asked it why it didn’t ask for any food? The bird answered: I saw that you are very busy, and I didn’t want to bother you. Noach then said to the bird: “May it be Hashem’s will that you never die”. (R’ Chaim Zeichik in his sefer Mayonei HaChaim brings out from here the importance of not being burdensome to others.)
These two reasons seem to contradict each other, according to the Medrash the Chol bird never died because it never ate from the Eitz HaDa’as, and according to the Gemara until Noach came along the bird never merited long life, only after Noach blessed it, did it merit to live long and not die?
The Eitz Yosef (commentary on the Iyun Yaakov) quotes the Toras Chaim who says that there is no contradiction. In truth the bird lives forever because it never ate from the Eitz HaDa’as, however, when the Mabul came to the world – it was decreed that the entire world should be destroyed, even Noach was supposed to be wiped out, however, he found favour in Hashem’s eyes, and all the animals that were kept alive in the teivah [ark] were kept alive to serve Noach, like Chazal say “all creations are created for man”. Since it was decreed that the world should be destroyed, the Chol bird was included, consequently, it needed a new berachah to ensure that it never died – this is what Noach achieved when he blessed it that it should never die.
The Yefei Toar offers a second explanation to reconcile the contradiction: Although the Chol bird was blessed that it wouldn’t die, Noach came and added that not only will it not die a natural death, but even if an arrow would enter its body, it would still remain alive.
The Medrash (Bereishis Rabbah, Perek 19) describes the life cycle of the Chol bird. The Medrash relates: Rav Yanai says: It lives for 1,000 years, and then a fire is emitted from its nest and burns it up, and it leaves behind the amount of a kebeitzah [an eggs worth] and it regrows limbs and continues to live. Rav Yodan ben Rav Shimon says: It lives 1,000 years, then its body disintegrates, it’s feather ruin, and a kebeitzah remains, and from this it grows limbs and comes back to life.”
The question is, if the Chol bird lives forever, why did Hashem make it that it gets burnt up every 1,000 years, and then it is renewed and brought back to life?
The sefer Likut Amorim brings from the Maharil Diskin:דאין כל חדש תחת השמש מה שלא נעשה בששת ימי בראשי ת – “There is nothing new in creation, which wasn’t already around during the six days of creation.” Once it was decreed on man to die, if man would come back to life by techiyas hameisim it would go against the rule of “there is nothing new in creation”, therefore, Hashem created something during the six days of creation (the Chol bird) which dies every 1,000 years and comes back to life.
The Maharil Diskin then adds: Don’t ask that Noach blessed it that it should never die? As Noach simply blessed it that it shouldn’t die through others, and in truth this was fulfilled.
Although, it’s interesting to note that the Yad Remah in Sanhedrin learns, that the Chol bird didn’t live forever, it just lived much longer than all other animals. In fact, some have the girsa [text] that Noach didn’t bless it that it shouldn’t die, rather he blessed it that it should live to an old age.