It states (Tehillim 36:7) ל"א כהררי צדקתך, "Your kindness is like the mighty mountains..." The Midrash (Bereishis Rabba 33:1) says that this pasuk refers to the salvation of Noach. Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, the kindness I did with Noach in the teivah until it rested upon אררט הרי, the mountains of Ararat (see this week's parashah, 8:4), was because of ל"א הררי.
The meaning of this Midrash is very concealed. What is the connection between ל"א הררי and אררט הר? Also, what does it mean that the kindness Hashem did with Noach was due to ל"א הררי?
As an introduction to the answer, the Sifsei Tzaddik (ו"ט אות) begins with the Chidushei HaRim's explanation to the Gemara (Succah 52a), which says, "For the tzaddikim, the yetzer hara will appear like a large mountain." In the future, Hakadosh Baruch Hu will slaughter the yetzer hara, and the tzaddikim will cry from astonishment when they see how large the yetzer hara was. In their eyes, the yetzer hara will appear like a large mountain. The yetzer hara poses significant challenges to tzaddikim, yet they succeeded in fighting against it.
Hashem says ל"א כהררי צדקתך, that He did kindness with Noach because of ל"א הררי, this means because of the great tests that Noach had to deal with. Noach, like all tzaddikim, had to fight against the large and powerful yetzer hara. But he had a great struggle because he lived in a very challenging time. His generation, the המבול דור, "The Generation of the Flood," was very sinful, and Noach had to fight hard and battle against the yetzer hara to remain in his righteous ways. The challenges appeared to him like a mountain, but Noach courageously and mightily passed all the tests. This is the reason the "mountains" are called ל"א הררי, "Hashem's mountains". Hashem loves those tests, and Noach brought a great nachas ruach to Hashem by facing them. Due to this, Hashem saved Noach.
The Value of Toil in Mitzvos
Hashem told Noach to take two animals of every species into the teivah, and sets of seven from the kosher animals, so that Noach could bring a korban from them. The Ramban teaches that the non-kosher animals came on their own to Noach. Noach didn't have to search for them. However, Noach had to search for the sets of seven from the kosher animals. The Ramban learns this from the words (6:20), להחיות אליך יבואו מכל שנים, "Two of each [species] shall come to you to preserve alive," and the word יבואו isn't written regarding the kosher animals. The Ramban writes, "They came to Noach in sets of two on their own. Noach didn't have to climb mountains or go to islands to hunt them. But...the animals that came in groups of seven, the pasuk doesn't state that they came on their own. Noach had to search for those animals to bring them into the teivah."
The reason for this differentiation is discussed in Ramban (7:8-9). He writes, "The animals that came [in sets of two] for the survival of their species, Hashem didn't obligate Noach to search for them. But those who came [in groups of seven, so Noach could sacrifice them], it was the opposite, because it is proper to toil in mitzvos." Avodas Hashem should be difficult, with tests and struggles. That is how it is meant to be.
Reward for Effort in Mitzvos
The Torah (9:23) tells us that Shem and Yefes covered their father, Noach, and for this good deed, Yefes was rewarded that his descendants would have burial, and Shem was rewarded with the mitzvah of tzitzis. Rashi writes that Shem received a greater reward because מיפת יותר שנתאמץ, "Shem exerted himself more than Yefes" in this mitzvah. Yefes performed the mitzvah...
