The Cause of the Downfall of the Dor HaMabul

The tragic demise of mankind during the era of the flood was not just a punishment for that wicked generation. Even more so, it was perhaps a series of powerful lessons to be studied by G-d-fearing people throughout the millennia about behaviors that are so toxic that they can cause the absolute destruction of an entire world. This is similar in concept to the Ten Plagues that Hashem struck the Egyptians with. These plagues were not primarily to reform the Egyptians since they were all shortly thereafter destroyed at the Yam Suf. Rather, they were primarily for our benefit in every successive generation to teach us how Hashem punishes middah k’neged middah, measure for measure for everything that we do.

So, let’s take a look at what was the nail in the coffin for the generation of the flood.

Rashi teaches us, “Lo nechtam g’zar dinam ela al hagazel – Their fate was not sealed until they succumbed to the transgression of theft.” As the verse testifies, “Ki hishchis kol basar es darko al ha’aretz – For all flesh acted destructively upon the land.” Rashi interprets this to mean that they descended into all kinds of twisted immorality. Of course, included in this was the dreadful sin of adultery which is a fusion of immorality and theft. Thus, it was the complete lack of regard for one’s fellow man that sealed the fate of this generation.

This lesson must be very clear especially for us, the children of Hashem, as we say in our prayers, “Acheinu kol Beis Yisrael – Our brothers, all the House of Israel.” Since we are the children of a common Father, Hashem in Heaven, we are all like brothers and sisters and we need to strive to behave that way.

As we embark on the new year, coming off Yom Kippur where we asked forgiveness from one another, we strove to be like angels who get along with each other. We then spent eight days in the lofty chamber of the sukkah under the schach, which represents the Ananei HaKavod, the Divine Presence, where we were joined by the holy neshamas of Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Yosef, Moshe, Aharon and Dovid, and we trained ourselves to be very careful not to be angry or cross at one another. Now, we need to strive mightily to perpetuate these behaviors.

In the Artscroll biography on the Tosher Rebbe, zt”l, zy”a, (A must read!), a story is told of the Rebbe who was sitting in front of many chassidim at a tisch. Everyone had a bakery challah in front of him. One bochur, however, was gingerly unwrapping a homemade challah that his mother had baked for him. A boy next to him, eyeing the tasty challah and perhaps not realizing it was personal property, grabbed it away from the bochur. In reaction, the bochur, now incensed, attempted to grab it back. The Rebbe, with his amazing peripheral vision, motioned to the bochur to desist his struggle. Of course, the bochur listened, albeit sadly and probably thinking it was unfair. However, that lasted only for a moment. The Rebbe personally sent over to him one of his own twelve challahs, a very rare gesture. The Rebbe then called him over and told him, almost pleadingly, to try not to have a hakpadah, a complaint and a grudge on another Jew.

I thought long and hard about this story. I put it to use just this morning in an interesting way. I was davening in my regular minyan in one of the wonderful shuls in Lakewood, New Jersey. Someone got up to lead the prayers and he davened very fast. I was annoyed and about to look to see who he was. Then I remembered what the Tosher Rebbe said and I restrained myself. After all, what value could there be in seeing who he was? It would only make me have a hakpadah on a fellow Jew, a brother of mine. So, I restrained myself and did not look.

I’m reminded of a lashon hara story. I once went to a wedding and sat down next to a famous rosh yeshiva. His rebbetzin was there and I heard her say, “Oh, he’s going to sit next to you? He’s going to give you a headache with all his questions.” The comment caused me great pain and I remember that I couldn’t wait to get home to unburden myself to my first rebbetzin, zt”l, zy”a, about what happened. (This could be permitted as an exception to the strictures of lashon hara.) But, when I got home, I remembered the words of the Vilna Gaon, zt”l, zy”a, that for every moment that one holds back from saying bad about another, they merit the ohr haganuz, the hidden light reserved for the righteous. So, with great effort, I closed my mouth and didn’t share what had happened. A few months later, my rebbetzin was honored to chair an important symposium together with the wife of this rosh yeshiva, something which she certainly would have declined had she known my story. It is never worthwhile to cause one to have a hakpadah on another Jew.

I saw a shocking story from Rabbi Shlomo Goldman, zt”l, zy”a, known as Reb Shlomke of Zvhil. In his neighborhood of Yerushalayim, there was a group of wild cats that often came around his shtiebel. He would lovingly bring out bowls of milk to them to drink. When his chassidim wanted to shoo them away, he stopped them. They repeatedly asked him why, and he finally divulged that these cats were gilgulim, reincarnations from two groups of chassidim that once had been fighting with one another. They had to come back to this world, not as a human, and not even as kosher animals, but as non-kosher animals, for acting like animals toward each other.

Let’s make it our business to try not to have raw feeling about one another, especially our spouse, our siblings, our children and our parents. In that merit may Hashem have nachas from us, and in that merit may Hashem grant us long life, good health, and everything wonderful.

Transcribed and edited by Shelley Zeitlin.