These are the generations of Noah. In his time Noach was a righteous man; and was without blemish; Noach walked with Hashem. Noach fathered three sons: Shem, Cham, and Yeffes. (Bereishis 6/8-10)
Zera Shimshon asks, since Noach's sons were also saved from the Flood why is it written at the end of last week's parsha "and Noach found favor in the eyes of Hashem" and not "and Noach and his sons found favor in the eyes of Hashem"?
Zera Shimshon asks another question in the name of the Yeffeh Toar. The Medrash explains that whenever a possuk begins with the word "these...." “aileh” as opposed to, "and these" “v'aileh” it comes to separate and exclude what is mentioned from what had been previously mentioned. The Medrash concludes that this is the reason that it is written here Aileh toldos Noach, “These are the generations of Noach....” is to exclude the people in his generation. The Yeffeh Toar asks; from the way the Chumash describes Noach's generation and Noach it is very obvious that Noach was very different from them. Why, then, did the possuk have to write, “These...." to teach us that the rest of the people in his generation were not righteous like Noach and his children? Why would you think that they were the same?
To answer these two questions, Zera Shimshon begins by answering the first question, why isn't it written that Noach and HIS SONS found favor in the eyes of Hashem since Hashem also saved them. He answers in light of Rashi who explains that at the time of the mabul- The Great Flood, only people one hundred years and older were held responsible for their actions. People who were less than a hundred years old were considered like children who, since there intellect is not yet fully developed, are considered as having no role in what they do and therefore are not held responsible for their bad actions and not rewarded when they do something good.
Therefore, it could not be written that Noach's children also found favor in the eyes of Hashem because their actions are really not connected to them. Therefore, if they were good people like their father, Noach, there was no reason for them to find favor in the eyes of Hashem.
However, according to this, another question arises. It is written later on in the parsha (7/21) that during the mabul Hashem killed every person except for Noach his children and their wives. Zera Shimshon asks, why is this? Why wasn't everyone younger than one hundred years old saved, just like Noach's children, since they were not considered responsible for their actions?
Zera Shimshon answers that even though that no one under the age of a hundred had any merits, Noach's children were saved in the merit of Noach. The other people under a hundred years old, even though they didn't deserve to be punished for anything bad they did, they also didn't have any merits and they therefore died because of the misdeeds of the generations. Only the children of Noach were saved because of the merits of their father.
We can now understand the reason the Torah wrote aileh toldos Noach- These are the offsprings of Noach to exclude the others in his generation. It is not coming to teach us that only Noach was righteous in his generation and no one else. This is obvious. Rather it is coming to differentiate between Noach's children and the other people less than a hundred years old. Even though they both had no merits to be saved and misdeeds to be punished and it would seem that they should both bear the same consequences, Noach's children were saved in Noach's merits and the others were punished because of the generation's wrongs.
Zera Shimshon gives another explanation why Noach's children were saved and everyone else's were destroyed. His children were not saved in the merit of Noach. The merit of Noach's righteousness was enough only to save himself. The reason why only Noach's children were saved was that they were raised in the house of Noach and received very good chinuch to such a degree that it was apparent in their behavior that when they would grow up and be responsible for what they do they will continue in the path of their father. In other words, they were not saved in their own merit, since they were considered children and didn't have any, rather they were saved because of the way they would be in the future. On the other hand, the other "pre-one hundred'ers" who didn't receive a good chinuch in their houses, were destroyed with the rest of the generation since they had no future merits to save them.
And the earth acted corruptly (immorally) before Hashem, and the earth became full of robbery. And Hashem saw the earth, and, behold, it had become corrupted, for all flesh had corrupted its way on the earth. And Hashem said to Noach, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth has become full of robbery because of them, and behold I am destroying them from the earth. (Braishis 6/11-13)
Zera Shimshon asks that there seems to be an inconsistency in these pessukim. In the first possuk it is written that that generation was "immoral and full of robbery"; two flaws. In the next possuk, though, it only mentions that they were immoral. In the third possuk, when Hashem declares that He will destroy mankind only the fact that the world is full of robbery is mentioned. What exactly was the defect that caused them to be destroyed; that they were immoral, that they stole or both?
Another similar question; in Talmud Yerushalami (Sotah 1/5) it is written that we learn from the Dor HaMabul that wherever there is indecency and immorality, destruction comes into the world. This implies that the indecent behavior of that generation alone caused their destruction. However, in the Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin it says that the final verdict against the Generation of the Flood was because of robbery. This implies that their problem was thievery. A simple answer (which is how the Yaffa Toar on the Medrash explains) is that the Talmud Yerushlami argues on the Babbli and Talmud Yerushalmi holds that indecency and immorality were the causes of the great Flood while the Talmud Bavli holds that it was thievery.
However, Zera Shimshon rejects this explanation for two reasons. Firstly, Rashi quotes both of these passages which shows that the don't argue on each other. Secondly, as we already pointed out, we have the same difficulty to understand the pessukim and obviously we can't say that one possuk argues on the other!
