One Who Disregards His Earlier Actions Finds Favor in the Eyes of Hashem:
Parshas Bereishis ends with the words: “V’Noach matzah chein... And Noach found favor in the eyes of Hashem.” Parshas Noach begins: “Eileh toldos Noach... These are the generations of Noach.” Sefer Bris Avraham explains the connection between these two verses by explaining the words “v’noach matzah chein” to mean “it is easy (noach) to find favor in the eye of Hashem.” The next pasuk explains how this can be accomplished easily by saying: “Elieh...” Chazal say (Bereishis Rabbah 30:3) that the word “eileh” indicates disregarding earlier things (posel es harishonim). Accordingly, the Torah is teaching us that if one disregards his earlier good actions out of a sense of humility and does not consider his deeds to be valuable, he will continue to serve Hashem selflessly and will find favor in His eyes. The pasuk continues to say that: “Noach was a tzadik. He was perfect...” It is saying that even though he was a righteous, great man, he still placed no value on his previous actions and always sought to serve Him in a better way, which granted him even more favor in Hashem’s eyes.
Annulling Oneself to Hashem Finds Favor:
The Chiddushei Harim zy”a writes another way that one can find favor in the eyes of Hashem. He compares this to the way a woman finds favor in the eyes of her husband. If a wife recognizes that her husband is her provider and, therefore, focuses on her husband’s needs, putting her own needs on the backburner, her husband will appreciate her self-annulment on his behalf and he will favor her. So too, if a child knows that the only ones who can provide for him are his parents and, as a result, makes his own needs secondary and focuses on helping them, they will favor him. Similarly, if a person annuls himself to Hashem because he recognizes that He is his only source of life and sustenance, Hashem will favor him and take care of him, even if he is undeserving, and He will assist him in ultimately becoming a genuine tzadik.
Noach Belittled Himself:
Rashi says that some Rabbanim preached the greatness of Noach by saying that he was a tzadik in his depraved generation, and if he had lived in a generation of righteous men, he would have been an even greater tzadik. Others took the opposite approach and said that he was a tzadik in comparison to the wicked men of his generation, but if he had lived in the times of Avrohom, he wouldn’t have been considered significant at all. Rav Yitzchok of Vorka zy”a (cited in Sefer Bais Yitzchok) asks why anyone would learn the pasuk in a negative way if it is possible to learn it in a positive way. He answers that this is actually referring to Noach himself. He explains that a true tzadik is so humble that he views himself in a negative way and yearns to be better.
A Tzadik is Hard to Anger and Easy to Appease:
The pasuk states: “These are the generations of Noach, Noach...” The Zohar Chadash (Daf 21) explains the repetition of the word “Noach” by saying: “The way of a tzadik is to be hard to anger and easy to appease. This is the greatest trait of all. The pasuk hints to this by saying that he was ‘noach, noach’. He was noach (pleasant) in his mindset, he was noach in his speech, and he was noach in his ways. And anyone who does this is an ish tzadik. When he dies, it will be said about him, ‘Woe for the loss of the humble one. Woe for the loss of the pious one.’ ‘He was tamim in his generation.’ And what does a tamim merit having? ‘Hashem walked with Noach.’ He merited reaching the highest of all levels.”
One Who Holds Back His Anger Prevents Himself From Serving Idols:
In this vein, we may add the explanation of the Ruzhiner Rebbe zy”a on the statement of Chazal (Shabbos 105B): “One who gets angry is akin to one who serves idols.” He explains that we do not often see anyone in our times worshipping inanimate idols. The Gemara says that the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah cancelled the yeitzer hara for idol worship, so no one has this desire anymore. Therefore, we may wonder how we can receive the reward for the mitzvah of overcoming our desire for avodah zara if we do not have this desire. The answer is that, as Chazal say, anger is akin to idol worship, and everyone possesses a yeitzer hara for anger. Thus, when one overcomes the desire to get angry, he is rewarded as if he refrained from serving idols and overcame a great spiritual challenge.
The Silent One Has the Upper Hand:
A story is told of two men who were walking together the street when they were accosted by a belligerent individual who began to insult and curse them. One of the men remained silent, while the other one responded with insults and curses of his own directed towards the antagonist. When the audacious man saw that he had elicited a response from one of them, he focused solely on him and continued verbally attacking him, leaving the other man alone. After this person finally left and the two friends continued on their way, the one who had fought back told his companion, “I can’t believe you let that man insult you and you didn’t respond at all. How could you allow yourself to be attacked like that without saying anything?” The man who had remained silent said, “Let me explain it to you with a story...”
