For many months Noach was safe, yet also stuck, in the teiva. Indeed, he suffered tremendously there (see Gemara Pesachim 108b). But finally, the Torah says that “God remembered Noach,” and henceforth, the waters receded and ultimately the water dried up. Noach was eventually able to leave the extremely difficult conditions of the teiva and rebuild life and civilization.
That “God remembered Noach” means that Hashem took into account certain good deeds that Noach performed in the teiva, and thus had mercy on him and granted him salvation (see Eshed Hanechalim to Midrash Rabbah below). The good deeds—as the midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 33:3) explains—were that Noach nourished and sustained the animals for all 12 months that they were together in the teiva. Essentially, since Noach had compassion on the animals in the teiva, Hashem had compassion on him (Eshed Hanechalim).
It would seem from here that the reason why Noach merited to be freed and leave the distressing confines of the teiva was because of the compassion and kindness he showed towards the animals in the teiva. This may be more blatant from the Midrash Tehillim (37) which records a conversation between Avraham Avinu and Malki Tzedek (i.e., Shem—Noach’s son). Avraham asked him, “How did you leave the teiva?” He explained, “With the charity that we performed there.” Avraham responded, “What charity was there for you and others to perform? After all, was it like there were poor people there? … So to whom did you perform charity?” He explained, “To the animals …; we didn’t sleep, but would give [food] to this one and to that one all night long.”
The midrash continues with Avraham’s reaction, part of which he said, “If not for the fact that they performed charity with the animals … they wouldn’t have left the teiva.” Rav Elyah Lopian (Lev Eliyahu, Noach) says that we learn from this midrash that the reason why they merited to leave the teiva was because they nourished and sustained the creatures there, and if not for this, they would have remained in the teiva for the rest of their lives! And as the Radomske Rebbe, Rav Shlomo Hakohen Rabinowitz (Tiferet Shlomo, Noach), seems to glean from this midrash, since they showed compassion towards the animals in the teiva, this caused them to receive compassion from Heaven.
It thus seems from here that Noach’s mercy and the kindness he showed towards the animals earned Hashem’s mercy and ultimately Noach’s salvation from the painful conditions in the teiva.
Noach’s compassion and kindness in the teiva was shown towards animals—not people—and yet those deeds were seemingly so valued that Hashem’s mercy was aroused, bringing forth Noach’s salvation. This general concept might also be implicit from the comments of the Mesilat Yesharim (ch. 19). He quotes the Gemara (Shabbat 151b) that quotes the pasuk (Devarim, Ch. 13) which states, “He will give you mercy and be merciful to you,” and the Gemara derives from this pasuk that, “Whoever is compassionate toward [Hashem’s] creatures, is shown compassion by Heaven, and whoever is not compassionate towards [Hashem’s] creatures is not shown compassion by Heaven.” Shortly after quoting this Gemara, the Mesilat Yesharim states that, “Also included in this concept [of acting with kindness and compassion] is to avoid causing pain to any creature—even animals, but rather to have compassion upon them and pity them.” [Perhaps the Mesilat Yesharim understands that when the Gemara says “creatures” (instead of the more limiting term of “people”) it thus means to include even animals, so that when one shows compassion even towards animals, Hashem will then have compassion on him].
While Noach and his family were saved, interestingly, it’s possible that the people who were destroyed could have also been saved if they would have maintained the appropriate measure of compassion towards each other. Our parsha (6:13-14) relates that Hashem said to Noach: “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with robbery through them; and behold, I am about to destroy them from the earth. Make for yourself a teiva …” Now, although the people were also guilty of terrible crimes like idolatry and immorality (see Rashi 6:11-12), the phrase “for the earth is filled with robbery” teaches us—as Rashi explains—that “their sentence was not sealed except on account of robbery.”
The question that may be asked is, why specifically on account of robbery was their sentence of destruction sealed?
Based on the aforementioned Midrash Tehillim, The Radomske Rebbe seems to explain that the people’s acts of robbery showed that they lacked compassion for each other, and thus, they lost out on being recipients of Hashem’s compassion, for had they have been compassionate towards each other, measure for measure, Hashem would have had compassion on them and through that they would have been spared.
If Noach’s compassion—even though it was towards the animals in the teiva—was so powerful of a merit to grant him salvation, perhaps then, how much more so of a positive effect can we unleash when our compassion and kindness is shown towards people. In fact, this may be implicit from the continuation of the aforementioned Midrash Tehillim. After Malki Tzedek clarified to whom he did charity with, Avraham then exclaimed: “If not for the fact that they performed charity with the animals … they wouldn’t have left the teiva, and since they performed charity they left … if I would perform [charity] with people how much more so.”
Additionally, if we become accustomed to acting with compassion and kindness towards others, this might also cause Hashem to have mercy on the world at large. The Chafetz Chaim (Ahavat Chesed, Inyanei Gemilut Chasadim, ch. 3) states, “If it’s the way of a person to interact with people with the middah of kindness and compassion, it arouses Hashem’s middah of compassion, and because of him, Hashem has compassion on the world.”
By being kind and compassionate to others, not only may we be helping those people directly, but also, ultimately we may really be helping ourselves and possibly even the world at large.
Binyamin Benji is a graduate of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, and Wurzweiler School of Social Work.
