Machshavot HaLev - Yeshivat Lev HaTorah

24
בלה תובשחמ
Furthermore, Noach firmly believed God is merciful and assumed that Hashem
would never destroy the world. He did not even enter the teiva until the Flood
actually started because he believed so deeply in Hashem’s mercy. If it is true that
Noach believed Hashem would not ultimately destroy the world, he would have
never taken other people’s food on the teiva.
Finally, the Flood began with a regular rainfall to give the people one last chance
to repent. Since Noach realized that Hashem could call off His plan of destroying
the world, and he saw that Hashem was still giving the people one last chance, he
could not be sure everyone would soon die. Therefore, he would not have taken
anyone else’s food onto the teiva with him.
Why then did Hashem need to instruct Noach to only bring aboard food that
belonged to him? Did he think Noach would steal?
The Kli Yakar adds another component to his answer. He suggests that there was
no way that Noach had the means to support his family and all the animals on
the teiva for a full year. (He had just spent 120 years building the teiva instead
of bringing in profit.) Hashem instructed Noach to only bring his own food on
the teiva to magnify the neis that was to occur. Noach would bring aboard some
sustenance and Hashem would make it last for the full year. Of course Noach
would never steal food from others but he could possibly have obtained some
with from other people with their permission. Therefore, Hashem instructs him
that there is no need to rely on others because Hashem would provide an added
layer of miracle to the teiva experience. He would provide enough sustenance for
everyone and everything.
This is an important lesson for us. There are times in our lives when it is clear that
the money that we obtain is a gift from Hashem; perhaps a business deal should not
have worked out as well as it did or someone bequeaths us a certain sum of money.
However, there are also many times we go out and work and bring in money. We
pat ourselves on the back for being responsible and being able to support ourselves.
The message here is clear that Hashem is always behind our profit. Sometimes we
see it more clearly than other times but the same way Hashem is there at times
when it is more clearly a miracle, He is also responsible when we think that we did
it on our own. He was responsible for supporting all the living beings on the teiva