Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com

Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein

After the flood that destroyed the whole world, after spending an entire year in the close quarters of the Ark and feeding and caring for all the animals that would reinhabit the earth, Noach can finally set foot on dry land. The first thing he does is plant a vineyard that quickly produces grapes, which Noach turns into wine. Noach drinks, becomes drunk and goes to sleep. Noach has become a man of the earth.

The Medrash uses this nomenclature to suggest that Moshe is more beloved to Hashem than Noach, for Noach started out as a tzadik/righteous man but ended and being an ish adamah, a man of the earth. In contrast, Moshe was first called an Egyptian and in the last analysis was called a man of God. The Medrash points out very succinctly how each of us has the ability to transform ourselves and rise to great heights or, conversely, to fall from an exalted position to a very low status, writes Rabbi Frand. How could Noach have fallen so low?

Rabbi Schorr notes that as Hebrew is always written in the Torah without vowels, this description of Adam can be read literally as ish adamah/a man of the earth, or as ish adameh/a man who [tries to] resemble Hashem. Thus, each person has within himself the earthy aspect of man, for his body was created from the earth, and the spiritual aspect, as God breathed into him the Godly soul. These two aspects of man are always in conflict. Our challenge is to make the Godly aspect, our soul, victorious.

Similarly, in introducing this passage, the Torah says, “Vayachel Noach.” This too can be translated simply as Noach began or as Noach debased [himself]. Rav Dovid Cohen, among others, says that the problem was not in planting a vineyard per se, but in the vineyard being the first thing Noach planted rather than something more useful, like wheat. What was Noach’s motivation? Rav Cohen suggests that Noach hoped to rectify the sin of Adam for eating the forbidden fruit, the fruit some believe to have been grapes. Adam wanted to mix the good with the bad so that he could elevate the evil. As Rabbi Eisenberger suggests, Noach wanted to debase himself so that he could then elevate himself. Accordingly, Noach did not sin by planting grapes, but by becoming drunk and not elevating himself or the grapes, thereby losing the privilege of rectifying Adam’s sin, a rectification that would now wait another ten generations for Avraham Avinu. Rabbi Friedlander zt”l, the Sifsei Chaim, explains that we learn from here that a person should not put themselves in a situation of a nisayon.

Rabbi Roth zt”l suggests that Noach wanted to bring offerings to Hashem and pour ritual libations on the altar. However, within that motivation also lay his desire to drink the wine as well. However, the initial act must be totally leshem Shomayim, motivated solely for God, excluding any self desire.

Reb Yerucham Levovitz zt”l present an analogy to clarify this point. To know how strong a tree is, look at its roots. If the roots are deep and healthy, the tree will be stable and strong; if the roots are weak, the tree will not survive for long. Everything follows and grows from the initial foundation; The foundation points to the trajectory it will follow. Since Noach’s thoughts were not completely pure when he planted the vineyard, it later became a source of corruption, adds the Seforno.

The lesson for us, on a very basic level, writes Omek Haparshah, is to begin our day fully awake, ready for whatever work we are meant to do. [He would undoubtedly destroy the snooze button.]

Perhaps the most extreme example of this premise is recorded in the Gemorra. As the Roman Empire intensified its oppression of Torah learning [the second half of the second century C. E.], and Torah learning was in danger of being forgotten, Rabbi Chiya took it upon himself to preserve the Torah by teaching the children. He wanted every aspect of this education to be pure. Therefore, he personally undertook every step. First he planted flax to grow hemp for nets with which he would trap deer. From the deer hides, he fashioned the parchment on which to write the books of the Torah and of the Mishnah. It was from these completely pure materials and motivations that Rabbi Chiya taught the children who would become the teachers of Bnei Yisroel.

Life is such that one can never stagnate, especially in spirituality. If you are not ascending, the escalator of life, it will take you down. One must always keep one’s focus on the goal. This was why Noach failed where Moshe succeeded, explains the R. Aron Kotler zt”l Mixed in with the physical and spiritual benefits of planting the vineyard for wine, was also Noach’s personal, physical desire. Taking his eyes off the goal, his downfall began.

In contrast, Moshe never lost sight of his goal. From the moment he went our to personally experience the suffering of his brothers to his encounter with God at the burning bush, even after bringing the Torah to Bnei Yisroel, his personal ego and desires never entered his thoughts. Moshe rose ever higher, finishing his life as an Ish Elokhim, a man of God.

The fact of life, teaches Rav Aharon Kotler, is that we are never finished growing, moving. Everything is an opportunity for growth. Every time we withstand temptation, we have moved forward. And everyone has different challenges. Noach had spent a full year totally involved in chesed, in caring for the animals, in ensuring that the world could be rebuilt. All he wanted now was to retire, to rest. But while rest is a natural requirement to integrate lessons learned and to regroup for the next round, resting without a purpose leads to decay. [How many people die within a year or two of retirement because they have only retired from without a vision of what they want to retire to. CKS] As Rabbi Pinto zt”l points out, Noach slept for only a few minutes, and in that short time, he lost so much.

Those few minutes, in contrast to 120 years working on himself while building the ark, another year without rest on the ark – now all he wants is peace and quiet. He let his guard down for only a few moments, and the results were disastrous, points out Rabbi Wachtfogel zt”l.

But the downfall was not the result of just those few moments. As we wrote earlier, the beginning prepares the trajectory of the path. Rabbi Bernstein, citing the Meshech Chochmah, points out that the difference between Noach and Moshe goes back to how they interacted with others. While Noach was so involved in his personal spirituality that he did not concern himself with others, Moshe was always concerned with others. Starting from when he was an Egyptian fleeing the wrath of Pharaoh, he ended up saving an entire generation. Noach, self centered on his own spiritual and physical survival, was able to save only himself and his family. As Rabbi Leff says, the mark of greatness is how one concerns himself with others, how he emulates Hashem.

The Torah tells us to cling to Hashem, to emulate His ways. That is achieved not by solitary contemplation, but by developing the characteristic of chesed toward others, writes Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l. After all, the world was created through and for chesed. Man was created not for himself, but to be of assistance to others exhorts Rav Chaim of Volozhin zt”l.

Avraham Avinu learned about chesed from Noach, suggests the Shvilei Pinchas. If Noach was saved from the flood for the chesed he did for the animals, how much greater is the chesed one extends to human beings.

Noach’s self centeredness at this point in his life is what changes him from a tzadik to an Ish Adamah. Rabbi Bick zt”l points out that Noach drank the wine, but did not share it even with his sons. The verse states, “...my wine that gladdens God and men.” (Shoftim 9:13) Wine is meant to be shared with others, not by man alone. What a contrast between Noach and Avraham who planted a tree where he could serve others and through that service proclaim the Name of Hashem to the world.

It is impossible for us to reach the level of Moshe Rabbenu as the ultimate ish Elokhim. But we can certainly strive to lift ourselves to a higher spiritual level and connection to Hashem. By giving to others, supporting others emotionally, lifting others up even with a simple smile or an encouraging word we are emulating Hashem Who supports the world constantly with His chesed.