Wrongdoing, Corruption, and Flood

History of personal and public morality

Rabbi Eliezer Shenvald-  The Parasha in our everyday life - Noah – 5782

Moral issues and questions of public corruption occupy a central place in public and media discourse, and not in vain. Morality is one of the cornerstones of the human conduct of the individual and society. Human society cannot exist without common moral principles. The moral level of society determines its strength and resilience.

The moral theory deals with the behavior of man and society, in several areas: Values ​​- the rules of morality and its principles, and the question of whether these are Divine 'absolute values', or 'relative values' set by society and so are relative and vary from place to place and from time to time. Implementation - the ways that the moral principles are applicable in life. Soul Characteristics (Midot HaNefesh) - which create human behavior. How to influence these characteristics and refine them, as well as the character of the person.  And also in moral dilemmas - which arise in situations where tension and conflict arise between different moral principles.

In our Parasha, we learn about the first social moral crisis in human history. This is a very important lesson, which teaches us about the importance of morality.

וַיַּ֣רְא ה' כִּ֥י רַבָּ֛ה רָעַ֥ת הָאָדָ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ וְכׇל־יֵ֙צֶר֙ מַחְשְׁבֹ֣ת לִבּ֔וֹ רַ֥ק רַ֖ע כׇּל־הַיּֽוֹם... וַתִּשָּׁחֵ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ לִפְנֵ֣י הָֽאֱלֹקים וַתִּמָּלֵ֥א הָאָ֖רֶץ חָמָֽס׃ וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹקים אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְהִנֵּ֣ה נִשְׁחָ֑תָה כִּֽי־הִשְׁחִ֧ית כׇּל־בָּשָׂ֛ר אֶת־דַּרְכּ֖וֹ עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ.

"Hashem saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how every plan devised by his mind was nothing but evil all the time… The earth became corrupt before G-d; the earth was filled with lawlessness. When G-d saw how corrupt the earth was, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth". (Bereshit 6:5-12)

Ten generations had passed since the world and men were created, and humanity degenerated into an irreplaceable low of moral corruption. Corruption spread throughout the whole world of morality: Ethics between man and G-d, between man and himself, of interpersonal conduct, and with the world:

ותמלא הארץ חמס "And the earth was filled with violence— means robbery". (Rashi ibid)

אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי חָמָס, זֶה עֲבוֹדַת כּוֹכָבִים. חָמָס, זֶה גִּלּוּי עֲרָיוֹת. חָמָס, זֶה שְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים.

"Rabbi Levi said; corruption is idol worshiping, corruption is forbidden sexual relations, corruption is bloodshed". (Bereshit Rabbah 31:6)

Corruption also spread to the animals:

כי השחית כל בשר. אֲפִלּוּ בְהֵמָה חַיָּה וָעוֹף נִזְקָקִין לְשֶׁאֵינָן מִינָן:

כי השחית כל בשר "for all flesh had corrupted — even cattle, beasts and fowl did not consort with their own species". (Rashi ibid).

This level of corruption led to the destruction of the world, to the conclusion that the only way to continue the world is to re-start it from the beginning, a kind of re-creation:

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ה' אֶמְחֶ֨ה אֶת־הָאָדָ֤ם אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֙אתִי֙ מֵעַל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה מֵֽאָדָם֙ עַד־בְּהֵמָ֔ה עַד־רֶ֖מֶשׂ וְעַד־ע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם כִּ֥י נִחַ֖מְתִּי כִּ֥י עֲשִׂיתִֽם׃

"Hashem said, “I will blot out from the earth the men whom I created—men together with beasts, creeping things, and birds of the sky; for I regret that I made them.” (Bereshit 6:7)

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱלֹקים לְנֹ֗חַ קֵ֤ץ כׇּל־בָּשָׂר֙ בָּ֣א לְפָנַ֔י כִּֽי־מָלְאָ֥ה הָאָ֛רֶץ חָמָ֖ס מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם וְהִנְנִ֥י מַשְׁחִיתָ֖ם אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

"G-d said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with lawlessness because of them: I am about to destroy them with the earth." (Bereshit 6:13)

This is a very important lesson, which teaches us about the unparalleled importance of morality. This is the only perversion for which G-d decided to destroy the world!

