Reasonable Reasoning
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
The world was destroyed. Noach and his family, ensconced in the womb-like ark, are the only survivors. When the waters recede and Noach finally leaves the ark, he sees the utter devastation around him. The first thing he does is build an altar and offer sacrifices to Hashem, the ultimate prayer that undoubtedly contained so many mixed emotions and devotions.
The question raised by so many of our great commentators is why did Noach not pray before the flood, why did he not beseech Hashem for mercy on behalf of the people? Great leaders seek the welfare of their subjects, the flocks they lead. Remember how Moshe Rabbenu was so concerned for Bnei Yisroel that he asked to die after Bnei Yisroel worshiped the golden calf if Hashem would not reconsider his plan to destroy the nation. It is for this omission of praying for the survival of his generation that the Prophet Isaiah refers to the flood as "the waters of Noach," blaming Noach for not praying and attempting to avert the catastrophe. In spite of Noach's spending 120 years building the ark and undoubtedly warning the people of the impending flood, why is Noach still held responsible for the flood, asks Rabbi Miller zt”l.
The Sifsei Chaim points out that while Noach was righteous, he knew that he was the only righteous one is his generation. Noach feared that if the people were spared and he continued to live among them, he would endanger his personal spiritual growth. He abrogated his responsibility as a leader for his selfish, although spiritual, desire. Had he prayed for the generation and Hashem had spared them, Noach would actually have experienced greater spiritual growth and greater glorification of Hashem's Name, as he would have witnessed Hashem's great love for his creatures. A true leader is one who loves his people so much that he worries about them all the time as a mother who imagines the worst case scenario when her child doesn't return home on time. It was only after Noach saw the total devastation that his own compassion was aroused and he understood that Hashem wants human compassion for their fellow man and human prayer on their behalf.
Rabbi Mordechai Ezrachi zt”l understands Noach's problem from a different perspective. While it was certainly Noach's responsibility to urge his generation to do teshuvah, he would first need to convince them that the threat of the flood was real. However, since he himself was not convinced of the inevitability of the flood, he would not be able to convince the people. Sans that belief, the people would not do teshuvah.
How can we know that Noach was not certain that the flood would actually happen? The Torah says that Noach entered the ark "mipnei mei hamabul/because the waters of the flood, in the face [presence] of the flood," not before the waters forced him to enter. In other words, while Noach fully believed in Hashem, he still had some doubts that a merciful God would actually destroy the world.
It is not a contradiction to believe totally and still have doubts, explains Rabbi Uziel Milevsky zt”l. Full faith is the commitment to do what is right even while holding some reservations. As an analogy, Rabbi Milevsky presents the case of a surgeon who may have some doubts about a particular procedure. Yet, when he chooses a particular course of action, he enters the operating room fully committed to performing that surgery. Noach had doubts that prevented him from actually acting on his belief. He waited until he was forced to react to circumstances rather than making a choice and then following through. His lack of belief in himself affected his faith in Hashem.
On the other hand, writes Rabbi Zeichick zt”l, based on the Zohar, Noach was afraid that if the people actually did teshuvah, he would no longer be the exceptional tzadik of his generation. This lack of self confidence prevented him from caring for others, in contrast to the prophets Eliyahu and Elisha who brought complete strangers back to life.
Perhaps, as Aderet Cohen based pm the Zphar suggests, Noach didn't pray for the people because he felt he was not worthy even to save himself, let alone the entire generation. If he was the only one being considered, he was worthy. But in comparison to others, he himself would be found wanting. And perhaps Noach was correct in his assessment. But, continues Rabbi Cohen, Noach is still being held accountable because he had the potential to develop himself to be great enough to save the generation. This is one understanding of Rashi, that had he been in the generation of Avraham Avinu he would have been great. He had tremendous untapped potential.
Citing Rabbenu Yonah, Rabbi Cohen implores us to constantly examine ourselves and work on removing those traits that are acting as blockages to self improvement. Is it anger, jealousy, or any other negative character trait? Hashem wants us to work toward our potential. Why did Hashem reject Kayin's offering? Not because Hashem didn't like the offering, but because Kayin had the ability to bring a better offering. Hashem rejected the offering because the offerer, Kayin, made no attempt to reach his potential with a better offering.
