The ark, Torah, and Shabbos as rescue

ברש"י הרבה רוח והצלה לפניו ולמה הטריחו בבנין זה כו' אולי ישיבו כו'.

In Rashi: He had many means of relief and rescue before Him, so why did He burden him with this construction? … Perhaps they would repent…

Rashi asks why Hashem made Noach toil for 120 years building the teivah (ark) when He could have saved him in an instant. The answer: so that the people of the generation, seeing the ark being built, might be moved to do teshuvah.

הוא כענין הקושיא מ"ט פתח בבראשית משום כח מעשיו הגיד לעמו כו'.

This is similar to the question of why the Torah begins with "Bereishis" — because of "the power of His deeds He told to His people…" (Tehillim 111:6).

The Sefas Emes links this to Rashi's opening question on the Torah: why begin with creation rather than the mitzvos? Both questions share one answer — Hashem's purpose is to reveal His power and holiness within the natural, created world.

כי באמת הצדיקים הם מושרשים למעלה מהטבע וכמו שיהי' לעתיד.

For in truth the tzaddikim are rooted above nature, as it will be in the future.

The tzaddik's true place is above the natural order, as the world will be in the time to come — Noach by right belonged beyond nature and needed no laborious rescue.

ורק השי"ת רצה שיתפשטו קדושתם בכל הטבע כענין שאמרו שישראל הם בגלות כדי שיתוספו עליהם כו'.

But Hashem desired that their holiness spread throughout all of nature, similar to what they said, that Yisrael is in galus in order that others be added to them.

Hashem wants the tzaddik's kedushah to permeate the natural world rather than stay aloof from it — just as Bnei Yisrael are placed in galus so that converts and lost sparks may be gathered to them.

ב) וכן הוא בהתלבשות אור התורה בכל מעשה בראשית.

(2) And so it is with the clothing of the light of the Torah within all of creation.

This is the same dynamic as the Torah's light being "clothed" within the works of creation — the highest holiness deliberately descends to invest itself in the physical world.

וכן הי' עשיית התיבה חיבור מכל הבריאה כדי שיוכלו גם הרשעים לבוא להתדבקות ע"י תשובה.

And so the making of the teivah was a joining-together of all of creation, so that even the wicked could come to attachment through teshuvah.

The ark, which gathered all species of creation, served as a point of connection drawing the world together — so that even the resha'im might attach themselves to holiness by doing teshuvah.

ואף שלא מצינו שפעל בהם לשוב נראה שהי' בהם הרהורי תשובה ע"י התיבה [ואם כי לא יצא מכח אל הפועל. הועיל על הגלגולים שנתגלגלו אח"כ כידוע בספרי קודש].

And although we do not find that he succeeded in bringing them to repent, it seems that there were stirrings of teshuvah within them through the teivah [and even though it did not come from potential into actuality, it benefited the gilgulim (reincarnations) that were later reincarnated, as is known in the holy seforim].

Even if the generation did not openly repent, the sight of the ark planted hidden flickers of teshuvah in their hearts. Though never realized in their lifetimes, those stirrings bore fruit later through the souls that were reincarnated, as the holy seforim teach.

גם יתכן לומר שכמה מהם עשו תשובה ע"י מעשה התיבה והם בכלל אשר בחרבה מתו שכתב בזוה"ק פ' ויגש ע"ש רק שלא היו כ"כ זכאין לראות במפלת הרשעים כמו נח.

It is also possible to say that some of them did do teshuvah through the making of the teivah, and they are included in those "who died on the dry land," as written in the Zohar HaKadosh, Parshas Vayigash — see there — only they were not so meritorious as to witness the downfall of the wicked like Noach.

Perhaps some actually repented because of the ark. The Zohar speaks of those "who died on dry land" rather than in the flood; they were spared drowning but, lacking Noach's full merit, were not granted to survive and behold the destruction of the wicked.

ומתו מקודם.

And they died beforehand.

These partial ba'alei teshuvah passed away before the flood itself, dying on dry land rather than being swept away in the waters.

וכדמיון זה בנ"י בגלות מעידין בכל יום על השי"ת ואומרים שהעולם יחרב ושעיקר הקיום ע"י התורה הכל על זו הכוונה שיתקרבו גם מהרשעים מי שראוי לכך.

And similar to this, Bnei Yisrael in galus testify each day about Hashem and declare that the world will be destroyed and that the essential endurance is through the Torah — all with this intention, that even from among the wicked, whoever is fit should be drawn near.

Like Noach building the ark, Bnei Yisrael in galus bear daily witness to Hashem — proclaiming that the material world is transient and that only Torah gives lasting existence — precisely so that those among the nations who are worthy may be drawn close to holiness.

והצלת נח הי' במצוה אחת עשיית התיבה כמ"ש ויעש נח כאשר צוהו.

And the rescue of Noach was through one mitzvah — the making of the teivah, as it is written, "and Noach did as He commanded him."

Noach was saved through the merit of a single mitzvah, the building of the ark in faithful obedience to Hashem's command.

מכש"כ בנ"י בכח תרי"ג מצות עתידין להנצל.

All the more so, Bnei Yisrael, by the power of the 613 mitzvos, are destined to be saved.

If one mitzvah could rescue Noach, then surely Bnei Yisrael, armed with the full taryag (613) mitzvos, are assured of ultimate salvation.

רק שצריכין להתדבק בתורה.

Only that they must cleave to the Torah.

This guarantee is conditional: Bnei Yisrael must bind themselves firmly to the Torah through deveikus.

ושנדע כי הכל הבל וסוף העולם ליחרב.

And that we should know that all is vanity and the world is destined to be destroyed.

Part of clinging to Torah is the recognition that the physical world is fleeting and ultimately passes away — like the flood-generation's world that was washed clean.

ואז התורה ומצות מצילין את האדם.

And then the Torah and mitzvos save a person.

Once a person internalizes the transience of this world, Torah and mitzvos become his ark — the means of his rescue from destruction.

וכמו כן הש"ק הוא בריחה שיכולין לברוח מן הטבע ולהתדבק בשרש העליון ע"י בחי' השבת.

And likewise the holy Shabbos is an escape, through which one can flee from nature and cleave to the supernal root by means of the aspect of Shabbos.

Shabbos functions like Noach's ark: it lifts a person above the natural world and lets him flee its grip, attaching him to the supernal Source from which everything flows.

והוא מעין הצלת נח כנ"ל.

And it is a semblance of the rescue of Noach, as above.

The refuge of Shabbos is thus a weekly echo of the rescue of Noach in the ark — a haven raised above the doomed natural order.

ועמ"ש לקמן:

And see what is written further on.

The Sefas Emes refers the reader to his further remarks on this theme elsewhere.

Summary: Noach was made to build the ark over many years — though he could have been saved instantly — so that the spreading sight of it might awaken teshuvah in his generation, mirroring why the Torah begins with creation: Hashem wants the kedushah of the tzaddik and the light of Torah to permeate the natural world. The ark gathered all of creation as a point of connection through which even the wicked could repent. Just as one mitzvah rescued Noach, all the more so the 613 mitzvos will save Bnei Yisrael — provided they cleave to Torah and recognize that this world is fleeting. Shabbos is a weekly version of that same rescue, an ark that lifts a person above nature to cleave to its supernal root.