Jewish audio on Chabad.org. This class is presented by Rabbi Leibel Schapiro. Rabbi Leibel Schapiro, a noted Talmudic scholar, is the dean of the Yeshiva Gedolah Rabbinical College of Greater Miami, the rabbi of Congregation Beis Menachem, and a community leader in Miami Beach, Florida. In פרשת נח, קפיטל ח' פסוק י\"ד, the Torah says that ובחדש השני בשבעה ועשרים יום לחדש יבשה הארץ, that in the second month, the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth, the land was dry. And that's when Hashem said to Noach, as the פסוק continues there in פסוק ט\"ז and then פסוק י\"ז, that Hashem said to נח צא מן התיבה, go out of the teivah, go out of the ark, אתה ואשתך, you and your wife, etc. Then it continues כל החיה, etc., הוצא אתך, that all the animals should also go out. So the question that comes up is that since it was יבשה הארץ, since the land already was dry, and as Rashi explains that the word יבשה means נעשה גריד כהלכתה, which means it became completely dry, because before what that was חרבו המים מעל הארץ נעשה כמין טיט. First it was dry, but not completely; it was like mud. In other words, there was no more water, but it was still mud. But now what happened was that יבשה הארץ, the land was completely dry. So if the land is completely dry, why did Hashem have to tell Noach to go out of the teivah? Wouldn't have Noach understood himself that it is time to go out of the teivah? And after all, don't we see that whatever he did before, sending the birds, etc., was all done in order to see whether it's dry, in order to see whether he should go out? And he wasn't commanded by Hashem to send the birds to find out whether it's dry or not. Obviously, he didn't have to have a commandment of Hashem in order to know that when it's dry you have to go out. So why is it that when it was actually dry, he waited for Hashem to tell him, \"Go out of the teivah\"? And the question is even stronger that Hashem did not just give one command that everyone should go out of the teivah; He made a separate command that כל החיה, all the animals, בעוף ובבהמה, and the birds and the בהמה, ובכל הרמש, all the creeping crawlers, הוצא אתך, he should take out, a special tzivui, a special commandment that they should also go out. So the question is, why did Hashem have to special command him to do that? Why wouldn't he have done it on his own?

Now the truth is in Midrash, in Tanchuma, in פרשת נח ח', and also in י' there, and also we find in Bereishit Rabbah פרשה ל\"ד ד', and many of the mefarshim of the Torah, like the Abarbanel and the Bachya and the Paneach Raza, etc., they bring this Midrash that says that כיון שנחו המים, היה צריך נח לצאת מן התיבה, that when the water settled, Noach was supposed to leave the teivah. אלא אמר, but he said like this: ברשות הקדוש ברוך הוא נכנסתי, with the permission of השם I went in, שאמר לי, because השם said to me, בוא אתה וכל ביתך אל התיבה, you and your whole household go into the תיבה, ועכשיו איני יוצא אלא ברשות. So now too I will only go out with His permission. But on the other hand, it seems that this is not accepted by all opinions of the Midrash, because we find in a different Midrash, which is in בראשית רבה פרשה ל\"ב ו', and is also brought down in Rashi in this פרשה, קפיטל ז' פסוק ז', that when Hashem said בוא אל התיבה, that you and your whole household should go into the teivah, it wasn't that Hashem gave him permission to go in, but it was because Noach did not want to go in. So Hashem said, \"You should go in.\" Now according to this, it wasn't the peshat that he needed permission to go in. Now if he didn't need permission to go in, then he definitely wouldn't have waited for permission to go out, because the other Midrash that says that he waited for permission was because that Midrash holds that he only went in with permission. But according to the other Midrash and according to Rashi that Hashem didn't give him permission, but Hashem just told him that, \"You don't want to go in, you have to go in,\" so it wasn't for permission that he was waiting for, but it was Hashem pushed him to go in. So if it wasn't that he needed permission, so then why should he wait for permission to go out? So the question comes back, why did he wait for Hashem to tell him צא מן התיבה?