Rabbi Moshe Harris cites a beautiful medrash that illustrates this point. Yusta was a tailor in Tzippori who eked out a living with his trade. But he took pride in doing the best work he could until his reputation spread and he was dubbed the Tailor of Tzippori. As his fame spread, and he moved to the royal court, he began questioning whether this was all he could be, basically a simple tailor. Finally, he asked the king if he could be appointed the mayor of Tzippori. The king, considering Yusta to be a wise man, granted this request. Yusta sewed himself a wonderful suit and returned to Tzippori as mayor. Both Yusta and the crowd were amazed, but for different reasons. Yusta was amazed that he had not recognized his own noble soul until now.
Similarly, Noach is faulted for not recognizing his own noble soul. Because he did not believe in his own greatness, he did not approach the King and pray for his generation. He had the potential but he failed to realize it and act on it.
Perhaps the focus of the prayers being considered was wrong, suggests Rabbi Druck in Aish Tamid. Instead of asking Hashem to cancel the flood, Noach should have prayed that Hashem help the people to do teshuvah. Every prayer, every positive act we do impacts and brings goodness to the entire world. That is the true meaning of areivus/responsibility for each other; areivus means being intermixed and interconnected with each other, as erev is the evening, when day and night are intermixed. He was not meant to judge whether his prayers would or would not be effective. The act of praying in and of itself would have a positive effect both on himself and on the world.
Let us now try to understand the sins that condemned the generation to destruction. The two major sins were first, that "all flesh destroyed its ways," meaning that they wasted their seed and did not act to procreate, and chamas, robbery and thievery.
In Mesillot Bilvovom, Rabbi Eisenberger explains on a deep, homiletic level the related core of these two sins. Rabbi Eisenberger explains that all the world was created male and female, homiletically, givers and receivers. When the people "destroyed their ways," and even animals did not mate with their own kind, there were givers but no receivers. No one and nothing interacted with each other in productive ways. On the other extreme, with thievery, there were receivers/takers but no givers. All society was corrupt when there was no interconnection and relationship between people. Although Noach was willing to "give" rebuke to the people, no one was ready to receive that rebuke. No one was open to criticism and improvement. This is in stark contrast to Avraham Avinu who had people who listened and received his message. Thus Avraham was able to "create souls" and is "the father of a multitude of nations."
The root of prayer/tefillah means connection.. Its purpose is to connect to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Therefore, tefillah is most effective when it is done in a group. While Noach could have prayed as the representative of the generation, the shaliach tzibur, there was no congregation that was interacting with him and accepting him as their representative. There was no one else connecting to the prayer, ready to receive the bounty prayer offered.
The flood was the best matched response to these egregious sins. It is the supreme model of giving and taking. Under normal conditions, the heaven gives, connects with the waters from below, the earth receives, and together they produce fruit. But when the waters from above gushed down and the waters from below burst upward to meet them, they were modeling connection so that the earth would return to a state of connectedness and relationship. [I can't help but visualize a hachnosat Sefer Torah. The Torah is our "water of life." The Torahs that are already in the shul or beis medrash go out, dancing to meet and receive the new Torah, forming a connection. CKS]
Rabbi Eisenberger cites the mesorah that the generation leading up to Moshiach's arrival [ikvisa dimoshihta] will be a reincarnation of the generation of the flood. That generation, too, will have broken relationships, minimal social interaction, fractured families and student/teacher relationships.
Creating relationships requires time, patience, and the desire for the relationship. It requires living the moment, not living for the photo, enjoying the wedding and the marriage rather than the photo album, the family trip more than the selfies. Certainly we want pictures for memories, but the memory must begin with the experience and the connection. We must stay focused on the connection.
Rabbi Soloveitchick zt”l drives this idea home. Each of us has both male and female aspects within ourselves. "Male and female created He him." We are all meant to be both givers and receivers so that we can connect with each other in multiple ways.
If Noach would have believed in his own specialness, he could have developed himself to connect with others, to lead with focus on the other, and to pray so that the earth could be save from annihilation both through the teshuvah of the people and the compassion of the Creator.