לקוטי שיחות חלק ל׳ - נח א

Parshas Noach

1. It is stated in the Midrash: "From the beginning of the world's creation, the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, ascended only from the waters." And after "the generation of the Flood arose and rebelled against Him… the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let these be removed, and let those who dwelt there before come and stand in their place. This is what is written, 'And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.'"

From this it is understood that the state of the world when it was inundated by the waters of the Flood resembled its state "at the beginning of its creation," when "the entire world was water within water" — which is an exceedingly great elevation: a world that sings the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He (since "the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He" ascends specifically from the waters).

This would seem to require explanation: How does this fit with the content of the waters of the Flood in their plain sense — that they came "to destroy all flesh"?

In Rashi's commentary we find that "when He brought them down, He brought them down with mercy, so that if they would return, they would be rains of blessing; and when they did not return, they became a Flood." Thus the bringing down of the waters was "with mercy," that they should be "rains of blessing." However, this was only at the outset and conditionally — if the people of the generation of the Flood would "return" and do teshuvah (then the waters would not destroy the earth, but would be "rains of blessing"); and since they did not return in teshuvah, the waters were not "rains of blessing" but the waters of a Flood. According to the words of the Midrash, by contrast, it emerges that even in actuality, when the waters of the Flood inundated and covered the world, there was in this something of positive value.

Also well known is the explanation of the Alter Rebbe that the waters of the Flood came not only to punish the generation of the Flood, but also in order "to purify the earth," like the purification brought about through a mikveh [which is why the rain fell for forty days, like a mikveh, whose measure is forty se'ah].

Yet even according to this explanation, the effect of the waters of the Flood — the purification of the world — is bound up with the sins of the generation of the Flood, which brought impurity into the world, and through the Flood the world was purified of this impurity.

According to the Midrash, however, the state of the world when it was covered by the waters of the Flood is similar to the state of the world at the beginning of creation, when "the entire world was water within water." Hence the Flood brings about not only the negation and removal of impurity, but also something positive, which is intrinsically good and holy — like the state of the world (in which "the entire world was water within water") at the beginning of its creation, which had no connection with any matter of sin (not even purification from sin), for there did not yet exist any sin at all in the world, and its entire content was only "the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He."

2. It may be said that these words of the Midrash allude to a fundamental and general principle concerning Torah. By way of introduction:

Well known is the statement of our Sages that the Torah is among the things that "preceded the world," as they say, "The Torah preceded the world by two thousand years." That is to say: although a verse never departs from its plain meaning, and the "plain meaning" of the words of Torah is as the Torah is studied specifically in this physical world — nevertheless "the Torah preceded the world," for every single word in the Torah has (also) an inner and spiritual meaning, as the Torah is studied in the higher, spiritual worlds (which are far, far above physical matters).

It is understood that this principle applies not only to the commandments of the Torah, but also to the narratives of the Torah. For although every narrative in the Torah actually took place, in all its details, just as it is related in the Torah, nevertheless, since the Torah preceded the world, we must necessarily say that the narratives of the Torah also contain a spiritual content in keeping with the Torah's existence in the higher worlds.

[On the contrary — as in the well-known saying that the Torah "speaks essentially of the higher realms, and alludes secondarily to the lower realms": not only can the words of Torah also be interpreted according to their spiritual content (as the Torah is "in the higher realms"), but the reverse is true: the source and beginning of the Torah is "in the higher realms" (as it is written, "And I was with Him… a delight…," and as our Sages say, "a hidden treasure that is concealed with You," and elsewhere), and from there the Torah "descended" and came down by stages to the lowest level and into physicality (in the words of Scripture, "From heaven I spoke with you"; "From heaven He let you hear His voice…"). Therefore the Torah "essentially" speaks of the higher realms and of spirituality, but when it "descends" below into this world, it was given to be interpreted in its plain meaning as it is "in the lower realms."]

And we learn a further point: since with the Holy One, blessed be He, "evil does not dwell with You," we must necessarily say that even those matters in the Torah which according to their plain meaning ("in the lower realms") are undesirable things (wrongful deeds, punishments and the like) — in the Torah as it is in the higher realms (where there can be no existence of evil) they are interpreted in such a way that they are all holy and good.

