The pasuk says “vayar elokim es ha’aretz v’hinei nishchasa ki hishchis kol basar es darko” – “And Hashem saw the land and behold it was corrupted because all flesh corrupted his way”. Rashi explains on the words “kol basar” that not only were the people in Noach’s generation acting improperly, but the animals as well were acting and behaving immorally.
The Bais Halevi asks: how do we understand an animal sinning? An animal doesn’t have bechira, the ability to choose to do right or wrong. An animal behaves according to his nature and its instinct, so how is it that the animals sinned?
The Bais Halevi brings a Maharsha quoting a gemora in Sanhedrin 108a that asks: if people sinned, they deserved to be destroyed. But why were the animals destroyed too? The gemora explains that the animals deserved to be wiped out because they associated with other species. If so, why did the gemora ask why did the animals deserve to be wiped out?
Says the Bais Halevi: “aveira goreres aveira” means that when someone does an aveira it creates a stronger likelihood that he’ll do that aveira again. By sinning once, the aveira creates within him the desire to do it again, even if he was not born with this desire. This idea goes even further. In truth, animals are not responsible for their aveiros because they have no bechira and they can’t make any decisions. Rather, they sinned because people created an atmosphere that caused this bad behavior. When a person does an aveira, not only is he affected by it, but the atmosphere around him is also affected by it. The aveira that he did contaminates the atmosphere around him, so anything in that area – the people, the animals, and even the very earth – become polluted with that sin. That is why during the dor hamabul, animals were acting against their nature and associating with other species. Because humans created this atmosphere of arayos in the world, the entire universe became polluted and had to be destroyed. That’s why the gemora asks why the animals were punished if it wasn’t their fault – it was the people who were responsible for spreading the contamination of sin.
And that is why the entire universe had to be destroyed by the mabul – the people, the animals, and even the earth. The world was polluted, contaminated beyond repair. There was no choice but to destroy the world and start anew.
Says the Bais Halevi: this is peshat in the Mishna in avos “v’lifnei mi ata asid liten din v’cheshbon”. What is din and what is cheshbon? Din is a judgment for the actual aveira that a person did. Cheshbon is that he’s accountable for others who were affected because of him. If this is true regarding aveiros, imagine if one does a mitzva and that impacted on others. He’ll receive immense reward for the din and for the cheshbon of the mitzvah. Our actions ripple on and on in ways that we can never imagine.
At the end of the parsha, we learn the story of the tower of Bavel. The people were led by Nimrod and rebelled against Hashem. Ashur tried to protect his children as the pasuk says “min haaretz hahu yatza Ashur vayiven es Ninve”. Rashi explains that when Ashur saw that his generation was listening to Nimrod and rebelling against Hashem, he left them and built a city Ninve to protect his children from the influence of Nimrod.
We all know the story of Yona Hanavi. Hashem sent Yona to rebuke the people of Ninve for their bad ways. As soon as he rebuked them, they did teshuva and were saved from destruction. Asks Rav Shalom Schwadron in his sefer Lev Shalom: how did these goyim have the ability to do teshuva so fast? He answers that because many years earlier their grandfather Ashur built this city of Ninveh with kedusha and tahara, with sincere desire to protect his children from bad influences, that’s why they merited to do teshuva right away.
We say in Eishes Chayil “tzofiya halichos beisa” – “she anticipates the way of her household”. Rav Avigdor Miller says that Sara Imeinu was very careful to watch over her household that it should only be b’kedusha. She went so far as to send Yishmael out of the house since he was a very bad influence for Yitzchok Avinu.
The pasuk says “eile toldos noach noach ish tzaadik”- “these are the children of Noach – Noach was a righteous man”. Why does the Torah tell us that he was a righteous man and not tell us right away who his children were? Says Rav Avigdor Miller that Noach’s greatest and most important child is Noach himself. The pasuk reads “these are the children of Noach, Noach”. He was his own and first and main child. Yes, we have an obligation to protect ourselves, to “raise” ourselves. There are many harmful influences all around us and we have to take care not only to protect our children, but to shelter ourselves as well. This can be difficult, as it’s often hard to see past the cunning, sly and often charismatic personalities of bad influences. We have to be very honest with ourselves and ask, “Is this person helping me move forward in my avodas Hashem or the opposite?” We have to open our eyes and do what is good for ourselves and not chas v’shalom fall into the trap of a bad friend.
There was once a bachur who was in a class and his rebbe was amazing. However, there was another bachur in the class who wasn’t good for this boy’s yiras shomayim. They switched him into another class despite the fact that the new rebbe wasn’t as good. The power of influence is just too frightening.
We have to be so careful, especially today, where there are so many “innocent” gadgets which pull us with the promise of convenience and saving time. We should merit to be able to see the truth through the challenges of today and not give in to these terrible influences. Only by remaining separate, in a self-imposed “teivah”, can we overcome all these horrible influences that permeate today’s world. We have the ability to stay strong. And it’s our only means of survival.