Zera Shimshon therefore gives a different explanation in light of the Gemorra Berachos (32A) that explains the place "ve'Di -Zahav" that is written in the beginning of Sefer Devarim alludes to the sin of the Golden Calf: Moshe said before HaKodesh Baruch Hue, "Rebono Shel Olam! The great amount of silver and gold that You showered on Yisroel until they said 'Enough!' caused them to make the Golden Calf! (Di is written with the letters "daled" and "yud" which are the same letters as "die" which means, "enough" and zahav means gold.) In the Yeshiva of R' Yannai they explained with an analogy, "A lion does not roar (when he eats) a basket of straw but rather (when he eats) a basket of meat." Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: This is comparable to a person who had a son; he bathed him and anointed him, fed him and gave him drink, and hung a purse of money around his neck. He then brought his son to the entrance of a brothel. What could the son do to avoid sinning?.... Rebbi Shemual bar Nachmani said in the name of R. Yonnason; from where do we know that Hashem replied that He agreed with Moshe. (As it is written,) "and silver I (Hashem) gave to them in abundance and they made a calf from gold" In other words, from the fact that Hashem agreed with Moshe's argument we see that when Hashem blesses a person with great wealth it is very hard for him not to sin and therefore he is not completely responsible for his sin. (Obviously, he is also not completely exempt from punishment, as was the case with the Golden Calf that we still feel the punishment of that sin until today.)
According to this, explains Zera Shimshon, the main defect of the Dor HaMabul was that they were corrupt and acted tremendously immorally. Chazal teach us (Sanhedrin 108a), however; The generation of the flood became haughty and sinned due only to the goodness that Hakodash Baruch Hue, bestowed upon them... And it is written: “They shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures”. Therefore, their immoral behavior was not enough of a reason to destroy them because they could have defended themselves that it was their prosperity that caused them to act so disgustingly (like Moshe argued on behalf of Bnei Yisroel).
However, since they also stole and were not content with their wealth, they could no longer defend themselves that their comfortable and easy life was what caused them to sin and therefore Hashem judged them that they were completely responsible for their actions and deserve to be totally annihilated.
According to this we can understand the flow of the pessukim. In the first possuk it is mentioned that the world was full of indecent behavior and robbery. In the next possuk it is mentioned that Hashem saw their indecent behavior which was the reason that Hashem decided to destroy the whole world. In the third possuk, where the guilty verdict is mentioned, only robbery is mentioned because that was the reason that they could not defend themselves.
We can now also understand how there is no contradiction between the Yerushalmi that learns from the Generation of the Flood that "wherever there is indecency and immorality, destruction comes into the world" and the Gemoro in Sanhedrin that says that the final verdict against the Generation of the Flood came because of thievery. The Yerushalmi is speaking the main cause of their destruction. The Bavli, however, is speaking of the reason for the final guilty verdict; the reason that they couldn't argue and defend themselves that it was their riches that caused them to act the way that they did.
The Medrash comments on Noach building the ark; for 120 years Noach planted cedar trees and cut them. People who passed by asked, "What are you going to do with all this wood". Noach answered, "The Master of the universe is going to bring a flood on the world". They replied, "If Hashem brings a flood, Hashem is only going to bring it on your house"!
The people of Noach's generation correctly interpreted the reason for Noach being busy building the ark in public for one hundred and twenty years, to serve as a warning to do teshuva. However, since they did not want to give up their immoral and corrupt way of life they misinterpreted to whom the warning was aimed, and said that Noach was the one who was to be punished.
Zera Shimshon asks in the name of the Mefarsh, how could the people of Noach's generation make a mistake and think Noach deserved to be punished more than them? Did they not realize Noach was a bigger tzaddik than they were?
Zera Shimshon explains the people's thinking based on the Medrash (Zohar 78b) that faults Noach for acting differently than Moshe. After the incident of the Golden Calf, Hashem told Moshe that H. wanted to destroy Bnei Yisroel. When Moshe heard this he davened and pleaded to Hashem to save Klal Yisroel. On the other hand, when Hashem told Noach that H. was going to destroy the whole world Noach completely ignored the imminent tragedy about to happen to his generation and build an ark only to save his own family!
The people reasoned, since Noach did not daven for the rest of the people to be saved, and only cared about his own family, Noach deserved to be punished. The truth is the people were not really so "off" as we find this was actually the case in other instances.
We find in Megillas Esther, Mordechai told Esther that if she would not go before Achashverosh and plead to save Klal Yisroel, "relief and rescue will come to the Jews from some other place, and you and your father's house will be destroyed." Here we see this idea; if Esther would not try to help Klal Yisroel, even if Klal Yisroel would be saved, Esther and her family would be the only ones punished because of Esther's sin of not thinking of others.
Similarly, the Gemara in Makkos tells us how the mother of the Kohen Gadol brought food and clothing to the people who ran away to the Orei Miklat (refuge cities) so they would daven that her son, the Kohen Gadol, should not die. The Gemara asks; what was the Kohen Gadol's sin that because of it he might die? The Gemara answers; his sin was that he did not daven that the people of his generation would not kill by accident, and he did not care about others.
We still have to understand, why Noach, who was a tzaddik, did not understand this and davven for Hashem to save his generation?
A possible explanation is that Noach did not have "the merits of his ancestors" (z'chus avos) like Moshe, Esther and the Kohen Gadol. However, Zera Shimshon rejects this explanation because a person has to do the minimum, even if he thinks he will not be effective. This we learn from the Gemara that relates that Hashem told Yeshaya; “Why do you involve yourself with the secrets of Hakadosh Baruch Hu? That which you have been commanded, you are required to perform, and that which is acceptable in the eyes of the Hakadosh Baruch Hue, let Him perform, as He has decided.”
Rather, Zera Shimshon explains Noach's reasoning was, since his generation was so immoral and corrupt in their dealing with their neighbors, not only were his prayers not enough to save them but Hashem does not even want to hear prayers to have mercy on such people.
HaRav Shimshon Nachmani, author of Zera Shimshon lived in Italy about 300 years ago in the time of the Or HaChaim HaKodesh. The Chida writes that he was a great Mekubal and wrote many sefarim including sefarim about “practical kabbolo" and asked that all of his sefarim be buried after he passes away except for Zera Shimshon and Niflaos Shimshon on Avos.
