These are the generations of Noach, Noach was a righteous man, he was perfect in his generations; Noach walked with God (Bereshit 6:9).
There are many drashot on the first pasuk of Parshat Noach. Most relate to the term tzaddik (righteous) and dorotav (his generation) to determine whether Noach was a true righteous person or he was righteous only in comparison to his society. Let’s focus on a different word in this pasuk—the word “haya,” “was.”
There is a Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 30:8) that states that the word haya is used to depict five individuals in Tanach. Noach—Noach was a righteous man (Bereshit 6:9); Yosef—Yosef was 17 years old (Bereshit 37:2); Moshe—Moshe was pasturing the flocks of Yitro (Shemot 3:1); Iyov—There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Iyov (Iyov 1:1); and Mordechai—There was a Judean man in Shushan the capital, whose name was Mordechai (Esther 2:5).
The Midrash explains that each individual saw a “new world.” Noach witnessed the world being destroyed by a flood and then saw it being rebuilt. Yosef was enslaved and rose to serve as second to the King of Egypt. Moshe had to flee from Pharaoh and later witnessed the entire Egyptian army drown at the Yam Suf. Iyov suffered terrible losses and eventually was blessed with being able to rebuild. Finally, Mordechai was nearly hanged by Haman and ultimately witnessed Haman being hanged on the very tree that was prepared for Mordechai.
Obviously, the Midrash is not just sharing some coincidental wordplay. There must be some deeper meaning for the use of the word haya in connection with each of these individuals and the way they were able to perceive a “new world.” In his book “Power of a Vort,” Rabbi Yissachar Frand offers the following insight.
We witness two diverging approaches among those who suffer a tragedy. Some people are able to overcome a seemingly hopeless situation, while others become obsessed with their troubles, romanticize over how wonderful the past was, and it becomes impossible for them to move on. Perhaps the lesson this Midrash is suggesting lies in the word “haya”—was. The key to being able to experience a “new world” is to let the past fade rather than harp on it. For example, it must have been very difficult for Noach to adapt to the new reality following his exit from the ark. There was not a soul to be found. Complete destruction—as what would transpire following a nuclear war. Noach did not sit and contemplate his glorious past, rather he let it go. He began to build his future at the age of 601!
We witnessed this in our generation with people who survived the Holocaust. The Klausenberg Rebbe for example, lost his wife and 11 children, yet he was able to pick up the pieces, rebuild and establish a Chassidic dynasty with tens of thousands of followers. This was possible because he had the attitude of “haya”—what happened in the past was terrible, but he was able to put it behind him and move forward. Again, this is not an easy task and we cannot judge anyone’s reaction to experiencing a tragic event. Yet, in order to be able to rebuild, one has to put the past behind them and focus on building a brighter future.
The message of this Midrash should echo within each of us. No matter the difficulties and challenges we may encounter, we cannot allow ourselves to dwell on the past, rather we have to focus on what can be done to rebuild. Rav Soloveitchik suggests that when one experiences hardships he should not dwell on: “Why did this happen to me?” but rather “What am I to do now?” May we be able to emulate these five individuals who rose from despair and were each successful at building a bright future.
Rabbi Shalom Rosner is rosh beit midrash of the Machon Lev English speaking program and Rabbi of the Nofei HaShemesh community. He is also the Tzurba Maggid Shiur, giving a weekly shiur on Tzurba Hilchot Shabbat. He is a member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau (www.mizrachi.org/speakers). The RZA-Mizrachi is a broad Religious Zionist organization without a particular political affiliation.
