But Noach found favor in the eyes of Hashem. These are the generations of Noach. Noach was a righteous man; he was perfect in his generations. Noach walked with Hashem. And Noach bore three sons: Shem, Cam, and Yaphes. (6:9-11) The commentaries all ask: What is the connection between Noach finding favor in the eyes of Hashem, the following verse of the children of Noach, and the fact that Noach was a righteous man and was perfect in his generations? Another difficulty is asked: Noach built the Ark for 120 years. He rebuked his generation, saying that they repent; otherwise, Hashem will send a flood on them. The proof was that he was building an Ark to save himself in case they didn’t repent. Chazal taught us that many people mocked Noach, and he was the laughing stock of the people who came daily to watch Noach build the Ark. This brings us a twofold question: How did Noach have the patience to build the Ark for 120 years and to refrain himself from getting into quarrels with those people? Another twist: If Noach rebuked them constantly, it would be a fix that they would get upset at him. Yet we find that Noach lived in harmony with them. The question is: How was this possible?
In order to understand all the difficulties, we will begin with the Sefer Nachal Kidumim from the helige Chida, who brings a powerful point to the Sefer Chareidim on Torah from Rabbi Elazar Azcari (1533–1600), a Kabbalist, poet, and writer. He was born in Tzfas and is buried there too. He writes that Noach never got angry, which is why he found favor in the eyes of Hashem as well as in the eyes of all people. He emphasizes that this insight says in the Posuk: Why did Noach find favor in the eyes of Hashem? The answer is Since can be spelled ,g ̈p which means a calm and tranquil person, The Gemara (Eiruvin 65b) brings i ¦A ©x x ©n ̈` eq§r©k §aE eqi ¦k §aE eq ek §A x ̈Mi¦p m ̈c ̈` mi ¦x ̈a §C d ̈W l §W ¦A i`©r §li ¦` Rabbi Ilai says, "A person's character is revealed in three ways: how he acts after he drinks (“eq ek”, his cup), how he acts with his money (“eqi ¦k”, his purse), and how he acts when he expresses anger (“eq§r©k”)." Each would have to be judged by these three attributes. Well, since Noach was a Cohen, he was forbidden to drink wine. In Chazal, we find that Noach undertook upon himself all the costs of building the Ark. He traveled back and forth to Bahgdad to get the special wood for the Ark. When it came to money, Noach had full faith in Hashem and received whatever he needed. The character of anger was not applicable to Noach since he never got angry. Noach being at such a high level, therefore, Hashem says in the Posuk. Wi¬¦` ©g d− ̈i ̈d mi¬¦n ̈Y wi²¦C©v The same Posuk as :Li¤w l¡` 'd m¦r d¤i §d ¦z mi ¦n ̈z (bi gi mixac) Be wholehearted with the Lord, your God. Rashi explains: Conduct yourself with Him with simplicity, depend on Him, and do not inquire of the future; rather, accept whatever happens to you with simplicity, and then you will be with Him and to His portion. Therefore, Noach was able to cope with all the hardships. His strong faith in Hashem built his morals, and he was always calm. With this, we can answer the difficulty: how was it that the people weren’t offended by the constant rebuke of Noach? The answer is that the Torah states the Mitzvah of: "You shall surely rebuke your friend.” The Torah doesn’t simply say “rebuke all evil doers”, because the Torah expects you to rebuke in a way that the person remains your friend. It depends on how you react! When we want to rebuke someone, it should come from love. There is another Mitzvah of “Love your friend as one loves oneself.” Noach rebuked his generation with compassion and in a calm way. This rebuke was accepted, and they were not antagonized and remained friends with Noach.
With this, we understand an episode with Yaakov and the shepherds.
Yaakov said to them, My brothers, where are you from?”. The obvious question is: When did Yaakov see these people that he calls "brothers?” HaRav Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin (Netziv), in his Commentary Haimek Davar on Sefer Beresheit, gives a beautiful insight. Yaakov had a tremendous love for people; therefore, everyone was as close to him as a brother, hence he called them "brothers." With this, we can understand what transpired right afterwards when Yaakov started telling Mussar to the shepherds. With an obvious question: if the mussar will help, why not tell them right away? And if it won’t help, what is the purpose of telling them? But according to our Pshat, Yaakov instilled in them love: “My Brother.” At that point, Yaakov felt he could tell them Mussar.
(Yehuda Z. Klitnick, 5784)