Note the words of the Rambam that "there is no difference between… 'And Timna was a concubine' and 'I am the L‑rd your G‑d' and 'Hear, O Israel,' for all is from the mouth of the Almighty, and all is the Torah of G‑d, perfect, pure, holy and true." Although the plain intent of these words ("And Timna was a concubine") refers to a woman who was in a state of utter degradation (to the extent that her birth came about in a manner contrary to the observance of the seven Noahide laws) — the extreme opposite of the holiness of "I am the L‑rd your G‑d" — nevertheless this does not affect the holiness of these words as they are written in the Torah, to the point that there is no difference at all between the holiness of these words and the holiness of the words "I am the L‑rd your G‑d," for "all is the Torah of G‑d, perfect, pure, holy and true." For the subject is not the existence of Timna, but the Torah's discussion of her, and this discussion in the Torah is perfect, pure and truly holy.

And all the more so as the Torah is "in the higher realms," where the matter of "Timna was a concubine" is from the outset nothing but a spiritual matter found in a world that is entirely holy (since there "evil does not dwell with You").

3. This principle also explains a seemingly puzzling story about the reading of the Tochachah (the Rebuke, in Parshas Tavo) by the Alter Rebbe.

It is related:

The Alter Rebbe himself used to read the Torah. Once he was not in Liozna on Shabbos Parshas Tavo, and the Mitteler Rebbe — who was still a boy before his bar mitzvah — heard the reading from someone else. His anguish over the curses of the Rebuke brought on such heartache that on Yom Kippur the Alter Rebbe was in doubt whether he would be able to fast. When the Mitteler Rebbe was asked, "But this portion is read every year," he answered: "When Father reads, one does not hear any curses."

This would seem to require explanation: When the Alter Rebbe read the Torah — with utmost precision in every word and letter, with the vowels and cantillation, etc. — the content of the reading in its plain sense was surely heard (in keeping with the principle that "a verse never departs from its plain meaning"). What, then, is the meaning of the Mitteler Rebbe's words, "When Father reads, one does not hear any curses"?

The explanation, in light of the above: the curses in their plain meaning exist only as the matter is studied below, in the world of the plain meaning. But as "the Torah speaks of the higher realms" — in a world that is entirely holy and has no connection with the existence of evil (and therefore also not with punishment for evil) — even these matters (the curses) are, in their content, purely holiness and blessing.

[As the Alter Rebbe explains regarding the curses in Parshas Bechukosai, that "in truth they are nothing but blessings"; and the Tzemach Tzedek cites an example of this from the story brought in the Talmud, that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai sent his son to the Tannaim who happened to be in his locality so that they would bless him; they blessed him, however, "in the language of a curse," and he was distressed by this. When he repeated the words of the Tannaim before his father, he said to him: "These are all blessings."]

Therefore, when the Alter Rebbe read the Torah, what was heard in his reading (by the Mitteler Rebbe) was the content of the words as "the Torah speaks of the higher realms," where (even) the portion of the Rebuke is from the outset something entirely good and blessed.

[This is made all the sweeter by the Alter Rebbe's explanation of the expression "korei baTorah" ("reads," literally "calls," in the Torah) — "that through occupying himself with Torah, (the person) calls the Holy One, blessed be He, to come to him, as it were, like a person who calls his friend to come to him, and like a small child who calls his father to come to him to be with him together." So too in our case: through the Alter Rebbe's reading of the Torah, he called forth and drew down the Torah as it is in the higher realms, with the Holy One, blessed be He (where "evil does not dwell with You," as above).]

4. The words of the Midrash about the waters of the Flood are explained in a similar way:

That the Flood came to punish the people of the generation of the Flood, and also to purify the earth of the impurity of the sins of the generation of the Flood — this is only as the matter is below and in its plain sense. However, since the matter of the Flood is related in the Torah, we must necessarily say that the matter of the Flood, in all its details, exists also in the Torah as it is "in the higher realms," in a "world" to which no matter of evil and sin pertains.

And this is what the Midrash teaches us: the existence of the waters of the Flood over the face of the entire earth is (also) something entirely holy — similar to "the beginning of the world's creation," when "the entire world was water within water," for "the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, ascended only from the waters."

It may be said that this is the inner content of the Alter Rebbe's explanation (cited above) that the waters of the Flood were like the waters of a mikveh — for we find immersion in a mikveh that serves only to add holiness (and not to purify from impurity) [such as the immersions of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur: after the first immersion he is already purified of any suspicion of impurity, and all the rest serve only to add holiness, as he ascends from level to level within holiness itself].

So too it may be said regarding the waters of the Flood, which resemble a mikveh: that the Flood came to purify the earth of the impurity of the sins of the generation of the Flood is only as the matter of the Flood descended by stages from Above and came to be found "in the lower realms." But its content "in the higher realms" (in a world that is entirely holy) is the immersion required in order to ascend from one level of holiness to a higher level.

