The Midrash in Bereishis Rabbah 31:4-5, quotes Rabbi Levi who explains that the generation of the flood committed every type of transgression, but their decree was not sealed until they stretched out their hands in theft.
This is a striking statement. Consider what Rabbi Levi is teaching us. In a generation that the Torah itself describes as corrupt and filled with every type of transgression, it was specifically the transgression of theft that sealed their fate.
The Gemorah in Sanhedrin 108a elaborates on the nature of the generation’s specific, insidious type of theft. The people of the generation would steal tiny amounts from each other, less than the value of a Perutah - the smallest unit of currency. Because the value was so small, this made it impossible to bring any single thief to justice as the Gemorah in Eiruvin 62a indicates that anything worth less than a Perutah cannot be subject to Halachic repayment.
This teaches us the nature of their corruption. It was not theft on a grand scale that destroyed their society. Rather, it was the small, seemingly insignificant incidents of dishonesty that each person could rationalize to himself or herself. The dishonesty and corruption was systemic, ubiquitous and not subject to legal recourse.
Hashem had Noach respond to this corruption by having him build in public, a Teivah (ark) for 120 years as a public act of protest and warning on what was to come. This extended timeframe teaches us about the importance of giving persistent Tochacha (reproof) in the face of widespread corruption even if the odds appear to be slim that the Tochacha will affect a change of behavior.
Finally, it is important to realize that the Midrash is not merely telling us a history lesson about ancient dishonesty and corruption – it is warning us today about how our society can decline. When we normalize small ethical violations, when we create systems where dishonesty becomes acceptable – even small levels of dishonesty, we recreate the conditions that the Midrash identifies as the final step that caused the destruction of the generation of the flood.