Now there could have been an answer that when Hashem told him צא מן התיבה, it wasn't that Hashem had to command him to go out, but it was Hashem told him the way he could go out, because the pasuk says he said to him צא מן התיבה אתה ואשתך ובניך ונשי בניך אתך, you and your wife and your children and your children's wives should go out. And Rashi explains that what he was telling him was that till now in the teivah, they weren't allowed to live as husband and wife. And now, Hashem said, when you go out, you will able to, be able to live as husband and wife. And the same thing is concerning the animals, that the pasuk continues here, and he said go out, וישרצו בארץ ופרו ורבו על הארץ, which means that you should multiply in the land, and Rashi explains that till then they weren't allowed to, and now when they came out of the teivah, now they were allowed to multiply. So it could be that when Hashem said צא מן התיבה, the point was not that he told him, \"I am giving you permission\" or \"I am telling you to go out,\" but what he told him was, \"You will be going out, so now you're able to go out in a form that you're able to live as husband and wife.\" But on the other hand, from the simple expression of the pasuk it seems that the commandment of going out was not just a commandment concerning the fact that now they're able to go out as husband and wife, but the commandment was צא מן התיבה. The etzem going out of the teivah was told to them by Hashem. And especially as we see concerning the animals, where the pasuk says היצא אתך, and Rashi says the peshat is אם אינם רוצים לצאת הוציאם אתה, that if they don't want to go out, you take them out by force. So it comes out from here that there was a sevara that they wouldn't go out, and Hashem told him, \"Take them out.\" So we see that the commandment of go out and also let the animals go out wasn't just an introduction to a second part, that this wasn't really what he's trying to tell him, he was just trying to tell him that when you go out, you could go out as husband and wife, but from this we see that Hashem was telling him go out, so there was a tzivui in the going out itself. So the question is, why did he have to have a tzivui? Why wouldn't it be self-understood that now that the land is dry, he's able to go out, and so too are the animals able to go out?

But the explanation that could be said in this inyan can be based on what the Radak says in this parshah, which is קפיטל ו׳, פסוק כ״א, and at more at length he says it on the pasuk in Yeshayah, קפיטל י״א, פסוק ו׳, that in the teivah of Noach, the matzav, the situation was similar to the way it's going to be le'atid lavo in the future. The matzav, the situation of peace that took place amongst those that were in the teivah was similar to what it says concerning לעתיד לבוא, וגר זאב עם כבש, that the wolf will live in peace with the sheep, and לא ירעו ולא ישחיתו, they will not harm, they will not do any bad. Because here we see that in the teivah you had all kinds of behemot and chayot, all kinds of animals together, even animals that normally kill, and nevertheless they did not do any harm to each other, they were not mashchit, which is similar to the situation the way it's going to be le'atid lavo. And even though the פסוק, קפיטל ו׳, פסוק י״ד, says קנים תעשה את התבה, which means, as Rashi says, מדורים מדורים לכל בהמה וחיה, there should be little rooms for every animal, which would mean that every kind of behemah and chayah was separate, then we have no proof that they lived in peace, maybe the reason that they lived in peace because each kind of animal was separated from the other. But the truth is, it is not so clear what that means, whether it means that each kind of animal had its separate room, or it means that there were separate rooms for animals, but it doesn't necessarily mean that there were so many rooms enough for each kind separately. The truth is, the Ra'am, the Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi on Rashi, says that there were chadarim, there were rooms לבודד כל מין ומין לעצמו, for every kind, and that's how it seems also from the Ibn Ezra and the Radak. But in Midrash Rabbah, in Bereishit Rabbah, פרשה ל״א, ט״ו, there it doesn't seem that it was for every kind separately, especially that there is a machloket, there's an argument later on in the Midrash how many rooms there were. So if the pshat is that every kind had his own room, so what is the machloket? Because it doesn't seem that the argument there is how many kinds of animals there are, cuz then it has nothing to do with the argument concerning the teivah. Since the argument is how many rooms are in the teivah, obviously it seems from that Midrash that there weren't rooms exactly for each kind, and therefore there's an argument how many rooms were there. And that is also how the Tzemach Tzedek writes in his ספר, Or HaTorah, that דלא היו להם מקומות מיוחדים בפני עצמם, that they didn't have separate rooms. And the truth is that even if they would have separate rooms, naturally it is very hard to cage in animals in a small, limited place for a whole year, and we shouldn't find any case that there should be some trouble between the animals. And as we see begashmiut in a zoo, in order to control many animals, you must have a lot of manpower, a lot of people in order to be able to do it. And here, in the teivah of Noach, where you only had a few people, they were able to take care of all the animals. Now how was that possible?

