Chazal[1] teach us that the generation
of the Flood transgressed three sins, idolatry, illicit
relations and thievery. Surprisingly, of
the three, the decree of the Flood was sealed because of thievery.[2] Idolatry and illicit relations are two of the
cardinal sins. We are required to
forfeit our lives rather than transgress them.[3] Why was the decree of the Flood sealed specifically for thievery? What is it about stealing that makes it even
worse than idolatry and illicit relations?
The fundamental reason that a person can permit himself to
steal is that he does not recognize the owner’s rights. Chazal apply this concept to our relationship
with God. They teach us that a person
who eats without first making a brachah is considered to have stolen from God.[4] The reason is that he is not acknowledging
God’s ownership of the bread he eats.
The Sfas Emes expands this concept and applies it to all of
life. He says that being in this world and
benefiting from it while not recognizing that God is the force underlying
everything constitutes theft. For this
reason the Chiddushei HaRim says that the Torah requires confession when a
thief returns a stolen object, “וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת־חַטָאתָם אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ וְהֵשִׁיב
אֶת־אֲשָׁמוֹ בְּרֹאשׁוֹ .../They will confess their sin that they committed
and return the principal amount of his guilt …” (Bamidbar 5:7) Confession is
required when repenting from any sin.
Why does the Torah mention it specifically by repentance from the sin of theft?
The Chiddushei HaRim explains that confession here actually
alludes to repentance for anything because every sin contains an
aspect of theft. At the moment of the
sinful act, there is always a denial of God.
If the sinner recognized God before him, he would be unable to sin. As the Sfas Emes teaches, not acknowledging
that God is the motive power underlying our actions constitutes theft.
The generation of the Flood did more than simply steal from their fellow
man. They stole from God by not
recognizing Him in the Creation. The
Sfas Emes teaches us that to the extent that we recognize God in the world, God
is revealed in the world. Because generation
of the Flood did not recognize God in the world, there was
no divine revelation. Life is dependent
upon divine revelation. When there is no
divine revelation, we learn from the generation of the Flood that life ends. This is the meaning of the pasuk, “...
קֵץ כָּל־בָּשָׂר בָּא לְפָנַי כִּי־מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ חָמָס .../…
The end of all flesh has come before Me, because the earth was filled with
thievery …” (Breishis 6:13) This is the exact opposite of the pasuk, “...
מְלֹא כָל־הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ/… the world is filled with His glory.” (Yeshayah 6:3) When we recognize God, the world is filled
with His glory. When we do not, it is
the end of life. This is the reason the
decree of the Flood was sealed specifically because of thievery;
thievery representing not acknowledging God in the Creation.
The Zohar[5] states this concept as
well. The Zohar says that No’ach’s ark
is a metaphor for the Shechinah. “... וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֶת־הַתֵּבָה וַתָּרָם .../…
They lifted the ark and it was raised …,” (Breishis
7:17) is an allusion to the Shechinah
leaving the world. The Zohar says that
once the Shechinah is no longer with
us, there is no one to watch over the world and judgment rules. The Sfas Emes understands that the Shechinah leaving means that the source
of life has left.
This understanding sheds light on an enigmatic Midrash[6] in this week’s parsha. The Midrash cites a pasuk in Yechezkeil (7:11), “הֶחָמָס קָם לְמַטֵּה־רֶשַׁע
לֹא מֵהֶם ... וְלֹא־נֹהַּ בָּהֶם/Violence has arisen and become a rod
against evil; it is not from them … there is no sobbing for them.” The prophet is referring to
Nebuchadnezer. He is telling us that
even though Nebuchadnezer destroyed evil, it was only God’s help that enabled
him to succeed. In the words of the
prophet, “… it is not from them …”
The Midrash understands this pasuk homiletically as referring
to the generation of the Flood.
החמס/Thievery stood up before God like a rod
and said that it is not of them and has no rest in them. This last is a play on words, changing נֹהַּ/sob
to נֹחַ/rest.
What does, “he has no rest in them” mean? Elsewhere,[7] the Sfas Emes explains that
on the first Shabbos, the culmination of the Creation resulted in a revelation
of God. Each part of the Creation was
fulfilling its unique task such that the entire Creation acted as one
harmonious system. A system in which all
the parts operate smoothly can be considered to be at rest because there is no
noise in the system. This is the reason
that there is an elevation of the entire Creation towards God on Shabbos. He is more revealed. When “thievery” said that it has no rest in
them, it means to say that the generation of the Flood was lacking a connection to God. God was hidden because the generation did not
acknowledge Him. Because God was not
revealed there was no “rest” in the
Creation.
This also explains another Midrash[8] which says that No’ach was not worthy of being saved. He was only saved because Moshe Rabbeinu was
to come from him. This seems to fly in
the face of the pesukim which state clearly that he was righteous. However, according to the Sfas Emes, since
No’ach was part of the generation that did not recognize God, there could be no
rest for God in this generation, meaning that the generation was not connected
to Him. True, No’ach was righteous in
his own right, but the generation had a fatal flaw. It could not continue to exist. No’ach’s saving grace was his progeny.
