? Fourth, Where would Noach have money to purchase such vast amounts of food, as he wasn’t a very rich man? In order to understand the Parsha, we must look at the word "some of every kind." The Posuk doesn’t write "every kind," to teach us the key to understand the command of Hashem.
To further understand this idea. The Alsheich Hakadosh quotes a Posuk in Mishlei 21:31: "The horse is prepared for the day of battle; but victory comes from Hashem.” In this Posuk, King Shlomo warns everybody to do whatever is in his power by using natural means to achieve his success, in a military encounter when such is unavoidable. Beyond that he must leave things to Hashem. Man was created in such a way that he can cope with most problems by using natural means. If one plans to secure victory over an adversary in a confrontation one must strive to equip oneself with the amount of weapons and the quality of weapons needed to give one an advantage. If one left everything to heaven one will find that heaven does not intervene on one’s behalf. When someone is sick he first has to take the measures known to help the patient to get well, Only after one has taken all the measures which are capable of curing, does one ask heaven to do its part in curing the sick person at hand. Once all these steps had been taken Hashem would add whatever measure needed to ensure success. Miracles are exceptions, not norms. This is why Hashem had commanded Noach to build an Ark although Hashem could have saved them in some other miraculous fashion. Hashem wanted Noach to do everything humanly possible to make his salvation appear compatible with natural law. Nonetheless, in spite of man’s best efforts, this most likely would not have been enough for all the inmates of the Ark to endure a whole year inside it without divine input, in the form of miracle. This is what King Shlomo spoke of when he said that the horse should be prepared. These are the words of the Alsheich.
Therefore, when Hashem told Noach to prepare "some of every kind," He meant prepare small portions of each type of food that will be eaten. Once there would be the substance, the miracle can be performed. Miraculously, through this food, Noach’s family and the thousands of animals in the ark will be sustained. The same was with building the ark: Noach was not an expert in engineering. Hashem told Noach to do the best he can, and the rest would be performed and build through a miracle seeming to be nature.
Now we understand the following Posuk states that “Noach did all that Hashem commanded him to do.” One may wonder, why is it necessary to state this. Would Noach have dared to deviate? Besides what it could have stated Noach did as Hashem commanded him, why the word “All”? The answer is that the Torah is emphasizing Noach’s great faith in Hashem. He built and entered the ark without preparing much food his family and the thousands of creatures. He relied on a Hashem that all would be satisfied with food and survive the flood. Therefore, Noach was a Righteous person.
This is a powerful lesson for us as it states (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 5, 2), “Open up a hole the size of a needle, and Hashem will open a hole like the doorway of the Temple hall.” The Mishna says: That is all that Hashem asks of us. Just do your share, and leave the rest to Hashem, as He has many ways how to achieve your successes. (Yehuda Z. Klitnick)