So we must say that while they were in the teivah, the nature of the animals changed, that they became similar to the way it's going to be le'atid lavo, where it says that לא ירעו ולא ישחיתו, and the pasuk says and נער קטן נוהג בם, and even a small child will be able to control the animals. And that's the matzav of the animals that they were in the teivah. So one might ask, but how come we don't find anywhere where it says about this special miracle, that the nature of the animals changed? But the answer is very simple, because it is self-understood. First of all, because we know that who came to the teivah, as Rashi says, only those animals שלא השחיתו דרכם, that did not spoil their way, which means only animals who only did what Hashem wanted, not like the other animals. So these were special animals. Second of all, we see that while they went to the teivah, nothing happened to them. So that itself shows that there must have been a change. The other thing, we see there was a miracle that they came by their own to the teivah, as Rashi says, ומאליהם באו, and they came by themselves. So it comes out that their whole coming to the teivah was in a nes. So therefore, if the whole thing was with a nes, so it's self-understood that everything else continued in the form of a nes. And as the expression in the ספר Be'er Mayim Chayim al Rashi, written by the brother of the Maharal, so he says in קפיטל ז׳ פסוק כ״ב, שכל מעשה התיבה בנס היה, that all the actions of the teivah were with a nes. So this was one of the nisim, that the nature of the animals changed, that even though naturally they were חיות טורפות, but what happened to them was that their nature changed and they became tame, which is similar to the way it's going to happen le'atid lavo.

And that could be the reason why after יבשה הארץ, the land was dry, nevertheless Hashem had to command נח, צא מן התיבה, because Noach did not want to go out of the teivah. The truth is, begashmiut it was very hard for him, that's self-understood, imagine Noach and just a few more people have to feed and take care of all these animals. But nevertheless, beruchniyus, in the spiritual sense, he was in a very high madregah. Since we say that at that time it was similar to the way it's going to be le'atid lavo, so why should Noach want to go out? Because he understood that when they will go out, everything will go back to nature. The animals will become again חיות טורפות, and the level will not be the same as it was in the teivah. So it would be a yeridah for him, he would lower himself to a lower level, so why should he want to do it? Especially as the Tzemach Tzedek explains in Ohr HaTorah, he says that the teivah of Noach, which is a closed in box, is similar to what we call a shlos mem. The letter מ״ם has the מ״ם that's written in the middle of a word, that is called a מ״ם פתוחה, an open מ״ם, because it's not closed completely, there is a little opening on the bottom, and then you have the מ״ם סופית, the shlos mem, which is a closed in box. And that מ״ם סופית reminds us of the situation the way it's going to be le'atid lavo, because there is a pasuk in Yeshayah, קפיטל ט׳ פסוק ו׳, where it says למרבה המשרה ולשלום אין קץ, and that word the מ״ם that's in the word למרבה, even though it's the middle of a word, is not a מ״ם פתוחה, but it's a מ״ם סתומה, that's a closed מ״ם. And it says that the reason is because this is a pasuk concerning le'atid lavo, and then it'll be in a form of a closed מ״ם, there will be no opening, as is explained in many sefarim. So we see the connection between a closed מ״ם and the matzav of le'atid lavo. So the teivah of Noach, which is a teivah, a closed box, is similar to a shlos mem. And at that time it says ולשלום אין קץ, there will be an unlimited amount of peace, and that was the situation the teivah of Noach. So the question is, why should Noach want to go out? And therefore he on his own would not have gone out. This is concerning Noach.