Facing mankind's moral degeneration stood one man: Noah:

וְנֹ֕חַ מָ֥צָא חֵ֖ן בְּעֵינֵ֥י ה'׃ אֵ֚לֶּה תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת נֹ֔חַ נֹ֗חַ אִ֥ישׁ צַדִּ֛יק תָּמִ֥ים הָיָ֖ה בְּדֹֽרֹתָ֑יו אֶת־הָֽאֱלֹקid 8-9ationf moralirty.tedים הִֽתְהַלֶּךְ־נֹֽחַ׃

"But Noah found favor with Hashem. This is the line of Noah. -Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with G-d."- (Ibid 8-9)

Despite the corrupt social environment around him, he did not lose his moral integrity. He is the nucleus from which the new world was re-started and created.

Our Sages say about the process of humanity's morality decline, the sophistication and depth of moral wrongdoing:

אֵיזֶהוּ חָמָס וְאֵיזֶה הוּא גָּזֵל, אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא חָמָס אֵינוֹ שָׁוֶה פְּרוּטָה וְגָזֵל שֶׁשָּׁוֶה פְּרוּטָה

"What is corruption and what is robbery? 'corruption' - is not worth a penny, and 'robbery' - which is worth a penny" (Bereshit Rabbah 31:5)

"חמס הוא גזל, שאיננו יוצא בדיינים. איש חמס איננו חייב בידי אדם; אך הוא הורס את חברו לאט לאט - בחמס חוזר ונשנה"

"Chamas [wrongdoing] is a wrong that is too petty to be caught by human justice, but if committed continuously can gradually ruin your fellow man". (Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch Bereshit 6:11)

"והנה הוא אומר כאן: ותשחת הארץ לפני האלקים - ותמלא הארץ חמס. תחילה היתה זו השחתה מוסרית, - פשעים, שאין החברה האזרחית חוששת להם... אולם, משנשחתה הארץ לפני האלקים, לא יועילו כל תקנות הציבור להציל את החברה מאבדון. לעולם לא תימלא הארץ גזל; החברה תתגונן מפני גזלנים בכח ענשים ומאסר. אך החברה תאבד בחמס, בעוול הנעזר בערמה. אין הגנה מפני חמס, אם אין מצפון האדם מייסרו לפני ה'. ההשחתה המוסרית הורסת את המצפון, - ועמו נהרס גם השלום האזרחי. וכן הוא אומר ביחזקאל (ז, יא): "החמס קם למטה רשע": חוסר מוסר מביא לידי חוסר מצפון, - והוא המייסר את הרשע במטהו... מקור הרע איננו באדם עצמו, אלא בחמס תאבד החברה; בעטיו של חמס היא נעשית "חמץ", - וסופה להחמיץ ולהרקיב" (רש"ר הירש שם).

The process of deterioration encompassed all spheres of life and society:

"Now here it says very significantly: The world was corrupt before G-d, and then the world was full of wrongdoing. First of all, there was corruption of morals, sins that one imagined did not affect general civic life…But when the world is corrupt before G-d, all the human institutions and laws of society cannot prevent society in general from going to ruin. By gezel, open robbery, it will never fall, it knows how to protect itself against that by prisons and penalties. But by chamas, underhand dealing by cunning, astute dishonesty, craftily keeping within the letter of the law, it does go to ruin, by wrong which human justice cannot reach, but which can only be prevented by self-judging conscientiousness before G-d. Immorality kills this trait of the human mind, and with its loss, the grave of civic well-being is also dug…It is the chamas on which they go to ruin, through which the whole of society becomes chametz, that ends in fermenting foulness.” (Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch ibid).

Staying in the Ark was kind of a correction and training period for the new world that was being created. Proper separation of animals, kindness, and cooperation between all the inhabitants of the ark, and more.

From this Parasha, we learned about the importance of morality on the personal and social levels. The world was destroyed because of its absence.

And from this, we learn that if the world was destroyed because of moral corruption, by morality and Tikkun Middot* it will be rebuilt.

*The practice of personal growth to cultivate particular traits of moral character (or "virtues").