In this week's Torah portion, Noach, after the Torah relates how the world was almost completely wiped out by the Flood, it states: "And only Noah remained." The word "only" seems superfluous, as by then we already know the fate of the rest of civilization. Rashi, however, explains that the use of the word "only" connotes that something was lacking or less than perfect about Noah when he exited the ark.
According to Rashi, the literal meaning of the verse is that only Noah remained alive out of everyone of his generation. Yet he goes on to cite two additional explanations from the Midrash: 1) Noah "was groaning and faint from the exertion of taking care of all the animals"; and 2) he "delayed feeding the lion, and was bitten." Thus according to the Midrash, Noah was either sick and exhausted from overwork or physically injured when he first stepped out of the ark.
But why would G-d allow Noah to be bitten by the lion? Out of all the lions that lived prior to the Flood, G-d chose that particular one (and its mate) to go into the ark. Why would He permit it to attack Noah just because its food was delayed on one occasion?
Rashi answers his own question with a quote from Proverbs: "Behold, the righteous man is rewarded on earth." When a righteous person commits even the tiniest misdeed, his punishment is meted out in this world to preserve his reward for the World to Come. Being bitten by the lion was actually to Noah's benefit, for it expiated whatever sin he would have been punished for later.
This contains an important lesson for our generation: Like Noah, the sole survivor of the Flood, we are "the firebrand snatched from the fire" that consumed the Jewish people only a generation ago. And just as Noah was entrusted with a special mission to nurture and sustain G-d's creations in the ark, so too have we been charged with providing spiritual sustenance to our Jewish brethren all over the world.
It is not a simple mission. Indeed, it is fraught with difficulties and obstacles, and an occasional threatening "lion." Yet we must not be frightened or become discouraged. Like Noah, we too must forge ahead despite the daunting nature of the task.
In truth, the fact that we have personally merited to fulfill G-d's mission is cause for great happiness and joy. That we have merited to be alive when so many of our righteous brethren perished should alone inspire us.
Furthermore, learning from Noah's example, we must always strive to ensure that the sustenance we provide is never "delayed." Rather, we must go out of our way to help our fellow Jews both materially and spiritually.
