In this week's parsha we read of the destruction of the world due to the wickedness of man, and its reconstruction through Noach and his offspring. The Torah tells us at the end of Breishit that society had stooped so low that "Every product of the thoughts of his heart was but evil always." The simple understanding of this is that everything which civilization at that time had accomplished, any advancement, was really done with evil intentions.
HaShem chose to destroy man rather than allow this type of behavior to continue. Yet at the very end of the parsha it says, "But Noach found grace in the eyes of HaShem." Obviously this grace was tremendous, so much so that it was the saving factor of the human race. We owe our entire existence to this merit. So the question begs itself: what was this merit that Noach had? And in answering this perhaps we can understand why Noach specifically was chosen to be the regenerator of the world's population.
First let us examine a profundity in the pesukim. The parsha begins in a interesting way: the Torah states, "These are the offspring of Noach." Seemingly, the logical continuation would be a list of Noach's children, yet instead, the Torah lists praises of Noach: "Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generation; Noach walked with G-d." Only afterwards does the Torah mention his children. To explain this, Rashi quotes the Medrash, and in his second interpretation he says this is coming "to teach you that the main offspring (i.e. creations) of the righteous are good deeds." The Torah is telling us that Noach's main contribution to the world was his good deeds. From this Medrash, we gain a window into the core of Noach's character.
The essence of Noach was altruism. His ideas and thoughts were directed towards positive creativity, and utilizing that creativity to help others. This is what set Noach apart from his entire generation. Noach viewed technological development as an opportunity to do good deeds and make the world a better place, rather than for personal advancement.
This trait which HaShem saw in Noach is the foundation of a truly progressive society, a society which strives to advance and accomplish not for profit and personal gain, but rather for the betterment of the world. The error of the generation of the flood was that it lived according to the lowest aspects of Man; the people succumbed to the natural inclination towards selfishness and greed. Instead of rising above their base nature, they indulged in their Id,* until it became their very essence. However, Noach and his family because of their altruism, could serve as the seeds for the recreation of human kind, and build a civilization that would strive to improve the world. Now mankind would begin on the proper footing to continue the development of society in a positive way.
May we merit to continue this trait of Noach and let it echo our every action.
Shabbat Shalom
*This illuminates for us why the generation had fallen so low that they involved in bestiality, for when man allows himself to fall into this trap of selfishness, and self-indulgence, there truly is no difference between Man and Animal. The line between man and animal was blurred and this was reflected in their actions.
Furthermore this indulgence in self worship explains why the generation was judged on the sin of stealing: their lust for self advancement caused them to steal from others.
