Food for Thought Torah Portion of Breishis
Kindness Through Punishment
In the repetition of the Musaf prayers of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we state: "All believe that He preserves kindness. Who is patient and averts His eyes from rebels." The basic understanding of "preserves kindness" is that Hashem rewards thousands of generations for the righteousness of their ancestors, as written in Shemos 34:7 by the Thriteen Attributes of Mercy.
However, we find a different type of kindness that Hashem does for mankind in the Medrish Aggadas Breishis (3) on this week's Torah portion of Breishis. At the very end of the Torah portion, it discusses the prelude to the flood: "Hashem saw that the wickedness of mankind was great upon the earth, and that every product of the thoughts of his heart was but evil always" (Breishis 6:5). The Medrish there in paragraph 3 says, "'Hashem saw...' For the wicked say Hashem doesn't watch while we sin because He is far away, and there are seven heavens between us and Him, as it says, 'The clouds block Him so He cannot see' (Iyov 22:14). So, to Dovid said about them 'And they say, G-D will not see, nor will the G-D of Yaakov understand' (Tehillim 94:7). Hashem says back to them, 'Wicked in this world, "He Who implants the ear, will He not hear? Will He who fashions the eyes not see" (Tehillim 94:9)? Doesn't He look intently at everything as it says, 'Behold My eye has seen everything, My ear has heard and understood it' (Iyov 13:1). And even though logic dictates this about Me, 'For He discerns deceitful people; He sees iniquity, though He seems not to notice' (Iyov 11:11), however this matter I did just for you." As it says, 'Hashem saw that the wickedness of mankind was great upon the earth.'" (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Rav Avraham, the son of the Vilna Gaon, as well as the Etz Yosef, explain the conclusion of the medrish, "Even though logic dictates... meaning, even though the Torah and Prophets testify about Me that I avert Myself from rebels (as the prayer the High Holyday services mentions as quoted above), but for you where your atonement is the main thing, I had to go above and beyond My attributes and take revenge against you."
The medrish explains that what drove the generation of the flood to become so evil was that they felt Hashem wasn't watching them, since He is so far away, based on Chaza"l (for example, Medrish Tapuach Bu'Atzei Hayaar, which says that Hashem's throne is seven heavens away, having in mind whatever that might mean. Since Hashem, The Omnipresent, is here there and everywhere). Yet because of this belief that generation did whatever they wanted and fell deeper and deeper into the abyss of wrongdoing until they warranted being wiped out in a massive flood that destroyed the world. It seems that they had an excuse for this attitude, because for hundreds of years people weren't punished for their deeds. There was a reason for this; because Hashem runs the world on grace and mercy and is not quick to exact punishment; rather, He yearns and patiently waits for the wicked to repent from their evil ways. However, at that time, there came a point of seemingly no return, where Hashem was essentially telling the generation of the flood that I have to go against the rules of how I set up the world and exact retribution against you. This is because you are at a point of being better off with a punishment that can be an atonement for your bad deeds, rather than waiting any longer for you to change your ways. Hashem was obviously hoping that upon their death they would regret their ways and at least have some thoughts of repentance in order to deserve atonement. However, the mishna in Sanhedrin (10:3) relates, "The generation of the flood has no share in the World To Come, nor will they stand for judgment. " Though on some level, an atonement was meted out, for the Yad Ramah says on this mishna, "They have no share in the World To Come, but, on the other hand, they will not be punished for their sins on the final day of judgment which precedes the World To Come because they already received their punishment with The Flood." (Click here for Hebrew text.)
It sounds, based on the Etz Yosef and the son of the Gr"a, that Hashem was doing that generation a favor, going above and beyond normal judgment; but what favor, what kindness was this? They were wiped out in a flood, which Chaza"l say included acid rain, and wiped out the entire world, only leaving the fish and whoever was with Noach in the Ark. They didn't even get a share in the World To Come! Where is Hashem's kindness and mercy? What favor was Hashem doing for them?
However, according to the Yad Ramah, it's obvious that Hashem knew that the punishment He exacted upon them in this world, with all its severity and ramifications, was enough to do away with the punishment they could have gotten, which without a doubt was the lesser punishment, compared to what they would have gotten after being judged on Judgement Day before the World To Come. This, in of itself, was an incredible kindness!
However, barring the Yad Ramah, we must say, strictly based on the Etz Yosef and Rav Avraham the son of the Gr"a, that exacting revenge as an atonement is an incredible kindness given by Hashem. And it was given to those who did not take the hint and fooled themselves into thinking that Hashem wasn’t watching. It was an incredible kindness for those sinners, because they will come to the realization of the truth and be able to see the truth and not be blinded by disbelief.
So even though Hashem is merciful and waits for a long time for the wicked to hopefully repent, He is also kind and allows the wicked to appreciate the truth at a point where they seem too far gone to get it on their own.
The truth is something very much worth appreciating!
Good Shabbos
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder