Rabbi Baruch Dopelt who quotes the Bet Halevi. We learned Noach was a Tzadik in his generation. What would Noach be, though, in comparison to our forefather, Avraham, a generation later? Since Noach’s Generation was so corrupt, maybe his status would have been considered an average Joe. Or, perhaps, he was a tzadik in such a degenerate society, then for sure he would have been angelic in the time of Avraham. We learn a fundamental concept from the Bet Halevi, that when one sins, it gives KOACH – strength – to the power of evil. It follows, then if one does a good deed, then he strengthens the power of good in the world. The question is asked, why were the animals destroyed by the flood? Why did they get punished? Did they sin? Animals don’t have freedom of choice; the poor cow. Perhaps, one can say they were no longer necessary once man is gone. They are here, as we know, to serve us, humans. Rav Yisrael Salantar adds, if someone in Queens is learning Torah, his learning triggers a guy in Paris, France to contemplate whether to keep Shabbat for the first time. In other words, my positive action affects the world for the better, and the opposite is true as well. The generation of the flood was so corrupt and evil, they were so immersed in sexual misconduct, that even the animals were effected, because the power of evil spreads. The animals’ natural tendencies gravitated to sexual misconduct as well. An Elephant was cross-breeding with a hippopotamus, etc. Noach, through divine intervention, picked the good animals; the ones that were not so affected in a negative way and congregated them all in the ark. The ark’s purpose was to shut off itself from the rest. A new world was formed in the ark. The KOACH HARAH – the evil powers – were diminished greatly in the ark. This was a new environment. This was a place to fix the damage caused by the generation. Noach catered to the animals day in and day out. One can say the ultimate form of CHESED – kindness – the exact opposite of the thievery that the world was famous for. They, the rest of the world, practiced that everything belongs to me. Here, Noach was the ultimate giver. Physical relations between the couples were forbidden for twelve months as long as they were in the teiva (ark). This was in contrast to the sexual circus, with no restraints, that was being conducted in the world. We are a product of our environment; that’s scary stuff. If someone in Honolulu gets depressed, it might be perhaps because a fellow in Brooklyn ate pork. Perhaps, we have to be more intuitive to what’s happening in the world and try to make it a better place because ultimately it affects us. |