Make Good Choices

Kapital 36 begins with the words “Lamenatzeach L’Eved Hashem L’Dovid”, an introduction that appears only one other time in Sefer Tehilim. Radak explains this Perek speaks about the ways of the Reshaim, and so the words “L’Eved Hashem” are used to provide contrast: Dovid Hamelech makes it clear he is a true Eved Hashem and “Atzas HaReshaim Rechoka Menu”. Although Radak does not specify which Reashim the Pessukim refer to, Sforno tells us that Dovid wrote these Pessukim about Achitofel, who gave Avshalom perverse advice.

The content of the Pessukim is much what one would expect form a Perek focused on the actions of Reashim. At the outset, Dovid defines the Rasha in clear terms: “Ain Pachad Elokim L’n eged Einav”. If a person lacks basic Yiras Shamayim, “Hichlik Eilav B’Einav”, he becomes to see the error of his ways. As time progresses, his evil ways become second nature: “Divrei Piv Aven U’Mirma”; all his utterances are deceitful. Rashi explains that when this happens, it is difficult for him to change, as the words “Chadal L’Haskil L’Hetiv” mean that he cannot examine his deeds and find ways to repair them. When a person is in this situation, even if the Derech HaYashar is placed before him, he cannot choose it: “Yisyatzev Al Derech Lo Tov Rah Lo Yimas”.

Later Pessukim speak about the Chesed Hashem that is enjoyed by those who do not choose this path: “Mah Chasdecha Elokim…B’Tzel Kenafecha Yechsayun”. Those who are Zoche to this Chesed eat and drink from the hand of HBKH: “Yirviyun M’Desheh Beisecha V’Nachal Adonecha Tashkem”.

Dovid also includes Teffilos that this Chesed continue. “Ki Imcha Mekor Chaim”, because we know that HKBH is the source of all life, we ask “B’Orcha Nireh Ohr”, that we be Zoche to see His light. Similarly, he asks that those who follow the Derech Hashem continue to receive the Bracha they deserve: “Meshoch Chasdecha L’Yodecha V’Tzidkascha L’Yishrei Lev”. At the same time, he asks that the Reshaim be meet their end: “Sham Naflu Poalei Aven Dochu V’Lo Yachlu Kum.”

Within the part of the Perek that discusses the Chesed Hashem, we find a familiar Passuk: “Tzidkascha K’Harerei El Mishpatecha Tehom Rabba Adam U’Behema Toshia Hashem”. Metzudos explains these words in their simplest meaning: the Chesed that HKBH does for those whom are Zoche are comparable to the tallest mountain. Similarly, Rashi explains that these words contrast the lots of Tzaddikim with that of Reashaim: those who are Zoche to the Chesed Hashem are raised as high as the mightiest mountain, but those who receive Mishpat are doomed to the depths of the “Tehom Rabba”.

According to either of these approaches, this Passuk seems to be making a very broad or general statement about the magnitude of the Chesed Hashem. There is a Medrash related to this week’s Parsha, however, which provides a more specific explanation.

The Vayikra Rabba to Parshas Emor tells us: “Tzidkascha K’Harerei El…Tzedaka SheAsisa Im Noach B’Teva K’Harerei El…” The Chesed that Hashem did with Noach while he was in the Teva is comparable to the Harerei El¸as the Passuk says “VaTanach HaTeva Al Harei Arrarat.” The Drasha seems to be based on the words K’Harerei El, bringing an example of a Chesed Hashem done on a mountain, but the Medrash certainly requires explanation.

What was the great Chesed done on Harei Arrarat? That Hashem protected Noach from the Mabul is certainly a great Chesed, but this was unconnected to the mountain upon which he alit. The Teva had to land somewhere, so to speak, what was the advantage of ending up on Harei Arrarat to the extent that the Medrash describes it as “Tzidkascha K’Harerei El”?

We must also understand how to view the Drasha in context of the Perek: why would Dovid Hamelech alude to the fact that the Teva rested on Harei Arrarat in this Perek? There are myriad examples of the Chesed Hahsem, both in connection to Noach and in other places in the Torah—even if we understand why the words “VaTanach HaTeva Al Harei Arrarat” refer to a great Chesed, why speak about it here?

Before answering these questions, it is interesting to note the fate of the Teva and its landing spot, Harei Arrarat.

The Medrash Rabba on the words VaTanach HaTeva Al Harei Arrarat translates the words “Harei Arrarat” as “Turei Kordunaisa”, the mountains of what would now be called Kurdistan.

The Yalkut Shimoni, in Parshas Beshalach, tells us that Haman Harasha sought an Eitz Gavoah Chamishim Amma” on which to hang Mordechai, but he could not source a beam of this massive size. His son Parshandasa, however, was the Governor of Kordunaisa at the time, and so he took a beam from the Teva, which was fifty Amos wide, and gave it to his father. As we know, this was the gallows on which Haman and his sons eventually hung, meeting their end at their own hands in this way.