A simple example from human life, even among those who are not Jews, in this physical and material world: a father's love for his son — which in its truth and strength in the father's heart is entirely love and goodness. When the son sins, there results from this love that the father punishes the son with the rod; and the greater the love in the father's heart, the greater the son's punishment — to the point that "he who spares his rod hates his son."

5. An explanation of the elevation in the waters of the Flood, in greater detail:

The Rambam writes at the end of the Laws of Mikvaos that the waters of the mikveh allude to "the waters of pure knowledge." Just as through immersion in water a person is entirely covered by the waters of the mikveh, until nothing is seen but the waters of the mikveh, so it is with what the mikveh "alludes" to — bringing the soul into the waters of knowledge: one must be immersed in "the waters of knowledge" in such a way that the person's own existence is not seen, only "the waters of knowledge" in which he is immersed.

And this is the spiritual content of the Flood (when the entire world was covered with water) — that the entire earth is "immersed" in the waters of knowledge, until the earth's existence is not seen, only that of "the waters of knowledge."

So too is the spiritual content of the waters of the Flood in the days of Noach — that they came "to destroy all flesh," "to destroy the earth": that is, to nullify ("to destroy") with complete nullification (the "fleshliness" and "earthiness") in "the waters of knowledge," until no existence whatsoever is seen apart from Him, may He be blessed.

This is similar to the state of the world in the Time to Come, as in the words of the Rambam at the conclusion and seal of his work, that "at that time… the occupation of the entire world will be only to know G‑d… as it is said, 'For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of G‑d as the waters cover the sea.'" The state of the world in the Time to Come resembles a "flood" ("as the waters cover the sea"), in that the occupation with "the knowledge of G‑d" ("the waters of knowledge") will be in a manner of "the earth shall be full of knowledge" (to the point that "the occupation of the entire world will be only to know G‑d").

And at this level was the state of the world at the beginning of creation, when "the entire world was water within water," and "the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, ascended only from the waters" — that is, the world is not seen at all as an existence in its own right (like something immersed — tovel, which has the same letters as batel, nullified — in water); rather, its entire existence is only the G‑dly power that brings it into being and sustains it.

6. However, according to the explanation given of the content of the Flood (as it is "in the higher realms"), the opposite question needs to be clarified: since the Flood denotes so great an elevation (that the entire earth is nullified in "the waters of knowledge"), what is the inner content ("in the higher realms") of the oath of the Holy One, blessed be He, "I will not again…," "there shall no more be a flood to destroy the earth"? (And since this oath is written in the Torah, it is understood that it negates (also — and on the contrary, in truth) the Flood according to its spiritual content described above.)

The point of the explanation of this may be said to be as follows:

That at the beginning of creation "the entire world was water within water" — this is because dry land had not yet been created. The Flood, by contrast, came after the existence of the earth had already been created, and the waters covered it as it is, in its existence.

The difference between them (spiritually):

The elevation of "the entire world was water within water" at the beginning of the world's creation — the fact that the world was not seen as an existence in its own right but was entirely nullified in the G‑dly power that sustains it (as above) — was not felt within the existence of the world itself (for it was not yet fit for this); the elevation of "the entire world was water within water" was only because the dry land (the earth) had not yet been created.

The ultimate intent, however, is that this nullification be drawn into and brought about in the existence of the earth itself. And this is the precise wording of the verse (regarding the Time to Come), "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of G‑d as the waters cover the sea" — that is, not that the earth will turn into "water," but that, as it is in its existence as earth, it will be filled with "the knowledge of G‑d as the waters (with the prefix kaf of comparison) cover the sea"; that is, the elevation of "as the waters cover the sea" is in the earth itself.

But in order to bring about this elevation in the earth itself, there must be the preparation of the "immersion" of the earth in "the waters of the Flood" — "to destroy the earth," to nullify the earth's existence for a time, until it is entirely covered with water. And this very nullification is what gives the power that even afterwards, when "the earth was dry" ("it became hard clay, as befits it"), this nullification will be drawn into the dry land of the earth itself.

And this too is the purpose of the waters of the Flood (according to their spiritual content) — they came to prepare the existence of the world so that it would be a "vessel" for this nullification, which will come to be revealed in the Time to Come, when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of G‑d as the waters cover the sea."

[In light of this, one will also understand what is written in the Midrash on the verse, "Then the offering of Yehudah and Yerushalayim shall be pleasing to G‑d as in the days of old and as in former years" — "'as in the days of old' — as in the days of Noach." This is seemingly puzzling: the verse "shall be pleasing to G‑d…" refers to the time of the true and complete Redemption, when the world will be in a state of ultimate perfection; how, then, can one say that this is "as in the days of old — as in the days of Noach"?!

In light of the above, however, it is understood: the beginning of the world's preparation and readiness for its perfection at the time of the Redemption ("the earth shall be full… as the waters cover the sea") took place in the days of Noach, through the waters of the Flood which covered the world.]

7. In light of the above, the oath of the Holy One, blessed be He, that "there shall no more be a flood to destroy the earth" will also be explained:

The ultimate intent is that there be specifically the existence of the world — "He formed it to be inhabited" — and in a manner of "they shall not cease," and that the world, as it is in its existence, be a vessel for all the loftiest matters, as above.

[This is why the Holy One, blessed be He, did not want the world to remain in the state of "entirely water within water" — even though at that time "the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, ascended" — but rather the Holy One, blessed be He, contracted this revelation until "the dry land appeared," the world as it is seen by our eyes.]

And since this preparation and this power had already been given to the world through the immersion in the waters of the Flood, there is no longer any need "to destroy," to nullify its existence. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, swore that "there shall no more be a flood" (for, on the contrary, the ultimate intent is that the earth should exist).

8. Well known are the words of the Shelah, that "wondrous matters" are alluded to in Rashi's commentary on the Torah. In our case: the spiritual elevation of "the earth was dry" (when the earth exists) relative to the spiritual elevation of "the waters of the Flood" (which is akin to the elevation of "water within water" at the beginning of creation) is alluded to in Rashi's wording on the verse "the earth was dry" — "it became hard clay, as befits it (kehilchasah)":

The waters of the Flood allude to the level of Torah ("the waters of knowledge") as it is above, still beyond the existence of the world; whereas "the earth was dry" is the Torah as it has descended below and become enclothed in earthly matters — this world.

And specifically through this "descent" (of the Torah) into this world, the halachah aspect of the Torah is revealed. As is known, "the Torah is not in heaven," and a halachic ruling can be made only by a soul in a body. For the essence of halachah is knowing how to conduct oneself in actual deed — halachah for practice. And likewise, the function of halachos is to act upon the world, in the words of Scripture, "the ways of the world (halichos olam) are His" — "do not read halichos but halachos"; that is, the Torah's effect on the world — "the ways of the world" — comes about through the halachos of the Torah, to the point that the world becomes "one that walks."

It may be said that this is the allusion in Rashi's wording, "it became hard clay, kehilchasah" — from the word halachah. This is the elevation of "the earth was dry" relative to the waters of the Flood that preceded it: through "the earth was dry" one reaches the ultimate intent of the Torah, which is to act upon worldly matters through the halachah aspect of the Torah (kehilchasah).

9. The above explanation regarding the Flood is also connected with the time of year at which Parshas Noach is read — the beginning of the month of MarCheshvan:

The month of Tishrei, which is "abundant in festivals," is akin to — and higher than — the Flood "in the higher realms": in it a person is immersed and plunged (and nullified) in matters of goodness and holiness, until he "forgets" his physical affairs; and since his thought is solely on spiritual matters, the existence of the person (who thinks) is also in spiritual matters.

And when we go out of the month of Tishrei into the month of MarCheshvan, we read in the Torah the story of the Flood and its conclusion, to teach us that the purpose and completion of the "flood" of the month of Tishrei is the state of "the earth was dry" that follows it; that is, that this nullification of "the waters of the Flood" be drawn into the dry land of the earth.

Put simply: the purpose of the festivals of the month of Tishrei is to draw the holiness, etc., that one drew in during this month into everyday life throughout the entire year, "on the earth," until the service of G‑d will be (also) in all of one's physical affairs — "Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven," and "Know Him in all your ways."

And through this service we will merit the hastening of the fulfillment of the promise, "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of G‑d as the waters cover the sea," very soon indeed.

(From a talk of the first day of Rosh Chodesh MarCheshvan, 5746)

Key Lesson

Since the Torah preceded the world, every narrative in it, even the Flood, carries a content "in the higher realms" that is entirely holy: there the waters that covered the earth are an immersion of the world in "the waters of knowledge," like the water-covered world at creation that sang G‑d's praise. That immersion was a preparation, not the goal; G‑d swore never to repeat it because the aim is for the dry earth itself, as it is, to be filled with the knowledge of G‑d. So too, the holiness we were immersed in throughout Tishrei must now be carried into ordinary life in MarCheshvan, until all our deeds become a service of G‑d.