The same applies concerning the animals. Concerning them it's even more, because the change of the nature was actually in them. So why should they want to go out and become again חיות טורפות, animals that are wild, that kill, that damage, that harm, when they would rather stay in the teivah where their nature is similar to the way it's going to be le'atid lavo? And therefore Hashem had to command them specially, not just a commandment for him to go out, but another separate commandment that he should take out כל החיה אשר אתו, all the animals. Because even if Hashem would have told him, \"Go out yourself,\" he would have thought maybe for him there is an obligation to go out, because after all, even though it's going to be a yeridah, but still he has a mission in this world to rebuild the world. But the animals, why should they go out? So nevertheless Hashem said to him that he should go out with כל החיה, הוצא אתך, that take out all the animals also.

But on the other hand, since Hashem did want him to go out and did want him to take the animals out, obviously it was for his benefit to go out, because we know for sure Hashem would not do anything which would harm a person. Now if for him it would be better to stay inside as he thought, and the same for the animals, Hashem would not have told him to go out. So, obviously when Hashem told him to go out, it was for his benefit and for their benefit. But the question is what kind of benefit did they gain? And the answer is very simple. Since there was a mabul and the world was destroyed, now there was a time that they had to rebuild the world. Rebuild the world and everything that the world had: rebuild the world with people, rebuild the world with animals. This is what Hashem wanted. Now, since this is what Hashem wanted, so then to do this is greater than any spiritual benefit a person could have. In other words, what they wanted to have by staying inside the teivah was for their own personal benefit. The truth is it wasn't for a physical benefit. As a matter of fact, as we said before, for Noach, it was a great tzaar, a big trouble to stay inside physically. But it was a spiritual benefit. But even this spiritual benefit was a personal benefit. Noach was a high madreigah. His children, his children's wives were in a high madreigah. The animals reached a high madreigah. But that's something that they reached. So, it's their personal benefit. By going out and rebuilding the world, doing what Hashem wants, then they don't have a benefit, but it is a benefit k'vayachol for Hashem. Now, what kind of comparison is there between a benefit for a human being and a benefit for Hashem? Now, why Hashem wants this, that's His business. But Hashem did want that the world should be rebuilt. Now, since this is what Hashem wants, by fulfilling the ratzon of Hashem, this is the greatest thing. Similar to what it says in Pirkei Avot, that a person should not be a eved to Hashem that works על מנת לקבל פרס to get reward, but he should be an eved to השם שלא על מנת לקבל פרס, not to get reward. When we say getting reward, we don't mean davka gashmiyusdike physical reward, even spiritual reward. A person should serve Hashem by doing what Hashem wants, whether he will get reward or not, whether it'll be for his benefit or not. He should do what Hashem wants. The truth is that when you do what Hashem wants, this is the greatest benefit you have. But this is not what should be in the person's mind. What should be in the person's mind is that he does just what Hashem wants, whether he will have benefit or not. That is called lishmah. And that's what happened here, too. Since staying inside would be their benefit, going out is for the sake of what Hashem wants, so therefore definitely that's what they had to do. But when would they do it? Only if that's what Hashem wants. That's why Noach waited for the commandment of Hashem. If Hashem wouldn't command him, then he wouldn't know that this is what Hashem wants. Then maybe he should stay in the teivah, because there he is in a higher madregah. But when Hashem told him, \"Go out of the teivah,\" this means that this is the the will of Hashem. Then, even though he felt that spiritually he will go down a lower madregah, and so will the animals, nevertheless, he did it because he knows that this is the will of Hashem. And this is the lesson that we take from this story: that we, too, have to serve Hashem in this way, to think about what Hashem wants rather than to think about what we are going to gain.