Tanach · Acharonim on Tanach · Or HaChaim · Torah
Or HaChaim on Genesis 7:1/אור החיים על בראשית ז׳:א׳
אוַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ לְנֹחַ בֹּא וְגוֹ׳ כִּי אֹתְךָ רָאִיתִי. צָרִיךְ לָדַעַת לָמָּה הֻצְרַךְ לְטַעַם זֶה מֵחָדָשׁ?
1 ויאמד…בא אל התיבה. G'd said…."enter the ark!." Why did G'd have to repeat here that He had seen that Noach was a righteous man in his generation? G'd may have feared that Noach would misinterpret the command to enter the ark together with all his immediate family. He might have thought a) that every family member would be saved due to his or her individual merit; in that case the Torah should not have addressed the command to build the ark to Noach in the singular; b) he might have thought that his wife, children, and their respective wives were being saved because they had not yet reached the age of accountability. If Noach had thought this he might have been tempted to invite all those of his friends who were young enough to share the ark with him in order to survive. Even if he had not done so on his own initiative, he might have wondered why all these youngsters were doomed to perish.
בוְנִרְאֶה כִּי חָשׁ ה׳ עַל נֹחַ לְבַל יִטְעֶה בְּמַשְׁמָעוּת דִּבְרֵי ה׳ בְּאָמְרוֹ בֹּא אַתָּה וְכָל בֵּיתְךָ אֶל הַתֵּבָה בְּאֶחָד מִשְּׁתֵּי דְּרָכִים: אוֹ יַחְשֹׁב כִּי כֻלָּן צַדִּיקִים הֵם וְלָזֶה נִמְלְטוּ בִּזְכוּתָן, וְלִסִבָּה זוֹ קָשֶׁה מַה שֶׁהִקְשֵׁינוּ בַּפָּסוּק (בראשית ו:יד) ״עֲשֵׂה לְךָ״. אוֹ יַחְשֹׁב כִּי בָּנָיו וּנְשֵׁי בָנָיו הַצָּלָתָם הִיא לְצַד שֶׁעֲדַיִן לֹא הִגִּיעוּ לִכְלַל הָעֹנֶשׁ, וְיֵצֵא מִזֶּה שֶׁיַּחְשֹׁב נֹחַ לְהַכְנִיס לְהַצִּיל מִקְּטַנֵּי הַדּוֹר קְרוֹבָיו וּמְיֻדָּעָיו, וְיָדִין בְּדַעְתּוֹ כִּי אֵינָם רְאוּיִים לְעֹנֶשׁ. וְלוּ יְהִי שֶׁלֹּא יַעֲשֶׂה כֵן, עַל כָּל פָּנִים תִּהְיֶה לוֹ בְּדַעְתּוֹ לְדָבָר זָר לָמָּה לֹא יִנָּצְלוּ מִי שֶׁאֵינוֹ בֶּן עֹנֶשׁ. לָזֶה אָמַר ה׳ אֵלָיו כִּי אוֹתְךָ וְגוֹ׳, נְתִינַת טַעַם לְאָמְרוֹ ״וְכָל בֵּיתְךָ״, לֹא לְטַעַם הֱיוֹתָם רְאוּיִים וְלֹא לְטַעַם הֱיוֹתָם קֹדֶם הַגָּעַת שְׁנֵי הָעֹנֶשׁ אֶלָּא מִטַּעַם זְכוּתְךָ כִּי אוֹתְךָ רָאִיתִי וְגוֹ׳, וּמֵעַתָּה כָּל שֶׁאֵין אָבִיו צַדִּיק יִלָּכֵד בַּמּוֹקֵשׁ. וְכָאן הוֹדִיעוֹ כִּי כָל שֶׁלֹּא הִגִּיעוּ לִכְלַל עֹנֶשׁ נֶעֱנָשִׁים בַּעֲוֹן אֲבִיהֶם, עֲרִירִים יָמוּתוּ כָּל הָאָבוֹת, לֹא כֵן נֹחַ.
2G'd told Noach once more that He had found only him as a righteous person at that time in order to lay to rest any of the other ideas Noach might have had on the subject. He now understood that any youngster who did not have a righteous father was caught in the sins of his father who was punished to die without issue.
געוֹד יִתְבָּאֵר עַל דֶּרֶךְ אָמְרָם בַּשַּׁ״ס (סנהדרין קי:) קְטַנֵּי יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשׁ לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, אֲבָל קְטַנֵּי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם אֵין לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. וּבְדוֹר הַמַּבּוּל כֻּלָּם דִּין אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם יֵשׁ לָהֶם, שֶׁהֲגַם שֶׁלֹּא הִגִּיעוּ לְעֹנֶשׁ יֵשׁ לָדוּן בָּהֶם מִשְׁפָּט כְּמִשְׁפַּט רָשָׁע, כִּי מַעֲשֵׂה אָבוֹת יַעֲשׂוּ בָּנִים, זֶרַע מְרֵעִים בָּנִים מַשְׁחִיתִים. וְנֹחַ דָּן בּוֹ מִשְׁפַּט קְטַנֵּי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיִנָּצְלוּ בִּזְכוּת אֲבִיהֶם, גַּם בְּבוֹא חֲרוֹן אַף לָעוֹלָם יָגֵן ה׳ בַּעֲדָם.
3The statement of our sages that Jewish minors have a share in the world to come, whereas Gentile minors do not (Kohelet Rabbah 4,1 and Avot de Rabbi Nathan 36,1), may be based on our verse. In Noach's generation everyone was considered an idolator and it was reasonable to assume that the children would take after their fathers. Noach, on the other hand, took a more optimistic view of the possible development of the minors. G'd therefore had to tell him that he could not save any youngsters barrring his own.