It cannot be a coincidence that the Teiva was still accessible on Harei Arrarat millennia later, just waiting for Parshandasa to take one of its beams for his father’s use. What can we learn from this? What is the connection between the Etzim used to build the Teiva and the Eitz Gavoah Chamishim of Haman, and how does this relate to the Chesed Hashem represented by the words “VaTanach HaTeiva Al Harei Arrarat”?

Perhaps we can answer these questions, and better understand the various Mamarei Chazal, based on an insight into the construction of the Teiva itself.

The Ramban, at the beginning of of our Parsha, notes that the Teiva could not possibly have been large enough to hold the millions of species of animals and birds that Noach was instructed to bring into it. Rather, he explains, there was a Nes and “Hichzik Muat es HaMerubah”, the vessel held more than its physical volume allowed.

If this is the case, asks the Ramban, why build such a large Teiva at all? Noach could have built an even smaller craft, and the same reality of Hichzik Muat es HaMerubah would have allowed all the beings to be sheltered—why the need for a Teiva that was three-hundred Amos by fifty and thirty Amos tall?

In answering this question, Ramban teaches us an important Yesod. He writes that the Teiva was made larger so as to decrease the Nes: Osu Osah Gedolah Kidei L’Maet BaNes. If the Teiva was small, the Nes of fitting all the animals would have been greater to the Teiva was constructed as large as possible so that there would be less of a Nes when all the animals were housed within it. He adds that this is the Derech when it comes to Nissim: “La’asos Kol Asher B’Yad Adam La’asos V’HaShaar B’Yidei Shamayim”. Nissim are always done with the most amount of human interaction, even when it seems practically irrelevant, with the rest being done by Shamayim.

There are many ways to understand the concept of “Kidei L’Maet BaNes”, which Ramban presents as part of the way Nissim work, but there is one approach that is particularly instructive in this case.

R’ Chatzkel Levenstein, in Ohr Yechezkel on Emunah, asks a question on this Ramban: making the Teiva as large as possible did not really affect the Nes—it would take hundreds or thousands of Teivos to contain the entire animal kingdom—so what is the virtue of the concept of Kidei L’Maet BaNes? What is the difference between a “big” or “small”? If Teva is suspended, why does it matter if the Nes was a little larger or smaller in our eyes?

The Mashgiach answers this question by revealing a fundamental truth: the entire purpose of the Briah is to ensure that a person has Bechira and is not forced into any particular action, a reality that is considered in the way in which a Nes occurs as well.

A Nes is done without any human intervention or in a way that is farther removed from the Derech HaTeva allows less opportunity for Bechira: the Yad Hashem is made so clear that a person has no choice but to recognize the Hashgacha. The more effort a person puts into something, or the closer to Teva that a Nes is, the more opportunity there is for a person to make a choice: he can chalk the Nes up to nature or science, or he can acknowledge that Hashgachas Hashem defined his circumstances.

If the Teiva had been diminutive in size, or if Noach had been allowed to stay on dry ground someplace without a Teiva, there would be no choice but to accept that Hashgacha had saved him and the animals. The Teivah, built to large specifications as it was, offered an opportunity for Bechira: one can suggest that Noach was a master ship-builder and somehow created craft that held all his cargo, or one can accept that it was a Nes and Hashem saved all the Brios in the Teiva.

Perhaps we can explain the words “Tzedaka SheAsisa Im Noach B’Teva K’Harerei El…” based on this important idea. It is true that the Teiva could have come to a stop at any point on earth, but that would have affected the “size” of the Nes, and therefore the opportunity for Bechira. Because the waters had risen above the tallest mountains, it only made sense that the Teiva would land on high ground when they receded. The fact that it came to a rest on Harei Arrarat was therefore a way of fulfilling the rubric of “Kidei L’Maet BaNes”.

This was indeed a great Chesed, as it allowed the opportunity for Bechira. Because the Teivah landed in a “natural” spot, everyone who learns the story of Noach can be Bocher and choose to recognize the Yad Hashem or ignore it. There can be no greater Chessed than allowing us this chance and the right to earn the reward that comes with making the proper choice, and so indeed “Tzedaka SheAsisa Im Noach B’Teva K’Harerei El…”

This can also allow us to understand the use of the wood of the Teiva by Haman all those years later.

The Nes Purim was one that was completely B’Derech HaTeva, making it difficult for one to recognize the Yad Hashem: if a person hears the story from beginning to end, the Hester Ponim may make it difficult for him to make the proper choice. Therefore, the wood of the Teiva, brought all the way from the Turei Kordunaisa was used, reminding us to make the proper choice. The wood of Noach’s Teiva served the same purpose in a different time and place, allowing us once again the opportunity for Bechira.

This idea also allows us to understand why Dovid hints at the Tzedaka SheAsisa Im Noach B’Teva K’Harerei El in this Perek. The Pessukim contrast the lives of the Reshim and Tzaddikim, which are shaped by their choices. By referring to the Teivah, we are reminded that life is full of opportunities to choose between Tov and Rah, between recognizing the Yad Hashem and blinding ourselves to it. This, in turn, is what dictates whether we will be Zoche to the realities of Tzidkascha K’Harerei El, forever enjoying a reality of Yirviyun M’Desheh Beisecha V’Nachal Adonecha Tashkem.