Parshas Noach 5787
כי מי נח זאת לי אשר נשבעתי ... (ישעי' נד-ט)
Just as Hashem promised Noach that he will never bring a flood over the entire earth ever again, so too did He promise to never allow his anger to impact the ultimate redemption of the Jewish people.
Interestingly, the Zohar HaKadosh zt”l points out that while the Navi was clearly referring to the waters of the Mabul, he nevertheless called them the waters of Noach. The question is why does he refer to it this way?
Perhaps we may explain as follows: we learn from Chazal that Noach’s generation was a fully immoral and murderous generation and as a result was slated to be destroyed. Thus, Noach - who was a member of this wicked and degenarate generation - was also slated to be destroyed. However, since Noach "מצא חן" - “found favor” in the eyes of Hashem, he was spared his generation’s fate. This being said, Noach, as the “favored” one, should have done more to rescue the people. He should have “stepped up” and prayed for the rest of the world, just as Moshe Rabbeinu did when his nation, Bnei Yisroel, were facing annihilation from Hashem. The righteous have a responsibility to ensure that everyone upholds all that which is important. As a result of Noach failing to plead on behalf of his generation, the destructive waters are referred to as if he himself was responsible for them.
While one thinks that if he remains complacent, he will stay out of trouble, it is important to remember that just as there is a time to be quiet, there is also a time to speak out!