He proceeded to relate the following tale: There once were two merchants who were bringing their wares by wagon to the marketplace in a Polish city. On the way, they were crossing a bridge when one of their wagons suddenly flipped over. All his merchandise fell into the sea, leaving him with nothing. His friend, on the other hand, still had all his merchandise. However, they then came to a road that was strewn with stumbling rocks and mud. The one who still had his wares had to pull his cart through it with difficulty and exertion. He was exhausted by the time he reached the marketplace. But a new trouble befell him there, for there were no buyers for his goods on that day. With no other choice, he dragged his full cart that evening to an inn, where he rested a little and regained his strength for the next day. He hoped that he would have customers the next day who would buy his goods. Unfortunately for him, more trouble arrived. As he slept, thieves came and took everything, leaving him with absolutely nothing. Not only that, they also stole his horse and cart.
When the man finished his story, he said: “Which man had it worse? Both of them returned to their homes without a profit of even a penny. But who had a worse experience? Certainly it was the one who managed to cross the bridge safely, as the merchant who lost all his possessions in the river was spared the many hardships that befell the second man. He did not have to pull a cart full of goods on a rough road or deal with a lack of customers like the second man did. And the second man did all of that for nothing!” “That’s what I did too. With my silence, I immediately freed myself from that impudent man. You, on the other hand, sought to protect your honor by answering back, and you came out a double loser. Your mouth was also tainted like his, and he added more contemptuous words to his attack on you. Regarding this, Chazal said (Sanhedrin 7A) that the one who remains silent gains by his silence, for a hundred evils are removed from him.” This is also stated by Rabenu Tam in Sefer Hayashar (Shaar 6): “One who avoids anger will never regret it.”
Tolerance Creates Joy:
Sefer Orchos Tzadikim states: “A ‘savlan’ (one who tolerates others without answering back) will very likely reach the attribute of joy – serving Hashem and fulfilling His mitzvos with joy – because he accepts every occurrence in life calmly and he recognizes that whatever occurs is fair because he knows that whatever Hashem does is good.” It is appropriate to add that the attribute of joy is truly great as one who is joyous merits receiving an abundance of blessing and salvation, good health, and sufficient livelihood. He even merits having the Shechinah dwell in his midst, as it is stated (see Yerushalmi, Sukkah 5A) that Hashem only allows His Shechinah to dwell in a place of happiness.
Tolerance Rectifies the Soul:
Rav Moshe Leib of Sassov zy”a (quoted in Likutei Rama”l of Sassov, Hanhagos, Mevo Hatefillah) states: “Those who wish to repent from their past sins often afflict their bodies with fasts and immersions in cold water, but what good is it if they don’t know what they’re doing or why they’re doing it? If one overcomes his anger, it is more beneficial for him than 1,000 fasts. If one is shamed but does not respond, it is better than 1,000 afflictions.” It is further stated (ibid Mevo Chasidus, ois 11) that a holy man once told someone who was insulting and shaming him, “Thank you for causing a decree of death to be removed from upon me.” We see that tolerance and not answering back when shamed is a great benefit for a person, and it can serve to atone for one’s sins.
One Who Refrains From Anger Has Something in Common With Hashem:
The Maharal (Sefer Nesivos Olam, Nesiv Hakaas, Perek 1) writes: “One who refrains from anger becomes distant from physical desires. This is because the physical response to antagonism is to get angry. If one overcomes this natural desire, he has something in common with Hashem, who has no physical form. It is known that things which share traits love each other. Therefore, Hashem loves a person who does not get angry.”
New Windows:
Two men who had a monetary dispute once came to Rav Shmuel Salant zt”l for a din Torah. When one man was found liable, he exploded with anger and said, “I will break every window in the Rov’s house!” Rav Shmuel looked at him and said, “What do you think will happen then? Do you think I’ll sit by quietly and not do anything?” These words scared the man and he ran away. After he left, someone asked Rav Shmuel what he would have done, and he answered, “I would have went out to hire a worker to make me new windows.”
The Middos of Savlanus and Yishuv Hadaas:
Rav Elchonon Yosef Hertzman zt”l (Sefer Mussar Haskil) writes that we can learn an important lesson from this Parshah about the middah of savlanus. Every type of animal and creature was in the teiva, and Noach dealt with all their needs with patience and tolerance. He did the difficult job of feeding them all, and he made sure to get them their food on time. It only happened once that he came late to feed the lion and he was immediately bitten and maimed. This is because animals have no hakaras hatov. The lion didn’t appreciate that Noach fed him on time every day, despite the hardship. It didn’t understand that he had to feed thousands of animals every day and was very busy doing his job faithfully. All it cared about at the moment was that it’s food was late, so it got enraged and hurt Noach. A person must work on himself to make sure he isn’t acting like an animal. The first step is to have savlanus – to tolerate others and not to lash out without thinking when something occurs that is not to his liking. Once one has this trait, he can work on improving the other middos that separate him from an animal, such as jealousy, desire, anger, etc.
Three Rules for Avodas Hashem:
Rav Bunim of Peshischa zy”a (quoted in Sefer Kol Mevaser) explains this pasuk as hinting to the goodness of Noach. “Shem” refers to the fact that he constantly kept in mind the name (shem) of Hashem. “Cham” indicates that he kept the mitzvos with fire and warmth (chom). Yafes refers to his beautiful (yafah) actions.
The Tzadik Hador is Belittled:
We previously quoted Rashi who says that some Rabbanim preached the greatness of Noach by saying that he was a tzadik in his depraved generation, and if he had lived in a generation of righteous men, he would have been an even greater tzadik. Others took the opposite approach and said that he was a tzadik in comparison to the wicked men of his generation, but if he had lived in the times of Avrohom, he wouldn’t have been considered significant at all. We asked why anyone would learn the pasuk in a negative way if it is possible to learn it in a positive way. Rav Yechezkel of Kuzhmir zy”a explains that a true leader of Klal Yisroel always has antagonists who belittle him. This is because only those who flatter everyone, even wrongdoers, have no enemies, whereas those who speak the truth will always have opponents. Accordingly, it is praiseworthy for a tzadik to have some people who put him down like Noach had.
Hisnagdus Leads to a Long Life:
Rav Eliezer Dovid Friedman zt”l (Sefer M’Pi Sefarin V’Sofrim, Parshas Noach) relates that the Imrei Emes zy”a once met his close friend, the Tiferes Ish of Novominsk zy”a, and painfully told him that he had many misnagdim who were making his life difficult. The Tiferes Ish told him that he was very happy to hear that there were people who opposed the Imrei Emes. When the Imrei Emes expressed surprise at this sentiment, he explained, “We have a tradition from the Baal Shem Tov zy”a that if a tzadik has no opponents, he will not live long. Now that I know that the Rebbe has misnagdim, I know that he will have a long life.” The Imrei Emes used this idea to explain that the reason why some Rabbanim looked at Noach in a negative way was so that he should live a long life. And, indeed, Noach lived for 350 years after the flood.
Judged for Having no Compassion:
Rashi states: “Their decree of death was only sealed because of theft.” The Tiferes Shlomo asks why Hashem cared so much about the fact that these wicked people stole from each other. They were all animalistic, wild men, so what difference did it make if they also snatched each other’s money and possessions like animals do? He answers by citing the Medrash (Bereishis Rabbah 33:1) that says that Avrohom Avinu asked Noach’s son Shem how he and his family merited being saved from Hashem’s anger during the flood. He answered that although he doesn’t fully know, it may have been in the merit of being compassionate to all the animals, who they took care of throughout the days of the flood. In the merit of the compassion they showed to the animals, Hashem was compassionate to them. Accordingly, if all the people of the generation had been compassionate to each other, they too would have merited Hashem’s compassion. But since they had no mercy on each other and brazenly stole from their friends, they received no mercy.
The Blessings in the Food:
Sefer Otzros Hatorah asks several questions on this pasuk. 1. The word “lecha” (to you) seems to be unnecessary, as the verse began by saying “and you take”, so obviously what is taken is “to you”. 2. The words “that is eaten” seem superfluous, as it is seemingly obvious that food is eaten. 3. Why does it begin by saying to take just “to you” but end by saying that the food is “for you and for them”? 4. Why does it subsequently say that Noach did all that Hashem commanded. What is commendable about bringing food which he needed to live into the teiva?
Sefer Sifsei Kohen and Rav Yonason Eibeschutz zy”a (in Sefer Tiferes Yehonason) answer that it would have been impossible for Noach to prepare enough food for all the animals and fit it all into the teiva. Storing enough food for the elephants, lions, tigers, etc., would have taken up much more space. (The experts say that an elephant and hippopotamus eat four meals every 24 hours, and each meal is about 450 pounds of food. One could imagine how much food would be needed just to feed these two animals for a full year.) The only explanation is that Hashem performed a miracle. He ordered Noach to bring just enough food into the teiva for himself, and it miraculously was enough to food all the animals for an entire year. (The reason he needed to prepare any food at all is because a blessing needs to start with something, as is stated in the Zohar Hakadosh on Parshas Yisro regarding Elisha Hanavi and the widowed woman. He asked her what she in her house, as a blessing must begin with something.) Thus, Hashem told Noach “take for you”, meaning to take enough food just for himself, and He promised that it would be enough “for you and for them”, i.e., for him and all the animals. The pasuk then praises Noach for having emunah and not bringing any more food than he needed for himself, without worrying that it wouldn’t be enough. This is an important lesson in emunah and bitachon. One should know that he doesn’t need to acquire a lot of money and possessions. He only needs a little, and he can rely on Hashem to make that be enough.
The Great Benefit of Emunah and Bitachon:
Rav Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik of Brisk zt”l related the story of a young girl from a secular background who became a baalas teshuva. Her parents opposed this change and commanded her not to act differently than them. Therefore, she had to observe the Torah and mitzvos in secret. Her parents made their living by owning a housewares store. One Friday, they told her that they were going somewhere and she should open the store on Shabbos for them. Of course, she didn’t tell them that she...
